Vintage 1930s English Carlton Ware Fairy Silhouette Pattern Vase. Enameled with floral patterns and fairies over a rich blue color with gold lining and rims. Marked thoroughly on the base. 

Size: 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 6 in. 

#8470 . 

Carlton Ware was a pottery manufacturer based in Stoke-on-Trent, first established in 1890 by James Frederick Wiltshaw, William Herbert Robinson, and James Alcock Robinson and trading under the name of Wiltshaw and Robinson. The trademark “Carlton Ware” was introduced in 1894, at which time the company’s factory was renamed the Carlton Works. The company became well-known for its tableware, often in the form of highly decorated leaves or fruit. In 1911 the business partnership between Wiltshaw and the Robinsons was dissolved, leaving Wiltshaw to form a new limited company called Wiltshaw and Robinson, Limited. Following the death of James Wiltshaw in a railway accident in 1918, control of the company passed to his son Frederick Cuthbert Wiltshaw. Under his leadership they produced hand-painted domestic pottery in high art deco styles during the 1920s and 1930s, and became best known for the ceramic toucans they made as promotional items for the Guinness Brewery. The famous scripted “Carlton Ware” trademark was introduced in 1928, and they introduced the first “Oven to Table” ware in 1929. The firm continued to expand, acquiring Birks, Rawlins and Co. in 1930, but Frederick became withdrawn and less involved with the company’s affairs after the brutal murder of his wife during a home robbery in 1952. The company was renamed Carlton Ware Limited in 1958, and following the death of Frederick in 1966 the company was sold to Arthur Wood and Sons. The company continued to trade well until developing serious financial difficulties in the late 1980s, which forced it into receivership in 1989. An unsuccessful attempt was then made to rescue the company by Grosvenor Ceramic Hardware, with production closing down completely in 1992. In 1997 the Carlton Ware brand was resurrected by Francis Joseph of the Carlton Ware Design Centre, Roslyn Works, Stoke-on-Trent. It continues to manufacture novelty items aimed at the collectors’ market, and their homages to the floral and hand-painted styles of Wedgwood and other English manufacturers helped to solidify their place in the market even into the 21st Century.