Royal Worcester is one of the oldest remaining English porcelain brands in existence, the standard printed factory mark includes the number 51 in the centre which refers to the year 1751 when the Worcester Porcelain Company was founded by Dr. John Wall.
Good quality porcelain items are always a good place to start collecting and if items have a famous makers mark like Royal Worcester identifying and pricing an object becomes a whole lot easier.
Royal Worcester items to look for:
The figurines designed by Freda Doughty depicting the Months of the Year and Days of the Week have become very collectable in recent years, these figurines can still be picked on a daily basis in thrift shops and car boot sales throughout the country, I’ve even seen a the odd example for sale at Errol Car Boot Sale
However, If you happen to stumble upon one of the beautiful and elaborate porcelain bird figures designed by her sister Dorothy Doughty, you’ve hit the “jackpot”, check ebay for dorothy doughty figures and see what I mean.
Freda’s two most famous figures are
- Grandmother’s Dress
- Boy with a Parakeet
There seems to be an abundance of little Royal Worcester thimbles and trinket boxes around the market, I don’t know why these items have ended up here but these little items can be found on almost any stall.
I recently purchased the three items pictured above and discovered they were egg coddlers, I’ve never even heard the phrase coddled Eggs, but a quick search of google led to full cooking instructions using the very same Royal Worcester Porcelain items in the photograph.
Needless to say it was coddled eggs and toast for supper this evening, the little porcelain items have no great value but have become a firm favourite in my kitchen, for me finding a usable semi-antique object is half the fun of collecting.
