Six exquisite stamps and a spectacular miniature sheet were released to commemorate the 1992-93 CourierPost Royal Doulton Ceramics Exhibition - the first major Royal Doulton exhibition ever held in New Zealand. Significantly, 80% of the more than 750 pieces in the Exhibition came from family collections within the country itself. Royal Doulton enthusiasts are plentiful in New Zealand. In fact, there would be few homes that would not have at least one Doulton piece in use, or on display in a china cabinet or mantelpiece.
Issue information
In 1815, the year of Waterloo, John Doulton invested his life savings of 100 pounds in a small riverside pottery in Lambeth, South London. The pottery made plain, everyday stoneware items such as candle sticks, and bottles for ink, beer and blacking. When John’s son Henry joined the firm, things changed. Henry brought with him a dynamism and entrepreneurial flair which transformed the fortunes of the little known pottery and made the Doulton name famous throughout the world.
Henry’s first great success was in recognising the revolutionary shift towards new standards of sanitation. In 1846 his Lambeth factory became the first in the world to produce stoneware drainpipes, conduits and related wares. In the 1860’s he turned his attention to Art Pottery. Students from the Lambeth School of Art were employed to design and decorate stoneware vases and other decorative items for the home. By the 1880’s the studio employed over 2490 women and 20 men to paint and model its wares. Cooperation on this scale between art and industry had never been seen before.
Doulton artists were exceptionally innovative and produced an unprecedented variety of saltglazed stoneware. With the purchase of the Burslem pottery in Staffordshire the firm continued to expand both its range and techniques in earthenware and bone china. Henry was eventually knighted and, in 1901, the firm was granted a Royal Warrant. Today Royal Doulton continues to produce an enormous range of high quality items from bathroom fittings, to table and nurseryware, to highly prized figurines and character jugs.
| Image | Title | Description | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Single Stamp |
Single 45c 'Character Jug - Old Charley 1934' gummed stamp. One of a range of character jugs first produced at Burslem in 1934. The character jug, featuring only head and shoulders, was an original Doulton development of the traditional full figure Toby jugs which dated from the 18th century. |
$0.45 |
|
|
Single Stamp |
Single 50c 'Bunnykins Plate - The Proposal’ gummed stamp. The range of children’s ware most commonly associated with Royal Doulton is the perennially popular Bunnykins series, first introduced in the 1930s. The whimsical rabbit family was the creation of Barbara Vernon who passed most of her life in a convent. Since her original drawings, over 150 designs have appeared. |
$0.50 |
|
|
Single Stamp |
Single 80c ''Māori Art Tea Ware 1907' gummed stamp. Royal Doulton have produced several ceramic series on New Zealand themes. They are 'Kia Ora' stoneware (1907); 'Māori Art' tea ware (1907). Souvenir wares, and kiwi teapots and plates for the Silver Jubilee of Canterbury (1900). The death of Richard John Seddon (1906) and the New Zealand International Exhibition in Christchurch (1906). |
$0.80 |
|
|
Single Stamp |
Single $1.00 'Handpainted Plate - Ophelia' gummed stamp. By George White 1903. This Burslem plate is an example of the extremely high standard of Royal Doulton ceramics which made their way to New Zealand in the early part of the century. They were snapped up by collectors eager for quality and artistic innovation. |
$1.00 |
|
|
Single Stamp |
Single $1.50 'Burslem Figurine - St George 1950' gummed stamp. In the early 1890s Charles Noke began experimenting at Burslem with figurines, mainly of characters from Shakespeare. Since then many outstanding sculptors have helped to develop the vast range of Royal Doulton figures still in production today. |
$1.50 |
|
|
Single Stamp |
Single $1.80 'Saltglazed Stoneware Vase' gummed stamp. By Eliza Simmance c. 1892. Doulton was ahead of its time in using women as artists and designers. The vase is an outstanding example of late Victorian art pottery, which aimed deliberately to be creative or artistic as opposed to merely utilitarian. |
$1.80 |
|
|
Miniature Sheet | Mint, used or cancelled miniature sheet featuring the $1.80 stamp depicting Saltglazed Stoneware Vase. | $1.80 |
|
|
First Day Cover | First day cover with stamps affixed. Cancelled on the first day of issue. | $6.30 |
|
|
Miniature Sheet First Day Cover | First day cover with miniature sheet affixed. Cancelled on the first day of issue. | $2.05 |
|
|
Presentation Pack | Presentation pack containing a selection of stamp products from the issue and further information on the theme of the stamps. | $10.50 |
Technical information
| Date of issue: | 20 January 1993 |
|---|---|
| Designer: | Brand New Ltd, Wellington NZ |
| Printer: | Leigh-Mardon, Australia |
| Stamp size: | 35mm x 39.56mm |
| Miniature sheet size: | 125mm x 100mm |
| Sheet size: | 50 stamps per sheet; Miniature Sheet of one stamp |
| Process: | Lithography |
| Perforation gauge: | 13.25 |
| Paper type: | Peterborough Paper Convertors, red phosphor coated, unwatermarked |
| Preiod of sale: | These stamps remained on sale until 20 January 1994. |
