1924-1942 Royal Dolton English Cottage series ware

Royal Doulton Seriesware was the marketing "genius" of Charles Noke who joined Doulton at Burslem in 1889 and later became the companies Art Director. Some of the most identifiable Doulton Seriesware includes patterns such as Coaching Days, Dickensware, Shakespearean, Under the Greenwood Tree (Robin Hood), Blue Children, Gaffers and the Professionals series. In conceptualising Royal Doulton's seriesware, Noke devised a scheme for employing a vast number of standard "blank shapes" including plates, vases, trays and jugs and decorating them with a wealth of popular imagery that was drawn from many Literary, Sporting, Geographic, Nostalgic and Historical sources. The premise was never to have items like trios, teasets or dinner sets "perfectly matching" - but to encourage people to attempt to collect all of the scenes in their chosen pattern. From 1889 Nokes fertile imagination was at work developing new ideas for Seriesware, the line became prolific in the 1920's and 1930s and continued for many decades. Kind Regards