HISTORY & NOTES:
Johnson Brothers began their pottery in 1883 and became one of the major high quality works in England, eventually (in 1968) becoming part of the Wedgwood Group of companies.
This chinaware (semi porcelain) is yet another of our beautiful "breakfast & afternoon tea" sets which were passed down to us through the generations, originally purchased in the 1950's, just after "The War" by my parents living in England at the time.
The second world war had just been "finished with" and people were looking for things to make them feel good, brighten up their lives after all the trauma fighting with the "Huns" (a carry over expression from the Brit description of the "foe" in World War I)
Since those days 70 years ago we used this chinaware just a few times for those "special occasions" and the condition of the pieces reflects this ... they have been well cared for!
We have always called these the "Cherry Blossoms" although that pattern name is not on any of the pieces, there is no pattern indicated except the egg cup saucers which are quite frankly a bit of a mystery to us ... read my description specific to the egg cup set HERE for details about this mystery!
One of the major china replacement suppliers does show this pattern (no longer available alas) and indicate it is what they call pattern number JB734. We think this is THEIR pattern code and not that of Johnson Brothers.
If you would like to take a look at the "replacements" website, please go HERE
ALL decoration (artwork and gilding) is handcrafted with no transfers used at all
This advertisement is for the STANDARD TEACUP ONLY .... but HERE you can see a selection of the other pieces that we have left
DLAT RATING: 9/10 (Darling, Look At This!)
JOHNSON BROTHERS - Standard Teacup ONLY
Made In England
DIMENSIONS:
Shape: Traditional English standard cup (NOT a demitasse or dolls cup)
Mouth: 105mm
Height: 74mm
Pattern: Cherry Blossoms (JB734)
Weight: 100g
GENUINE and ORIGINAL
Hand decorated/painted - this is an original creation with the artist and gilder markings clearly visible on the underside of the base. Don't be fooled by replacements using transferware techniques, these originals have become quite collectable and "rip offs" abound because the counterfeiter can make good money
Circa 1940's ~ 1950's
Opaque (meaning that when held to the light, you CANNOT see shadows of your hand through the china) This is not "fine bone china" but nor is it "stoneware" and Johnson Brothers used to call this their "semi-porcelain"
Two tone base colouring - Natural Cream colour and a light Grey colouring with a slightly darker Grey band between the two colours. This two-tone finish is only on the outside (central area) of the teacup, inside it is completely Cream.
The artwork spans both areas of colour.
Cherry Blossom (OUR pattern name as it is not indicated on the piece) is a pattern dominated by a motif of gentle Pink blossom flowers with fresh Green leaves on a Brown tree branch. There are two separate pieces of artwork, one is dominant with the other is a smaller design.
Teacup handle has a generous "hook" and suits holding by most people, including men with "fatter fingers"!
Gold gilding (heavily applied by hand) is around the top rim, inside the teacup and on two sides plus the rear of the handle.
BACKSTAMP DETAILS:
Impressed into the clay
MADE IN ENGLAND
Artist and gilder's marks are also present on the base, very small and indistinct.
As was common with English chinaware's, there is no backstamp printed on the teacup base.
COSMETIC CONDITION:
We currently have six teacups, the following information relates to ALL of those teacups and any flaws I have noticed are noted after this main report
NO cracks
NO chips
NO discolouration to the artwork or inside from tannin (Tea) stains
NO crazing observed (both wet and dry tests)
NO artwork damage/scratching or significant wear
But nothing that is over 70 years old is perfect! (Not even my Mum at 86 years old!)
I noticed on a couple of teacup's that tell-tale sign of human artistry! It's a good thing! Unlike machines, humans make mistakes and on two of the teacups I noticed that the artist had accidentally "dabbed" some colour where it shouldn't be. These are not big splashes of colour but little a little dab here and there - we like this very much, that human imperfection!
Two teacups show just the very lightest sign of being handled, the teacup handle area. On one side, where the handle hook meets the teacup body there is very light wear from the "pinky" sitting across the gilding when holding the teacup. These are very light signs of wear and not immediately noticeable though and only two teacups show this Gold gilding wear in this one spot.
ALL other gilding, on every teacup, is in very very good condition.
SPECIAL INFORMATION:
We have a number of different pieces of our Cherry Blossom pattern available. Each piece is advertised separately BUT if purchasing more than one, and total order value conditions are met, discounted prices apply automatically when the code CHERRYBLOSSOM is used in the checkout area of the website.
