April 11, 2012

“UNCLE TOM’S CABIN” by Harriet Beecher Stowe sold 1 million copies in Britain in 1952 — And the Staffordshire Potters immortalized the novel in one of their most famous figures

Filed under: FOLKLORE,LITERATURE — tmooresr @ 8:02 am

I have owned 2 Staffordshire UNCLE TOM AND EVA figures for a very long time.  Last week, we inherited the smaller Staffordshire figure pictured in this image.  The three are set on my grandfather’s dressing table which I have kept the way he had it during his lifetime.  UNCLE TOM’S CABIN was one of the most popular novels read during mid-Victorian times –and of course it ended up in a Staffordshire cottage figure.  I love this photograph.

Thomas Moore   email:  TMooreSr@me.com    Telephone:  801.791.9918

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DICK TURPIN AND TOM KING — The Romanticized 18th, 19th, 20th centuries HIGHWAYMEN–IMMORTALIZED BY THE STAFFORDSHIRE POTTERS

Filed under: FOLKLORE — tmooresr @ 4:53 am

I have been happily writing about individual pieces of Staffordshire which have come to Mrs. Moore and me from our New England family.  It has been a thrilling experience studying the figures and researching their stories in British history and folklore.  One of the most delightful pairs of figures is the  Staffordshire 1860 creations of DICK TURPIN and TOM KING.  My grandmother used to read me the tales of this quasi-historical figure Dick Turpin and his sidekick Tom King who thrilled the imaginations of the British public by their pranks, robberies, and lives as HIGHWAY MEN.  I do remember that Dick Turpin’s black horse was BESS who dropped dead racing from the law.  I thought it would be interesting for my readers to read a bit more about these two legends who have enriched our English folklore.  Fascinating legend, to be sure, captured in Staffordshire pottery.  Really fun!

Thomas Moore   email:  TMooreSr@me.com    Telephone:  801.791.9918

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http://www.londonconnection.com

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