A pair of Sherwin & Cotton tiles designed by George Cartlidge

A pair of Sherwin & Cotton tiles designed by George Cartlidge, modelled in low relief with terrier portraits, glazed in shades of red, framed impressed marks, 15cm. square.

Provenance

Tony Johnson

Literature

Tony Johnson, The Morris Ware Tiles & Art of George Cartlidge, Private Press, page 55 catalogue number 126 (brown). These actual tiles illustrated.

This lot is sold with a copy of The Morris Ware Tiles & Art of George Cartlidge, by Tony Johnson.

George Cartlidge

Born in 1868 he trained at Hanley School of Art, staying and painting at the school until 1897 when he was apprenticed to Sherwin & Cotton Tile Works. Here he helped to develop a series of portrait tiles from photographs - subjects included international politicians, military leaders, artists and religious figures. He experimented with the technique of Emaux Ombrants - a technique of flooding glaze onto a shallow relief design which created a smooth graduated tone giving a realistic 'photographic' quality to the design.

In 1916 he moved to Sampson Hancocks designing a range of tubelined pottery proudly titled Morris Ware to the base. The range was released at the British Industries Fair in 1918 and competed commercially with the tubelined designs of Frederick Rhead, and William Moorcroft who had recently set up his own factory in Burslem.

George Cartlidge was Tony Johnson's great uncle - who Tony unfortunately never met.