Blue and white Cornishware was first made by TG Green pottery in Derbyshire. The distinctive blue and white banded look was created by decorating the pieces with blue slip and then turning them on a lathe to remove the blue banding, leaving the underside white. It was then sealed with a clear glaze to make it suitable for use as cookware. The name Cornishware was chosen because it reminded someone of the Cornish coast – that’s the only connection it has to Cornwall and many people who collect blue and white Cornishware may not even know it.
Blue and white Cornishware was first produced in the 1920s and has been a firm favorite ever since. In England there is hardly a house that does not have a couple of Cornishware pieces handed down from mother or grandmother, and everyday items such as coffee mugs and milk jugs are now highly collectible, fetching high prices at auctions and antique fairs. .
Although all Cornishware is highly collectible, the pieces that fetch the highest prices are named cookware, such as storage jars, which contain the name of a particular ingredient, such as coffee, sugar or salt. If you are thinking of collecting blue and white Cornish items you will easily find storage jars for sugar, tea and flour as these would have been used in any home. Less common labels, such as Clove, Mallet, or Bath Salts, will attract a higher price since they are much harder to find. A large proportion of Cornishware was made to order, and customers could request specific labels such as nuts or whole wheat flour. If you want to become a serious collector of blue and white Cornishware, some of these might be worth pursuing.
Unfortunately the TG Green Pottery went into administration in 1965 and although subsequent owners have continued to produce Cornishware, the later pieces are less attractive to collectors for the simple reason that they are freely available. As time goes by, these pieces can gain in value, and in particular the early Judith Onions pieces, which were made in the late 1960s, may become future collectibles. You can easily identify her work by the completely different stamp containing her name.
It is quite difficult to date the original Cornishware because several different backstamps were used for overlapping periods. If you are interested in becoming a collector of blue and white Cornishware, there is an excellent website that gives information on the different backstamps, it is called cornishware.biz. If you know your backstamps you should also be able to avoid counterfeits and unfortunately due to the popularity of blue and white Cornishware there are a number of counterfeits circulating on internet auctions and auction houses as well.
As a potential collector, you should appreciate that blue and white Cornish dinnerware was made to be used as household dinnerware and for everyday use. Therefore, it is not easy to find perfect parts and minor damage such as chips, wear, cracks or cracks are not unusual. You should thoroughly examine a part for damage and also if you are buying a jar with a lid make sure the lid is the original and not a later replacement. Original pieces in mint condition fetch the highest prices, and if you want to become a serious collector of blue and white Cornishware, you should look for the rarer labels.