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The History of Royal Doulton Figurines

The story of Doulton's rise from humble beginnings to a world famous ceramics giant is well-documented, but perhaps the quantum leap from producing drainpipes and domestic stonewares to making fine bone china tableware and figurines needs some explanation.

It can almost be explained by the mention of one man, Sir Henry Doulton. It was he who took an ordinary pottery and made it something extraordinary. Henry Doulton's fortune was accumulated by having the foresight to see that salt-glazed stoneware, the material used by Doulton for making ink bottles, was an ideal substance in which to make the drain and sewer pipes that were desperately needed to alleviate the insanitary conditions introduced by the world's post-industrial revolution. Furthermore, he had the drive to invest in and install the machinery needed for the manufacture of the pipes. As a result the company prospered.

John Sparks, the principal of the Lambeth School of Art, requested that students from the nearby school be allowed to attempt the making of art pottery at the factory. Because Henry Doulton was in a position to let the experiment take place, he agreed based on the prospect of the prestige that might ensue if the project succeeded. Even so, his initial investment was modest. The students could only use materials already at the factory, and the facilities provided could best be described as basic. But as the world knows, the experiment succeeded and a full-blown art pottery studio was established at Doulton's Lambeth factory in 1877. This factory had missed success until it was closed in 1956.

Henry Doulton thrived on challenge. It could be argued that his biggest challenge was to take on the potters of Staffordshire. Despite its worldwide fame, the area around Stoke-on-Trent (known as the Potteries), was remarkably insular and the prospect of that "stoneware fellow from London" setting up a business in their midst was not greeted with widespread enthusiasm. Henry Doulton was well aware of the resentment felt towards outsiders. His often quoted remark "in their view we Londoners know little about God, and nothing about pottery" sums up the feeling of the time in Stoke. Rather than establishing a completely new Doulton operation in Staffordshire, Henry Doulton took a more cautious approach. In 1877, he bought an interest in an already established concern. The firm chosen was Pinder, Bourne and Co. of Nile Street, Burslem - manufacturers of earthenwares, tablewares and artwares in a style typical of the period. The Pinder Bourne-Doulton partnership was not an easy one. Henry Doulton's drive was somewhat stifled by the conservative attitudes of his new associates. In 1882, Shadford Pinder finally retired and the company was renamed Doulton and Co. It is from this point that the Staffordshire arm of the Doulton organization began to take on an identity of its own.

With hindsight, we can say that the greatest asset Henry Doulton acquired with his new company was its first Art Director, John Slater. As he had done with his Lambeth employees, Henry Doulton encouraged John Slater to develop new ideas and techniques. A young man named John Bailey was appointed as General Manager of the new factory and he proved to be an equally valuable appointment. The new team set about rationalizing the product range and introducing new innovations. Gradually, a new Doulton style and quality emerged.

By about 1900, the Doulton-Burslem style was easily recognizable. Henry Doulton obviously had a talent for choosing the right personnel for his company. The most important recruit as far as the story of Royal Doulton figures in concerned was Charles Noke, who joined the company in 1889. Noke began his career at the Royal Worcester factory, where he worked for 15 years before John Slater persuaded him to join the company as Chief Modeller at the Burslem Studio. He was to remain at Doulton for the rest of his career.

The world first saw evidence of Noke's modelling talent in the pieces exhibited at the Chicago Exhibition in 1893. Although a few free-standing figures were shown, it was the large spectacular vases that commanded the most interest. However, it is known that about 6 figures were shown at Chicago, but very little attention was drawn to them. In the next few years, other figures were added to the range available from Burslem, including some models that were later destined to become part of the now familiar HN range. These early figures were in a "vellum" finish decorated in a very restricted palette very similar to those produced by Royal Worcester. They were generally on a much larger scale to the later HN range. The figures were also expensive. These factors probably accounted for their limited success at the time, and they were certainly not made in large quantities.

From about 1897 until 1909, Noke's energies were taken up developing new projects, and figure production took a back seat. Staffordshire had a tradition of figure making, but by the early 1900s it was neglected and the quality of much of the production of traditional Staffordshire figures was questionable. In 1908, Noke decided the time had come to revive the tradition with something relevant to the new century. He was also aware that it was a considerable undertaking. Other English factories had not had a great deal of financial success producing figurines. Noke was shrewd enough to realize that if Doulton was to succeed where others had failed, a great deal of preparation and experimentation would be necessary before any figures could be launched on an unsuspecting market. Having obtained the approval and backing of Henry Doulton's son and successor, Noke set about producing a trial run of figures. Rather than having the new figures designed in-house, he approached a number of well-known sculptors of the day and commissioned designs for the projected range. He met with a mixed response, but eventually 5 sculptors submitted designs. Noke also designed some models himself. By 1912, twenty (20) models were ready. Although different in concept to the earlier vellum range, these figures were still not in the style so easily recognizable today and are much more solid looking and not so brightly colored.

A visit to the Burslem Studio by King George V and Queen Mary was planned for April 1913. The launch of the new figurines was held back for this auspicious occasion. Had the Royal visit not taken place, a figure still on sale today would be named "Bedtime" rather than "Darling". When shown the new figures, Queen Mary picked up Bedtime, a model of a small boy in a nightshirt, and exclaimed "Isn't he a darling!", so Bedtime became Darling by Royal patronage. The Queen ordered copies of the figure for herself and her friends. Darling was the work of Charles Vyse, and it is ironic that this figurine, which is so completely different from his usual style, should have proved to be his most commercially successful.

Queen Mary's enthusiasm for Darling was to be mirrored by the public as he proved to be by far the most popular of the first figurines. This is not to say that the new Royal Doulton figures were instantly successful. In four years from their public launch in 1913, just under 700 figures were made. It is not really fair to judge the new figure range on these stark statistics alone as their appearance coincided with the First World War. This restricted their marketing both at home and across the world.

Royal Doulton kept faith with the project and new models were introduced during the war years. However, it was not until 1920 that the figures made any real impact on the market. Even so, production was still on a limited scale. At this time, a new designer was employed who was to have a profound effect on Royal Doulton figurines. His name was Leslie Harradine. Throughout the 1920s, 1930s and even in to the post Second World War years, Harradine was responsible for designing the majority of the collection. Some of his models are still available today. It is with the advent of Harradine that Royal Doulton figures take on the style, both in modelling and coloring, that has appealed to collectors ever since.

The figure department at the Burslem Studio had been expanded over the years. Even so, by 1939 there were still only 27 painters. Given that the range of figures had also grown, it becomes obvious that even for the most popular models production was still limited. Exact production figures are not available but it has been said that an average popular pre-war figure would have been made in much smaller quantities than a modern limited edition. Some models were withdrawn from production in the mid 1930s, others in 1938, but it was the outbreak of the Second World War and the restrictions that it brought that caused the deletions from the range of the majority of the existing figures. Some production continued for export and it is possible to find figures date-coded for the early 1940s.

However, when production resumed after the war, only a handful of pre-war designs were kept in the collection. At first, the majority of the new introductions were the work of Harradine but a new talent was on the Doulton horizon who was to have an equally important influence on Royal Doulton figurines. The new talent was Margaret May Davies, perhaps better known to collectors as Peggy Davies. She had joined Royal Doulton in 1939 as an assistant to Charles Noke. After the interruptions of the war, Peggy returned to the company as an independent artist under contract. She created a large number of figures for the HN range. Her most famous creations are the "Pretty Ladies", but she also designed prestige series such as "The Dancers of the World" and "Les Femmes Fatales". Together with the character studies modelled by Mary Nicholl, Peggy Davies' figures formed the backbone of the range for many years.

This almost brings the story of Royal Doulton figures up to the present day. Eric Griffiths was appointed Head of Ceramic Sculpture at Royal Doulton in 1972. It became obvious to him that if figure production was to continue to flourish at Burslem, new talent needed to be nurtured. Freelance artists such as William Harper and Robert Jefferson submitted designs, and apprentice modellers such as Peter Gee and Robert Tabbenor began work. The pool of designers was swelled by Pauline Parsons, Adrian Hughes and Nada Pedley, each with their own particular interpretation of the Doulton figure. Eric Griffiths retired at the end of 1990. He was succeeded by his deputy, Amanda Dickson who is the current Director of Art and Design for all Royal Doulton studios. Under her auspices, Alan Maslankowski joined Royal Doulton as a resident artist, while Valerie Annand works on a freelance basis.

Since 1913 there have been many changes of style and direction within the Royal Doulton figure collection, reflecting the different tastes and fashions of the century. Other manufacturers have imitated the Doulton style, but none have achieved the success with the genre that remains peculiar to Royal Doulton. Even so, it should be remembered that despite their fame and collectability, Royal Doulton figures represent only one small part of the company's output.

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