Author Description

Doulton Ink Wares describes the evolution and development of Doulton's ink-related products at Lambeth and Burslem, over the past century and a half. Doulton's ink wares integrate form and function with artistry and invention in a way that sets them aside from all other Doulton products. In this highly entertaining and well researched account, Colin Roberts sets the development of Doulton's ink-related goods against the social history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The book contains twelve chapters which describe the various generic forms of ink-well from the earliest squat waisted and bulbous forms to the more inventive fountain inks and Isobaths. Over the years, Doulton and Company were associated with most of the household names in ink-associated wares and they gained the attention of most of Doulton's major artists. This book records much of their work for the first time. Extensively illustrated, the book also includes details of the patents and registered designs relating to Doulton's ink wares, as well as the information on ink-wells contained in the contemporary Pattern Books held in the Doulton archives. Doulton's ink wares present the collector of today with a stimulating and rewarding challenge. This book, which will appeal both to Doulton and ink-well collectors alike, will do much to stimulate a re-appraisal of their worth.