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Posted by Andrew J Pye
on June 9, 2008, 9:52 am, in reply to "TEXIAN CAMPAIGNE"
84.92.89.69
Hi David
I think a fuller debate is a good idea. Mystery and intrigue seem to have grown up around the Texian Campaigne series, caused it appears by the earliest collectors being unable to put a name to JB on the backstamp, although James Beech was mentioned early as a suspect. A Shaw was the first name found on the backstamp and was reported in 1947 and that really set the hares running.
Let's clear our minds and forget everything we ever knew or thought we knew about this series. Taking the facts, what do we have. A series of battle scenes printed in various colours on tableware, which bears almost invariably a standard printed backstamp with the words Texian Campaigne. That backstamp does not change, except that at the bottom the intials J B appear, or T W (with T Walker impressed in the body)or T Walker in full or A Shaw. J B is found most often, then T Walker and then A Shaw. There is no other identification as to what the Texian Campaigne is nor is any view named or numbered or in any way identified. The quality of the engraving is not wonderful and the scenes are difficult to associate with particular locations.
Based on the facts, the most likely identify of the makers and the sequence in which they made this series are for the reasons given in my earlier posting: James Beech c1838/40-1844, Thomas Walker 1845-1853 and Anthony Shaw 1853 onwards.
Now I know this is inconvenient, because it means that the Texian Campaigne depicted is the Texas Revolution 1835-1836 and not the Mexican War 1846-48, which in turn means that the list of "identified" battles from the Mexican War is meaningless, although to be fair it was printed originally with the caveat "There is much confusion concerning this series and we are are not able to classify it properly. We are using the names of Battles produced by the Currier & Ives firm, because they bear a faint(in bold) resemblance to the views on the china".
The trouble is that so much has been published over the years the whole charade has become fact, simply because so many people have printed the same wrong facts so many times. "JB was the original designer and Shaw was the maker"! "JB a mark used on many early Shaw pieces"! " Texian Campaigne pattern was produced by the Staffodshire Pottery Company between 1848-1852"! are just three examples. It is almost as if Texian Campaigne is different from any other Staffordshire series and a unique system of backstamps and coded messages was used on it.
The trouble is somebody along the way decided Texian Campaigne = Mexican War and from then on logic and reason have gone out of the window and the inconvenient facts have been manipulated or ignored to keep the Mexican War as the subject and Shaw as the maker.
It is time we rose up to ensure Beech and Walker receive in future the credit they deserve and Shaw is relegated to his "Johnny come lately" role.
The the next debate can start. So which battles or skirmishes are depicted in each scene?
Regards
Andrew
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