Back to: Transferware Collectors Club Website

Black and white transferware - Thomas Fell? Posted by Davo on March 24, 2026, 5:15 pm We have found a fragment of what we believe is transferware. We can’t find anything online but might be similar to Thomas Fell? Any help on this would be really appreciated.

Re: Black and white transferware - Thomas Fell? Posted by Web Administrator on March 24, 2026, 5:52 pm, in reply to "Black and white transferware - Thomas Fell?" Davo, this could well be transferware, but what are you asking. What do you mean by "similar to Thomas Fell". Why Thomas Fell? Please provide additional information/context, eg. are there other fragments, where found? etc; and possibly we can help you.

Re: Black and white transferware - Thomas Fell? Posted by Davo on March 24, 2026, 7:22 pm, in reply to "Re: Black and white transferware - Thomas Fell?" We found this in our garden in Cumbria (North West England). The only fragment. We have done a google image search and the closest we can find is a plate by Thomas Fell (see image screenshot off ebay). This has similarities such as lines on the socks, shading, hems of their ‘skirts’. We just can’t find any more details online, so reached out to your members. Our property dates from at least 1722.

Re: Black and white transferware - Thomas Fell? Posted by Web Administrator on March 24, 2026, 8:16 pm, in reply to "Re: Black and white transferware - Thomas Fell?" You were close with the pattern you have posted; same series, which has many different scenes (we have 14 scenes and there likely are more). Attached is the complete plate/pattern and an enlargement of the center, which encompass your fragment. This is actually a Children's Subject. It would date mid to later 19th century. Our Database of Patterns and Sources lists the pattern as Maker Unknown. Why did you indicate Thomas Fell as the maker? The Database record says the following: Plate, 6.25 inches. The pattern is part of a large series that tells the story of Joseph and his brother. To see more patterns in the series and to learn more about it, search "Sacred History of Joseph and his Brethren" in the database. The pattern is illustrated in Lindsay1998, p. 134 (EP-RL16) on a clobbered 6 inch plate with an alphabet molded border. The camels are out of proportion to the other figures in the pattern. Joseph was sold for 20 pieces of silver.

Re: Black and white transferware - Thomas Fell? Posted by Davo on March 25, 2026, 5:25 am, in reply to "Re: Black and white transferware - Thomas Fell?" Many thanks for the information. The reason why we thought this was a Thomas Fell plate was because of the eBay listing of this plate. Thanks again.

Re: Black and white transferware - Thomas Fell? Posted by Web Administrator on March 25, 2026, 12:17 pm, in reply to "Re: Black and white transferware - Thomas Fell?" Well, it's possible they are correct. Some eBay sellers are quite knowledgeable about what they are offering, others not. So I never rely on the seller's information unless I know them personally or have dealt with them before and trust their knowledge.

« Back to index