When I visited St. Ives in September 2008 I made my usual pilgrimage to the Leach Pottery. It was good to see the new kilns and the place had more of a feel of a working pottery than when it opened earlier in the year. I talked to Lead Potter Jack Doherty who told me that two young potters had recently joined and will be starting work on what is hoped will eventually become a new range of standard ware.
As many of you will know, the old Leach Pottery produced a range standard ware for many years. It was way back in the late 1930s that Bernard and David Leach started work on a range of domestic pots for everyday use. They were made to specific sizes from measured amounts of clay and became known as Leach Pottery Standard Ware, the range stayed in production until Janet Leach decided to stop production after Bernard's death in 1979. Examples of the pots turn up regularly on Ebay and the antique and flea market circuit.
The first standard ware catalogue was produced just after the Second World War. This was a good time for the Leach Pottery as the industrial giants of the Potteries were unable to keep up with the urgent demand for new pots to replace those lost during the war. Leach pots even found their way into prestigious shops such as Heals department store in London.
The 1952 catalogue includes a number of new pots notably the elements of a celadon tea set.
A number of other sets made up of combinations of individual standard ware pots were also available. These are shown below the list of individual pots.
Very similar to the 1952 catalogue but with the heading Bernard and David Leach on the front cover and slightly incresed prices.
This catalog from the early 1970s cost 1s 6d.
Much of the range remained the same.
Most of the images are the same as the early 1970s catalog but the prices have been increased.
There are half a dozen new pots including yunomis.
Like many people I have built up a small collection of pieces and I thought it would be interesting to build up an archive of images and with the help of these catalogues, show the prices of the pots. If you click on a catalog you will be able to see this information.
I am hoping that some of you will be able to send in images of Standard Ware pots that I can include in this archive.