Violet Elmer's Bird patterns - Part Two

BIRDS ON BOUGH
Designed by Violet Elmer

This is the second in a series of articles on the bird patterns introduced by Violet Elmer during her tenure as designer of Best Ware patterns at the Carlton Works from 1930 to 1938, and again after the war from 1946 to 1949, when she worked part‑time, as did Rene Pemberton, who had succeeded her in 1938 when Violet left to marry.

At first sight, BIRDS ON BOUGH, Miss Elmer's second bird pattern on Best Ware, appears to be by the hand of Enoch Boulton, her predecessor, since the fowl are more in his style. There are also similarities with Boulton's BIRD & PINECONE pattern, especially in the pine-like foliage. However, the pattern number and the use of a shadowy background suggest otherwise. There is a possibility, however, that Miss Elmer adapted one of Boulton's drawings left behind when he departed the Carlton Works, having been poached by Fielding's, makers of Crown Devon; we can only speculate on the pattern's origins.

The pattern also features butterflies—often used on Carlton Ware—as you can see on the GONDOLA below. Such small elements could populate bare areas or be used to disguise a slight flaw in the ground colour. Firing pottery in the coal fired bottle ovens was precarious.

One of the most interesting aspects of the design is Miss Elmer's use of an earlier and appropriately named Sheet CRYSTALS pattern introduced during the latter part of Horace Wain's tenure as designer (c.1912-21). This must have caught Violet's eye in the pattern book, and she chooses to use it as a substitute border to which she has added her signature freehand "shadows", in blue. This feature is not so visible on the GONDOLA above but is very prominent on the bowl below.

For some reason there were no variants of BIRDS ON BOUGH. Perhaps it was not popular or was eclipsed by other patterns. This suggests that the pattern was available for only a short time.

Date of Introduction & Availability 

BIRDS ON BOUGH, was introduced in 1930 and probably available for a year or two.

The next article in this series will be about the Hummingbird pattern.