Soup plate, 9 inches diameter. Black transfer. Printed maker's mark for Anthony Shaw. This pattern features a round cartouche enclosing a man with a gun. The man is in period clothing, and is apparently aiming his gun at the two ducks seen in the zigzag form to his left. There are bamboo and willow leaves behind the cartouche. There are also fans floating about the edge of the plate with a couple cartouches superimposed over trailing flowers. A dragonfly in flight is seen above the central image.
The Mersey Pottery was established in 1850 by Anthony Shaw and is now since 1882 carried on as Anthony Shaw & Sons Goods specially adapted for the various American markets are made the specialities being white graniteware and cream coloured wares for the United States the same with the addition of printed lustred and painted goods for South America and printed for the colonies In 1855 Mr Shaw was awarded a medal at the Paris Exhibition The mark formerly used was the royal arms with ribbon bearing the words STONE CHINA and beneath in three lines WARRANTED ANTHONY SHAW BURSLEM That at the present time has the words WARRANTED ANTHONY SHAW & Son s Opaque Stone China ENGLAND The works were rebuilt on a very extensive scale in 1866.
