Hello dear friends! It’s a new year full of junkin’ adventures ahead, and mine has started off lucky! This past weekend I found two pieces of antique English advertising ironstone at the antiques shop where I have a small booth. A new vendor was just moving in beside me and was setting up shop when I spotted two interesting pieces. I bought the pair for a reasonable price and came right home and started doing some research on them. I was so intrigued that I decided to write a post all about antique English and French advertising ironstone including some lovely photos of antique advertising ironstone collections and displays.
Before researching, I had to play around and find a spot for my new finds of course! I have just transitioned the dining room from Christmas to neutral winter, so I thought they would be perfect on the dining room table in a vignette alongside another vintage crock and a couple of antlers on a vintage ironstone platter.
These pieces will also look great anywhere in my kitchen displayed with my ironstone.
I have been collecting ironstone for well over a decade. At times it has quite literally, been stacked to the ceiling!
Let’s Dish It Out: Vintage Adams Empress Ironstone
When I started my research, I wasn’t quite sure what to search for online. I didn’t know if these were crockery or stoneware pieces. I was surprised to find that they are actually antique ironstone, specifically “English advertising ironstone.” Sometimes this type of pottery is also referred to as advertising transferware. To find more about each piece, I simply typed in the advertising labels (ex. Sam Vincent Hop Bitters Bottle) and that is how I came across the information I needed for more research.
Having collected antiques all my life and also being an antiques vendor, I know I have seen antique advertising ironstone in antique shops, online and in magazines. Since I have never come across any pieces at yard sales or thrift shops however, I guess they weren’t really on my junkin’ radar…until now! I am totally hooked!
The back of my bitters bottle has an interesting marking I can’t quite make out, so I will have to do a bit more research on this type of mark. Most antique advertising ironstone pieces are from Great Britain or France, dating from the 19th century, which may explain why they aren’t commonly found at yard sales here in the United States.
Just take a look at some of these gorgeous collections and displays!
![dundee marmalade jars. [from country living book review on decorology "aged to perfection"]](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/1f/74/66/1f7466669bcb8bb576dcb0058abb0956.jpg)
(I love this book!) Source: Country Living Book Aged To Perfection
James Keiller Scottish Dundee marmalade jars (crocks) are perhaps the most recognizable and collectible pieces of advertising ironstone. I must find one (or three or more!) Most were manufactured between 1860 and 1920.
French antique advertising ironstone mustard and cream jars are also popular collectibles.
Okay just give me EVERYTHING in this photo (and in all subsequent photos!)
via My Little White Home by Nadine
via My Little White Home by Nadine
These crocks just seem to look gorgeous no matter how they are styled or what they hold. They can be beautifully displayed in any farmhouse, cottage, French country, modern country or primitive style home.
The images, and lettering on these pieces are just fascinating!
via @riverhousedesigns Instagram
All these vignettes are making my vintage collecting heart sigh! Oooh, I just love Savon de Marseille French soap too. So much pretty in one picture!
If you love collecting just about anything vintage, then Jesse Lauzon is a must-follow on Instagram. His feed is full of the most swoonworthy photos of vintage displays and flat lays.
Okay who else is swooning yet??? So much eye candy!
Savvy City Farmer has an amazing online shop full of vintage farmhouse and cottage style treasures, including lots and lots of English advertising ironstone styled in creative vintage vignettes.
The French antique advertising ironstone pieces are so lovely. Most have black lettering, but some of the rarer pieces have amazing colors!
My maiden name is Lyon and I love French decor and collectibles, so I would love to add this piece to my collection some day!
In addition to collecting ironstone and transferware, I have collected all kinds of vintage advertising including soda bottles, milk bottles crates, tins, nostalgic advertisements etc. It only seems natural that I should fall hard for antique French and English advertising ironstone too!
I hope you have enjoyed learning a little more about antique advertising ironstone and seeing all of these lovely displays and collections. If you are a collector or if you have any more interesting information about this type of pottery, I would love to hear from you. I am so excited to have some new treasures to hunt for on my junkin’ adventures in 2019! I will be sharing any new pieces as I add them to my collection.
Thanks for visiting today! Happy junkin’ in 2019!
Amber
10 Comments
Eye candy! I have a collection of English marmalade jars and little Sainsbury crocks. They make me so happy and are a joy to display. You have provided so many beautiful examples and inspired me to give mine another photo shoot. 🙂 Peace to you, Amber.
January 9, 2019 at 10:36 pmI thought I was lucky to have 4 different vintages of Dundee Marmalade jars–the newest ones are glass! My late Irish mother-in-law loved it and I fell for the containers. Thank you for all the research–I did enjoy the eye candy!
January 9, 2019 at 11:26 pmThese are always on my radar… I only have one, given to me by my daughter. I have never seen one thrifting and they are expensive in the antique stores here. But I intend to keep looking! Beautiful inspiration photos!
January 10, 2019 at 9:46 amI adore this post with all the eye candy! I am vintage all the way and the display shelf with the blue jars and iron stone is perfect. Happy New Year, Kippi
January 10, 2019 at 11:47 pmAmber, I’ll try again and see if this comment will publish.
January 11, 2019 at 1:54 amThis is a great post. Love your new finds and the fact that they have led you to research. I’ve collected advertising crocks over the years. You can see how I used them for various things on a post several years ago. I also have a collection of French mustard pots that I use for flowers. When I comment previously I left links to those posts. Not sure why it wouldn’t take my comment, but perhaps because of the links. Thanks again for sharing your research and these lovely photos. Good luck on your search. I go to the Round Top Winter Show in a few weeks. I suspect I’ll see some offered there.
Great round-up, Amber! Lovely collection! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!
January 12, 2019 at 5:16 pmI have none but i will, thanks for all this information.
January 13, 2019 at 4:12 pmI only have one piece. I started looking for it after I started reading Savvy Southern Style. I found my piece in an architectural salvage place in Ft. Worth. I love it. It’s rare in this area. People either don’t part with it or didn’t bring it back to Texas from Europe. Thanks for sharing these fun pictures. Thanks for sharing at Keep In Touch.
January 15, 2019 at 9:24 amI can make out Portobello as in Portobello Rd, London on your bottle.
March 31, 2019 at 5:33 amOh great, thank you!
October 3, 2019 at 10:06 pm