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Flow blue was a type of transfer pottery produced by Staffordshire, England, potters beginning in about 1820. Sold mostly in the U.S. market, flow blue was similar to traditional blue-and-white pottery, except that the blue color was deliberately blurred, an effect achieved by adding a cup of lime or ammonia to the kiln during glazing.

English manufacturers of antique flow blue included Wedgwood, Johnson Brothers, Minton, Royal Doulton, and Swansea. Patterns ranged from Blue Danube to Idris to the classic Willow. As for the objects themselves, they included toilet wares and teapots, plates and platters, vases and garden seats, and even dog bowls...

One interesting subset of flow blue is the blue-marble effect. All-over patterns such as Lazuli lent itself to this look: When given the flow-blue treatment, the pattern would blur so that from afar the object resembled a piece of carved, blue-veined marble.

By World War I, U.S. potteries were producing most of the flow blue for the domestic market, causing English potters to exit the business, which had never been popular in the U.K. to begin with. The desirability of the ware waned in both countries between the wars, but interest picked up again in the U.S. in the 1960s. Because large amounts of 19th-century flow blue had been shipped to, or manufactured in, the U.S., flow blue remains fairly reasonable to collect.

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Flow Blue Wheeling Pottery La Belle China 6 Pc. Tea Set Complete Lovely La Belle China Flow Blue Bonita Flowers Biscuit Jar - L@@k! - Exc - NrOutstanding Flow Blue Gaudy Welsh Razor Dish.19th Century Flow Blue Platter Fishing Scene Floral RimScarse 19th C. Hulse & Adderley Flow Blue Ewer, Marked - Gorgeous, MintRare Antique Flow Blue Victoria & Albert Marriage Comm PitcherAntique 19th C Flow Blue Small Pedestal Bowl #12Johnson Bros. Flow Blue Florida Gravy Boat & Underplate Samuel Alcock Kremlin Flow Blue Comport C 1843.Antique Flow Blue Dishes, Four Place Setting, Grindley Portman PatternFlow Blue Platter, Manilla Pattern, Podmore, Walker & Co., Circa 1834-1859Rare Antique Flow Blue Oval Platter Upper Hanley Muriel Floral Pattern EnglandRare Antique 1890 Flow Blue Touraine Alcock Lidded Server DishRowland Marsellus Flow Blue Staffordshire Souvenir Plate Mobile Alabama PalaceFlow Blue Moss Rose PlatterAntique Flow Blue Turkey Plate 1880s English Bisto Pottery DinnerwareWedgwood Flow Blue & White - Princeton University Chapel 1930 Transferware PlateAntique Wedgwood England Princeton University - Cuyler Hall 1930 Flow Blue PlateAntique Blue Onion Flow Blue Sugar Canister PorcelainVintage La Belle Dark Flow Blue Sugar Bowl W/ Gold TrimFlow Blue Heaths Flowers CreamerFlow Blue Cashmere Cup And SaucerFlow Blue Kaolin Covered Vegtable DishFlow Blue Touraine TeapotGefle Vinrawka Sweden Flow Blue Pitcher Antique 19thc Alcock Hyson Patt Flow Blue Plate With Torquoise Border #1336Antique Rowland & Marsellus Cobalt Flow Blue Old Souvenir Plate Saratoga, Ny Burgess & Leigh, Mint Art Nouveau Flow Blue PlattersFlow Blue Serving Dishes (4) Antique19th C Flow Blue Gaudy Welsh Jug ~ Copper Lustre 1#6Antique Flow Blue Non Pareil Platter, Burgess & Leigh, Middleport PotteryFlow Blue Dinner Plates (3) Stanley / Touraine English Flow Blue Plate, Conway Pattern, Early 20th CenturyTeapot Flow Blue Antique Octagon No LidAntique Flow Blue Touraine Pattern Bone DishesLarge & Exquisite Antique 1890 Flow Blue Touraine Alcock PlatterAlcock Flow Blue Scinde Platter,13 3/4''x10 3/4''Antique Gaudy Ironstone Pinwheel Pattern Flow Blue Plate Mid 19th StaffordshireRare Early Pottery Stoneware Primitive Mug Antique Flow Blue Mug Birds Flowers 2 Thomas Dimmock Japan Flow Blue/gaudy Plates C 1850.Antique Flow Blue Gaudy Welsh Jug ~ Copper Lustre 2#7Antique 19th C Flow Blue Gaudy Welsh Jug ~ Copper Lustre 3#8Red Ground Flow Blue Plate DimmockTwo Antique Flow Blue Egg CupsGrindley & Co Flow Blue Small Platters "duchesss"Lomonosov Flow Blue Porcelain Tea Pot Russian Gold Gilded Birds & ButterfliesGrindley Flow Blue Argyle Cup & SaucerFlow Blue Button Shoe Vase Ironstone Large 10 Inches TallFlow Blue Plates.wharf Gladys.2 Lot.dinnerFlow Blue Plates.wharf Gladys.4 LotAshworth 'smyrna' Flow-blue Plate C 1862+Flow Blue- B & O Railroad Centennial Thomas Viaduct Plate By Lamberton China Attractive Flow Blue / Copper Lustre Jug.Antique Rs Prussia Flow Blue Vase Cobalt Blue Gold And White 6.5 InchesAntique Flow Blue Platter Tray Alfred Meakin England Devon Victorian OldAshworth Bros Staffordshire England Ca1862-1880 Flow Blue 9 3/8" Yedo PlateFlow Blue / Stanley / Touraine / 43 Pc. 19th C. Antique Flow Blue Cup & Saucer - All-over Pattern - Good Condition!Antique 1889-1919 Flow Blue Burgess & Leigh Nonpareil Middleport Pottery PlateGrindley "baltic" Flow Blue Soup Bowl Ca. 1890
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Recent News: Flow Blue

Source: Google News

“AMERICANA” ESTATE AUCTION
Maine Antique Digest, February 7th

Early handleless c/saucers, Set Royal Worcester "Lavinia" china, Wedgwood Jasperware vase-cov. dish & ashtray, Silv. lustre mug & c/saucer, Delft tiles inc. tulip & cottage patts., Bennington milk bowl & spittoon, Flow blue chamber mug "Hong",...Read more

Go East, Monsieur
Wall Street Journal, February 6th

Designs—like the venerable "flow-blue" patterns—painted and later transfer-printed on Meissen and English porcelain and pottery often represented European fantasies of Asian life, mingling Chinese, East Indian and Middle Eastern motifs...Read more

Living Small, Decorating Large
New York Times, February 2nd

Shelves hold an impressive collection of flow blue china, made by 19th-century English potters and named for the way the glaze blurred or “flowed” during firing. From Mr. Burton's parents back in North Carolina came a chest that was a wedding present...Read more

AT THE GALLERIES
Door County Advocate, February 1st

Nautical art, antiques and gifts; hand-crafted model ships by Arnie Wegner; flow blue and crystal, 1860s to the present; antique clocks, vintage jewelry and primitives. Buy, sell and trade antiques and nautical items. 10:30 am to 5 pm Thursdays through...Read more

Jan. 28: UPTOWN SATURDAY NIGHT
St. Augustine Record, January 26th

Also on view, Royal Doulton Toby Mugs, Florida Highwaymen paintings, shipwreck artifacts and coins, fine antique furniture, American art pottery, Flow Blue china, majolica, vintage and contemporary jewelry and kitsch will be on display during Uptown...Read more

At the galleries
Green Bay Press Gazette, January 26th

Nautical art, antiques and gifts; hand-crafted model ships by Arnie Wegner; flow blue and crystal, 1860s to the present; antique clocks, vintage jewelry and primitives. Buy, sell and trade antiques and nautical items. 10:30 am to 5 pm Thursdays through...Read more

Collect Call | Tracy Zabar's Charm Bracelets, Snowglobes, Santa Mugs, etc., etc.
New York Times (blog), January 20th

If so, then why is there a still an eBay search for “Flow Blue china” in Zabar's computer? And why does she say with a shrug, “If I walk in somewhere and someone has an amber type, it's not like I'm not going to buy it.”) There was a sea change in her...Read more

Robert L. Foster.
Antiques and Arts Weekly, January 13th

GLASS & CHINA: Ant. decanters, Cranberry glass, Flow blue platter “Formosa”, Royal Worcester china “Evesham”etc., Royal Doulton Tobies & nautical figs., Peafowl spatterware cup, Copeland Spode “Newburyport Blue”, Am. pattern glass, Inkwells,...Read more

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