


November Newsletter
From its beginnings as an architectural ceramics firm, making high quality tiles from distinctive local clays, Poole Pottery grew into one of Britain's most successful and popular potteries. Today, more than a 100 years of pottery has left a rich and varied legacy for collectors to discover and enjoy.
In this newsletter we've focused on the work of one of Poole Pottery's most successful and enduring designers, a lady whose instinct for Art Deco style and the public taste helped bring considerable success to Poole's Carter, Stabler & Adams subsidiary in the 1920s and 30s.
Truda Adams, later Carter, arrived at Poole in 1921 with her husband John Adams, a well-known Stoke-on-Trent potter who had recently returned from a spell teaching in South Africa. Adams was invited to join the nascent Carter and Stabler partnership by Harold Stabler, a friend of Charles Carter, who was then managing his family's firm.
Carter & Co had achieved considerable success with their range of Handcraft Pottery, but Charles Carter was aware that it was vital to maintain creative leadership in the market if his company was to continue its success. The result of this drive was the formation of a subsidiary company, Carter, Stabler & Adams, dedicated to building on the early success of Carter's decorative earthenware ranges.
The newly-formed CSA partnership soon bore fruit, and both Harold Stabler and John Adams were responsible for many highly successful pieces, often with a sculptural bias. John Adams was also responsible for developing many of the new glazes that were used in the 20s and 30s.

These Springbok bookends were perhaps a legacy of Adam's time in South Africa.As the 1920s progressed, Truda Carter (now married to Cyril Carter) became one of the most influential designers at the Poole Pottery. She was responsible for a great many of the floral and Art Deco-styled patterns that adorned Poole's decorative earthenware ranges, and her designs were extremely well-received by both the press and the public of the time.
Examples of Truda Carter designs.
Truda Carter's designs seemed to link the very different worlds of studio and mass-production pottery - a trait maintained in much of Poole Pottery's output over the past 7 decades; the later Atlantis, Delphis and Aegean ranges all shared this characteristic, as perhaps did the simple and uncluttered design of much of Poole's earthenware tableware.
Examples from the Poole Pottery Delphis range.
Truda Carter's design role at Poole Pottery continued until her retirement in 1950, and her legacy is surely one of the most distinguished in Poole's long history.
In the years that we have been running this website, we have received a great many requests for information, appraisals and valuations. The volume of these requests has steadily increased over the years, and we have now taken the step of introducing an appraisal and valuation service. The fee for this service is £4.95, and in return for this we will provide a document containing information about the item concerned, some relevant background about the pottery in which it was made, and an approximate valuation.
Our intention is to provide this service for all of the potteries we sell, and although this is not an insurance valuation service, based on the mail we receive, we believe it will be a useful offering for many people. See our Valuations Page if you would like more details.
That's all for this month, but as ever, if you have any questions or comments about the site, the newsletter or anything else, please drop us a line.
Best wishes,
Perfect Pieces
Newsletters
Here you'll find a list of our past newsletters. They feature information on different potteries, some of our featured stock and information on antique fairs and general news from the antique and collectors world!
Happy reading!
- Happy Christmas from Perfect Pieces!
- Christmas Offers & New Stock!
- Late Summer Offers & New Stock Updates...
- A Visit To York & More Special Offers!
- Summer Is Here! Summer Antique Fairs, Special Offers & More!
- Summer Is Approaching - Antique Fairs, New Stock & A Special Offer!
- Springtime & Bunnies - Antique Fairs & New Stock!
- Special Offers, Antique Fairs & New Stock!
- Spring Antique Fairs & Rabbits Galore!
- Happy New Year!
- Merry Christmas From Perfect Pieces!
- Unique & Collectable Christmas Gift Ideas!
- Will The Sunshine Hold For September?! Antique Fairs & PenDelfin Rabbits
- Summer Continues...Retired PenDelfin & Troika Pottery Galore
- Summer Sunshine At A Norfolk Antique Fair
- Summer Sunshine & Cornish Treats!
- PenDelfin Rabbits Galore!
- Troika Pottery, PenDelfin Rabbits & Puzzling Pottery Marks!
- Are We Going To Have Snow This Easter?!
- Happy Valentine's Day!
- Welcome To 2013!
- Happy Christmas From Perfect Pieces!
- Countdown To Christmas!
- Troika Pottery - A Popular Cornish Collectable!
- Denby Pottery
- Antique Fairs, New Stock & More Rain!
- Antique Fairs, Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, New Stock & Lots Of Rain!
- Summertime News & More Pottery Marks!
- Happy Easter from Perfect Pieces!
- Spring Fairs & Mothering Sunday - It's March!
- February News - Antique Fairs, New Stock & PenDelfin Rabbits!
- Happy New Year - Welcome To 2012!
- Merry Christmas From Perfect Pieces!
- Make This Year A Collectable Christmas With Perfect Pieces!
- Happy Halloween - Halloween Treats From Perfect Pieces!
- Perfect Pieces On The TV!
- Summer Holiday Reads - Antique & Collectable Book Reviews!
- Antiques Worldwide This Summer!
- Sunshine & Gales Calls For Blustery Antique Fairs!
- Royal Weddings & Easter Eggs!
- Steaming Around York
- Bruges: Chocolates & Curiosities
- Welcome to 2011. Doesn’t time seem to fly?!
- Merry Christmas From Perfect Pieces
- Burra Bears - A Unique Piece Of Shetland
- Lord Nelson Memorabilia And Collectables
- Steaming Into Autumn
- Antiques In The Summertime
- Pottering Around Antique Centres
- Father's Day Gift Ideas 2010
- A Flying Visit To Limoges
- Spring Is Here - Time To Get Out More!
- West Country Potteries
- February, Fairs & Valentine's Day
- Only Two Weeks Until Christmas...
- Collectables Don’t Have To Be Clutter
- Seeing Double? Not Necessarily...
- Errington Reay: A Real, Live, British Pottery
- Books, Books & More Books...
- Identifying Pottery Marks - Where to Start?
- Learning About Antiques & Collectables
- Happy New Year and welcome to 2009!
- Perfect Pieces Christmas Sale & Shipping Dates
- Thanks, Jean: A Look Back At 51 Years of PenDelfin
- A Visit to Newark International Antiques Fair
- Antique & Collectors Fairs: Are They Worth Visiting?
- Carlton Ware at the NEC
- A Potted History: Charlotte Rhead
- Troika Pottery: Stronger Today than 25 Years Ago?
- Springtime from a Tyneside pottery
- Poole Pottery: Phoenix from the Ashes?
- Daytime TV, Retro Glass & Bamboo...
- Merry Christmas from Perfect Pieces!
- The Enduring Appeal of the Supernatural - Still Popular Today?
- Understanding Pottery Marks
- Three Techniques: Many Styles - A look at three important decorating techniques
- Children's Wares For Grown-Up Collectors
- A Tale From The Lakes
- The Cornish Effect
- From Buyouts To Bunnies...
- From Switzerland to Stoke: Crown Devon's European Import
- Pottery Marks Guide and Pottery Valuation & Appraisal Service
- A Lustre Alternative - Matt Glazed Wares, Art Deco Style
- Truda Carter - Poole Pottery's Greatest Art Deco Designer?
- Odd Ones Out - Three unusual pieces from Wedgwood, Pendelfin and Troika
- Antique Pottery Price Guide Goes Live, and a look at three contrasting 1930s pieces.
- Focus on Carlton Ware - One Shape, Many Patterns
- Wedgwood: The legacy of Keith Murray
- Wonderful Wedgwood Lustre, and a couple of true British Collectables
- A rare Crown Devon Musical, some 1930s Maling lustre, and an early Poole Jug
- A look at the enduring appeal of Poole Pottery's 1950s Freeform Range