ALB Website

Well, thanks to AOL shutting down "hometown", the ALB website will be temporarily unavailable. I am working on finding a suitable host to upload all the pages and get the site back on line. I appreciate your patience, and will get the site back up as soon as possible. The address will be posted here when it is up and running!

Vulcan Pottery

The Vulcan Pottery jar arrived. It's a beautiful deep red, darker than the photo. The inside is also red. The glaze stops just around the rim on the bottom. Perfect condition, which is amazing for an item this old. It's dated around 1910-1920. Great piece, and a wonderful addition to the collection. Does anyone out there have any Vulcan Works pottery to share? I'd love to see more.

Guide Reviews

Well, I've sold a few of the Collector's Guides, and everyone seems to be enjoying it. I've gotten some very nice comments, and I couldn't be more pleased. It really was a "labor of love".

Chris C. of Nundle, Australia said: I received it today and had a very good read and laugh at times too. Was great to see some of your aquisitions and to read about some of the complex history of the potteries.

R. Steuber said: You did an absolutely magnificent job on this guide. The photos, history and commentary are very professional. There certainly is more variety in the pottery than I thought, and the patent information is very helpful and interesting. The inclusion of the insured price ranges was a bold (and much needed) effort. It lends perspective on which pieces are more difficult to find.

Anyone who would like to contribute, feel free. I am always willing to update the guide with photos or stories about the pottery and/or the teapots. Speaking of which, I've acquired another HUGE teapot. I think that makes five or six now, of the 70 ounce size. Funny how certain ones never show up, then a number of them show up at the same time. Hmmmm.........

New Find

I'm so excited! I got a great piece of pottery from the Vulcan Works from Ebay. Only Vulcan Works item I've ever seen. It's a cute pot with a lid, and bright red. Don't know if it's meant to be a biscuit jar, or to hold sugar, flour, or something else. Needless to say, I'm going to use it as a biscuit barrel. I'll post a photo when it gets here, and maybe someone will have an idea of it's original use.

Finally Made it Back

I've been trying to get the blog back up and running for a while now. Don't know what happened! Kept getting an error message, and could not find any info on how to fix it. Hope this works. If it does, I will update this blog in the next few days.

COLLECTOR'S GUIDE

OK, all you ALB lovers out there. I said I would do it, and I did. The Collector's Guide is now available for purchase. If you would like to get an idea of what info is in the guide, as well as how it is laid out, check it out here: Alcock, Lindley and Bloore Collector's Guide. You can also access PayPal from this page, and get information on other forms of payment.

I sent a copy to Linda of "Handle and Spout", and she was very generous with her compliments. It is a light-hearted look at how I got started, why I love these teapots, extended info on the parent company (Swinnerton's Ltd), maker's marks, detailed indentification of ALB teapots, LOTS of full color photos and more.

I do have a bit more information to add, along with some photos, but as each one will be printed to order, they will be up-to-date with as much information as I have available. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: albteapots@aol.com

Getting On With It

Well, I've been working on the guide, and it's coming along nicely. Now all I have to figure out is how to bind it, so it looks good and stays together! Best be getting on with it, as soon I'll be doing my "real" job of prepping horses for sale. For those of you who don't know, I raise Thoroughbreds. I'm what's known as "horse poor". Plenty of horses, no moolah. Probably cause I spend too much on teapots! (Ya think??)

Horses are so great. And always something going on. Like, say, I wake up the other morning, the dogs are going nuts, and I see a horse where she doesn't belong. On the wrong side of the fence, in the neighbor's yard. Oh, yeah, she broke the gate off the hinges and went for a constitutional. And took her buddy with her. Guess they got the idea from the yearling fillies after they crashed through the fence!! Never a dull moment. You can check out a bit about the farm, and see an awesome video here: Classiebawn Farm The video was made at the Parelli Center in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. If you love horses, you gotta watch it! OK, I've managed to get completely off the subject of teapots, but horses are my "other" passion, so you'll have to excuse me if I digress once in a while.

The "Collector's Guide" will be ready shortly, and I'll post it on the website. I'm waiting for some info from Staffordshire and have some more photos to add, but that shouldn't take too long. There is still time for submissions, so feel free to send anything you think would make the guide more interesting or helpful to collectors.

Guess that's enough for now. Maybe we'll talk animals next time. Just for a change, and because I just LOVE animals!!

Alcock, Lindley and Bloore Collector's Guide

Well, last night, I put pen to paper........ OK, fingers to keyboard...........and started the book. If I keep at a steady pace, I'm thinking it will take a month to six weeks to finish. Once it is complete, it will be available for purchase on the website. There will be a short history of how I got started collecting, which I hope will be informative and entertaining, along with history of the ALB Pottery, how to brew a proper pot of tea, some patent information to help date any ALB teapots with patent numbers, lots and lots of photos and more. I am still open to suggestions of anything collectors would like added, or for submissions from other collectors. Let me hear from you!

Sheri (The Teapot Queen)

Mission Accomplished

Well, after spending a week going through boxes, (and finding treasures I had forgotten about) I think my mission is pretty well accomplished. As far the website, anyway. Now that I've managed to get ALL of them out, next task is to pack up all the duplicates, and put them away for safe keeping! What have I gotten myself into??? Those fancy maze gardens in England have nothing on me. I have one made out of teapots! And it's in my living room. Maybe I should leave them there and sell tickets.........hmmm.......

OK, I need some feedback on a project. I am putting together a book on Alcock, Lindley and Bloore teapots. All you ALB collectors out there, tell me what you think. Good idea? Bad idea? Not sure? Would any of you be willing to contribute? A short article telling how you got started collecting, and why. What kind of information would you like to see? Basic info on market prices? Insurance values? Or more of a design and style book, without pricing. I'm going to do this, so you may as well get your "two cents worth" in. Leave your ideas here, or email me. Naturally, anyone who contributes will get full credit.

Guess I better get back to packing teapots, or they might start multiplying!

Handle and Spout

Just got a very nice email from Linda at the Handle and Spout blog. She has a lovely site, with a nice pic of some of her teapots. Seems she has decided it's time to add to her collection. BRAVO! Won't be too long before I have to start a "Teapots Anonymous" clinic. But, hey, and least we can have tea and scones while we work through our overwhelming need for teapots. So now that Linda is back, stop by her blog at: Handle and Spout and say hello. When you get there, just type "Alcock" in the search box.

SHEEEESH!

OK........so I'm thinking it'a about time to update the ole web site. Lots of teapots that need photos, got some new info, should be fun. AHHHHH!!!! WHY didn't I keep these things separated into "done" and "not done"?????? Dumb, dumb, dumb.............

Finally got through the BIG box, and all the little boxes. Now, I just have one more cache of teapots to sort. Good thing I'm not on a deadline! Ok, sort of on a deadline.......I have to be done by AUGUST! Hmmmm..I could put one of these jewels to work, brew up a fresh pot, and make an all-nighter out of it. Sure would be nice to be caught up. Well, break's over, back to work. Check out the site: Alcock Lindley and Bloore, and tell me what you think.

Sli

OBSESSION!

Funny how one decision you make can have a huge affect on your life. I was just wandering through a flea market one day, and came across a very pretty, and rather large, English teapot. As I am very particular about "me tay", and only drink tea from Ireland or England (imported only), I just HAD to have this teapot. Not recognizing the maker's mark on the bottom, I went on world-wide search (on the web, of course) to see what I could find. Not much, as it turns out. I did find out the company's name, Alcock, Lindley and Bloore, and that the teapot was made in Hanley, Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire. In the meantime, while cruising Ebay, I happened on another ALB teapot. Oh JOY, RAPTURE! Another one................yeah, right. "Another one" has now grown to about 150, and still they come.................

SO, I am now officially obsessed. My goal is to have at least one of EVERY design and/or style of teapot made by this company. Heaven only knows how many that will be! I haven't counted all the different patterns/designs/styles that I have. Where, oh where, to begin??? To aid in this process, I have posted this "Collector's Club" blogspot, and published a web site dedicated to my collection:
Alcock, Lindley and Bloore Teapots.

I am hoping to hear from other people out there who share my love for these teapots, and hope to get some photos of teapots I don't have (yet), and maybe learn more about the company. For anyone interested, I am putting together a sort of "coffee table" Buyer's Guide on these teapots. If you would like a copy, please email me, as I am still working out costs and pricing, so I can give you more details. albteapots@aol.com