THE NEW CATALOGUE OF THE V&A STUDIO POTTERY COLLECTION 2023

STUDIO CERAMICS by Alun Graves  6 April.£65.00 456 pages. 1152 illustrations.
             I was lucky enough to pick this one up on Ebay at a goodly discount. The first new edition for 30 years.  An absolute Treasure trove of information on British Studio Ceramics. A gorgeous book for the Studio pottery enthusiast. A large step up from the 1993 edition. Nearly all the photos are in colour and this edition is 160 pages longer. Perhaps my only criticism is that some of the photos taken against a dark background arn't as clear as they could be.

It's a shame they don't include a photo of the potters' marks. They don't bother on the Museum's website either.

Interesting that you obtained an advanced copy philpot, i have tried after seeing a couple on EBAY only to be informed the release date is April 6th, i have ordered a copy but not yet received, i don't think the absence of marks is important.

I would agree with your comments about photos of the marks. They actually describe the mark of many of the pots. But not for quite a few. A glaring inconsistency.
For a book that is going to be a reference book for many years to come, the above is just Not good enough.

Can't say i feel the same ,i think potters marks are the least interesting aspect of the collection .

I think its overall mayor importance is going to be as a Reference book Coker. The 1990 edition was certainly used as one. In many aspects it is excellent.Its Bibliographic notes are invaluable. There are nearly 50 Henderson references for you to chase up for instance.
As regards marks. Many Potters changed their marks over the years, and often various parts of their careers and style. It was useful in the 1993 book to be able to look at the signatures and to be able to match them with the pictures. One cannot do that now.

Without an accompanying photo of the mark you’re relying on the museum curators’ attribution, and we all know they make mistakes.

I think it's great that the V&A by publishing this catalogue and showing the Batterham exhibition seem to be taking studio pottery seriously unlike the Sainsbury centre who have now put their Coper and Rie into storage (never to be seen in my lifetime again i suspect).

Now that is sad in the Sainsbury Centre. Lisa Sainsbury must be turning in her grave. That is the trouble with most Museums nowadays, they want to be seen as Hip and fashionable.

Yes the Coper's and Rie's were Lisa Sainsburys pride and joy and it seems a bit disrespectful to hide them away in a store,however i am assured that there will be a couple of pieces on display and have been told if i wish to view them they are now online , strangely the museum has just acquired three new pots by women potters through arts funding,two by Alison Britton and one by Liz Fritsch, apparently to balance the gender inequality in the museum.

Its interesting to see how much more expensive books can be on the supposedly 'Cheap' Amazon.
This book is £61.75 on Amazon. You can get it for £41.88 on Ebay. Both free postage. Recommended price is £65.00.
I must admit I never make Amazon my first Port of Call for most things lately!