Topic: Mystery Set 99 - ID = Sowerby "Maid" pattern

[LinzC]

Sorry if I'm rehashing something that's already been covered, I did search before posting but didn't get any results back.

Mystery set 99 looks remarkably like Sowerby's pattern 2455 to me (list 39).  The shapes of the pieces seem very much like Junior too, even down to the pattern around the edge of the pin dish.

Have attached a picture of the #2455 bowl in blue I used to own, which seems to match the colour of, and the pattern in the centre of, the blue pin dish.

Have also attached a picture of my Junior trinket pot and pin tray, just for ease of comparison really!

Not definitive proof I know, but it seemed plausible to me.

[Anne]

Hi Lindsey,  I have a suspicion that you're right but I can't prove it yet as the trinket set pieces aren't shown clearly enough in any of the catalogues I've seen so far.  There are three known sets that we don't have images of as they had either been snipped out of the catalogue or the printing was too poor to make out the design...  sooooo, the clear pieces could be any of them (Maid, Cadet or 2707). Cadet is described as a tray with a star centre, so my hunch is that could be it, but I don't have proof as yet, however, the catalogue here seems to me to say that Cadet is the same as Junior but with a different tray, but then we have another topic about some of these pieces  which implies a different tray... so my head hurts!   

[LinzC]

Hi Anne,

That's pretty much how I was feeling over the whole Cadet/Junior/2501 things yesterday.  Especially with the List 39 2501 image, appearing to show the pots in the junior format.

The star pattern #2455 was listed as a "new attraction" in the 1954 catalogue, only available in rosalin  (it's on the same page they introduce the 2638 trinket set.) and listed in other colours; flint, green, amber, blue and pink, in List 39.

There are at least two other sets, 2652 and 2634, but unfortunately no pictures.  I've attached an image from the June 1949 Pottery Gazette detailing the Sowerby stand at the BIF.  However, the photograph of the stand shows the butterfly set.

I'm never too sure how the copyright thing works for snippets & adverts from old magazines, so if it needs removing I understand.  It is an image taken from my magazine though.  I also have a 1949 Sowerby advert showing the 2487 set, if you'd like a copy.

[Anne]

Hi Lindsey, I've just found this unreplied to and, as I'm just doing some updates to the GTS site, I wanted to come back to this issue. Please forgive the tardiness of doing so, 2019 was such a busy year that I was hardly able to be on the GMB at all and trinket sets research had taken a back seat.    I'm determined to be more balanced about activities this year! 

I was really interested to see your magazine snippet giving two more pattern numbers I didn't have on the site, so thank you for posting that.

So far we have four trinket sets without pattern numbers on the GTS site: the one everyone knows as Tynesyde (Tynesyde #1 on GTS), plus three others which we now know are Sowerby Tynesyde: two of them thanks to finding labelled examples which we have not yet managed to find in catalogues, and the third is usually found with a known Sowerby tray. It could be that the patterns mentioned in your magazine snippet relate to some of these Tynesyde versions but my gut feeling is that Tynesyde #3 and #4 are later in style than 1949, but until we can track down more catalogues or adverts we're at a stop point with correlating them with pattern numbers. Tynesyde #2 is a possibility for one of the mystery pattern nos. but we can't be sure yet. 

And yes please to the 2487 advert.

[Jayne]

Interesting thread, I agree the pattern for Mystery Trinket Set #99 is very much like the Sowerby #2455 bowl, also the electric blue colour is quite something and also appears in some of those Jules Lang associated sets, which again seem to have connections with Sowerby.

https://www.glasstrinketsets.com/Gallery/thumbnails.php?album=104

[Anne]

Mystery set #099 now confirmed as Sowerby Maid pattern.   Entry on GTS updated to show catalogue image and item details. https://www.glasstrinketsets.com/cms3/english/sowerby/maid