CIRCA 1830, BLUE PRINTED DAVENPORT LONGPORT STAFFORDSHIRE MARK

John Davenport was greatly concerned that his factory would not be equal to such an important Royal commission as a service for the Coronation banquet and his worries are related in his correspondence. However, it seems to have been the most warmly received of the Royal commissions of the period (others having been made by Flight Barr & Barr at Worcester and at Rockingham) and earned the firm a Royal patent, which was proudly incorporated into their mark and printed on all porcelain wares until the King's death in 1837.

See T.A. Lockett, Davenport Pottery and Porcelain 1794-1887 (LNewton Abbot, 1972), pls. 72-73 for illustrations of other pieces from the service and pp. 78-84 for a discussion of the commission. See also T.A. Lockett & G.A. Godden, Davenport, China, Earthenware & Glass 1794-1887 (London, 1989), p. 43 and pl. 14.