Reference Books for Antique Pottery Backstamps

As mentioned in my post “How old is my pot? Useful pointers to dating part 3″ one of the best resources you can have when looking at the bottom of Antique Pottery is a “Book of Marks”.

Here are my favourites:

Encyclopaedia of British Pottery and Porcelain Marks – G. Godden

(If you only buy one get this one)

Handbook of Pottery and Porcelain Marks – J Cushion

(This has an excellent section on Registration numbers)

British Studio Potters Marks – Yates-Owen and Fournier

Millers Pottery and Porcelain Marks – G Lang

Cheap but very useful especially for pictorial marks

Pottery and Porcelain Marks (European, Oriental and USA) - E.George Perrott

Directory of European Porcelain - Ludwig Danckert

Some of these are quite costly and would not be worth buying unless you have lots of pots to identify. If you have just one or two you can always send me a .jpg of the pot and its backstamp and I will see if I can help

Comming soon: Websites that can help date your Antique Pottery and Porcelain from the backstamps