SylvaC

Tulip Vase

SylvaC (with a deliberate capital C at the end) is a brand of British ornamental pottery characterised primarily by figurines of animals and Toby Jugs. The SylvaC company briefly ceased production in 1982 although production of SylvaC pieces was resumed in 1998 by the current trademark holder Norman Williams.

Central to the SylvaC line throughout its history were figurines of animals, and rabbits in particular. Dogs were also popular and virtually every breed ended-up being characterised in pottery. Many variations of Toby Jugs were produced, including 'character' versions which celebrated events or tied into product advertising.

The company was founded in 1894 by William Copestake and William Shaw. They gave their names to the fledgling company - Shaw and Copestake. Copestake left in 1895, however, and Richard Hull became Shaw's partner. Hull's son joined in 1936 and in 1938 the Thomas Lawrence Falcon Pottery was bought (which produced pottery with the distinctive 'falcon' mark on it). However, the Shaw and Copestake company maintained its original name right up until the end. 

Although many colours and glazes were used, most people remember the distinctive orange or green glazes most.

SylvaC

Bright and quirky SylvaC ‘fancies’ are continually sought after by collectors. They were produced from the late 1920s by Shaw & Copestake, a ceramics company established in Staffordshire in 1894, which began by producing inexpensive figures for funfairs. The trade name ‘SylvaC’ – formed from the name of the factory at which SylvaC was produced, the Sylvan Works, and the C of Copestake – was coined in c1936 and used on pieces from then onwards. The first rabbits were made in the early 1930s, after one of the partners, Richard Hull saw a similar model in France and immediately realised they would be a hit in Britain. Crouching rabbits, lop-eared rabbits, hares, and various comical rabbits were all made in a variety of colours as well as sizes.

There were 8 sizes of rabbit in the early colours but from the late 50's onwards this was reduced to just 5 colours. 

Mould 1027 ceased in the 1940s. The 1400 tiny, 1065 and 1027 were not made in the later colours like primrose yellow, turquoise, gloss burnt orange,purple and mustard yellow.

These original mold SylvaC Bunnies were produced Circa 1930 (through to 1970). There are many ‘fakes’ on the market and many of the sellers don’t appear to know the legitimate mold numbers or the original colour-schemes. 

A lot of buyers don’t appear to realize that SylvaC ceased trading in 1982. 

Sylvan Works

SylvaC tulip vase

The factory was founded  by William Shaw and William Copestake in 1894 and given the company name of Shaw & Copestake. William Copestake  left the partnership half way through the first year and in 1895 Mr Richard Hull became William Shaw’s business partner. Their partnership grew in strength and over the forty years of producing  ‘fancies’ Richard Hull was to have a major influence, including the development of the export side which was to lead the way for the company's  future success. 

In 1894, Mr Shaw called his company the Sheaf Art Pottery, but the wares produced were not produced by hand as in many art pottery studios - rather they were mass produced in moulds and then hand decorated.  Early products included decorated vases, jugs, flower pots, cheese stands, toilet wares and fancy earthenwares.  They were very ornate and heavily decorated with gold and a lot of hand painting.

Shaw & Copestake, Sylvan Works, Longton Reproduced from 1904 Pottery Gazette Reference Book