Louis William Wain (British, 1860 - 1939), The Lucky Black Cat,…
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Louis William Wain (British, 1860 - 1939), The Lucky Black Cat, c. 1915, hand painted pottery spill vase modelled as a cat, moulded to underside 'made in England' with registered number, and signed to rear 'Louis Wain, approx. height 14 cm. Provenance: Private Collection, Victoria

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  • Spill Vase - Popular in Victorian times, a spill vase was a vessel for holding thin slips of wood or spills of paper with which to light a candle or pipe from a fire. For ease of access to the fire, they usually sat on the mantlepiece or had a hole in the back, so they could be hung from a wall. Their use declined with the with the evolution of heating through use of electricity and the use of safety matches in the late 19th century.
  • Registered Numbers - Between 1842 and 1883, a diamond- shaped mark was used to identify items as British-made, which classified the item according to the material from which it was manufactured, as well as the date of registration. This system was discontinued in 1884 when a numbering system was introduced.

    Design registration is for "what and item looks like", and is not a patent ("how something works") or trade mark ("what it is called").

    The registered number is usually on an under-surface of an object (on the base of ceramics) and oftern shown as "Rd. No. 99999", sometimes surrounded by a rectangular box.

    The table below lists the year, and the first registered number for that year:

    1884 1

    1885 18,993

    1886 39,547

    1887 61,207

    1888 87,266

    1889 111,664

    1890 140,481

    1891 160,613

    1892 183,259

    1893 203,348

    1894 223,861

    1895 244,726

    1896 266,237

    1897 288,848

    1898 309,956

    1899 328,527

    1900 349,120

    1901 367,628

    1902 380,979

    1903 401,944

    1904 422,489

    1905 428,004

    1906 469,160

    1907 486,464

    1908 516,375

    1909 533,561

    1910 546,084

    1911 561,570

    1912 585,707

    1913 608,541

    1914 627,887

    1915 642,613

    1916 651,079

    1917 655,001

    1918 662,576

    1919 665,728

    1920 664,869

    1921 676,491

    1922 685,412

    1923 691,571

    1924 695,944

    1925 705,943

    1926 716,386

    1927 723,430

    1928 725,899

    1929 740,459

    1930 741,336

    1931 757,945

    1932 767,110
  • Dating English Ceramics - Excellent detailed reference books such as Godden's Encyclopaedia of British Pottery and Porcelain Marks will help to identify and date specific manufacturer's marks.

    However, there are a few simple guidelines which may also help.

    The inclusion of the word 'England' on an item ensured compliance with the American McKinley Tariff Act 1891, which was important for British exporters. An item so marked would have been made after 1891.

    In 1921 the act was revised to require the phrase 'Made in' followed by the country. So if an item is marked 'Made in England', it is generally considered to be made after that date, although some manufacturers were using this phrase pior to the act being changed.

    The use of the word 'Ltd' of 'Limited' after a company's name indicates a date after 1860, though with ceramic manufacturers this did not become general practice until the 1880's.

This item has been included into following indexes:

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