William Billingsley (1758-1828): His Outstanding Achievements as an Artist and Porcelain Maker (Signed by author and additionally inscribed to the Duchess of Bedford by Sir Leslie Joseph)
- SIGNED Leather Bound
- Newport, England: The Ceramic Book Company, 1968
Newport, England: The Ceramic Book Company, 1968. First edition, inscribed association copy. Leather Bound. Very Good +. SIGNED by W. D. John and inscribed by Leslie Joseph. 97 pages of text. Quarto [31 cm] Elegantly bound by Brian Frost and Company (Bath, England) in brown leather with raised bands, a gilt stamped title and floral designs on the spine, and double gilt ruled borders on the boards. Turn-ins gilt. With very light wear to the extremities, including an almost invisible moisture ring to the front board. The pages are clean and bright. With one hundred and eighty illustrations of which forty are in color. One in an edition limited to 1000 copies.
Billingsley is considered one of the foremost names in British porcelain. His remarkable ceramic achievements and accomplishments have been recognized and held in high esteem continuously by both aficionados and technical specialists alike, since the year 1790 when, as a young craftsman at the renowned Derby China Factory, he was suddenly called upon to assume the role of head flower painter, in completing an important order for the matching of some valuable early Chelsea plates with profuse botanical plant decoration.
This copy is signed by W. H. John on the front flyleaf. It is also inscribed by Sir Leslie Joseph to the Duchess of Bedford (Nicole Russell): "Her Grace the Duchess of Bedford from Leslie Joseph." Nicole Russell (1920-2012) was one of the first female television producers in France, working on projects which included "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." Also notable, is the fact that she had been a courier for the Resistance in Paris during the Second World War. In 2003, Russell spent some time living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. According to Anne Constable (The Santa Fe New Mexican), while living in Santa Fe, she [Russell] wrote to Queen Elizabeth II, suggesting that fake fur be substituted for the bear skin used in the hats worn by her guards. Her memoir, published in 1975, was titled "Nicole Nobody.
Billingsley is considered one of the foremost names in British porcelain. His remarkable ceramic achievements and accomplishments have been recognized and held in high esteem continuously by both aficionados and technical specialists alike, since the year 1790 when, as a young craftsman at the renowned Derby China Factory, he was suddenly called upon to assume the role of head flower painter, in completing an important order for the matching of some valuable early Chelsea plates with profuse botanical plant decoration.
This copy is signed by W. H. John on the front flyleaf. It is also inscribed by Sir Leslie Joseph to the Duchess of Bedford (Nicole Russell): "Her Grace the Duchess of Bedford from Leslie Joseph." Nicole Russell (1920-2012) was one of the first female television producers in France, working on projects which included "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." Also notable, is the fact that she had been a courier for the Resistance in Paris during the Second World War. In 2003, Russell spent some time living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. According to Anne Constable (The Santa Fe New Mexican), while living in Santa Fe, she [Russell] wrote to Queen Elizabeth II, suggesting that fake fur be substituted for the bear skin used in the hats worn by her guards. Her memoir, published in 1975, was titled "Nicole Nobody.