Magnificent monochrome - black and white retro vintage tableware

Ridgway Homemaker certainly has its fans – plenty of them! I have sold countless plates, cups and saucers and trios, as well as the rare and sought-after coffeepot.

Probably due to Homemaker's ubiquity in the late 1950s and early 60s after its creation in 1957, this black and white pattern resonates deeply in the public consciousness, and today it is one hugely collectable collectible.

Although Homemaker is fabulous, with its stylised images of iconic 1950s furniture and homewares, it is not the only striking monochrome pattern of the period. Below are a few examples from our collection.

While the delightful BurleighWare Fantasia and Wedgwood Barbecue were on the same theme, a few years later Barker Bros extended the concept from black and white all the way to teal blue and white! Even more radical, the subtly coloured version of that pattern, Fiesta can now be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum collection.

During the 1950s, son of the company and new man at the helm of Midwinter, Roy Midwinter engaged some of the top contemporary designers such as the (now) household name Terence Conran, who looked beyond homeware images to produce the charming and very elegant Nature Study as shown at right, based on a sketchbook full of leaves, flowers and insects.

Another star, Midwinter's in-house designer Jessie Tait created the unmissable Zambesi zebra striped pattern (as shown above right in among other monochrome pieces). The original version included touches of red to set it off - pop, pop, pop!

Equally exotic was the upmarket maker Wade's Zamba, with its irresistible 'tribal' dancers. Ultra collectible, it is a great bit of risqué fun. Likewise, another key design from Ridgway is the sublime Parisienne, the style which was echoed in Alfred Meakin's own Paris scene, not to mention the delightful Poodles.

Zebra stripes went on to feature in many 1950s tableware patterns, from designers such as Geoffrey Maund, as well as prominent makers such as Sandlands (which produced the very collectable Zebrette) and Beswick. Pictured to right is a fabulous pair of salt and pepper shakers, unstamped but screamingly 'fifties, around 6" tall and dramatically tapered, I don't expect them to be around for long!

– by Abi Smith September 09, 2017