My name is Samantha and my grandma was a fairground traveller or Showman. She and her family prized Royal Crown Derby, as did many Showmen. They decorated their living wagons with Royal Crown Derby, especially dinner and tea services, which were also used. My grandma even gave us her china saucers to 'chew' on when we were teething to cool our gums! They bought many pieces from Doyle's, "the best china shop in Leeds", because they genuinely welcomed Showmen and Romany customers through their doors. Grandma would take us there to see Royal Crown Derby and learn to appreciate it. We were even allowed to handle it as young children at home. For my 21st birthday, she joined me up to the Royal Crown Derby Collectors Guild and my members piece was the Grey Kitten. It's still at my parents though, as I'm not allowed to take it, even though I've been married and in my own home for 20 years, until I have a proper cabinet to display it! One of my grandma's favourite Old Imari pieces was this miniature cup and saucer, which was part of a set that she received one Christmas from her 6 sons and their families. She also liked this pretty flower garlands cup and saucer, also Royal Crown Derby from around 1903. Grandma also got my mum, her daughter-in-law who isn't from the fair, hooked on Royal Crown Derby, as they often went out for day trips together, including many an antiques fair, which is where Christmas and birthday gifts were often found. This has been a lovely opportunity to reminisce about her, as she would have been 100 in March.
I am a collecter of The Royal Crown Derby Imari pattern... just starting off my collection at the moment! Royal Crown Derby Imari patterns are unique and beautiful pieces and look beautiful in any home... genuine items are stamped with markings.... I love the pattern and colours.
When I was a child and visiting the Town Moor Fair in Newcastle, my mum bought a full set of Crown Derby and we were on our way home. My parents kept telling me to be quiet. ‘Shhh!!’ The next thing the caravan overtook us, because it had jumped the ball, and flew into a ditch. This jug is the only thing that was left, the rest was sugar!
My name is Karen Mongan I got married in May 2016 to Jason Maughan. I come from a family of 7. I am living in Galway, Ireland. I am a member of the travelling community. I am 25 years old I have been collecting Royal Crown Derby since I got married. I have always admired it I love the design and finish. I love buying new pieces and expanding my collection. My first piece was a Royal Crown Derby vase and 4 Old Imari dinner plates I got these when I first got married I treasure these pieces and I have added more pieces to my collection since then.
We don’t know how it got broken, or if anyone broke it, I think it was a big bump in the road. Anyway we’d packed it down like always and when we got to the new stopping place when we took it out of the newspaper it was in ten or more pieces. A lovely little sugar bowl it was and as useless as it was we just couldn’t bring ourselves to throw it away. Years later we found a man who could fix it and I showed this little old man with big thick glasses my bag of pieces.
Another jigsaw he said smiling. When I collected it you could hardly see where it had been joined. As I paid him I asked him how he’d done it what he’d used … He held up a tin of condensed milk I couldn’t get over it milk to fix the sugar bowl.
We were young and headstrong and we lost our trailer because of it, we were pulling off a camp keen to get to the next place and instead of waiting and going together we set off on our own. We parked up half way got out of the van and went to the shops with the children. We got back from the shops and couldn’t believe the trailer had gone, we did all the daft things you do when you can’t believe something then finally we found a phone box and called the police and we did the only thing we could head off to the next camp. We get stopped by the police on the way, they’d found the caravan it had been left at the side of the road the door had been forced open and the box of Derby had gone but everything else was still there….As pleased as we were to get the Trailer and all our stuff back we never forgot about the Derby especially a little pair of candlesticks that had been given to us by an old woman, years later we’re in a big antique market when we saw a pair of candlesticks just like the ones we had long story but it turned out they were the ones we had and we got them back.
