Tuesday, December 23, 2008

JAMES KENT OLD FOLEY

James Kent Old Foley James Kent Old Foley

Q: I have a collection of James Kent Old Foley china in the Chinese Rose pattern. I'm trying to figure out how old the pieces are but I'm confused by the different marks. Can you tell me when these marks were used?

A: James Kent (Ltd.), Old Foley Pottery was established at Longton, Staffordshire, England in 1897 and was in business until c.1989. The name is now being used by another company in Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent. The clues we found indicate that "Ltd." was added to the company name in the mark in 1913. The words "Old Foley Pottery" were used after 1955 (first mark). The first and third marks shown here were used after 1955. The second mark was probably used between 1913 and 1918. The third mark with the word "Ltd." was probably used from 1950 to 1989. Chinese Rose pattern was made c.1897-1989.

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

As a complete sideline, you may be interested to know that when James Kent set up the pottery in 1897, one of the 5 staff who came with him from his previous partnership (Barker & Kent) was Septimus Bennett, the brother of the writer, Arnold Bennett, best known for his novels set in the Potteries area, including Clayhanger and Anna of the Five Towns.

Unknown said...

I have a "China Rose" Bud Vase and Holder with green trim. It shows Old Foley, James Kent Ltd. made in England but the word Strafford is not included. Is there a 4th marking?

Anonymous said...

I have 2 peices by James Kent. First peice is a Dish with a cover, green trim with white and purple flowers. Underneth says:Old Foley, James Kent LTD, Staffordshire England stamped in the glass itself says: CJ4

And the other peice is a Pitcher with simular details and handle that says underneth...Old Foley, James Kent LTD, made in England "Pansy"

Is there any value or should I get rid of them? thanks.

lisa said...

hi i have what i think is a mug by james kent from the old foley range. Its has a gold rim round the top and bottom and 2 pictures of steam coaches on either side. one picture says her magesty by burrell 1897 the other says steam coach by gurney 1827. On the bottom of the mug there is no crown or anything just the plain words old foley,james kent ltd staffordshire england. Do you know if this is some kind of drinking mug and if it has any value

Anonymous said...

Lisa i have a similar mug. Mine says Old Foley Jame Kent LTD Staffordshire England. It has gold trim around the rim. Mine also has steam coaches one either side one sayd Her Majesty by Burrell 1897, the other says Steam Roller by Aveling 1893. I too would like to know if there is any value to this mug. Please let me know if you find anything thx

Karen said...

I have a small china cup, mark on the bottom has globe, fine earthenware, James Kent, Old Foley, Staffordshire, England. It also has the number 17 stamped on bottom. This is the same mark that you have indicated was used between 1913 and 1918. It has Santa Claus on one side of the cup and the letters Y & Z in red on the other side. Anyone know anything about this?

Anonymous said...

I have a pie plate and lifter with a pciture of a blue english cottage and woman on a horse with only the markings on the back genuine hand engraving "Old Foley" Jamnes Kent
Staffordshire england and was handed down to me by my great grandmother. Does anyone have an idea about this pattern and whether there is any more picecs?

Anonymous said...

I have an Old Foley creamer and sugar dish on a tray that sounds like it matches the one anonymous posted on Jan. 1. It is a blue and white cottage pattern. I have been looking for information on this pattern for some time. Today I did find a plate on the web with the same pattern. Any information would be appreciated.

chance said...

I have the same pattern as both the anonymous on Jan 1 also I cant find the name of the this pattern anywhere, or a date for the piece. Any help will be apprecited.

Anonymous said...

I have two china boots (both left feet). They are decorated in what looks like the Holly Hobby pattern. I am puzzled as they are stamped differently. One is stamped "Old Foley James Kent LTD STAFFORDSHIRE ENGLAND" (Stamped on the base facing the foot). The other is more briefly stamped "Old Foley JAMES KENT LTD MADE IN ENGLAND", the stamp on this is (again) on the base but faces the heel. Can anyone throw any light onto the differences ?

Anonymous said...

To Karin with the cup that has Santa and Y Z. I have a bowel with Santa and A - L, then a plate with M - X. So the cup is part of that set. I haven't been able to find anything about them. They are small as if for a child. The bowl has a 19 on the bottom, and the plate has a 3.

Anonymous said...

hi, i have a set of 6 soup bowls and saucers. green, brown, grey, yellow, blue and pink. stamp reads
old foley, james kent ltd staffordshire made in england, oregon pine.
One of the bowls has a messed up print on it tho.
Does anyone know if these have any value? cant seem to find much on the net. thanks saz2k4eva@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

I have a biscuit tray that has this marking: Old Foley, James Kent LTD, Staffordshire, England. Does this mean anything to anybody?

Anonymous said...

I have a vase between 6/8 inches in height, with old Foley , james Kent, staffordshire england printed on the bottom with stamped number 6686, it is burgundy and gold at top, cream with roses in the middle and burgundy and gold on the bottom with gold trimmings, could you tell me if this vase is worth anything or if it is part of a set/s. thanks

Anonymous said...

My piece is a hob-nail boot w/velvet ribbon (ribbon probably late addition). Old Foley, James Kent LTD., Staffordshire, Made in England, Harmony Rose. Any ideas???

kaz said...

I have purchased a JAMES KENT Ltd dish it looks more like a soap dish with a hole at either end the writing looks to be in gold leaf its says Longton and the design is Balmoral and a code 5070 can anybody tell me about it and how much it would be worth

E. Waldron said...

I have a Blue, white and gold vase, 12" high, oriental characters, pagodas, etc. marked on the bottom: J Kent Foley, Ye Olde Foley Ware, Fenton, England. It has a gilder's mark 4051f in gold. I would like to have some more info about it: possible value, age, etc. Can anyone help?
Elizabeth Waldron, bwald@berkeley.edu

M E Foley said...

Wish I could see the marks, but the picture won't come through for me. IN any case, I collect Old Foley Chinese Rose, and also an Old Foley pattern with daisies, for which I have no name.

If anyone has any pieces in these patterns they'd like to offer, I might be interested in buying. In Chinese Rose I'm looking for the little tea sets in which you got a small or an oblong plate with a depression for holding the teacup (leaving room on the plate for biscuits or desert); in the daisies I'm looking for cups and saucers, luncheon-sized plates, and maybe serving dishes. I keep an eye out on eBay, but these things don't seem to come up often.

If you have pieces you think fit the bill, may I ask you to contact me via my blog? http://mefoley.wordpress.com -- just leave a comment anywhere. Though if you want to see the patterns I'm talking about, there's a picture of each of them (along with some other patterns) at http://mefoley.wordpress.com/2011/05/15/tea-part-1/

(For those asking re value, I use www.Replacements.com as a gauge of what is valuable, and I find there that virtually none of my Old Foley china has any collectors' value. Still, I've been collecting it for so long --and my surname is Foley-- I remain interested!)

Anonymous said...

I have a beer mug that has 'Old Foley, James Kent Ltd, Staffordshire, Made in England, 5403' stamped on the base.
It is creamy light tan in colour and has an illustration of 'Favonius, Derby Winner 1871' on one side and 'Gladiator' on the the other.
Where can I find more information about this?

I was born in 1955 and I remember it always being in my mother's house.

Anonymous said...

tengo una bandeja de pequeña de 15 cmts por 18 cmts con sus dos orejas en la parte mas angosta,. era de la mama de mi tatara abuela, en la parte de abajo dice asi:"james kent ltd." mas abajo: longton, made in england y luego entre comillas dice "empress" y luego el numero 3005. si alguien sabe de algo de esto y lo quisiera compartir le agradeceria, marco.prn@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

tengo una bandeja de pequeña de 15 cmts por 18 cmts con sus dos orejas en la parte mas angosta,. era de la mama de mi tatara abuela, en la parte de abajo dice asi:"james kent ltd." mas abajo: longton, made in england y luego entre comillas dice "empress" y luego el numero 3005. si alguien sabe de algo de esto y lo quisiera compartir le agradeceria, marco.prn@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

I have a pair of James Kent Old Foley candlesticks. They are white with purple violets and a gold edge. I am very interested to know when they were made. The stamp has a globe with James Kent through the middle, and a crown above. It says staffordshire, Made in England and the no 18. Does anyone know how old it is? thanks.

Anonymous said...

I have a childs nursery rhyme cup, bowl and plate that i believe is "little boy blue blows his horn" on the bottom is Old Foley James Kent. Theres no numbers. I have searched looking for simular peices with no luck. Does anyone know anything about this? They look old but i would like to know age and value. Thanks

Kevin Davies said...

I have a 27 pce afternoon tea service marked "Old Foley, James Kent Ltd, Staffordshire, Made in England". In addition there is a pattern or design No. 5613 and an imprest mark of Granville around the base of the cream jug.
Sadly one of the saucers is missing. Is it of any value?

Angela said...

Can anyone help me date a large James Kent serving plate that I've had given to me about fifteen years ago? There is no numbers on the back of the plate all there is :- Tropical Ware. James Kent. Ltd. Fenton. England
Please send replies to :- angelaburlow@ blueyonder.co.uk
Many thanks

Anonymous said...

I have a Butter Dish by James Foley, Staffordshire, England, China Tone, with a number 6687, pattern appears to be Cherry Blossom with gold painting on handle of lid, have no idea about this item, perhaps someone could enlighten me, bought it from a Salvo/Goodwill shop appx 30 years ago cos it looked nice.

Anonymous said...

I have a plate with the picture A Girl with a Watering Can by Auguste Renoir 1876 there is a script by The national gallery of art washington dc usa and a staffordshire crest with James Kent name in it with the scroll underneath OLD FOLEYS then a bit lower down a number 12 can anyone tell me a bit more about this please.

Anonymous said...

I have a set of plates james kent fenton 2392 makers mark N'''. Gold edged 8 1/2 inch yellow outer inner goold line and white centre with small 5 petaled flowers. wondering its value?

Louise formerly Kent said...

I too have been collecting James Kent - Old Foley. He was my great, great grandfather. I am also interested in its value, and knowledge about the different markings to tell its age. I colect these pieces to hand down to my children. Good luck eveyone, and I hope your questions get answered. Happy New Year!!

Unknown said...

I have 2 canisters numbers 1/4 and 2/2 - the markings in the china read " James Kent England 2/4> The "painted" writings read as: Genuine hand engraving "Old Foley" JAMES KENT Staffordshire England. Ther eis a 3/4 ring of flowers around that last wirtings. The canister are brown and white depicting a Thatched roof house
+ man on white horse, trees, ladies walking away, steeple of church steeple in back ground, etc. Does anyone know anything about these 2 canisters? I take it there are four in set as another lady has one that reads 4/4. Can anyone help me

Unknown said...

I would like to know if anyone has any info about My 2 canister of James Kent. There are 4 in the set but i have canisters 1/4 + 2/4. The pattern is brown and white of a thatched roof house with a man riding a white hore with black one beside there is a church steeple in the back ground and depictes woman walking away and one at garden gate. The bottom has James kent engraved in the china along with the word england and the number of the canister. In Brown "ink" it reads: Genuine hand engraved "Old Foley" JAMES KENT Staffordshire England All encompassed in a 3/4 ring for flowers. Can anyone help me with info on these 2 pieces?

Ton Overmars said...

I have in my possession a James Kent Old Foley shaving mug - underneath it says Old Foley - made in England . And there is a crowned globe with the words James Kent. It has pink and white roses painted on it.

monty said...

I have a pretty footed dish, it has a small floral pattern all round the edge on the inside of the dish, then a bigger pattern of blue flowers, the mark underneath is a brown colour and has the crown /shield inside the shield James Kent
Ltd
then round the shield MADE IN GT BRITAIN,
please can anyone shed light onto the age of this dish. Thank you
Sue