Grindley Osborne Flow Blue - My Heritage

My search began about four years ago. My dear grandmother had left our family her beautiful partial set of unknown blue and white dishes with a pretty flowing pattern. We always treasured these remembrances of her, but for years we had absolutely no idea what they were or even if they had any monetary value. Then one day, my aunt who is an antique dealer from out-of-state came for a visit and became ecstatic as she saw what was in our china cabinet. She said, “Do you realize what you have here? This is flow blue china!” Now I began a quest to discover our flow blue china’s pattern, origin, value, and to see if there might be any more pieces of this flow blue that could fill the gaps in our missing service set.

We started by looking at the trademarks imprinted on the bases of our dishes, however, many of them were too blurry to read and the ones we could make out, well, we didn’t exactly know how to make heads or tails of it. We thought perhaps the “Osborne” listed in the scroll was the place in England where these lovely flow blue pieces were made. So we happily headed off to the local library to find books on flow blue china. We did find a few books on the subject, but none seemed to have our pattern, until we came to a picture that labeled the china as Grindley Clarence. When I looked at the marks on our own china back at home, the pieces of the puzzle suddenly came together. This mysterious flow blue was from WH Grindley & Co. in England with the pattern name of Osborne! That part of the mystery was now solved. I went on to discover that this was a year 1900 pattern for Grindley. Flow blue was considered the middle class person’s way to fine china at that time. It was made by adding lime or chloride of ammonia during the firing process so that the blue color used would “flow” out of the stamped area and soften the pattern’s appearance. It wasn’t widely accepted in England, rather it was thought to be a cheap imitation of the expensive Oriental china being imported at the time. So, flow blue was shipped literally by the barrel load to America where it was very happily received. This is how it came to become one of our family’s favorite heirlooms.

Fuzzy Grindley Trademark

Clearer Grindley Trademark (Globe with ship)

Grindley Osborne flow blue is not a common pattern and I have never yet seen one in any of our Maryland and Pennsylvania antique stores and malls, although I have come across other Grindley patterns at times such as Lorne, Marechal Neil and Haddon. The best place, however, to find your Grindley pieces for your collection is online through the eBay Marketplace and or you can get information through the International Flow Blue Club who have experts to answer your questions. Through eBay you are exposed to thousands of antique dealers and individuals selling off heirloom sets from all over the US and England. There are a number of things to consider when buying your flow blue china this way.

Decide on the condition of the china you will seek, whether you want a piece that is only for display or one that can be used by the family for special meals.

First decide whether you like pieces with a light, medium, or dark blue color and whether you prefer light, medium, or heavy flow. There will always be variations in each piece, but I always tend to gravitate to those of a more consistent look.
 

Light Color/Medium Flow

 
Deep Color/Heavy Flow

If you want a “perfect” piece, you are looking for something with a description of no chips/flea bites, no cracks, no crazing, no utensil marks/high surface shine, no pinmarks, no wear to gold (if any), no staining, no repairs. Firing marks on the backs of these pieces are simply a part of the china process of that time and are not considered damage. Pieces that fit the above description are extremely rare and you will pay a premium for them.

If you want a piece that looks great for display but isn’t usable for food, you might be willing to accept pieces with “crazing.” Crazing is a condition where the glassy coating separates from the pottery beneath and forms numerous irregular cracks along the surface. You can’t use china with this problem for any liquid or moist foods as the juices from the food will seep into the china through these hairlines separations and stain the white and blue pottery beneath. Many serious collectors will accept crazing, but not chips or cracks, because they have no intention of using these pieces for eating. Always ask your eBay sellers about this as many don’t mention it in their listings.
 

Crazing

If you are a casual collector or one who hopes to continue the family legacy of celebrating special meals with your flow blue china set, you should consider the lower quality pieces which are still, on the whole, very attractive. Decide for yourself what is most important to you about your dishes. I select dishes that may have some surface wear (so their shine is high, but slightly used), some rim staining, rim chips that are on the underneath side so they can’t be seen from the front, and occasionally short hairline fractures coming in from the edge which are concealed by the blue patterning. This, for me, provides attractive shiny, whole-looking pieces that people can gently use and admire without being scared to death that a “perfect” piece might receive a ding.

There are numerous pieces produced for the Grindley flow blue patterns. Listed below is a sampling of the pieces you can find for your set:

Plates – ~5”, ~6”, ~7”, ~8”, ~9”, ~10”
Bowls with flange (flat edges) - ~9”, ~10”
Bowls without flange - ~8”
Cereal bowls - ~7”
Berry/Sauce bowls - ~5”
Platters – between 10” and 26” long
Round charger - ~12”
Fish drainer – ~14”
Round open vegetable bowl - ~8”, ~9”, ~10”, ~12”
Covered vegetable server – small, medium, large
Soup tureen with lid and underplate
Sauce tureen with lid and underplate
Gravy boat
Butter dish with lid and insert
Creamer
Sugar bowl
Waste bowl

The final thing to consider when purchasing your flow blue online is getting your piece safely home. I have been burned more than once by sellers who will wrap a rare Osborne teacup in one piece of newspaper and send it as a lovely package of tiny irreplaceable shards. It is imperative to find out how well a seller is willing to protect your delicate piece before you bid. A minimum of 5 full unpopped layers of bubblewrap should surround EVERY side of each item and then taped shut for security. There should not be more than a few pieces in each box and it is preferable to tape them tightly together (AFTER they have been individually bubblewrapped). This prevents the pieces from jarring against each other and shattering which has happened to a number of pieces I have bought in the past. The bubblewrapped pieces should then be surrounded by numerous additional layers of packing foam and Styrofoam peanuts, NOT newspaper! The post office is adamant that newspaper does not provide sufficient cushioning for antique china and I can be a experienced witness to that statement. It should also be ensured there is a least 3-4 inches of clearance between any china piece and every side of the box (UPS regulation). This helps to ensure that outside impact is less likely to shatter a piece. Once all this is done, I like to also request a double box filled with bubbles to protect larger pieces (this is not necessary for tiny butter pats). On the receiving end, make sure you open your boxes on the table or floor so the pieces don’t have far to fall in case, heaven forbid!, something slips, carefully lift out each wrapped piece and cut (don’t tug) the securing tape so you avoid shattering delicate handles. This completes the process of care taken on these 100 year old pieces and ensures fewer tears in your flow blue collecting.

In conclusion, enjoy your search for your flow blue pieces, make sure you learn as much about their condition as possible, have them shipped safely, and treasure the pieces you have as a wonderful link to the beauty and history of the past.