A pictorial website mainly about transfer-printed and cream-colored ceramic feeders, bottles and pots made in England during the 19th Century used to feed infants, sick children and invalids.

(last updated 1/24/2012)

Welcome and thanks for visiting, 

In the area of ceramic feeders one quickly realizes that there really is not much information to find.  The reasons for this are varied and have alot to do with the facts that those that collect these also collect other things as well,  the larger collections are institutional (i.e., at museums) and collectively are just a small fraction of what they have and are generally not for public viewing, and finally, and I really beleive this, those that do collect them exclusively want them to remain under the radar to keep prices down and  the chances of finding them for sale up.

While I was collecting I always thought about someday leaving something behind once I stopped collecting and while never having much interest in the what and when of them while collecting I did have an interest in the why and the beauty of them. Long story short this small pictorial website, while not much in the areas of origins, patterns or dates, is that effort.

I immediately feel the obligation to mention the one exception to not finding information I did find when starting to collect and that was John K. Crellin’s wonderfully illustrated black and white book on medical ceramics (see “Crellin’s Collection”).

Now a few words about collecting. As in collecting anything there are always the few that “get away” while collecting that one never really forgets and continually kicks themselves for not doing things differently. While generally not a large number (I can think of maybe four in my case) it is the reasons for not getting them which haunts one the most  (i.e., bulking at the asking price that really was fair considering the item or being indecisive when presented with the opportunity and it slipped away).   Hindsight really seems to put things in perspective and highlight mistakes made.  So why the rambling? When an opportunity to buy one presents itself “do it”. They do not happen repeatedly, they do not happen often and chances are they will never happen. These are rare, historical and beautiful and you should consider yourself lucky if given the opportunity.  My only word of caution is of course its “condition”.  For me personally I generally only wanted those that were in perfect condition which to me means free of repairs, damage and hairline cracks.

As mentioned above I have stopped collecting (as a general rule) and the majority of the collection has since been sold.  With that said, as with most collectors that follow this same path, I have kept those that I consider my favorites which I have continue to enjoy and admire in my display case (see “My Collection”).  The question might come up as to why I said "as a general rule".  The answer to that is that once you catch the collecting bug it forever stays in your blood (regardless to what you tell yourself).  It is also generally true that every collector while collecting developes a "bucket list" of sorts and the challenge of the search never ends.

I hope you enjoy the pictures while for how ever long this website remains up.

The pictures included on the website (see "Photo Library") are but a very small sampling of the wide array of shapes, colors and patterns. I wish to thank those few that provided me with pictures from their collections - you know who you are.

FeederGuy