LJ mark, JS mark, FS mark - prob not John Shelly, John Solly or Frank Smith

clearly marked little pot with sgraffito decoration - should be easy work for this forum!  can't find my Yates&Owen book, so i'm counting on you peeps.

Lesson 1 - never say "should be an easy one".

It should be but I think that it was made in the 1950s and that wasn't a time when anyone was that interested in noting down studio pottery marks................... but someone may know.

studio-pots wrote:Lesson 1 - never say "should be an easy one".

It should be but I think that it was made in the 1950s and that wasn't a time when anyone was that interested in noting down studio pottery marks................... but someone may know.

i have definitely jinxed this one, haven't i?

Second mark is the Star Trek insignia.

Lampbase with mystery set of marks. Probably not Frank Smith

Well thrown earthenware, browny grey striped glaze.
Red body impressed mark, possibly n, could be h or gothic letter like a.
Ring any bells? Thanks again.
Now that I know what to look for it is the same LJ mark. It could be local as I’ve just seen that John Shelly worked in Littlehempston near Totnes from 1961. I don’t know his work but I shall check it out. The pencil price on the base is 5 / 6 so that puts it into the 1950s or 1960s.

I would look at potters who worked in the 50's or early 60's in the Cotswolds area.
Lupus is the only surname, I can think of, that links the L and the funny wolf looking mark on Pinterest

MCWebs wrote:This weeks pickings =



John  shelly small jug, mull pottery marmalade jar, tony gant straw vase and a large mike powers cheese dish and cover...

Dont know what the FS mark is on the john shelly... perhaps name of the pottery?

Maybe Frank Smith?

not sure 2 potters would be needed to make a small green jug?

They are the marks of John Solly and Frank Smith, whose potteries were maybe half a mile a part in Kent. It could have been from when Frank was setting up and John was helping him get started with tips, glazing etc.

Many thanks for the extra info - always very much appreciated

Its john shelly not solly btw, john solly didnt have a tail to top of J...

You are correct that there isn't a John Solly mark like this in the book but there is a mark like this attributed to John Shelly when he was at the Bath Pottery making earthenware.

However, the FS is definitely Frank Smith, who began potting under his own name in Kent in 1976, after starting out with Colin Pearson in Aylesford. His work was the first studio pottery I ever bought back in 1988 directly from him at the pottery and the stoneware body of your jug matches one that he used.

In 1976 John Shelly was living in Devon and I am not even sure if he was actively potting at that time. In any case I know of no connection between the two and they lived 250 miles apart. Therefore I can't see any likelihood of John Shelly having any connection with the piece.


In 1976 John Solly wasn't down the road from Frank but potting 25 miles away (he moved down the road from Frank in 1986). However, I know that he had connections with the David Leach & Colin Pearson, as David told me that he got many of his glazes recipes from John Solly when David was making earthenware at Lowerdown in the late 1950s. Hence the reason for me saying the JS on your jug was a John Solly mark.

Obviously, I might be incorrect about John Solly being responsible for glazing the jug, which I was suggesting, but it does fit much better than John Shelly, who only used this mark 20 years earlier at the Bath Pottery.

When I saw your correction to my post something else came to mind and that was that I remembered Frank saying that his wife had been involved in the pottery in the early days. I have checked and found out that Mrs. Smith's first name was Jean so.......... maybe another option?

The JS mark has been attributed to John Shelly several times, and John Solly has been discounted or someone has asked him - I have a note saying Not John Solly - but if Frank Smith wasn’t at Bath Pottery then it’s more likely that the JS is neither of them but instead belongs to Jean Smith. (Edited - FS mark probably not Frank Smith)
I’ve added “Jean Smith?” to the titles of various threads with these marks so we can find them again

Another example here -



edited to say the FS mark is probably not Frank Smith after all


An example of the JS mark plus a mystery LJ mark. Did Frank and Jean have any children who joined them potting? It’s possible it’s not JS but an SJ monogram



Another example of the LJ mark, paired with a shield? mark

closest mark i've seen is the Fournier Book mark and looks like the John Shelly mark to me even the elongated outer fits - John Shelly to me...

definately not Jean Smith's work

The JS mark is too close to John Shelly’s in the Marks book not to be his, imo, so I’m going to say JS = John Shelly and not John Solly.
We don’t know Jean Smith’s mark (Frank Smith’s wife) as she’s not in the book.
So that must mean the FS mark isn’t Frank Smith

NaomiM wrote:The JS mark is too close to John Shelly’s in the Marks book not to be his, imo, so I’m going to say JS = John Shelly and not John Solly.
We don’t know Jean Smith’s mark (Frank Smith’s wife) as she’s not in the book.
So that must mean the FS mark isn’t Frank Smith

Then we have a difference of opinion. I feel you both seem to be using everything in the "Book" as being "gospel" and definitive, which it is not and has never suggested it is.

Of course, you might be correct but I don't see that there is enough evidence to draw the conclusions that you have.

The grey glaze on this example looks very much like that developed by John Solly, the recipe of which he gave to David Leach for his earthenware made at Lowerdown in the 1950s.

A nice 4" tall terracotta type vase . It has marks but i am struggling make out what they say. Anyone seen this before.

adding another one. looks like LJ

It’s the clearest mark I’ve seen of this maker. there’s a thread or two on here but I don’t know how to put them on here. They are linked to John Shelly. And I listed a pot on eBay yesterday with the LJ mark, but it’s got no ID yet unfortunately. Could be Bath Pottery as John Shelly worked there in early 1950s.

Another example of this 'star trek' mark. I thought the FS was Frank Smith but not so sure now. It might be the FS that was paired with the JS mark (that had been attributed to John Solly) which is associated with the LJ mark which is pared with this star trek mark.

The 'Star Trek' mark looks to me to be a flying insect with dots at the wing-tips, a small moth, perhaps?

The tin glaze appears to be that which David Leach told me John Solly had given him the recipe for but, if he gave it to David, then he could have given it to numerous other potters.