Joe (Jo) Lester - Isle of Wight and West of England Pottery

Jo started producing pottery commercially in London (1951) but moved to Freshwater after only 2 years to produce his better known IOW pottery.
Jo resisted growth,preferring to work with only a handfull of protégés including his offspring Joe and Renella

Via a pinterest board dedicated to Jo Lester's pin dishes and more.

Jo - IOW Jo Lester, born April 1912, was injured in the second world war and was unable to continue his normal work so he decided to earn a living from his hobby - potting. He started in London in 1951 and moved to Freshwater, Isle of Wight, two years later. His work is marked by his first name above the initials 'IOW' in an outline map of the Isle of Wight. Jo's work is typically hand thrown with a mixture of banding and sgraffito work - an instantly recognizable style adopted by most of his protégés - but he also used brushed decoration. Jo has not been active as a potter since the mid-1980s but is relaxing on the island with his long-term partner.

a simple jug,including scrafitto decoration which became jo's trademark

base of the above jug and the isle of wight stamp

I do like these kooky birds from the 50's

They are quite common but I still find them very amusing

Jo was not a trained potter but turned his hobby into a business after being injured in the 2nd world war,this isn't a bad effort for an amateur though!

Early sgraffito mark.

The larger vase is 27cm tall. And heavy.

that's interesting,I didn't know the sgraffito mark signified an early piece

Well, that's according to the Yates-Owen /Fournier book , whose Jo Lester entry is especially confused....but it makes sense, the 2 or 3 pieces I've seen with this mark have had that graphic cleanly incised look.

There's a good precis for Jo here;
http://ww.studiopottery.com/cgi-bin/mp.cgi?item=353

I don't have these anymore but thought I'd post them here for reference.





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I love the dragon m,it's the first one i've seen

yes I think he's pretty unusual - beautifully done.

he was quite a large dish as well, not a pin dish, more like a large side plate size or a bit bigger I think.

This is an interesting anomaly.

Joe Lester 'borrowed' Mike Hendrick's Charmouth Pottery stamp for a while after setting up alone on the Isle of White. Joe worked with Mike for a while at the 'true' Charmouth Pottery.

I am crazy about Jo and have a dozen or so pieces. But am having trouble finding any to buy other than ebay. Does anyone have any suggestions where I would find them? I am really keen to get some bigger pieces but have never seen any jugs and sgrafitto vases higher than about 11cms? Are they rare? Also I note some of you have bigger seahorse dishes etc which again I havent yet come across. So where do you find them and what kind of price range do they go for - bigger or more unusual pieces. Is there someone who specialises or is just a case of keep watching ebay? I dont live in the UK.

I love the stuff and will acquire them anyway but do you think they will be come more collectible over time?

Thanks

Nicola

I think the rarer pieces might become prized collectables but the small tourist pieces with simple and mass produced designs will never be highly valued

I think that this is a nice piece, fruit bowl, 9 1/2 inches x7 1/2 inches

A fairly simple design, but I think the character of this little owl has been captured brilliantly.