25th Anniversary Pitchers

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ROTARY’S SILVER JUBILEE PITCHERS

It has proved difficult tracing the whereabouts of the 250 or so pitchers or jugs which were produced at his pottery by A. E. Gray, Past President of the Stoke on Trent Rotary Club in 1930 Some of the pitchers are now in private hands, perhaps reflecting the importance given by clubs to Rotary history. Others have been forgotten by the clubs which own them and are now packed away out of sight. A few are regularly displayed.

A second series of these pitchers was produced from 1942 onwards and these carry the signature of the then President F.W.Langley.

In the mid 1980s, Arthur Stafford of the Taradale Club in New Zealand researched the origins of these pitchers after he had been given one by another member. This example, numbered 209, was passed to the Taradale Club where it is still a much prized possession. Arthur wrote the following: "The jug was struck to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Rotary International and was potted by Gray's Pottery Hanley England, No 209 and signed A. E. Gray. The various countries of Rotary International are noted in the small print. The glaze is somewhat crazed, whether when fired or by age I do not know."

Later, Arthur received a letter from the Rotary Club of Invercargill saying they too had a similar jug, and at the time, June 1987, the Club used the jug as a symbol of continuity, whereby the Immediate past-President is handed the jug for a year. The Invercargill jug is still in use but unfortunately, because of the way it is mounted, the number cannot be determined. Arthur then sought information about the origins of the Jug by trying to trace Gray's Pottery in England. He received a reply from Mr Paul Niblett telling him that Gray's Pottery has closed in 1962, and enclosing a copy of some research done by Rodney Halson, Past President of the Stoke Club.

Here is an edited version of Rodney Halson’s research :

"In 1930, GRAY'S POTTERY, HANLEY produced a commemorative jug to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the movement. ALBERT EDWARD GRAY, the proprietor of this Company, was a pottery decorator of note, and was also the individual credited with the founding of the Rotary Club of Stoke-on-Trent in January 1927. In the next 20 years he produced several items connected with Rotary, and when a special exhibition of the firm's work was held in 1982 in the Stoke-on-Trent City Museum, a special display of his Rotary commemorative work was included.

This jug is of earthenware, 188cm high 103mm diameter, and was described, in the "OFFICE NOTE" of the Rotary International HQ in Evanston as follows;

'Made according to tradition. Because the glaze is purposely clear to reveal the natural creamy ground, it is classed "creamware", a type of pottery popularized by Wedgwood in the l8th century. The standard "barrel" shape is characteristic of nautical jugs made c 1790-1820 as souvenirs, commonly to commemorate anniversaries, deaths, victorious sea battles, and so on. Subject matter, as with this piece, was transfer printed (a complex method of decorating with inked, engraved copperplates to make a wet print on paper that was then pressed against the glazed potted surface; the impression left of the engraving was the "transfer").... This being a silver jubilee piece, the jug is embellished with one of the most popular English modes of decorating pottery - silver luster, which actually is made from platinum dissolved in aqua regia and then mixed with Spirits of Tar.

Elsewhere, the jug is described as "of a Liverpool pattern", which would tie up with its seafaring connections.

Gray moved from North Staffordshire to Sussex in 1947, but remained active in the company, paying regular visits to Stoke and travelling widely until his final retirement in 1956 at the age of 85, when after long deliberation the business was sold to the daughter of Sir Clough Williams Ellis, founder and architect of the Welsh village of Portmeirion and an old friend of A. E. Gray, and it became part of the Portmeirion Pottery which she had formed.

No Company records survive of the manufacture of the jug, but we know that it was advertised in 1950 as a 'limited numbered signed edition' in the British Rotary magazine. It is not known how many numbered and signed jugs were sold, but the highest number traced so far is 233. Additional jugs were made, and the "back stamp" of a galleon in yellow on & green sea indicates a date of 1931 (when that back stamp was first used) or later.

These jugs are not numbered and signed, but transfers must have been available until 1956 when the latest known jugs were made. The total number sold may well be not more than 300 of both types. References have appeared from time to time, mostly in Rotary literature."

There were also a pair of goblets made at the same time. The only set so far identified is at the RIBI Offices in Alcester.

The Taradale researches found a few jugs and subsequent enquiries have found more. This list is not complete and if anyone can add more, please contact us..

Numbered. T indicates that this was in the Taradale list in 1986/7

12 T Rotary Club of ESHER
Presented 1960 by Mrs. Dorothy Hulbert. widow of a Past President. Displayed in Club meeting room. CURRENTLY MISSING.

21 Rotary Club of SCUNTHORPE. This jug was presented to a former President of the club, Dr. Russell Stanford, by Rtn Norman Collins of Halifax, District Governor 104 1947-1948. Follow the link above, to learn more about Dr. Russell Stanford.

26 T Rotary Club of APPLEBY
Shown by antique dealer speaking to the Club in 1981; bought for the Club by six members with intention to raffle it for charity at a District Conference)

47 T Rotary Club of BOGNOR REGIS
Bought by Rotarian Hewlett c.1969 in the course of his business, as antique dealer, and presented by him to the Club, (This was one of the two shown in the 1982 Exhibition at Stoke Museum).

88 Rotary Club of Wolverhampton

98 T ROTARY INTERNATIONAL, Evanston, U.S.A.
Presented by A. E. Gray 1930. In the Paul Harris Office

112 T Frank Leslie Jones, Past President of Smethwick Club, and member since 1928.
Presented to his late father, founder member and second President of the Club and Past Chairman of Club District 6.
Bears added inscription: F. H. JONES March 17th 1954
CURRENTLY MISSING

118 Auckland NZ

135 T Rotarian Maurice Goldin, Rotary Club of HALIFAX
Given to him by sisters of the late Jack Sugden, (Club Secretary 1952-69) Now owned privately by his son.

143 Auctioned in England in 12/08. Purchaser unknown.

144 T Rotary Club of Hutt City NZ
Donated to the Club on the 11th February 1985 by Earle and Valda Cunningham. Earle Cunningham had been a member of the then Hutt Rotary Club (now Hutt City ) and operated an antique business in Andrew`s Avenue , Lower Hutt. The item had come into the shop ( possibly from an estate ) and because of Earle`s previous Rotary connection he decided to pass it on to his old Club.

183 Owned privately

196 T Owned privately A gift to the owner from her grandfather.

197 T RIBI Sheen Lane House. This jug was packed at the RIBI offices in Sheen where it had been located and was sent to the new RIBI Offices in Alcester, It is thought that after the move, it was accidently broken. The jug currently on show at Alcester is unnumbered and was presented by the Rev Andrew Howe in 1995. Former RIBI staff remember the Rev. Andrew Howe visiting Sheen on a trip from Scotland. While clearing out some effects of his uncle (Paul Harris), he had found this jug and decided that it would be a good artifact to contribute to the new HQ when it moved to Alcester. Thanks are due to former RIBI staff, David Morehen, Anita Birks and Michael Gillam for the above.

203 Rotary Club of Rotorua NZ Paul Harris visited NZ in 1935 & addressed my Club reported by Richard Pryce, President, 25 July 2010.209 T Rotary Club of Taradale , New Zealand Presented to the Club by the late Arthur Stafford. The Club has in its possession a rare porcelain jug which was struck to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of Rotary International. The jug was donated to the Club by the late Arthur Stafford. Arthur was given the jug by the late Mac Macalmont. Arthur took great interest in it and conducted extensive research as to the jug's origin. In the May copy of the "Governor's Newsletter", 1987, Arthur wrote the following.

"Taradale Rotarian Arthur Stafford has turned up an interesting piece of Rotary history in a Silver Anniversary commemorative jug and he would like to know if any others can help shed some light on the subject. The commemorative jug came into Arthur's possession from the widow of a former Rotarian.

Arthur writes: "The jug was struck to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Rotary International and was potted by Gray's Pottery Hanley England, No 209 and signed A. L. Gray. The various countries of Rotary International are noted in the small print. The glaze is somewhat crazed, whether when fired or by age I do not know. "I would be interested to know If there was another around similar or whether It has any intrinsic or monetary value. Although I feel that it should be displayed where others would see it, there would be a danger of damage If not cased, I would appreciate any information from other Rotarians of similar jugs."

229 T Owned privately. Originally given to Ernest D. Power, Past-President of Rotary Club of Oswestry. presented to his grandfather John T. Williams, founder President of the Club. Added inscription below spout: OSWESTRY CLUB: JOHN T. WILLIAMS, PRESIDENT 1929/30

232 T Rotary Club of STOKE-ON-TRENT
Probably presented by A. E. Gray

233 T Stanley C, Baker, Rotary Club of ELY; Past President of Ely and also of Balham.
Given to him by the daughter of a late Rotarian who had wished it to go to "a worthy Rotarian".

This jug is in the RIBI Offices in Alcester. It is not numbered.

In addition, other pitchers but without numbers have been found as follows:

One unnumbered jug has been found in Winchester, Massachusetts. It was originally presented to a former DG. and it is hoped that it will be looked after in future by the local Rotary Club.

Two are owned by members of the Ely Club. One was bought in Godalming, Surrey by Rtn Bernard Arnold and is pictured below with Bernard. This jug is unnumbered.

The other, number 233, is owned privately by another Ely member Rex Nicklinson, the son in law of Rtn Stanley Baker, the original owner.

Unnumbered copies also exist at One Rotary Center, Evanston, IL, in the RI Archives, Stoke on Trent, Lincoln, and Hull (x2) . One of the Hull pair was found at the beginning of 1969 by an employee of a member of the Rotary Club of Louth who came across it in a village near Lincoln. It was bought by a Hull Rotarian who gave it to the Club. This particular example had been presented (as an inscription* on its base made clear) to the President of the Rotary Club of Hull for 1925 (five years before the jug was made). This is explained, no doubt, by the fact that an advertisement** published in the RIBI magazine offering the jugs for sale made it clear that inscriptions could be added. So, the Hull gift to its 1925 President was probably retrospective. The inscription on this jug reads ‘PRESIDENT H H SANDERSON 1924’

The other 'Hull' jug was given by Rotarian W Craig DALGLIESH. It was apparently given to him by the widow of the late Rotarian CH Ross and it is inscribed below the spout: C H ROSS 1922

There are others at Epping, NSW; Invercargill NZ; Nordonia Hills, Ohio; a second one is owned privately by a Halifax member.

A third one was discovered in a flea market in 2012 and is now owned privately in Johnstown, PA, U.S.A. An easy identification for the later unnumbered pitchers is 'Borneo 1939' on the list of countries. A logo like this may also be seen on the underside. Yet another has been located in Vancouver, Canada. This one is also owned privately. IT IS AMONG DAVIDSON'S EFFECTS IN THE POSSESSION OF LESLIE ABRAMSON.

MARTIN GUDDE District Governor 2009 / 2010, Rotary in London District 1130, has a Paul Harris Silver Jubilee water jug in perfect condition. It was presented to him. Martin knows that there were different editions; his has a black sailing ship as a stamp.

One is also believed to have gone to Paris.

We hope to be able to research the Tankards produced for the 50th and 75th anniversaries of Rotary at a later date. The 75th anniversary tankards were made by Wade’s pottery of Stoke on Trent and cost £10, half of which was donated to Foundation. They were not made in Stoke but in another factory belonging to the company in Northern Ireland. Like A.E.Gray’s, Wade’s pottery no longer exists and the whereabouts of their records have yet to be traced. Copies of all these souvenirs are to be found in RI Archives at One Rotary Center, Evanston, IL.

And from RGHF officer Tim Tucker, UK,
comes the story of a legacy. More...

From Port Elizabeth in South Africa. One of the jugs donated by Rtn Percy Jones from Stoke on Trent. It is seen here with the 2009/2010 President of the Port Elizabeth RC Sarel Steyn.
Thanks for assistance from DG Ann Botha (D9320) of the Orkney RC and Maggie Clack of the Port Elizabeth RC More...

We acknowledge the help of the Taradale RC, of Linton Adams of the Hutt City RC, Rachel Stalker of RIBI, Paul Niblett of Stoke on Trent, and Stephanie Giordano RI Archivist and several others.

This study is still incomplete and contributions, additions, and corrections are welcome. www.historycomment.org

Prepared by RGHF senior historian Basil Lewis, UK and posted by RGHF webmaster Jack Selway 9 May 2009 and by RGHF webmaster Paul D. McLain 27 July 2010.

This ongoing project is the work of RGHF historian Basil Lewis, first posted 7 April 2006 This section is maintained by RGHF webmaster Paul D. McLain. If you can help identify or supply more information about anything on this page, please contact us at www.historycomment.org

We acknowledge the assistance of DG 11/12 David Templin, ROTARY/One (RGHF Member), Neil Dahlmann of Rotary Club of Highland Park in District 6440, and Jack Selway, USA, with providing photos used in this section.

After you see the museum office, meet his partners and office workers at Harris Dodds & Brown. (A page of photographs of the actual office in the early 2000's)

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