Crown Derby

Derby, England · Porcelain · also recorded as Derby, Duesbury & Kean, Bloor Derby, Derby-Chelsea

Transcribed by Igor Kukolj from Chaffers, William. Marks and Monograms on European and Oriental Pottery and Porcelain, 1891, Reeves & Turner, London, p.753. Scan: archive.org/details/marksmonogramson00chaf (leaf n772). Checked 21 August 2026.

Marks

The Derby-Chelsea device mark as engraved in Chaffers 1891, page 753 — **Derby-Chelsea device** · painted · *engraved in the source*Chaffers 1891, p.753
Recorded by Chaffers on a porcelain plate painted with trees and birds in blue en camaïeu, with eight compartments of flowers on the rim, in the possession of the Rev. Henry Legge. Derby-Chelsea is a distinct period from the Crown Derby marks below it.

The Crown above crossed batons mark as engraved in Chaffers 1891, page 753 — **Crown above crossed batons** · painted · *engraved in the source*
Recorded on a handsome gilt Derby tea service in the possession of the Earl of Chesterfield.Chaffers 1891, p.753
Chaffers gives no date for this one. It is the base form that the later dated marks add to.

The Crown and letter, above an impressed square mark as engraved in Chaffers 1891, page 753 — **Crown and letter, above an impressed square** · crown and letter painted red; the square impressed · *engraved in the source*
Recorded on a porcelain plate of Oriental pattern in the South Kensington Museum.Chaffers 1891, p.753
Chaffers adds that the square is sometimes used without the crown — so a piece carrying only the impressed square is not unmarked.

The Crown, crossed batons and DK mark as engraved in Chaffers 1891, page 753 — after 1795
**Crown, crossed batons and DK** · painted in purple · *engraved in the source*
Recorded on a large china mug painted with a landscape and rainbow, gilt edges, in the collection of the Rev. T. Staniforth.Chaffers 1891, p.753
The mark of Messrs Duesbury & Kean. Chaffers says it was used occasionally after 1795 — occasionally, not as the standard mark.

The Crown above a cross, three dots in each side angle, capital D below mark as engraved in Chaffers 1891, page 753 — c.1780–1830
**Crown above a cross, three dots in each side angle, capital D below** · usually red; also blue and violet · *engraved in the source*Chaffers 1891, p.753
Chaffers describes this as a later mark than the preceding, 'used from about 1780 by the Duesburys, and continued by Mr. Robert Bloor as late as 1830'. He notes the violet is the oldest and most prized. The plate shows two forms because the source engraves two: the full mark, and the reduced version where the cross is omitted and only the crown and letter are pencilled on the ware.

The W. DUESBURY 1803, with crown, crossed batons and D mark as engraved in Chaffers 1891, page 753 — 1803
**W. DUESBURY 1803, with crown, crossed batons and D** · painted · *engraved in the source*
Recorded on a green leaf dessert dish, veined and coloured after nature, from a set made for the second W. Duesbury.Chaffers 1891, p.753
A dated mark, which is rare. Chaffers adds that the letter is occasionally found as a Roman capital D rather than the script form.

The Crown, crossed batons, D and a pattern number mark as engraved in Chaffers 1891, page 753 — c.1810
**Crown, crossed batons, D and a pattern number** · red and violet; the violet is the earliest · *engraved in the source*
Recorded on a florid tea and coffee set of the toilet pattern made for Mr Roger Cox of Sponden Hall by W. Duesbury.Chaffers 1891, p.753
The numeral below the mark is a PATTERN number. It does not encode a year, and reading it as one is the obvious mistake to make.

What the source records

The crown-above-cross mark with a capital D was used from about 1780 by the Duesburys and continued by Mr Robert Bloor as late as 1830.Chaffers 1891 · p.753
Of that mark, the violet-coloured version is the oldest and the most prized by collectors; it also occurs usually in red and occasionally in blue.Chaffers 1891 · p.753
The DK mark is that of Messrs Duesbury & Kean, used occasionally after 1795.Chaffers 1891 · p.753
Where a pattern number appears below the mark, the number refers to the pattern rather than to a date or a workman.Chaffers 1891 · p.753
Chaffers cites specific pieces for several of these marks — a gilt Derby tea service belonging to the Earl of Chesterfield, a porcelain plate of Oriental pattern in the South Kensington Museum, and a china mug in the collection of the Rev. T. Staniforth.Chaffers 1891 · p.753

Why this differs from other listings

Derby marks are usually reproduced as a row of crowns with no indication of what separates them. Chaffers attaches dates and colours: DK is after 1795, the crown-and-cross runs from about 1780 to Bloor in 1830, and violet is earlier than red on the same device. He also states plainly that the numeral below the mark is a pattern number — the detail most likely to be misread as a date.

The source page

Page 753 of Chaffers 1891, the source for this entry — Chaffers 1891, p.753 — public domain, from archive.org/details/marksmonogramson00chaf (leaf n772). Check the transcription against it.

What this entry does not establish

Two of the seven marks carry no date in the source, and this entry leaves them undated rather than inferring one from their neighbours on the page.
Chaffers 1891 does not cover the twentieth-century Royal Crown Derby date-cypher system, which is what dates most pieces collectors actually encounter.
The Derby-Chelsea plate belongs to a different period of the works and is included here because it shares the page, not because it is a Crown Derby mark.