Past Bottles & Bygones articles have focussed on Scottish Potteries : Port Dundas (1.4 p 10/11) and H Kennedy (1.6 p14/15) - both premier manufacturers of export stoneware who produced some of the most memorable and collectable Scotch Whiskies. They were, however, by no means the only producers of whisky ceramics in Scotland , worthy of note. Other potteries, whose products are in collections worldwide, also deserve recognition.
Important amongst those was the A W Buchan Pottery of Portobello, near Edinburgh . Originally founded in 1770 it was initially operated by W and C Smith who are credited with producing the first "bone china" in the region. In 1830 the pottery was sold and a succession of owners ensued until about 1867 when A W Buchan took over. Several years later Buchan was joined by a partner J F Murray of Caledonian Pottery. After Murray sold out in 1877, the firm became known simply as A W Buchan & Co. Its early trade mark was an impressed star : later it became a thistle with the name "Buchan"
A W Buchan's production included a wide range of stonewares. It was apparently the largest producer of stoneware stout and ginger beer bottles in Scotland . According to author Derek Askey's survey of the frequency of Scottish Pottery marks among stout and ginger beer bottles, the Buchan name comes up twice as often as any other. The firm also ranks just behind Port Dundas and H Kennedy in the number and variety of its whisky jugs. Its artisans produced some highly original whisky ceramics, some of them shown here. It produced them for such well known brands as Catto's, Dewars, Mitchell Brothers, McCallums, Munro and a host of other Scottish Distillers and distributors. Shown here are a number of examples of the attractive and elaborate transfers that appeared on Buchan jugs;
JOHN DEWAR & SONS
Although Dewars usually favoured Doulton for its containers, it commissioned these large demijohns with Buchan Pottery. They feature a large rectangular underglaze label on the shoulder.
CATTO'S
Buchan produced designs for Catto's Highland Whisky, incorporating the medals the firm had won for its product at various international expositions. Catto's Whisky was sold worldwide, assisted by the firms ownership of two large shipping lines.
McKINLAY'S V.O.B
This brown glazed Buchan jug has a highly elaborate pictorial transfer of Edinburgh . The McKinlay firm of distillers and blenders continue in business into the present day as a subsidiary of Waverley Group Ltd
QUEEN'S CLUB
Boasting a cobalt blue stopper and top, this jug demonstrates the range of glazes available from Buchan. Queens Club was a largely export brand of James Munro & Sons, which was a historically significant Scotch Distillery at Inverness . Following a series of mergers it has passed from the scene.
PATTISONS SCOTCH
This unusual shape demonstrates again the ability of the Buchan pottery to provide clients with an attractive jug shape. The company itself did not fare so well: It collapsed in 1898 following the imprisonment of its owners for fraud, including "doctoring" the whisky. The Buchan pottery survived the Depression and two World Wars, events that combined to close many among its Scottish competition. Some Buchan items, therefore can be relatively modern. But it in turn was forced to shut down its stoneware operations in 1973, while continuing to make art pottery at a plant in Crieff in Perthshire. Of the A W Buchan pottery it can be said that while some of its designs are derivatives, copied from better known rivals, it nonetheless had impressive capabilities of its own, producing whisky ceramics for many of the best known Scotch distilleries, and giving us jugs that are prized and collected the world over.
By Jack Sullivan - References ;
Stoneware Bottles - Derek Askey
Scottish Pottery - Graeme Cruickshank
Photo's - Eric Eulenstein