Graham Cooley's Geoffrey Baxter collection
I began collecting Baxter in 1994 when I purchased four interesting pieces which I thought were 'really nice'. I discovered they were all by the same designer which sparked my interest. My very first one was an Indigo 'TV screen'.
The 1996 Manchester exhibition really made a difference. This featured the collection of Brian Cargin and Chris Morley, who were the first two real enthusiasts and have done more work in promoting Whitefriars than anyone else.
The pictures below are a very limited selection from over 500 pieces by Geoffrey Baxter which I have, and I have one of the most significant collections by this Whitefriars designer. From Spring 2001 I will be exhibiting a substantial part of this collection starting at Broadfield House Glass Museum, Kingswinford.
All pictures on and linked from this page are Copyright © 2000 [Graham Cooley]. All rights reserved. Last revised April 2nd, 2000. Click on the small picture to see a larger version.
'Bat-Wings' vases. These were Baxter's favourite design as well as his first impact on the Company. The ones shown here are approximately 10" tall and are Twilight and Sapphire Blue. These are just one of three sizes (pat 9459, page 134 of the soft-back Whitefriars book):
White enamel edged vases in Shadow Green and Midnight Blue ('Ceramic Trail range'). This range was difficult to produce due to the incompatibility between the enamel and the glass. The ceramic was also used for thermometers, and when spilt on the floor it could not be reused for thermometers, but could be reused for these vases. (page 136 of the soft-back Whitefriars book):
The Smooth range. This range was the first to take the original production colours later synonymous with the textured vases, as shown below Indigo, Willow and Cinnamon (Soft-back page 137):
Three rare 'Banjos'. The Banjo (a.k.a 'Threepenny bit') is the most widely known of the large Baxter pieces. The three colours below are among the rarest, Ruby (only known example), Pewter (164 made) and Meadow (189 made) pat 9681:
'Fluted logs'. The very largest of the textured bark logs, these were only sold for about three months before being withdrawn due to lack of interest. These are referred to in the 1969 catalogue. From left to right Kingfisher, Ruby, Tangerine and Pewter:
Tall Drunken Bricklayer vases. (pat 9672 page 140 soft-back Whitefriars book):
Tall and small Drunken Bricklayer vases, illustrating the different colours which these are found in. From left to right Cinnamon, Willow, Indigo, Kingfisher, Aubergine, Tangerine, Meadow, Sage and Pewter:
'Hemorrhoids vases'. Part of the late textured range in Sage, Kingfisher and Lilac (pat 9829):
More from the 'Late Textured' range of pieces. (page 141 of the soft-back Whitefriars book and page 346 of the hard-back book):
'Poppy' vases from the late textured range, Sage and Kingfisher:
