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Beswick

Beswick was a Staffordshire pottery firm established in the late 19th century.

Although it produced decorative tablewares, its chief claim to collecting fame today is its series of ornamental figures: domestic and farm animals and characters based on literature and film such as Beatrix Potter books and Disney characters.


Beswick Belted Galloway

Cows can fly: Beswick lot bid to a bullish 30 times estimate in Glasgow

12 July 2024

Arthur Gredington, who was appointed chief modeller at the Beswick factory in 1939, found inspiration across the animal kingdom from cats and kittens to butterflies and leaping fish.

Beswick horse

Beswick shire horse gallops to an £11,300 top price

21 November 2022

A record for Beswick pottery was set in Stoke-on-Trent this month when a rare variant of one of the factory’s best-known models sold for a five-figure sum.

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Beswick brings a bit of colour to the ceramics market

13 December 2021

In the collectable ceramics market colour can count for a lot.

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Beswick at its most avant garde

24 May 2021

The 27 animal models created for Beswick by Colin Melbourne represented the firm at its most avant garde.

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Beastly Beswick rarities in demand

18 November 2019

In the resilient Beswick market, collectors paid high prices for some rarities – even modern prototypes – at autumn sales.

Beswick Huntsman

Beswick hunted down at Batemans' auction

09 September 2019

The first lot up at the Batemans (20% buyer’s premium) sale at Stamford on August 3 was this 8¾in (22.5cm) long 'Huntsman', model 1501, stamped 'Beswick England' and the painter’s number '94'.

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Fifth Kruger pulls £4700 in softer Beswick market

02 October 2017

Perhaps the rarest of all Beswick’s output is the pit pony figure Spirit of Whitfield.

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Runcorn auction rides in with a Beswick rarity

10 April 2017

A rare version of one of the most popular of Beswick farm figures, a shire horse in a piebald gloss finish, pulled its weight at The Auction Centre (16% buyer’s premium) in Runcorn on March 18.

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Winning the Beswick trials

09 May 2014

A trial model of a champion dog led the way among a group of Beswick figures sold at a recent auction in Stoke-on-Trent.

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Beswick’s £8500 pit pony leads the way at Nantwich

31 May 2005

PERHAPS the rarest of all Beswick’s ouput is the Spirit of Whitfield.

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Beswick prices keep moving on up

11 December 2004

Pick up a copy of a Beswick price guide from the late 1990s and it will tell you that the Galloway Bull, designed by Arthur Gredington, was made in three versions.

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Will Doulton prices rise if the Burslem factory closes?

13 October 2004

Given the Potteries location, it is hardly surprising that Royal Doulton and Beswick have long provided Louis Taylor (12.5% buyer's premium) with their bread-and-butter business as well as many top lots. The first day of their quarterly fine sales is always devoted to these staples, predominantly sourced from private vendors living within a 50-mile radius of the Hanley rooms.

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Beswick’s rise – the long and the shorthorn of it

01 September 2004

IS there currently a better performing area of the ceramics market than Beswick farm animals? Aided by a proliferation of books and guides and an enviably large collecting base that includes a loyal following within a nostalgic farming community, prices have seen some dramatic acceleration in recent years.

Collectors’ favourites in Potteries

24 August 2004

IN Louis Taylor's (12.5% buyer's premium) 700-lot General and Victoriana Hanley outing on July 12, it was the small collectable entries that generated some of the top prices with a Beswick Lipizaner horse and rider fetching £245, despite extensive damage, and a silver cigar box commemorating Winston Churchill selling at £240.

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Silver is the star on a day of Deco

15 June 2004

BONHAMS Chester hosted a 484-lot collectable ceramics and applied arts sale on April 27.

Beswick tops Whieldon in cattle market

26 May 2004

THE meteoric growth in demand for the rarer Beswick farm animals in good condition saw more money change hands for a 20th century Beswick Belted Galloway Bull than for an 18th century Whieldon bull and calf, at Brightwells' (15% buyer's premium) 524-lot April 28 specialist ceramic outing.

Rockingham pug is best of breed for collectors

19 May 2004

KEYS (10% buyer's premium) of Aylsham maintain the format of mammoth offerings – 1556 lots offered over two days (April 20-21) in this case – and, although only 60 per cent of them got away, there was plenty of material for budget-conscious collectors of such favourites as Royal Doulton character jugs and figures as well as Beswick Beatrix Potter and animal models.

Ditching reserves helps Beswick mount up an even bigger success

15 April 2004

IS there currently a more buoyant sector of the ceramics market than Beswick animals? Malcolm's No. 1 Auctioneers (12.5% buyer's premium) March 29 sale, held at Trustees Hall, Boston Spa, attracted what Malcolm Dowson estimated to be his largest ever attendance in over 20 years of auctioneering. The primary reason? A private collection of Beswick horse figures entered without reserve by a local resident who has decided to live in Spain.

Wine cooler raises sale’s health

23 March 2004

KIDSON-Trigg (15% buyer's premium) reported a healthy turnout for their 725-lot February 26 sale with steady interest for collectable ceramics such as Beswick and the better-quality furniture attracting a mixture of local and UK private and trade buyers.

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Low estimates will stimulate major bidding

06 February 2004

There is no doubt that a weak dollar has contributed to a weaker UK majolica market – and yet low estimates for good pieces continue to stimulate bidding.