The Derby factory has made both tableware and ornamental display china since approximately 1750. However it was not known as Crown Derby until 1775, when King George III allowed it to add his esteem, and his mark, into its trademark backstamp. And it was another royal, Queen Victoria, who awarded it the royal warrant, and allowed the company to call itself Royal Crown Derby from 1890.
This is a really lovely set, and it contains a lot more technical information than a child would need to know, all the china marks, and the story of the factory. In fact I am certain that anyone who is not a card collector, but is a fan of china and porcelain, they would really treasure this set. And I think that is where our future lies, to somehow find a way to match-make thematic non-card collectors with thematic cards.
This card also has a hidden story, for the dress that is being modelled is in a style of decoration that was also made by Derby - it is one of the variants of the Imari King`s Pattern. And Imari designs first arrived in 1882, after the first glimpses of the traditional designs that had recently started being imported from the Orient. In fact Imari is a port,on the island of Kyushu, where the ware would have started its journey to Europe.
In our original British Trade Index, part I, RB.25, published in 1962, this set is listed as : "CHINA & PORCELAIN. Sm. 65 x 36. Nd. (15)".
This is almost identical in the updated Trade Index, RB.125, published in 2006, except that the date has been inserted between the title and the size.