Hello there. I've had an interest in collecting Carlton Ware figurines, in particular the 'girl' series for a while now, and having found information a little scarce on the subject, thought it might be worth passing on what I have found so far on these wonderful Art deco style pieces.

 Carlton Ware, a brief history.

  Carlton Ware can trace it's history back to 1894, when James Wiltshire, W.H and J.A. Robinson established the W&R earthenware and pottery company in Stoke-On-Trent Staffordshire, and named their factory the Carlton Works. The crest stamp on all pottery leaving the factory bore under it the words Carlton Ware, as proof of it's origin.  Although the pottery company would change it's name over the years with the arrival of new owners, it would eventually some seventy years later, in 1967, take on those words as a name in their own right. The Carlton Ware name has produced many many products over the years, from 'oven to table' wares in the twenties, Australian ranges in the thirties, through to the famous 'walking' tableware in the seventies. There is a huge amount of Carlton Ware to collect, and many patterns that have been lost over the years, waiting to be rediscovered.

  Modern Carltonware.

Carlton Ware as was recognised went into receivership in the late 1980's, although production did continue under John McCluskey up until 1997, and from then until today by Frank Salmon, who still owns the tradename, moulds and all intellectual property rights to do with the Carlton Ware name. Mostly these days Carlton Ware is found strictly via Mail Order, and in keeping with it's tradition, all product is made in Stoke on Trent useing the skills of various local potters. The full range still includes animal figures, teapots, mugs, gollies, the Mabel Lucie Attwell range, and the 'girl' series of course. If you search the web for Carltonwaredirect, you will find their official site.

 Carlton Ware Girls.

  My interest in Carlton ware is in the range of figurines know as Carlton Girls. This is a fairly limited selection, with only a few types that I have found to date, although many variations in colour exist. The figurines are all styled in a 1930's art deco keeping, with a rich lustre and a hint of natural/fairytale magic. The girls are mainly nude studies, with a surround of colour either from flowers or in the case of the butterfly girls, wonderfully coloured full length wings. The girls I know of to date are :-

Butterfly Girl

Hollyhocks Girl

Sunflower Girl

Buttercup Girl

Bird Of Paradise

Garden Fairy 

 So far, my main collection has been of the larger Butterfly Girls, and although many are fairly modern in origin, they are based on the ones first produced in the 1930's, which were believed to have been copied from or associated with, a famous advertising campaign of the day for toiletries.

 Values.

  Putting a price on a figurine is always tricky, and the old saying comes to mind, something is only worth what someone is willing to pay you for it. Having collected for a few years now, and I can only go on the larger nine inch figurines that I buy, an average price for a mint example would be between £80 to £100. There have been better prices, and wider variations, the last two Butterfly Girls I saw sell on ebay went for £180  and £60 respectively . There was nothing to tell between them, but as I say, one week can be very different from the next, though as a word of caution if you feel like waiting for the next one to come along, they are fairly rare even on a large site such as eBay. The price new from on line shops would seem to be around the £180 mark.

 I hope I've been of some help if you are interested in this particular range of Carlton ware. I shall keep updating this guide as I learn more about my collection, so do call back from time to time. The picture I include is of some of my Butterfly Girls ....