The company of Thomas Furnival & Son began trading in 1871. It seems likely that this was a partnership between Thomas and his son, Thomas Furnival (Junior). Thomas Junior, age 25, is listed as an Earthenware Manufacturer in the 1871 census. His brother Samuel Bourne Furnival, age 24, is listed as an Earthenware Manufacturer's son suggesting that Samuel may not yet have joined the company or, at least, was not yet working there in a senior capacity.
Between 1871 and 1876, Thomas Furnival & Son registered a total of ten designs, being ornamental designs for jugs and plate border designs.
The company was continuing to export goods to America, through the agencies of Peter Wright of Philadelphia and Samuel Quincy of New York.
Unfortunately, not all of these goods would arrive intact ...
Grateful thanks to Angella Pawliw for very kindly sending us this image of a shard of Furnivals pottery which she found at a beach called Meaford Memorial Park off Georgian Bay in Ontario Canada. Angella approached us to ask whether we may be able to identify the maker.
Looking at the backstamp, it seems to us that this piece was from the factory of Thomas Furnival and Son. It could be from the slightly later period of Thomas Furnival and Sons, but the stamp looks more like those seen on the earlier pieces.
Both companies exported a lot of pot to Canada at this time, for distribution through a number of dealers. We believe this is probably from a piece of white ironstone - a plate, maybe?
The fact that this was found at Georgian Bay makes us wonder whether it may be from a shipwreck? Apparently this area contains a lot of wrecks - further details may be found on the excellent Boating Georgian Bay website.
But, sadly, as Elizabeth Collard writes in her wonderful book, "Nineteenth-Century Pottery and Porcelain in Canada":
"On the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean lie tons of nineteenth-century pottery and porcelain intended for sale in Canada. Crates of (pottery) were loaded aboard sailing vessels bound for British North America and committed to the hazards of the sea. From the ports of London, Plymouth, Bristol, and Liverpool, the ships set out with cargoes eagerly awaited by china merchants in Toronto and Quebec ... but many of these ships never arrived.",
Whilst, the inland location of Georgian Bay doesn't strictly link it to the wider expanse of the Atlantic Ocean, the numerous wrecks identified in the area show that the bay was still at the mercy of the weather and underwater hazards. It may have been that, having survived the journey across the Atlantic, this tiny piece fell at the last hurdle while en route to its final destination, due to a wreck in the bay.
We shall probably never know ... but what a fascinating piece! Thank you so much to Angella for getting in touch!