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English Pottery by Rackham and Read: A Question of Attribution

This article offers a new understanding of the book ‘English Pottery’ by Bernard Rackham and Herbert Read, first published in 1924. The book’s importance lies in the way that it articulated certain key aesthetic principles that resonate within the field of ceramics to the present day. Contemporary commentators continue to take an interest in the text and are particularly drawn to it as an early work by Herbert Read, who became one of the most important art critics of the 20th century. Typically, interpretations privilege the mature ideas of Herbert Read.

A publisher’s proof of English Pottery was given to Cardiff School of Art and Design as part of a series of donations from Bernard Rackham’s family between 2002 and 2008. This proof is marked in coloured pencil and these markings appear to indicate which parts of the book were written by which author. This marked text has given an unprecedented opportunity to produce an article that reassesses the relative contributions of Rackham and Read and re-evaluates key passages in terms of the two authors’ particular interests, as well as points of divergence between them. Contrary to the assumptions of all other commentators, it is shown that it is Bernard Rackham rather than Herbert Read who must be recognised as the lead author of ‘English Pottery’.

As the first piece of research that identifies and analyses the respective contributions of the two authors of ‘English Pottery’, this article not only provides new historical information but also advances understanding in terms of the re-interpretation of the aesthetic principles that have underpinned the development of ceramics during the decades since the publication of the book. The conclusion is offered that ‘English Pottery’ needs to be interpreted anew on the basis of a revised understanding of the balance of authorship.