Table of Contents

Fairings are small Victorian china ornaments, usually with a suitable caption, making a social, political or humorous comment on English life. They were in production from about 1850 to 1914 when the outbreak of the First World War brought this trade to an end.

Fairings were made for the huge English Fair market, the word 'fair' coming from the Latin feria meaning holiday. The latter was a great day out for the masses with a chance to catch up on gossip, fashions, new ideas and generally have a good time with the chance to buy or win a small china ornament as an agreeable reminder of the occasion. It was these china ornaments that came to be known as 'Fairings'.

Derek Jordan describes how and where Fairings were made and catalogues all known examples in alphabetical order by caption. He has also included a number of match-strikers and pin boxes. There is a useful Price Guide to the individual pieces in which the author lists what one would reasonably expect to pay at auction, with a margin of 20% either way. The vexed question of reproductions is discussed in an early chapter and several useful illustrated examples are also included for comparison.

This comprehensive Guide, which contains the largest pictorial record of Fairings published to date, will serve as a highly valued source of reference for the beginner as well as the established collector. It will also encourage the casual reader to take more than a passing interest in this intriguing subject.