Collections Snapshot: Isaac Button Pottery
Isaac Button was Yorkshire’s last traditional country potter, making functional domestic pots from the red clay he dug himself. The site of his Soil Hill Pottery near Halifax produced pots since the 17th century until 1965, when he retired. At the height of his career, he could transform a ton of clay a day into pots. He still found time for enjoying himself though and is infamously quoted saying he “never left a pub the same day he entered it”.
Isaac is also the star of one of the most famous pottery films ever made. “Isaac Button: Country Potter” is 40 mesmerizing minutes of silent black and white film, produced by the amateur film maker John Anderson in the few years before Isaac retired. John died last year, leaving the film to the Yorkshire Film Archive. His widow has passed on to York Museums Trust a wonderful collection of photographs taken by him whilst he made the film. She has also given us two mixing bowls by Isaac, made of the rich red Yorkshire clay and decorated with the jewel-like yellow slip and galena glaze. The bowls are featured in the “Honest Pots” exhibition which is currently on display at York Art Gallery until October 2nd 2011, alongside some of the photos of Isaac and the famous film.
I have a signed dated puzzle jug from buttons 1956 It says on it ‘From mother Earth, I claim my birth, i am made for a joke for man,now here I am filled with good cheer, come taste me if you can, my Dad used to live on the road from the potters and watch them pot every day!
Debbie Lankester January 27th, 2012 at 8:14 pm