By David Gestler
Dr. Royce Walters was an extremely intelligent English History Professor with an amazing memory of England’s past, and of course, Transferware potteries. When I, and my wife Eleanor, met Royce, he was a Professor Emeritus teaching English History at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. His career ran for more than 32 Years.
We met Royce at a small history museum located in the town of Saltsburg, PA, midway between our home near Pittsburgh and Royce’s home in Indiana. Both Royce and Eleanor had a deep interest in 1800’s antiques; Royce with English Transferware and Eleanor with Early American Pattern Glass. Both had sizable collections by then, going back to the 1960’s. Royce, Eleanor and I got to know each other at the museum one afternoon when Eleanor gave a talk on EAPG. At the time, Royce was teaching a course at his home on “Topics in Antiques” through a continuing education course offered by his Indiana University. After hearing Eleanor’s talk, Royce invited her to speak to his class. Well, when Eleanor saw all of the beautifully decorated ceramic tableware in Royce’s home, she was committed to learn what this was and where Royce had acquired it.
So from where did Royce’s interest in Transferware and Eleanor’s in Pattern Glass derive? For Royce, it was from the time he had studied at a major British University for his PHD in early English history. He was exposed to Transferware in homes and shops, as well as learning of England’s industrial past. For Eleanor, and me, our interest in EAPG grew from a wedding gift of a berry bowl set which had been produced by a Pittsburgh company around 1910. The pattern is named Hawaiian Lei. We added to the pattern over the years until I currently have at least three examples of all forty variations produced.
One of my fond memories was watching Royce and Eleanor sitting at our dining room table searching to identify a Transferware item that one of us had purchased. They used the various reference books of the time such as “Priestman on Minton” or “Petra Williams on Early Victorian China”. This was many years before the TCC database was introduced in 2006.
Much, if not most, shopping for Transferware for both of them took place in English shops, or even roadside stands of home owners. The fact that my employment took Eleanor and me to England during the 1990’s, and after my retirement in the 2,000’s, provided opportunities to meet with Royce for a week or more of antiquing in many well known English shops. Royce would fly into London to meet with his former professors or classmates. He was then free to stay with us at our rental on the south coast in the historic town of Lyme Regis. He would arrive by train from London into Axminster, a town not far from Lyme Regis, and stay for a week or more. Since I drove in England, we could antique daily in nearby towns like Honiton, Taunton, Newton Abbey, Chard and Sherbourne, plus many antique fairs. We would take our purchases to a shipping company that had a pickup in Chard. They would pack them into large wooden crates that would arrive in Baltimore and then be delivered to our home’s garage two or three months later. Royce and Eleanor would unpack. Royce would take his pieces home to Indiana where he would display them in all the rooms of his large home. The Gestler’s collection was featured in the TCC’s 2021 Zoom Annual Meeting.
Royce, and the Gestlers, attended all of the TCC Conventions, from the first one in 1999, and continuing until his health began to fail. He spoke at the 2009 meeting held in Bristol, England. One of his, and my favorites, was the 2015 English meeting held in the Pottery District, north of London. Since by then, Eleanor had passed away so I took my two daughters Kim and Carol. We met Royce in London and traveled with him. At the 2013 Boston meeting, Royce spoke on the importing companies that carried Transferware to the ports of New England in sailing ships. This was his favorite topic.
In conclusion, you may wonder what has happened to Royce’s Transferware collection which was still in his home in Indiana. Sadly, Royce had lost his wife, also a teaching professor at Indiana University years before, and his son was not available. His only relative is a brother and his family, who have no interest in the collection, apart from a few family pieces. When Royce’s health began to deteriorate about four years ago, and he had moved into a care facility, we spoke and I agreed to gather, pack and purchase his Transferware. My daughters and I now have 30 to 40 boxes in my basement, waiting to be unpacked, cleaned and, if I can find the space, displayed. It is in good hands. I’m sure Royce would be pleased
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