We all need a bit of light relief in our lives and the cheap earthenware ornaments called Flatbacks put a bit of romance and colour on the mantelpiece of most homes in the mid Victorian era. Modelled only on the front and slim enough to fit the narrowest shelf, Staffordshire potters used the word ‘images’ for these ceramics. The above ‘image’ is of the two well known boxers, Tom Sayers and John Carmell Heenan made around 1860. A scene like this would have brought a smile to the faces of both the master and the mistress of a modest home. I love it!





