I discovered Keith Murray as the antidote to the headaches caused by Clarice Cliff crocus pattern and chrome crowding and dazzling me on sunday mornings at art deco fairs; his pots seemed like a cold compress on the forehead during a hangover.
This book states in the title that he was a designer, not a potter and his training as an architect can be evoked by the simplicity of his forms and lack of complex deoration.
His designs were simple enough to be mass produced but without the jelly mould like sameness the process usually implies. Restricting himself to a palette of less than nine glazes, mostly matt plus a few incised slipware showing two colours did not act like a restriction for him; it rather tended to accentuate the purity of the form. While it is true he did produce a few flowery patterns reminiscent of Susie Cooper, and there were a few commemorative pieces, the major part of his canon was left plain.
The Art Deco fair of 1925 was his epiphany, especially the glass from the Orrefors factory. Not quite mass produced, but showing a high level of artistry for a modest price was an appealing factor for him, if not a major inspiration. All this is covered in the book and a few of his glass designs are illustrated together with some very scarce examples of his silver and silver plate.
The flaw with this book which is nearly all colour illustrations is that there are pieces described which are not shown and pieces shown with no caption. A minor quibble given the wealth of information including pattern numbers.
The prices will become less relevant with time but as a pro- rata guide aginst current valuation , it will be somewhat helpful.
If you have even the smallest affection for the pots you will appreciate this book
