Book excerpt: The fashioning of small items has always held a fascination for potters and, in consequence, the field of miniature pottery and porcelain is as wide and as old as the art of potting. Since c.1730, most English manufacturers have produced miniatures of their full-sized wares, yet while countless words have been written about pottery and porcelain, mention of miniatures has been restricted to a chapter in one or two books, and a few magazine articles. Even the best books on English ceramics do scant justice to this minor but understandably popular aspect of collecting. Here, at last, is a comprehensive and definitive work on small items, too large for the 'dolls' house, mostly too small for ordinary use. These include teasets and dinner sets, children's plates, cradles, ewers and basins, jugs, mugs, jelly moulds, taper candlesticks and a few decorative items. Copiously illustrated, it is thoughtfully written by two authors who collected and researched these wares for many years and by so doing becam