Fern ware

A variant on  Mauchline ware, fern ware seemed to have been first manufactured c.1870, when there was still much demand for box ware. It was not, as once thought, intended to boost a flagging enterprise. W. & A. Smith of Mauchline were the first and largest company to produce it, although others included Caledonian Box Works (Lanark), Hayes & Howgarth and Jack Davidson & Son. Several different processes were employed, but on almost all items real ferns were used - mostly being applied to the surface of the wood as a stencil, before varnishing with a lighter colour. Fern ware differs from other types of box ware in that it was not as obviously meant for the Scottish tourism industry as the tartan or transfer types. They could be personalised with photographs or production places, although these examples are in the minority, and fern ware lent itself more readily to larger pieces, such as chests of drawers.