Anne Caldwell (1828-1905) was the sister of my great grandfather. When their father died aged 45 he left his widow with 8 children. Anne was the eldest and she did not marry until late in life, I think she had been unable to marry as she had been busy helping her mother support her younger siblings. Joseph may have had a special affection for Anne as he named his eldest daughter Anne whereas technically her name should have been Helen (after his mother) however his wife's (Janet Wilson's) mother was Anne Lorimer and Anne would normally have been the second daughter's name. Perhaps there might even have been an earlier infant death. These naming "rules" were not set in concrete but the family seems to have followed them for generations. Excepting Joseph himself - I do not know whom he was named after.

Either the side-cabinet is on fire or there is a reflection of a warming fire on it. I think the latter is a more reasonable explanation :)

Behind the photograph and on the back my great aunt Jean (Anne's niece) left some information. Some of it is puzzling so I made my own deduction.

It is not clear where the photograph was taken. I don't think Anne was well off. Her brother Joseph became modestly wealthy and bought Riverbank House. They had an Aerated Water Factory attached to it and after the business was closed Jean (Joseph's unmarried daughter) lived there in the house for the rest of her life. The writing is apparently by Jean and added in 1934 whilst she was at "Riverbank" (note that Anne died in 1905). The plates may have been Anne's or they may have belonged to Joseph and his wife if the picture was taken at Riverbank House.

I do not know the type of pottery that is exhibited. It might be Scottish. Some Scottish manufacturers were:

"Delftfield and West Pans pottery. Having previously been highly localised and intermittent, ceramic production emerged in the late eighteenth century as an industry of mass production and diversification for a rapidly growing market. Concentrated in areas of abundant natural or readily importable resources, in the Forth and Clyde Basins, Wemyss Ware from Kirkcaldy and transfer-printed earthenware by J & M P Bell & Co of Glasgow represent production in the two main areas by the late nineteenth century."

"Potteries include: Alloa, Anfield, Barrowfield, Belfied, Bo'ness, Bridgeness, Britannia, Buchan's, Caledonian, Campbellfield, Clyde, Cumnock, Delftfield, Drongan, Dunmore, Eagle, Elgin & Mile End, Fife, Glasgow, Govancroft, Hyde Park, Industrial & West Lothian, Links, Midlothian, Newbigging, North British, Port Dundas, Possil Pottery, Auld Kirk, Rosslyn, Seaton, Sinclairtown, Star, Verreville, Victoria, Wellington & West Pans."

Any help on identifying the manufacturers of any of the pottery items would be appreciated. The two plates on the left may also be J&MP Bell. The "Hen Tureen" is quite distinctive and seems to match some of the other jugs, plates and the container it is sitting on.