Backstamps Decoded
A visual chronology of every Paragon mark from the Star China Company years through the royal warrant era, dated and cross-referenced so you can place a piece within a five-year window.
The Collector’s & Buyer’s Guide
Paragon
China
Ninety-five years of English bone china, decoded plate by plate.
From the first Star China Company backstamp in 1897 to the closing of the Paragon name in 1992, this is the reference collectors have been piecing together from auction notes and cracked saucers for decades — now bound in one volume: every backstamp era, every major pattern family, and the values that separate a charity-shop find from a five-figure tea service.
Hardcover, 312 pages · Ships worldwide
Est.
Reference
1897–1992
Why This Book Exists
Every Paragon piece is a small, gilded puzzle — and until now, solving it meant chasing scraps of information across forums, out-of-print pamphlets, and dealers who kept the good knowledge to themselves.
This guide gathers what should have been a single book decades ago: a complete, visual timeline of Paragon’s backstamps, the pattern families that defined each era, honest current values by condition and rarity, and the authentication details that catch the reproductions before your money does.
95Years Covered
40+Backstamp Variants
200+Patterns Cataloged
312Pages, Full Color
Inside the Guide
Four ways to read a piece of Paragon
Structured the way a collector actually works a piece — turn it over, date the mark, place the pattern, then decide what it’s worth.
Pattern Library
Full-color plates of the pattern families that made Paragon’s name — the hand-painted roses, the Bone China florals, the commemorative runs — with the naming conventions dealers actually use.
Current Values
Realistic price ranges by piece, pattern, and condition — drawn from actual sale records, not wishful listings — so you know what to offer and what to ask.
Authentication
The glaze, gilding, and mark details that distinguish genuine Paragon from later reissues and outright fakes — the section every serious buyer reads twice.
Backstamp Era1938–52
A Timeline You Can Actually Use
Date a piece the way a specialist does
Paragon changed its mark more than a dozen times in ninety-five years — through the Star China years, the royal appointments, the Atco and Allied English China ownership changes. Most of those shifts are undocumented anywhere outside auction-house archives.
This guide lays the whole sequence out in order, with clean photographs of each mark and the years it was in use, so dating a piece takes a minute at the shelf instead of an hour online.
- Star China Company marks, 1897–1919
- The early Paragon crown marks, 1920s–30s
- Royal warrant backstamps and what they actually mean
- Late-era marks through the 1992 closure
Who Reaches for This Book
Built for the people who actually handle the china
The Collector
Building a set with confidence
Match a new find to your existing service, confirm the era before you buy, and know what a fair asking price actually looks like.
The Dealer
Pricing and provenance, fast
A shelf reference you can consult in front of a customer — backstamp, pattern, and value, without reaching for a laptop.
The Estate Hunter
Knowing treasure from tableware
Separate an ordinary teacup from a rare early mark before it goes back on the thrift-store shelf.
“A backstamp is a signature, a date, and a small act of pride — Paragon’s potters rarely got the credit their painting deserved. This book is an attempt to give it back.”From the Introduction
Own the Reference
Stop guessing at the backstamp.
One volume, ninety-five years, every mark you’ll ever need to place.
Collector’s Edition
$48 hardcover
312 pages, full color, cloth binding with foil-stamped cover. The complete backstamp timeline, pattern library, and values guide.
Buy the BookFor Shops & Guilds
Bulk 10+ copies
Discounted case pricing for antique dealers, china clubs, and estate sale companies. Ask about co-branded orders for shop counters.
Request Wholesale PricingSigning a limited run of first editions — ask about signed copies when you order.
Before You Order
A few things worth knowing
Does this cover pieces made after Paragon was absorbed into other makers?
Yes — the guide runs the full span from the 1897 Star China Company origins through the 1992 closure of the Paragon name, including the ownership changes and mark shifts along the way.
Is this useful if I only own a few pieces, not a full collection?
Absolutely. Most readers start with one inherited teacup and use the backstamp timeline to work out what they actually have — the values section is written for single pieces as much as full services.
How current are the values in the book?
Values are drawn from realized sale records rather than asking prices, and are presented as ranges by condition so the guide stays useful as the market moves rather than going stale after one season.
Do you offer wholesale or shop pricing?
Yes — antique shops, china clubs, and estate sale companies ordering ten or more copies can request case pricing through the wholesale link above.