Originally started by William Moorcroft, who later watched the company that carried his name become Potters to HM the Queen, and in receipt of international acclaim. In 1986, however, England's once great art pottery had dwindled to a handful of workers, and had not seen a major new design for more than ten years. The Phoenix Years (150 colour plates) chronicles Moorcroft's rise from the ashes of virtual oblivion to become perhaps the most collectable and prestigious art pottery in the world. The book carries a full inventory of painters and tubeliners marks up to 1997.