Ryde-based niche book publishers Gerald Davison Ltd. have been awarded a Business Excellence Award and the title ‘Leading Chinese Art Books Publisher 2025’ by Acquisition International business magazine.
Their unique academic publication, ‘Marks on Chinese Ceramics’, now in its third reprint, was first published in 2021 and was the first offered by the company as an internet-only purchase.
Earlier publications were sold through the book trade. Distributed globally from the Isle of Wight, sales of this latest book so far have totalled well in excess of £200,000, with 60% of sales to the USA.
The eponymous company is run by husband-and-wife team Gerald and Yuriko Davison.
Inscriptions and marks of varying types appeared on Chinese pottery and porcelain with increasing frequency from the Tang Dynasty (618 –906 CE) through to the Republic period in the early years of the 20th century.
‘Marks on Chinese Ceramics’ contains details of almost 4,200 individual marks in both the Chinese kaishu regular script or zhuanzhu seal script across 400 pages with translations in English, together with pinyin romanisation and historical notes, accompanied by a full colour section with images courtesy of the international auction house Sotheby’s.
The book is used by the world’s leading museums and auction houses, as well as dealers and collectors of Chinese ceramics. The book is available only from www.chinesemarks.com.
At the time of publication, Colin Sheaf, Global Head of Asian Art, Bonhams auctioneers, said:
“Top marks for your new edition! Hugely expanded, crucially extended to cover 20th century ceramics for the first time, and handily cross referenced for maximum usefulness, this is one of the very few reference books that is genuinely essential for anyone interested in Chinese taste ceramics.”
Congratulations, always good to see
businesses doing well.