Signed FortySeven The Last Bottle Kilns of The Potteries by Photographer Phil Crow

FortySeven: The Last Bottle Kilns of the Potteries is a signed photography book by Phil Crow, created to accompany and catalogue the FORTYSEVEN exhibition — a landmark project documenting the surviving bottle ovens of Stoke-on-Trent across three prestigious Potteries venues: Keele University, the Gladstone Pottery Museum, and Middleport Pottery (2023).

At the height of the pottery industry, thousands of bottle ovens dominated the Stoke-on-Trent skyline. Before the Second World War, more than 2,000 had been documented. The Clean Air Act of 1956 marked the beginning of the end: by 1964, just 20 remained operable. By 2022, when Phil Crow began this project, only 47 bottle-shaped structures survived across 27 locations.

“The difference in condition is astounding — some are loved, most are not, but they are all beautiful in their own way.” — Phil Crow

The book includes a foreword by local historian Terry Wolliscroft, and stands as both a vital historical record and a beautiful photographic tribute to one of the Potteries’ most iconic industrial landmarks.

• Photographer: Phil Crow
• Foreword: Terry Wolliscroft
• Edition: Signed by the photographer
• Exhibition: FORTYSEVEN, 2023