Tile, 6 x 6 inches. Brown transfer on cream background. Raised maker's mark for Minton, Hollins, & Co. John Moyr Smith designed this series of 12 patterns for Minton Hollins & Co., c. 1873, in addition to the Nursery Rhyme series he designed for Mintons China Works. “The Queen of Hearts” was first published in 1805 by Charles Lamb in his nursery rhyme book and made popular by Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland (1865). The rhyme is as follows: The Queen of Hearts, / She made some tarts, / All on a summer’s day; / The Knave of hearts, / He stole those tarts, / And took them clean away. / The King of Hearts / Called for the tarts, / And beat the knave full sore; / The Knave of hearts / Brought back the tarts, / And vowed he’d steal no more. The scene here is presumably of the Queen of Hearts making her tarts, with the Knave sneaking behind her. Moyr Smith's signature can be seen on the edge of the table where the Queen is baking.

Herbert Minton entered into partnership with Michael Hollins in 1845 and formed the tile-making firm of Minton Hollins & Co. They were the most famed and prolific manufacturers - for most of the Victorian era their tiles were used in The Palace of Westminster (The UK Houses of Parliament), U.S. Capitol, Victoria & Albert Museum, and many other prestigious buildings.