Hetherington. A. L.

One of the founders, and for many years secretary, of the Oriental Ceramic Society in 1921 and author of various books on Chinese ceramics, one in collaboration with R L Hobson. Particular interest in glazes, and author of 'Chinese Ceramic Glazes' of 1937. His own collection sold by Bluett's in 1953.

Born and raised in Highgate, London, Arthur Lonsdale (A. L.) Hetherington was educated in England at Highgate School and Trinity College, Cambridge. He served as principal of the Government Collegiate School in Rangoon, Burma (1905–1907), before he held posts in Great Britain with the Board of Education, the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust (as its first secretary), and the University Grants Committee. He held the position of assistant secretary in the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research from 1922 to 1943. His final post was as an administrative advisor to the British Coal Utilization Research Association (1943–44). Hetherington was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1938. Although he was first and foremost a government scientist, Hetherington was also a founding member of the Oriental Ceramic Society in 1921, which in its early years consisted of a small group of major British collectors and representatives of the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. He served as the Society’s honorary secretary for many years. A prolific writer on Chinese ceramics, Hetherington’s pioneering work The Early Ceramic Wares of China appeared in 1922. His collecting interest in Chinese ceramics led him to publish the first study of Chinese ceramic glazes in 1937. Hetherington’s collection of Chinese porcelain was sold by Bluett and Sons in 1953.