Borders

Wedgwood & Co., "Albany," c. 1860-1890.

Boundaries

Almost without fail, all transferware patterns prior to 1860 had borders. Sometimes these borders were clearly delineated and sometimes merely suggested, but the patterns always existed within the confines of the pottery boundaries.

Early Aesthetic transferware kept these borders for the most part and merely experimented with the imagery within. As time went on, however, artists and designers began to experiment and their use of space became more fluid. Borders became more suggestive until they disappeared altogether. And in keeping with the concepts of Japanese art and design they were absorbing, their designs were no longer restrained by a border, but free to exit and enter at will, truncated and cropped as necessary.

Keep in mind that patterns were in no way unified by a practicing artistic theory. Borders, or the lack thereof, exist in equal measure across the span of time that Aesthetic transferware was popular.

Progression

In the four examples here, you can see how borders evolved.

Although "Albany" cannot be dated definitively, it is most likely an early Aesthetic pattern, with its thick, solid, traditional floral border.
In "Tycoon," a solid 360-degree border has disappeared, but it is still very much suggested by the geometric tiles above and the plant life below.
In "Java," a border has disappeared completely, but the entirety of the pattern is still contained within the physical boundaries of the pottery itself.
Finally, in the last example, an unnamed pattern by an unknown maker, you can see that not only has the border disappeared, but the pattern itself now expands beyond the pottery edge!

William Brownfield & Sons, "Tycoon," c. 1878.

Anthony Shaw, "Java," c. 1880.

Unknown Maker, Unnamed Pattern, c. 1880.