British Factories

During the nineteenth century, the British pottery industry was largely concentrated in the central English county of Staffordshire, in the six towns and numerous villages that make up the modern city of Stoke-on-Trent, often simply called the “Six Towns” or “The Potteries.” This region possessed an abundance of the basic raw materials necessary for ceramic production—deposits of clay, to form the wares, and coal, to fire the kilns. No other part of England had a manufacturing district so utterly associated with one trade. This section features wares made by English firms, from the large, well-established concerns that produced a wide range of ceramics—including porcelain, parian, stoneware, and a variety of earthenwares—and that added majolica to their production lines from the 1850s through the 1870s, to the smaller ones founded in the second half of 1860s, the 1870s, and the the early 1880s that specialized in majolica manufacture.

These British manufacturers competed for expanding markets both at home and abroad, using a variety of tactics to promote and sell their wares. Many participated in the international exhibitions that punctuated the second half of the nineteenth century. Still more engaged with specialized retail outlets and large department stores, circulated illustrated catalogues of their wares, and purchased print advertisements in trade journals and newspapers. Moreover, many also invested in design, hiring both well-known sculptors and anonymous modelers to create novel products. For protection against piracy in Britain, many firms submitted their new models or patterns to the British Designs Registry, which was in itself a mark of distinction and therefore useful as a promotional tool.

Minton & Co. (after 1883, Mintons Ltd.) was the largest and most important British ceramic manufacturer of the nineteenth century, even rivaling state-supported European factories such as Sèvres in France. Founded in 1793 in the Staffordshire town of Stoke-upon-Trent, the firm flourished under the leadership of Herbert Minton (1793–1858) and his nephew Colin Minton Campbell (1827–1885) who, with French-born art director Léon Arnoux (1816–1902), oversaw the company’s aesthetic and commercial dominance from the 1840s through the 1880s. A large part of Minton’s success was due to its commitment to innovation, including the pivotal development by Arnoux of majolica. The firm debuted this new ware at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London, and it would remain among the company’s principal product lines for the next fifty years. An emphasis on the importance of good design was another key factor in Minton’s success. The firm not only employed many well-known European artists and designers, it also supported design education on both national and local levels, and subsidized the education of many of its own employees.

Minton’s clientele was international, ranging from a vast swath of the middle classes to the most elite, including the British royal family. To attract this broad range of consumers, the company invested in mutually beneficial relationships with leading retailers, among them Thomas Goode & Co. in London and Tiffany & Co. in New York. Minton also made a strong commitment to marketing its wares worldwide, most significantly through its prominent displays in the international exhibitions held across the globe in the second half of the nineteenth century. These elaborate presentations featured many of the majolica models included in this section.

These figures made of parian, an unglazed porcelain that resembles marble, portray the two men who led Minton & Co. between 1836 and 1885: Herbert Minton (1793–1858) and his nephew Colin Minton Campbell (1827–1885). The firm became enormously successful under their leadership, gaining a worldwide reputation for innovation and artistry. In this likeness commissioned to commemorate his death in 1858, Herbert Minton is depicted holding a dish and leaning on a pedestal, both of which his firm made in majolica—suggesting, only a few years after its introduction, the importance of the ware to his legacy. The representation of Colin Minton Campbell, copied from a full-size bronze statue that stood outside the Minton factory from 1887, also features a majolica prop, this one in the form of an elaborately modeled stand.

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Minton & Co. would occasionally supply models to one retailer exclusively. Thomas Goode & Co., a leading London purveyor of ceramics, glass, and silver, and Minton’s main retail outlet in the British capital for many years, enjoyed such commercial advantage. This teapot was designed by English artist and author Henry Hope Crealock, who was known for his illustrations of animals and sporting subjects. Crealock served in the British Army for much of his life, spending several years in India, where he likely witnessed this model’s subject—a vulture preying on a snake.

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The growth of industrialization and trade during the nineteenth century in Britain and the United States transformed society, producing not only a new class of wealthy industrialists, bankers, and rail and shipping magnates, but also enlarged and increasingly prosperous middle classes. These consumers sought objects to adorn their homes and tables, and British manufacturers were eager to supply them.

In 1860, the venerable firm of Josiah Wedgwood & Sons began manufacturing majolica, effectively ending the near monopoly on the ware that Minton & Co. had held for almost a decade. Other Staffordshire manufacturers quickly followed suit. Some of these were established potteries with robust existing businesses, while others were more recently founded. Those firms with the means to do so hired in-house and freelance designers to ensure the originality and artistry of their output. Moreover, they submitted their designs to the British government’s Designs Registry, which granted copyright protection in the United Kingdom for a period of three years; they issued printed catalogues or pattern sheets; and they presented their wares in elaborate displays at the international exhibitions held in major cities throughout the world in the second half of the nineteenth century. Commercial success in this highly competitive market was derived from a coordination of design and manufacturing supported by effective promotion and distribution.

Founded in 1759 by ceramic innovator and businessman Josiah Wedgwood I (1730–1795), the Wedgwood company enjoyed great success under his direction and into the early nineteenth century, but the venerable firm was struggling by the 1840s. The leadership of Francis Wedgwood (1800–1888) and his three sons, Godfrey (1833–1905), Clement (1840–1889), and Lawrence (1844–1913), gradually shifted the pottery’s fortunes in the decades that followed. One key advance was the development of a superior line of majolica, which Wedgwood introduced in about 1860 and continued to produce until 1918. During the peak years of its production, from 1865 to 1890, the ware formed a substantial percentage of the firm’s output, and by the 1870s, Wedgwood was manufacturing more majolica than any other kind of ornamental pottery.

Wedgwood engaged leading artists and designers of the day, both as company staff and on a freelance basis, to realize distinctive wares of the highest quality. Its brilliant glazes and the precision of its modeling were celebrated not only at home but also abroad—indeed, the firm enjoyed a substantial export market. Although Wedgwood produced a few grand exhibition pieces in the brightly glazed earthenware, it was first and foremost a pioneer in the manufacture of majolica tableware and other household items, which it sold at prices accessible to the growing middle classes.

Josiah Wedgwood & Sons made significant investments in design during the second half of the nineteenth century, realizing that a commitment to artistry was key to commercial success. Wedgwood, like other leading British firms including Minton & Co. and T. C. Brown-Westhead, Moore & Co., benefited from the influx of artists from France who migrated to England in the aftermath of the French Revolution of 1848—among them, prominent sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (1824–1887), modeler Hugues Protât (born 1816; active 1835–90), and painter Émile-Aubert Lessore (1805–1876). These men contributed to the firm’s aesthetic development, especially in terms of its ornamental majolica.

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This model, first displayed at the London International Exhibition of 1871, highlights majolica’s malleable, sculptural qualities as well as the Wedgwood company’s ongoing effort to introduce novel shapes into its production. French-born Hugues Protât designed this clock vase along with many other majolica forms for Wedgwood during the 1870s.

By the late 1870s, the taste for brightly colored majolica was beginning to wane. Wedgwood responded in 1878–79 by introducing Argenta, a style of decoration characterized by pale, usually white or ivory grounds, and subdued colors, often in shades of gray and green. Argenta glazed wares were soon selling so well that other potteries in England and the United States adopted a similar palette for their majolica.

The Japanesque design of the cheese stand shown here is consistent with the Aesthetic movement mission to unite the beautiful with the useful through the application of Asian-inspired ornament. Similarly appealing to Aesthetic taste, the fruit tray and spoon employ an exotic peacock motif, a prominent symbol of the influential movement, which reached its height in the 1870s and 1880s. As ornamental as they are functional, the tray and spoon would have been used for berries served as a dessert course or with afternoon tea.

In 1861, Thomas Chappell Brown-Westhead (1837–1882) and William Moore (1815–1866) formed a partnership to operate the Cauldon Works. This large porcelain and pottery factory was located in Hanley, one of the six Staffordshire towns comprising the Potteries, England’s principal ceramic-manufacturing district. From about 1865, T. C. Brown-Westhead, Moore & Co. began producing majolica of excellent quality, which was met with great acclaim at the many international exhibitions in which the firm participated. Although majolica was not the primary focus of its large and diverse production, Brown-Westhead, Moore & Co. engaged numerous freelance modelers, sculptors, and other artists to realize original wares, often noteworthy for their inventive design.

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This dynamic rendering of an eagle in pursuit of its prey exudes vigor and intensity—characteristics often associated with the work of British designer Mark Valsler Marshall. Described in the 1871 English census as a sculptor, Marshall was a freelance artist for T. C. Brown-Westhead, Moore & Co. He notably modeled a pair of life-size majolica tigers for the firm, which it displayed at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1878, as well as other sculptural majolica the company presented in 1889 at the subsequent international exhibition in Paris. Marshall’s models often bear his initials as part of the mold. Such public crediting of designers was relatively new at this time and demonstrates critical acknowledgment by Brown-Westhead, Moore of the artist’s vital role in industry and of the sales potential that such a “signature” might foster in a competitive market.

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George Jones (1823–1893) served a seven-year apprenticeship at Minton & Co. beginning in 1837, and subsequently worked as a traveling salesman for Josiah Wedgwood & Co. and other firms before founding his own highly successful business as a wholesaler of china and earthenware in the early 1850s. The significant capital Jones built up during this time allowed him to embark on pottery manufacture in 1862. His eponymous firm in Stoke-upon-Trent began producing majolica in about 1865–66, and the ware soon became the pottery’s most important product line. Although the identity of the company’s principal designer is unknown, it is likely that George Jones himself or his son Frank Ralph Jones (1846–1911) played a significant role in the development of the firm’s strong aesthetic identity, which was dominated by lifelike relief-modeled animals and plants. The manufacturer enjoyed a strong export business, including to the important American market, and promoted its wares through displays at international exhibitions from the 1860s through the 1880s.

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John Adams & Co., later Adams & Bromley, was one of the most commercially successful majolica manufacturers in Staffordshire. Beginning in 1864, and for nearly thirty years, it supplied a diverse range of high-quality, reasonably priced majolica tableware, flowerpots, and garden seats to the growing middle-class markets at home and abroad. Most of the company’s original partners, including John Adams (1827/8–1900) and John Bromley (1829–1915), began their careers at Josiah Wedgwood & Sons. This early experience impacted the course of their business, informing the design and decoration of the goods they manufactured. The company participated in several world’s fairs and exported its production widely, including to the vital American market.

This garden seat model decorated with molded corn and sheaves of wheat tied with ribbon was shown at the London International Exhibition of 1871. The example displayed here features what emerged as the firm’s signature majolica palette: bright green, yellow, brown, and lavender.

Women comprised approximately 40 percent of the workforce in Staffordshire ceramic factories. Most were employed as decorators or “paintresses” or, on the so-called clay end, as attendants or assistants to the male potters. At Wardle & Co., however, there was an exception—the pottery was owned and managed for many years by Eliza Wardle (ca. 1827–1889), the widow of its founder, James Wardle (ca. 1823–1871). Known affectionately as “Mother Wardle,” she oversaw the firm’s growth from a small, struggling business into a successful ceramic manufacturer with a significant export trade. Wardle & Co. made majolica from about 1865, and from the mid-1870s, its production focus was on house- and tablewares, many of original design, finished in fine quality, colorful glazes.

Worcester Royal Porcelain Company, the only significant English majolica maker not situated in Staffordshire, was founded in 1751 in the city of Worcester in central England’s West Midlands region. The firm made its reputation in the production of high-quality porcelain, but by the middle of the nineteenth century, both its output and standing had declined. Under the leadership of a new owner, William Henry Kerr (1823–1879), and art director, Richard William Binns (1819–1900), the company embarked on a period of innovation in the second half of the nineteenth century. During this time, it introduced a variety of new ceramic bodies including majolica, which it began to manufacture in 1868. The firm was soon receiving critical acclaim and awards at international exhibitions for the sophisticated design of its brightly glazed earthenware, noteworthy for its fine, porcelain-like body.

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The general shape of this vase, in the form of a nautilus shell on a coral base, is reminiscent of Renaissance objects that featured in many princely European collections—natural specimens collected for their intrinsic beauty and then mounted in gold. The molded details of the shell, snails, and lizard also recall the lifelike creations of French potter Bernard Palissy (1510–1589). Worcester’s characteristic white porcelain-like body is particularly evident in this piece—in which the shell appears almost translucent.

A giant of the pottery industry, W. T. Copeland & Sons (before 1868, W. T. Copeland) was comparable to Minton & Co. and Josiah Wedgwood & Sons in the exceptional quality and variety of its wares. Its vast output ranged from parian statuary, elegant hand-painted porcelain made for exhibition, and bone-china dinner sets to the humblest earthenware crockery and stoneware. The successor business to the firm founded in the Staffordshire town of Stoke-upon-Trent by Josiah Spode (1733–1797) in the eighteenth century, Copeland made superb majolica from the late 1860s through the early 1880s. While never its main focus, Copeland’s majolica was realized by a skilled staff and leading freelance designers under the supervision of one of the best artistic departments in the Potteries. The firm featured this ware at several international exhibitions in the 1870s.

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Copeland did not participate in the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia. However, the importer, wholesaler, and retailer James M. Shaw & Co. of New York opened a temporary store adjacent to the exhibition grounds where it sold special commemorative items supplied by Copeland, including this pitcher with its patriotic imagery. Shaw offered this boldly modeled design in several different ceramic bodies and decorations, including the colorful majolica version shown here.

Joseph Holdcroft (ca. 1832–1904) was trained and employed at Minton & Co. before establishing his own, eponymous firm in the early 1860s. His company began majolica production in about 1870 at a pottery factory in Daisy Bank, in the Staffordshire town of Longton. Holdcroft’s business strategy was anchored in manufacturing large quantities of mid-range majolica, supplemented by higher-quality pieces that garnered positive press reviews and upheld the company’s reputation. Although the firm was capable of manufacturing premium majolica in novel shapes, it was considered more of an imitator than an innovator, sometimes copying designs of rival potteries. The company continued to make majolica into the 1890s.

From the mid-1870s through the 1880s, Holdcroft manufactured a range of majolica inspired by Japanese art and design. This jug embellished with swimming carp is among the firm’s many Asian-inspired wares glazed in the brilliant, glossy cobalt blue and turquoise that were specialties of the pottery. Holdcroft registered this model with the British government for design protection on September 28, 1877.

A large manufacturer of stoneware, earthenware, and porcelain based in the Staffordshire town of Burslem, William Brownfield & Son(s) produced majolica of outstanding quality through the 1870s and 1880s. In 1872, the firm hired Louis Jahn (1839–1911) as its first art director. The German-born Jahn, one of several skilled Continental artists who first came to England to work at Minton & Co., was instrumental in directing Brownfield’s product expansion. Like other well-capitalized Staffordshire firms, Brownfield employed celebrated freelance sculptor-modelers such as Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (1824–1887) and Hugues Protât (born 1816; active 1835–90) to design objects for both general production and exhibition display, shifting the firm’s reputation from moderately priced, useful domestic wares (which were crucial to its success) to what one contemporary reviewer deemed “the highest region of fine art in ceramics.”

Brownfield further distinguished itself by making odd or unattractive, sometimes even disturbing models, tapping into Victorian dark humor and the macabre as a way to differentiate its output from that of the many other Staffordshire manufacturers competing in the same crowded market. The export trade was an important part of Brownfield & Sons’ sales strategy, and to that end, the firm engaged agents and wholesale outlets in large cities throughout Continental Europe, Australia, and the United States. It also advertised extensively in trade journals and newspapers, and built a name for itself in foreign markets through its participation in the international exhibitions of the period.

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Thomas Forester (1832–1907), proprietor of the eponymous firm (after 1883, Thomas Forester & Sons), catered to the lower end of the market and became extremely successful through his high-volume production of inexpensive majolica. Founded in 1877 in the Staffordshire town of Longton, the company claimed by 1880 that it was introducing new designs every week to satisfy consumer demand for novelties—from jugs, teapots, cuspidors, and vases to cheese stands and flowerpots.

Forester was an astute businessman who embraced modern marketing strategies. Regularly running full page advertisements in trade publications throughout much of his long and successful career, he understood the value of a printed image to create interest in and demand for his firm’s ever-evolving lines of ornamental and useful majolica. Under Forester’s leadership, the firm developed strong relationships with retailers and wholesalers, both domestically and in key markets such as the United States; opened showrooms in London and New York, as well as in many Continental European cities; and featured its majolica as part of extensive displays in world’s fairs during the 1880s and 1890s.

To see examples of Thomas Forester majolica, click on objects depicted in the advertisement below.

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Among the most successful English majolica manufacturers and yet also one of the last firms to begin production of the ware, S. Fielding & Co. made a wide range of goods—from tableware to ornamental pieces for the conservatory and entrance hall. Crisp modeling of naturalistic embellishment, textured backgrounds, and superb coloring distinguish Fielding’s output from that of its competitors. Its namesake was Simon Fielding (1827–1905), one of five partners in the firm’s short-lived predecessor Hackney, Kirkham & Co., which was founded in 1878. Another partner was Frederick Hackney (1848–1892), who would later become manager of Chesapeake Pottery, a Baltimore-based manufacturer. By the end of 1879, Fielding was the sole remaining partner and had renamed the company S. Fielding & Co., although his son Albert (1855–1932), who had trained in the pottery industry as a glaze maker, was almost certainly integral to the firm’s success. S. Fielding & Co. enjoyed a strong domestic and export trade, including to the growing American market.

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In the early 1880s, Fielding created a number of designs inspired by Japanese motifs, which enjoyed widespread popularity at the time in both Europe and America. The firm submitted its “Fan” pattern, one of its bestselling designs, to the British Designs Registry for protection against piracy in 1881. This tête-à-tête set, or tea service for two, exhibits some of the bright glazing, including the turquoise blue, that is characteristic of Fielding’s production.

This impressive stand in the form of a hare and duck hanging on a tree stump—seemingly a tribute to hunting and other rural pursuits—was designed to be placed in an entrance hall to hold umbrellas and walking sticks. In 1882, Fielding illustrated this design in an American trade periodical advertisement, promoting itself as “Manufacturers of High Class Majolica, Both Useful and Ornamental” to the lucrative US market.

Samuel Lear (ca. 1853–1888) founded his eponymous company in about 1874, developing it from a warehousing business into a successful ceramic factory. Based in the Staffordshire town of Hanley, his firm made majolica from 1881 to 1886, and its most popular designs employ the stylized, naturalistic decoration and motifs characteristic of Aesthetic taste. Rendered in pastel colors against a white or blue stippled background, his palette likewise reflects the Asian influence so integral to the Aesthetic movement. Lear aggressively pursued foreign markets for his wares and advertised frequently in the trade press.

By December 1886, the pottery’s financial difficulties prompted Lear to sell the entire business to Thomas Forester, a leading entrepreneur and majolica manufacturer. Upon receipt of the funds from the sale, Lear secretly fled Staffordshire and defaulted on all of his debts. In a karmic twist of fate, less than two years later, his body was found in a shipwreck off the coast of New Zealand.

In the early 1880s, “barbotine”—originally the French term for a form of slip decorated pottery—was used in England and the United States to refer to ware decorated with high-relief applied flowers and leaves. Lear’s wares in this newly fashionable style were based on pottery featuring applied floral decoration that was first made in Continental Europe and subsequently imported into Britain in large quantities. This type of decorated majolica was in high demand in the 1880s and made by several other Staffordshire manufacturers, including Thomas Forester.