Josiah Wedgwood

Josiah Wedgwood was born in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, where pottery had been made for a long time. Wedgwood's father was a potter himself and at the age of 14 he became an apprentice to his brother Thomas. Josiah was a conscientious worker and scholar, he soon became skilled at all aspects of the pottery industry. He soon saw the potential market that there was for ceramics in England.

He was a pacesetter of his day, not being afraid to use a range of new techniques in the second half of the 18th century. He discarded conventional Staffordshire pottery and began incorporating elements of Neo-classical art into his work, creating pottery that was to become fashionable amongst the 'the upper classes' of England, which up to then had always used silverware on their dinner tables. Wedgwood was notable for his business capabilities, always trying to get as much publicity for his products as possible. He was the first potter to print proper catalogues with illustrations of his wares, others had printed, what can only be described as pamphlets.

Wedgwood's first big success was the perfection of a cream coloured pottery, which had been produced in Staffordshire from the early 18th century. The composition was that of stoneware clay, but it was fired to an earthenware temperature and lead-glazed, giving it it's creamy yellow colour. Wedgwood was able to eradicate the problem of crazing, which had been a great problem in English pottery up to that time. He also perfected a green glaze, which appeared on popular fruit and vegetable teapots. By the mid 1760's, 'cream-coloured' ware became more popular, especially after Wedgwood was awarded royal patronage by Queen Charlotte of England, in appreciation of this ware, which was from then on called Queens Ware.

Being given the title of 'Potter to Her Majesty' led to a huge amount of publicity for Wedgwood. This association with the Queen proved to be very profitable, and Wedgwood didn't hesitate to take advantage of this by using the term 'Queen's Ware' as much as possible.

In 1770 he received an order from the Empress Catherine the Great of Russia for a 'Queen's Ware' dinner service for twenty-four people and in 1773 a further order for a dinner and dessert service for fifty people. This set was completed in 1774 and was made up of over 950 pieces, which were decorated with scenes from the English countryside. Wedgwood knew that an order such as this one would not be very profitable, due to the high costs of production, (each plate was decorated with an individual scene as a 'one-off' piece,) but he was not one to let such a publicity opportunity slip through his hands. Catherine the Great's paid Wedgwood 16,406 rubles and 43 kopeks, or a little over £2,100, while his expenses have been calculated as being about £2,612.

Wedgwood was always looking to soften the colour of this earthenware and by 1775 achieved this by additions of cornish stone. The Cream Ware was often decorated using a new practice called transfer printing (which is widely used in the pttery industry today), a method devised by John Saddler of Liverpool with whom Wedgwood join forces with, from 1761 onwards. Later this technique was improved upon by the addition of hand painting to fill in areas in colour. The contemporary taste of the time, called also for vases carved from stone, such as agate, granite or marble. Wedgwood saw an opportunity here, to gain a share of the market by producing a ceramic ware that closely resembled these stone vases. The technique he used is called marbling and is still in use today. On top of the 'marbled' clay he used various transparent glazes, which gave a tortoise-shell effect. He also invented a technique where oxides were sprinkled onto the vases and a clear lead glaze applied on top.

Another of Wedgwood's undertakings was his 'Pearl Ware', at first called 'Pearl White', which was introduced in 1779. After searching for 15 years for a whiter body, he finally perfected it, by adding kaolinic, Cornish clay. It has been said that cobalt oxide was used to 'whiten' the glaze, similar to laundry bleach, but this was not so, cobalt was used in the underglaze decoration only. This 'Pearl Ware', which was often made in the same shapes as the 'Cream Ware' was also liked by the royal household.

In 1769, Wedgwood devised a new clay body, which was known as Black Basalt ware. This was a clay body made from red iron-bearing clay with additions of manganese dioxide, which gave it, its black colour. This method caused the body to become quite hard and dense after firing and it was possible to give it a highly polished finish.

Wedgewood first introduced the famous Jasper Ware in 1774. Jasper Ware was made from a clay body invented by Wedgwood himself, dissimilar from his previous clay bodies, which were largely enhancements of formula's already being used in English Potteries. Part of Wedgwood's success, particularly when you think of the 'Jasper Ware,' lies in the fact that he was very secretive about tests and ingredients of this and other clays he experimented with. Through tests it has been established that barium sulphate was the important new ingredient in, 'Jasper Ware,' making it different to other clay bodies. Wedgwood would not have the material delivered to his 'Etruria' factory, but had it sent to London, where it was ground to a powder in order to conceal its ingredients, it was then sent to Staffordshire, thus showing his worries of other companies stealing his invention. He also ensured his employees didn't know too much about the processes that they were involved in, by giving them specific tasks and discouraging contact between different departments.

The Jasper Ware was usually coloured a light to medium blue, with pure white bas-relief ornaments added. These would be made in separate moulds and carefully stuck on with slip at the leather-hard stage. The piece could then be fired, without the need for a glaze, (due to the so-called self-glazing effect of the clay). The designs Wedgwood first used were like those seen on the Black Basalt. At later stages, mainly after the death of his partner, Thomas Bently, the classical designs became less severe, and in the late 1770's, new artists began to include themes taken from popular novels. Wedgwood began to produce large plaques in the 'Jasper Ware', with classical motifs such as 'The Apotheosis of Homer', with which he tried to gain entry into the realm of architecture and interior design. But famous architects and builders of the time, argued that the ware bore too little similarity to natural stone. Even though he could not please the architects with his ware, there were many items, which were made in the 'Jasper Ware,' including cameos, medallions, candlesticks, tea-ware and busts.

Wedgwood rushed to release a new range of Jasper Ware, after the death of his partner Thomas Bentley in 1780, to contradict rumours that he would not be able to manage the firm single-handed. This new range was displayed in 1782 and proved his critics to be wrong.

At the height of his career, in 1783, Wedgwood was awarded membership in the famous Royal Society, an association founded in the 17th century, by Charles II, which promoted research in the sciences. He gained this honour for his invention of the pyrometer; a still widely used device for measuring temperatures in pottery kilns today.

Today, Wedgwood Ware is authenticated with the help of signature marks, which Wedgwood used from as early as 1759. Wedgwood continued to produce ceramic wares and to explore new techniques until his death in 1795. His work and art still has many admirers and followers today,

The Etruria factory was officially opened by Josiah Wedgwood I, on 13th June 1769, Josiah had originally purchased the land on which the factory was built, known as the Ridgehouse Estate, in 1767 for the sum of three thousand pounds. The estate comprised of 350 acres, and Wedgwood was particularly eager to purchase it because he knew that it lay directly in the path of the proposed Trent and Mersey Canal. The name ‘Etruria’ actually comes from an area of central Italy originally inhabited by Etruscans, who were a highly civilised people who produced splendid works of art. The Roundhouse which was part of the Wedgwood factory can still be seen on the site, which is no the home to The Sentinel Newspaper.

The Wedgwood factory is now situated near Barlaston, a small village South of Stoke, the site is a 382 acre estate. The Wedgwood family purchased the land in 1936 for the site of the new factory. The foundation stone was laid on 10 September 1938, and the architects for the factory were Keith Murray and Charles White. Earthenware production was transferred from the Etruria site in 1940, with production officially ending at Etruria on 13 June 1950. The new Barlaston factory was the most advanced pottery in Britain at the time of opening, and firing was powered by electricity in the Brown Boveri tunnel ovens. There are various types of Wedgwood ware being produced in the Potteries, my favourite being the Coalport range.

Why not visit the Wedgwood factory and the Wedgwood Story, this is like no other factory visit. Not only will you find rare and valuable exhibits tracing the rich history of the company, but you will also experience the whole production process from raw clay to throwing, forming and casting, glazing, firing and decorating. You can even try your hand at the potter's wheel. The Wedgwood Story is told through film, exhibits, and interactive displays. You will watch potters and decorators at work and be taken into the factory itself where you can witness at first hand, the latest technology blended with production and design techniques developed by Josiah himself in the 18th century.