Chapter V (1)

Stoke-upon-Trent--Josiah Spode--Copeland and Garratt--Copeland
and Sons--Mintons--Hollins--Trent Pottery; Jones--Albert
Street Works--Copeland Street Works--Glebe Street and Wharf
Street Works--Copeland Street--Bridge Works--London Road;
Goss--Kirkham--Campbell Brick and Tile Company--Harrison and
Wedgwood--Bankes--Hugh Booth--Ephraim Booth--Wolf--Bird--Adams
and Son--H. and R. Daniel--Boyle--Reade--Lowndes and Hall.

The large and commercially important, as well as thickly populated district, known as the “Staffordshire Potteries,” or more commonly called simply “The Potteries,” comprises a number of towns known as the “Pottery Towns,” and other places adjoining them. These are Burslem, Hanley, Shelton, Tunstall, Stoke-upon-Trent, Longton, Etruria, Cobridge, Fenton, Longport, and Dresden. Of these, Stoke-upon-Trent, although far from being the oldest, or largest, or busiest, is the great railway centre, and head of the electoral district; the parliamentary district of Stoke-upon-Trent (which returns two members to Parliament) comprising these towns just named, with a few other out-lying places. Some of these towns are corporate, and Newcastle-under-Lyme is both a corporate and parliamentary borough. It is estimated that in this pottery district considerably over thirty thousand persons are employed in, or dependent on, the staple trade of the place, that of china and earthenware manufacture.

STOKE-UPON-TRENT.

_Spode._--_Copeland._--The first notice of the name of Spode that I have met with in connection with potting is an entry of the “hiring” of Josiah Spode by Thomas Whieldon, in 1749. This I was the first to make public from the original book of Whieldon’s accounts in my possession. It is as follows:--

1749. £ _s._ _d._
April 9. Hired Siah Spoade, to give him from this
time to Martelmas next 2_s._ 3_d._, or
2_s._ 6_d._ if he Deserves it.
2d year 0 2 9
3d year 0 3 3
Pd. full earnest 0 1 0

This entry is of considerable historical interest, as being the first hiring of Josiah Spode, who, being born in 1733, would at that time be sixteen years of age, and was the founder of the family which subsequently rose to such eminence in the art. The “hiring” being for three years, and at wages ranging from 2_s._ 3_d._ to 3_s._ 3_d._ per week, while other men at the same time were being paid from 5_s._ 3_d._ to 7_s._ per week, would appear to have been a kind of apprenticeship, or, at all events, a “finishing touch” to the learning of the trade. From April till Martinmas, which is the great time for all hirings in the pottery trade, the payment was to be at 2_s._ 3_d._ per week, “or 2_s._ 6_d._ if he deserves it,” with the prospect of a rise of sixpence per week in successive years. He appears to have fully worked out his time, and to have been found deserving. Two other entries in the same book, showing successive hirings, after the expiration of the first term of three years, are as follows:--

1752. £ _s._ _d._
Feby. 22. Hired Josiah Spoad for next Martlemas,
per week 0 7 0
I am to give him earn. 0 5 0
Pd. in Part. 0 1 0
Pd. do. 0 4 0

1754.
Feby. 25. Hired Siah Spode, per week. 0 7 6
Earnest. 1 11 6
Pd. in part. 0 16 0

Thus in 1752 he got 7_s._ a week, and an earnest of 5_s._; and in the following year he was raised to 7_s._ 6_d._ per week, with the unusually high earnest of £1 11_s._ 6_d._ At this time he must have been married, for in the same year, 1754, it appears the second Josiah Spode was born. But little is known of the early life of this second Josiah Spode; the probability, however, is that his father, after leaving Whieldon’s service, commenced a small manufactory on his own account, and that he learned the business with him. About 1770, Spode (the son at that time being about sixteen years old) is stated to have taken the works at Stoke, previously carried on by Messrs. Turner, or Turner and Banks. He is said also to have introduced, about 1784, transfer printing into Stoke. Previous to this time Mr. William Copeland, of London (a native of Stoke), who travelled in the tea trade, made the acquaintance of Mr. Spode and offered to undertake a commission to sell his tea ware and other goods to his customers. The enterprise was very successful, and a warehouse was taken in Fore Street, Cripplegate, London, for the general sale of Spode’s goods. Trade increasing rapidly, Mr. Copeland, who became a partner with Mr. Spode, afterwards, in 1779, purchased the property, 37, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, and, at the back, in Portugal Street, opened an immense depot for the sale of pottery goods, in the place where stood the theatre (originally built by D’Avenant in 1662, and rebuilt by Rich in 1714), famous as being the house in which Garrick first appeared; the original Joe Miller flashed out his witticisms; and where the _Recruiting Officer_, the _Beggars’ Opera_, &c., were first produced. This establishment was managed by Mr. Copeland; the manufactory being conducted entirely by Mr. Spode. Mr. Spode’s son, who was ultimately taken into partnership with his father, was for a time in the London house, but on the death of the latter, in 1797, he returned to Stoke, and devoted himself to the manufactory. In 1800 Mr. Spode commenced making porcelain in addition to earthenware, and was the first to introduce felspar into its composition. In 1805 he introduced an opaque porcelain, known as “ironstone china,” which he manufactured to a very large extent, and exported in immense quantities to France and other countries. In 1806 H.R.H. the Prince of Wales visited the works, and Mr. Spode was appointed potter to him. The porcelain, the ironstone china, and the ordinary earthenware manufactured at this time were of the very highest character, both in body, in glaze, and in decoration; indeed, in all three of these respects they rank with the best of the period.

The first partnership was Spode and Copeland,[39] and next, Spode, Son, and Copeland. After the death of the elder Spode it again became Spode and Copeland, and next, on the son of the latter, who was afterwards alderman, being taken into partnership, Spode, Copeland, and Son, and was so carried on until the elder Mr. Copeland’s death, in 1826. In 1827 the second Mr. Spode died, and was succeeded by his son, the third Josiah Spode, who, however, only survived his father two years, and died in 1829. Until 1833 the business was carried on by the executors of the third Josiah Spode, of Hawksyard (his only son, also named Josiah, being a minor), and Mr. Alderman Copeland. In that year the entire concern was purchased by Mr. Alderman William Taylor Copeland, who shortly afterwards took into partnership his principal traveller and town correspondent, Mr. Thomas Garrett. The firm then became “Copeland and Garrett,” and was so continued until 1847, when a dissolution took place. From that time till 1867 the style of the firm remained simply “W. T. Copeland, late Spode.” In that year Mr. Copeland took his four sons into partnership, and from that time to the present the firm has continued under the name of “W. T. Copeland and Sons.”

Mr. Alderman Copeland was Lord Mayor of London in 1835–6. He sat as member of Parliament for Coleraine from 1828 till 1832, and for Stoke-upon-Trent from 1837 till 1852. Losing his seat in that year, Mr. Copeland was re-elected in 1857 and sat till 1865, when he retired from the representation. He was the grandson of Mr. William Copeland, yeoman, of the Holly Bush, in the parish of Stoke-upon-Trent, and son of the partner of the first Mr. Spode. The will of Mr. William Copeland, of Holly Bush, was dated November 10th, 1775, and proved December 28th, 1786. A daughter named Hannah, mentioned in that document, became the wife of the late Mr. William Astbury, of the family whose name is intimately mixed up with the history of the pottery of the district. Mr. Alderman Copeland died in 1868.

Of the productions of the present firm it is manifestly impossible to give even a brief _resumé_; the bare enumeration of the different articles in porcelain and earthenware would occupy many closely printed pages. It will only be possible to note, here and there, one of their art-productions. For services, both breakfast, dinner, dessert, tea, and toilet, the firm ranks among the very highest in order, and these are produced both in china and in earthenware, and every variety of ornamentation; in the former from the simple gold or coloured lines and borders, and in the latter from the commonest sponged patterns, to the most profuse and lavish relief and painting. One of their highest efforts, and deservedly so, in the way of services, is the dessert service made especially for H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, in 1866, which is one of the greatest triumphs of ceramic art yet achieved. The service consists of 198 pieces, comprising a centre, eight compotiers, two cream-bowls, two ice-pails, twelve sweetmeat compotiers, seventy-two cups and saucers, and fifty plates. The commission was given shortly before the Prince’s marriage, and hence, as all the decorations are floral, the orange blossom was allowed to become a prominent object in each group; and it would be impossible to conceive flowers more exquisitely painted than they are; they were painted by Mr. Hürten and others. The centre piece is a double _assiette montée_, the principal compartment being supported by seated figures representing the four quarters of the globe, and each bearing an appropriate symbol. These were the work of Joseph Durham, R.A., and are miniature reproductions of those which support the statue of “Albert the Good,” in the Royal Horticultural Society’s Gardens. The four raised fruit-dishes are elevated upon groups of three figures each, typical of the twelve months of the year, admirably modelled by Mr. F. Miller. The four smaller ones, by Mr. G. Halse, equally well typify the elements, earth, air, fire, and water. The plates, as well as the pieces I have named, are of the purest porcelain, and are exquisitely and elaborately perforated. They are divided into panels of fruit and flowers, surrounded by ribbons and festoons in raised and chased gold, and in the centre of each is the monogram of the Prince and Princess of Wales. There are no two pieces alike, although all harmonize well together.

Three pieces of this beautiful royal service, the centre, one of the compotiers, and a cream-bowl, are engraved, Figs. 150, 156, and 159, and will show better than any description can the high class of art-workmanship which they exhibit.

One of the greatest improvements in ordinary earthenware which has been effected by this eminent firm, who have always exercised a laudable desire to keep pace with, or to be leaders of, the improved Art-taste of the age, is the production of what they appropriately term an “Ivory-tinted body.” In this kind of ware they produce table, dessert, and toilet services of every conceivable design, and of various degrees of decoration. In the dinner and dessert services the delicate, soft, warm tone of the ivory tint is peculiarly grateful to the eye, and has a charming effect when “set” out on the white linen cloth. The tone of colour which Messrs. Copeland have succeeded in producing has all the softness of the finest examples of old Wedgwood cream-coloured ware, but without its somewhat harsh yellowness. Nothing could be less grating to the eye of taste than this soft tint, and doubtless in many homes of taste the warm “ivory body” will take the place of the cold white of the general classes of earthenware. It only remains to say that in that peculiar body every variety of pattern, from the rich old Spode with its Eastern brilliant combinations of gold and rich patches of colour, down to the most ordinary painted borders, are made. One service which has particularly struck us as beyond average in excellence is the “Stork.” Those examples in which the pattern is in relief, and heightened in gold, are peculiarly rich and good. The shape of the tureens and vegetable-dishes are of great elegance and beauty. The ivory body is one of the greatest achievements of the period.

In porcelain, vases, tazzas, bottles, and other articles of every conceivable form, and decorated in an endless variety of ways both in painting, in alto-relievo figures and flowers, and in massive jewelling, gilding, and enamelling, are produced, and are of the most costly and elegant character. Services, both of the most sumptuous and severely simple character, are also produced in every style of art, and on every scale of cost.

And here it becomes necessary to say a word as to some of the achievements in colour of this firm. Of these, a new turquoise (which Messrs. Copeland have christened “Cerulean blue”) is the richest and fullest produced, and is remarkable for its brilliant intensity; the Sardinian green is also very good, and the vermilion finer and more rich than has at any time, or in any place, so far as my experience goes, been produced. This is especially apparent upon a Japanese dessert plate, where the decorations are upon pure enamel, requiring a very high degree of heat, and where the colours come out more brilliantly than on any other examples I have seen. On this plate, which is a _chef-d’œuvre_ of Messrs. Copelands’ art, the border is purely Japanese, and the centre essentially English, but all equally perfect and equally beautiful; it is, in fact, an original and brilliant conception, true to the spirit and principles of Japanese design, but in no respect a copy of any of the productions of the artists of that nation. The birds are exquisitely painted by Weaver, one of the best painters of this class, and the remainder by artists of equal celebrity in their several walks of decoration.

The “Satsuma ware” produced by Messrs. Copeland is of the most exquisite beauty, and of rare excellence both in the matchless quality of the body, the peculiarly waxy and very lovely surface of the glaze, the pure taste which characterises its decoration, and admirable manipulation apparent in each piece. In this ware, as in others produced by the firm, it is a literal truism to say “perfection can no farther go!” Vases and other decorative articles are produced in this Satsuma ware, and take rank with the finest productions of any age or any country.

Messrs. Copeland and Son are large producers of plain, and painted, and enamelled tiles for internal decoration, and these, from the excellence they have attained in the “body,” and the skill displayed in design and in ornamentation, have become a speciality of the firm. They are produced in endless variety, and for every purpose, but one of the most striking and attractive novelties in this kind of mural decoration, is that of a continuous design for a whole room, as first attempted by them for Mr. Macfarlane. Of this speciality, I gave the following notice in the _Art Journal_ for December, 1875:--

“One of the most pleasing, and, at the same time, novel
and effective, adaptations of fictile art to internal
mural decoration yet attempted, has just been successfully
accomplished by Messrs. Copeland and Sons, of Stoke-upon-Trent.
To this, having been favoured with a private view of the
decorations, we desire to draw attention. The lining of entire
rooms with wall-tiles is, of course, no new thing, but has
been repeatedly done, and in a variety of styles, by different
firms and at different periods; but it has been left to Messrs.
Copeland to strike out an entirely new idea in the mode of
treatment. Mr. Macfarlane, whose Art-productions in metal we
have often commended in the pages of the _Art Journal_, has
recently erected in Glasgow a magnificent mansion, which,
as might be expected from a man of such extensive knowledge
and such pure taste, will enshrine many works of high-class
examples in various walks of Art. In several of the apartments
of this mansion--the billiard and bathrooms, for instance--Mr.
Macfarlane desired to introduce some new feature which should,
if possible, inaugurate what might with propriety be called a
nineteenth-century style of decoration. He therefore wisely
consulted Messrs. Copeland, who, acting on his idea, prepared
a series of designs which, while adhering faithfully to the
classic laws of Art, were, both in subject and in treatment,
strictly characteristic of the present day. The general design
is a terra-cotta dado of full Indian red tone of colour, walls
of pale celadon tint, and a frieze painted in monochrome, in
continuous subjects apposite to the uses of the various rooms,
which are thus covered with tiles, in one grand design, from
floor to ceiling. The walls between the dado and frieze are
covered, as just stated, with celadon tiles placed diagonally,
with the joints made just sufficiently apparent to give a
geometrical break to the surface, and so remove what otherwise
might be a sameness in appearance; while those of the frieze
(which are of a pale yellow-ground colour, well adapted for
throwing out the figures, and which, when the room is lit up,
disappears, and gives the effect of a luminous sky to the
pictures) are placed horizontally, and their edges fitted
with such mathematical precision and nicety that their joints
are invisible. The whole of the tiles have a dead, or purely
_fresco_ surface, and are most perfect for the purpose for
which they are intended; and from their peculiar hardness and
other characteristics--the result of much anxious thought and
experiment--are perfectly impervious to the action of damp, and
cannot fail to be permanent.

“The frieze (three feet in height) of the billiard-room
represents, in four separate groupings on the four sides of
the apartment, the sports of the British race; one side being
devoted to ‘Health,’ in which youthful games conducing to that
essential, from infancy, with its doll and other playthings, to
boyhood and youthhood, with hoop, cricket, skating, curling,
snowballing, and so on; another to ‘Strength,’ with its central
allegorical figure and groups representing pole-leaping,
shot-throwing, wrestling, football, hockey, boxing, &c.; a
third to ‘Courage,’ a central allegorical figure supported by
genii, the one proclaiming, and the other crowning, deeds of
heroism in the army, in saving lives from shipwreck, fire, and
other casualties, and the wild sports of our Eastern empire
and North American colonies; and the fourth to ‘Fortitude,’
in which the central group surrounding the allegorical figure
is composed of lifelike portraits of such men as Livingstone,
Burton, McClintock, Layard, and others; the remaining portions
showing athletes contesting in a foot-race, and crews in a
boat-race. The friezes of this room, painted in monochrome, are
the work of Mr. R. J. Abraham (son of the Art-director of the
works), who recently won the Art-Union prize, and is a gold
medallist, and Mr. Besche, a skilful artist, whose works are
in high repute. The frieze of the heating-room of the Turkish
baths, which is lined in a precisely similar style to the
other, is entirely composed of tropical plants and flowers,
arranged in a masterly and effective manner, and painted, even
to the most minute detail, with consummate skill and with true
artistic feeling. This frieze, which is painted in sepia with
its fullest and best effect, is entirely the work of Mr. Hürten,
and is a worthy example of his pencil both in arrangement and in
treatment. The whole of the plants represented are, without an
exception, studies from nature, sketched and arranged for this
special purpose from the plants themselves in the magnificent
conservatories of the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth; and they
are in each individual instance reproduced with pre-Raphaelite
accuracy and precision.

“The friezes are masterpieces of Art as well as of manipulative
skill. They reflect the highest credit on Messrs. Copeland
and their Art-director, Mr. Abraham, by whom they have been
produced, and who have thus inaugurated a new, and what we
pronounce to be a successful style, of internal decoration--one
that is sure to be followed in many a mansion and home of taste
in our country and abroad. Mr. Macfarlane will have reason to be
proud of his acquisition, and has the satisfaction of feeling,
that with the aid of Messrs. Copeland and their skilled staff of
artists, he has originated a novel feature in Art-decoration,
and carried it to an enviably successful issue. Messrs. Copeland
are renowned for the excellence of their work and for the true
artistic feeling and skill which characterise everything that
passes from their hands, and their present productions will, if
that be possible, add to their celebrity.”

Tiles for flower-boxes, lily-pans, garden-seats, slabs for chimney-pieces, table-tops, fire-places, &c., and for every other purpose, as well as door-plates, are also largely produced and highly decorated.

In Parian--the next best material to marble--statuary and busts, as well as other objects, are extensively made. This is another speciality of the firm, and one the discovery of which belongs to them. It is, in fact, the development of the old and ever-famous Derby biscuit ware,[40] rendered finer and more commercially, as well as artistically, available by the careful attention of the Messrs. Copeland. It was introduced by them about 1846, and is said to have been then made at the suggestion of Gibson the sculptor; from that time to the present it has been extensively manufactured by every house--by Copeland’s, perhaps, more extensively than any other. Among the more recent of their finest works in Parian, are the “Infancy of Jupiter,” “Lady Godiva,” “Nora Creina,” the “Flute-player,” the “Reading Girl,” busts of “A Mother” and of “Love,” all by Monti; “Young England” and “Young England’s Sister,” a very charming pair by Halse; a “Shepherd Boy,” “Spring,” and “Summer,” by L. A. Malampre; and “Master Tom” and “On the Sea-Shore,” by Joseph Durham, R.A. Among their other special works, Foley’s “Ino and Bacchus,” Durham’s “Chastity” and “Santa Filomena,” Monti’s “Night” and “Morning,” and a score or two others, are brilliant examples. Besides figures, groups, and busts, a large number of other beautiful objects of various kinds are produced in Parian.

The more ordinary classes of goods for general use and consumption are all of good quality, whether produced in the ordinary earthenware, the stoneware, or any other kind of body, and in all these classes Messrs. Copeland are very large producers. Their “crown ware” has so good a body as to stand the heat of the hard kiln, and thus to take the richest tints of crimson, &c. The ship fittings--the _Atlantic_ washtop slab especially--are considered to be among the best produced. It ought also to be added, that Messrs. Copeland were the first to introduce those elegant and most convenient novelties, “Gordon Trays,” which they produce in a variety of forms.

The principal artists employed are Hürten, who has attained, and deservedly so, the distinction of being one of the best flower-painters in Europe; Weaver, whose birds are equal to those of any other painter; Besche, a figure and general painter of great power and excellence; and Abraham, Junior (a gold medallist), a figure painter of much promise. Besides these, a number of other talented artists are employed, and the staff of enamellers, ground-layers, and gilders, includes some of the best obtainable in each department. In these works, too, female talent has been highly cultivated, many of the productions of the paintresses evidencing pure feeling and cultivated taste. The whole is under the control of Mr. R. F. Abraham, as Art-director of the establishment. Mr. Abraham, who was formerly at Coalport with Mr. Rose, was a student of Antwerp and Paris, and is a successful follower of the school of Etty. The softness of touch, the purity and delicacy of feeling, and the sunny mellowness of tone, as well as the chasteness of design and correctness of drawing, produced on the best pieces of his productions, show him to be a thorough artist, and place him high above most others in this difficult art, while his intimate knowledge of all the phases and intricacies of Art, and of all the processes of the manufacture, render him peculiarly fitted for the post to which he has been called.

The marks successively used by this firm in its various changes are as follows:--

Sometimes impressed in the body, and at others pencilled on the glaze; also SPODE in larger capital letters.

SPODE
Felspar Porcelain]

Also impressed, or painted, or printed on the ware.

SPODE
Stone-China

or

SPODE
Stone-China

Fig. 175 and 176.]

Printed in blue on the bottom of the goods of that description.

These, with immaterial variations in detail, were all printed on the ware.

SPODE

_Spodes_
NEW FAYENCE

Spode’s
Imperial

Spode
Filspar
_Porcelain_

Figs. 177 to 180.]

SPODE, SON
& COPELAND or SPODE & COPELAND, both impressed and printed.

COPELAND & GARRETT
LATE
SPODE

COPELAND & GARRETT
LADE
SPODE
NEW FAYENCE

COPELAND & GARRETT
NEW
BLANCHE

COPELAND AND GARRETT

COPELAND
& GARRETT

Figs. 181 to 186.]

C & G
with the name of
the pattern.

COPELAND & GARRETT
LATE
SPODE
THE TIBER

COPELAND & GARRETT
+ NEW +
JAPAN STONE

COPELAND & GARRETT
NEW
FAYENCE

Figs. 187 to 190.]

All the above printed on the ware.

COPELAND
LATE SPODE.

Copeland Late Spode

COPELAND late SPODE.

COPELAND
LATE SPODE

COPELAND

COPELAND

COPELAND PATENT JASPER

COPELAND

COPELAND
STONE CHINA

WT. COPELAND & SONS

COPELAND

COPELAND

COPELAND
B

Figs. 191 to 203.]

The following are the dates when some of the most celebrated printed patterns were first introduced:--“Castle,” 1806; “Roman,” 1811; “Turk,” 1813; “Milkmaid,” “Dagger-border,” “Tower,” “Peacock,” and “New Temple,” 1814; “New Nankin,” “New Japan,” and “India,” 1815; “Italian” and “Woodman,” 1816; “Blossom” and “Pale Broseley,” 1817; “Waterloo” and “Arcade,” 1818; “Lucano” and “Ship,” 1819; “Panel Japan,” “Geranium,” and “Oriental,” 1820; “Font” and “Marble,” 1821; “Bud and Flower,” “Sun,” “Bonpot,” and “Union,” 1822; “Double Bonpot,” “Blue Border,” and “Filigree,” 1823; “Image” and “Persian,” 1824; “Etruscan” and “Bamboo,” 1825; “Blue Imperial” and “Union Wreath,” 1826.

MINTON & CO.

Mr. Thomas Minton, the founder of these works, was born in Wyle Cop, Shrewsbury, in 1765, and received his education at the Shrewsbury Grammar School. He had an only brother, Arthur Minton, and a sister, Elizabeth. On leaving school, Thomas Minton was apprenticed to an engraver (probably Hancock), at the Caughley China Works, at Broseley, one of his fellow-apprentices (also a Salopian) being Richard Hicks, who became founder of the firm of Hicks, Meigh, and Johnson. On the expiration of his apprenticeship, Thomas Minton continued to be employed for a time at the Caughley China Works under Mr. Turner, and then removed to London, where he engraved some patterns for Josiah Spode, whose London warehouse was at that time in Portugal Street. From London, having married, he removed into Staffordshire, in 1788 or 1789, where the rapidly increasing demand for blue printed earthenware gave promise of a good opening for so skilful a draughtsman and engraver as he had become. On removing into Staffordshire, he set up as a master-engraver, at Stoke-upon-Trent, his residence and engraving shop being one of a block of buildings then called Bridge Houses, so called from being close to Trent Bridge, which houses had been erected by Thomas Whieldon, the first partner of Josiah Wedgwood. Here he became very successful, one of his chief employers being Josiah Spode, for whom he engraved a tea-ware pattern called the “Buffalo,” which continued in demand for many years; the “Broseley,” so called from being first produced at the Caughley Works, Broseley, by Mr. Turner, and which, like the “Willow Pattern,” remains a favourite stock pattern to the present day; the famous “Willow;” and many others. In the latter he was assisted by Mr. Henry Doncaster of Penkhull; the original plate from which this pattern was thus engraved passed from Mr. Doncaster into the hands of Mr. Wildblood, engraver, of Burslem, and from him into the possession of Minton & Co., where it appropriately remains, as do also some drawings and other interesting relics. Mr. Minton had two apprentices, one of whom, Greatbatch (father of the eminent artist William Greatbatch, engraver of the “Waterloo Banquet”), became chief engraver, and manager of that department at Messrs. Spode and Copeland’s.

In 1793, having determined to commence the manufacture of earthenware, Mr. Minton purchased a plot of land, the site of the present manufactory, of Mr. John Ward Hassals, and commenced building on a very small scale. The following account of the early progress of the works has been kindly written for me by Mr. Stringer:--

“To start with, there was one ‘Bisque,’ and one ‘Glost’ oven,
with slip house, for preparing the clay, and only such other
buildings and appliances as were necessary to make good working
commencement. Mr. Minton formed an engagement with the brothers
Poulson, who owned the works opposite to the land he had
purchased, known as the ‘Stone Works,’[41] and who were potters
on a small scale, and, as was then the practice, had houses on
the works, now converted into potters’ workshops. They belonged
to an ancient family which had been located at Boothen for
several centuries. Mr. Joseph Poulson was the practical potter,
and his brother Samuel was modeller, mould maker, and useful man
of all work. It was not until May, 1796, that Mr. Minton’s works
were in operation. Considering the magnitude of the present
operations of the firm, which has recently adopted the globe for
its trade mark, it may not be uninteresting to quote from an old
cash-book, which has been fortunately preserved, an item or two
to show from what a very humble beginning great results have
arisen. We find the amount paid the first week, which appears
to have been a sort of broken week (perhaps there had been some
merry-making to celebrate the opening);--

1796. £ _s._ _d._
May 21. By paid wages, coals, &c., this week 12 19 5½
„ 28. „ „ „ „ 29 1 2½
June 4. „ „ „ „ 32 9 7½
Sept. 17. „ Joseph Poulson 18 weeks’ wages,
to this day inclusive 18 18 0

“The average weekly amount under the above head of wages, &c.,
was within a trifle of £50, but still showing real progress.

“The first item on the contrary side is--

1796. £ _s._ _d._
May 23 @ June 3. To received for goods sold,
ready money 33 10 10½

This would be for goods sold to the pot-sellers who hawked
their wares about the country; and we find £596 10_s._ 2_d._
was received under this head during the remaining months of the
first year. The next year’s transactions showed a satisfactory
advance in every respect, as did every subsequent year; and
amongst the circumstances favouring Mr. Minton’s prosperity
may be named--first, that aided by Mr. Poulson’s experience as
a potter, and his own good taste as an engraver and designer,
he produced a quality and style of ware that commanded a
ready market; and in his brother, Mr. Arthur Minton, who had
established himself in the trade in the metropolis, a ready and
devoted agent to extend the trade; so much so that the business
done by him in 1800 amounted to nearly £2,000. He was also
fortunate in having the acquaintance of Mr. William Pownall, a
merchant of Liverpool, who aided him with capital to extend his
operations, and who was, for a few years, a sleeping partner
in the business. Mr. Joseph Poulson was in a short time after
the opening of the works admitted as a partner, and the firm
traded as ‘Minton and Poulson’ for a short time, and then the
style was altered to ‘Minton, Poulson, and Pownall.’ Mr. Poulson
remained a partner until his death in 1808; and it would seem
that up to this period, china or soft porcelain was made at the
stone-works, but was abandoned as unprofitable until Mr. Herbert
Minton’s experiments in after years were fully successful.”

On the failure of the eminent firm of John and William Turner, of Lane End, the first named entered the service of Thomas Minton, and became, in fact, the practical potter of the firm after the death of Poulson. He effected great improvements in the bodies and glazes, and in the general character of the productions of the works. Soon after Mr. Minton had commenced business, a scheme having been set on foot for monopolising the sale of Cornish clay, he and his partners purchased an estate of eighty-four acres on Hendra Common for a comparatively trifling sum, and also certain rights and a leasehold interest in Treloar Common, where there was abundance of china clay and stone, as also other valuable minerals. Having secured the property, Mr. Minton took steps to associate with him the leading manufacturers to work the mines. In this he appears to have been successful, and the first meeting of “the Hendra Company” was held at the Swan Inn,[42] Hanley, on the 8th of January, 1800, Mr. Thomas Byerley in the chair, who represented the firm of Josiah Wedgwood and Byerley; Hollins, Warburton & Co., by Mr. John Hollins and Mr. John Daniel; Mr. William Adams, in person; and Minton, Poulson, and Pownall, by Mr. Minton and Mr. Poulson. These manufacturers composed the whole of the Company, and they agreed to purchase a part of Minton, Poulson, and Pownall’s property. Mr. John Brindley, of Longport, was appointed agent to the Company. The minutes of the meetings are brief in the extreme, and there is no recital as to the objects of the Company, but there are a few particulars which may interest the present race of manufacturers as contrasting their present improved position, as regards the supply of material, with what it was in those days. July 24, 1800, stone was ordered to be sold at 50_s._ per ton at Etruria wharf, and 42_s._ at Runcorn; fifteen tons were a boat-load. A vessel, called the _Venus_, brought to Runcorn ninety-nine tons, and the freight was £72 7_s._ 9_d._ China clay was £6 per ton at Polemear.

It would seem that Mr. Minton had visited Cornwall several times--the first time in 1798, and we are afforded an insight into the difficulty and expense of travelling at that period, by the fact that the cost of each journey was nearly thirty pounds. It seems that Mr. Minton must have got the mines into something like working order during these visits, as an immediate supply of clay and stone was available at the time the Company was formed, and there is proof of this in the following document:--

“I, John Varcoe, farmer, resident in Treloar, of the parish
of St. Denis, in the county of Cornwall, have this day agreed
with Thomas Minton, of Stoke-upon-Trent, in the county of
Stafford, to let to the said Thomas Minton all my right of
lower tin bounds in Trelavour Common, for the purpose of the
water for washing china clay, so long that Thomas Minton,
or his representatives, may carry on the clayworks in Lord
Arundel’s lands, or in Hendra Common--but not to hinder any
streaming--with privilege of making pools for the use of the
works, at the yearly rent of one pound and eleven shillings and
sixpence, to commence at Michael. next. As witness our hands the
26th day of July, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine.

“JOHN VARCOE.
THOMAS MINTON.

“Signed in the presence of
CHARLES BAGNALL.
JAMES KENT.”

Difficulties of all kinds sprung up. Sometimes the water-courses were obstructed; robbery of all kinds was going on; and there were also the exacting demands of lords of the manor to battle with and satisfy. Bad roads, imperfect machinery and methods of getting the minerals, were other stubborn facts tending to abate “the pleasures of landlordism.” The property was within three miles of St. Austel, but Charlestown was then the port of shipment, and the cost of transit thither in waggons over the wretched roads was 8_s._ per ton; cost of raising, working, and casking, £1 15_s._; and other expenses, raised the value free on board there to £4 15_s._ Freight from Charlestown to Liverpool 12_s._, dues 2_s._ 6_d._, canal freight to the Potteries, 11_s._ 6_d._, and making a moderate allowance for capital invested, the clay could not be delivered at less than £6 15_s._ per ton.[43] As a trading concern the Hendra Company was not a profitable one; but it afforded the proprietors for twenty years a supply of good and pure material, and checked any attempt at monopoly. The clay mines were abandoned, but as there were good tin lodes on the property, and other minerals, the investment proved not a bad one.

From the first establishment of the Pottery works at Stoke, their success was unbroken, and not only were great advances made in processes of manufacture, but they were so much enlarged, that at the time of Mr. Minton’s death in 1836, they were among the most important in the district. Mr. Minton married, on January 1st, 1789, Miss Sarah Webb, of Bruton Street, London, and by her had a family of four sons, two of whom were the Rev. Thomas Webb Minton and Herbert Minton, and six daughters. After his marriage, his mother-in-law, Mrs. Webb, resided with them, and was a valuable acquisition to him in his business; keeping his books and accounts, and being, in fact, the financial manager of the concern. She received and paid all money, and superintended the entire office arrangements, thus leaving Mr. Minton at liberty to devote his entire time to the manufactory and to the engraving. Mrs. Minton, also, so far as the cares of her home and family would permit, took her share in the business.

Mr. Herbert Minton, the second son, was born at the house erected at the works, at Stoke-upon-Trent, in March, 1792, and when old enough, was, with his brother and sister, sent to a dame-school kept by Miss Cheadle, at the only house, beyond what is now the Queen’s Inn, at that time existing on the Liverpool Road, the remainder being fields and gardens. At that time the Mintons had removed from the house at the Works to one on Talbot Bank (now Hill Street, corner of Commerce Street). Later on, Herbert Minton (as was also his brother) was sent to Audlem Grammar School, under the Rev. Nicholas Breakspear, where he remained until nearly fourteen, when he was placed in his father’s manufactory. In 1808, when only sixteen, he had attained such proficiency in the business that he became traveller and salesman, and represented the house both in London and the provinces; and this he continued till more pressing engagements necessitated his more general attendance at the works.

“He was ever at the works, before any one else in the morning,
and frequently at five o’clock. In the depth of winter, or
however inclement the weather, at all seasons of the year,
nothing hindered his early commencement of the duties of the
day. Lucifer-matches were unknown in those days, and he,
therefore, usually brought a tinder-box in his pocket--the
old flint and steel affair. He thus procured a light and made
himself a fire. Then he would proceed to examine the stock in
the warehouses, that he might be enabled to order what was
necessary to replenish it, and thus keep the printers and others
constantly at work. He also devoted a certain portion of his
time to the mixing-room, in order to keep up the supply of
bodies, glazes, &c. Then he would proceed to the counting-house,
where I,” says Mr. Stringer, “was an assistant-cashier under
his special superintendence. To convey an idea of his peculiar
nicety and accuracy in this department of his labours, I may
relate the fact that, on a certain Saturday evening, after
examining my cash account, Mr. Herbert told me that I was one
_halfpenny_ short in my balance. He was aware of my usual
accuracy, and was surprised even at this trifling mistake. I
opened my cash-box for further examination, when, to my good
fortune, I discovered the missing halfpenny within it standing
on its edge. This rectified the supposed mistake, and afforded
us both a hearty laugh.”

In 1817, Thomas and Herbert Minton were admitted into partnership with their father, the firm being “Thomas Minton and Sons.” In 1821, the elder brother, Thomas Webb Minton, quitted the works, for the purpose of studying for the Church, and he was ordained in 1825, taking his first curacy at Chesterfield, and afterwards at St. Cuthberts, Darlington, and other places. He died in 1870, at Darlington, where he was incumbent of the Church of the Holy Trinity. In 1828 the partnership was dissolved, although Mr. Herbert Minton continued to devote his energies to the development of the concern. On his father’s death, in 1836, he again took up the business, and shortly afterwards took into partnership Mr. John Boyle, under the style of “Minton and Boyle.” In 1841, Mr. Boyle withdrew from the firm, and, about 1842, became a partner with Mr. Wedgwood; and in 1845, Mr. Michael Hollins, nephew to Mrs. Minton, joined the firm under the style of “Herbert Minton and Co.” In 1849 a nephew of Mr. Minton’s, Mr. Colin Minton Campbell, now M.P. for North Staffordshire, joined the firm under the same style. In 1858, Herbert Minton died, and Messrs. Hollins and Campbell continued the manufactory. The present head of the firm is Mr. Colin Minton Campbell, M.P.; the trading style being simply “Mintons.”

Up to 1798, white, cream-coloured, and blue printed wares only were made at these works. In that year, semi-transparent porcelain was made, and continued until 1811, when it was abandoned, and earthenware only again produced. In 1821 it was again produced, and soon afterwards china was commenced and has been a staple branch to the present day. In 1825 some of the more skilled workmen from the Derby works found employment with Mr. Minton, and brought their skill to bear on his productions. “Among these were Steele, Bancroft, and Hancock, as painters in fruit and flowers.” In 1836 Mr. Herbert Minton, as will be shown, first conceived the idea of making encaustic paving tiles. Mr. John Simpson held the position of principal enamel painter of figures and the highest class decorations, from about 1837 to 1847, when he removed to London to take charge of the porcelain painting at Marlborough House. Mr. Samuel Bourne, of Norton-in-the-Moors, Staffordshire, who had been apprenticed to Messrs. Wood and Caldwell, to learn the art of enamel-painting, and who had attained by his industry and talents a high reputation, entered the service of Mr. Minton, in 1828, as chief designer and artist, and continued to render the firm occasional services until 1860, when the infirmities of increasing years necessitated his retirement.

In 1849 M. Arnoux, son of a celebrated manufacturer of hard porcelain at Toulouse, visited Stoke, bringing with him an introduction from Mr. Evans, of Birmingham; when it was arranged that M. Arnoux should superintend and carry out the patent which, in 1839, Mr. Minton, in conjunction with Dr. Wilton George Turner, had taken out. This was for “an improved porcelain,” “made from Kaolin or Cornish clay, made into cream and passed through sieves; Dorsetshire or similar clay treated in like manner; and pure feldspar, all in certain proportions and mixed with great care.” In this, the bisque was produced by submitting it to a less heat than usual before glazing, and then, when dipped, subjecting it “to a greater degree of heat than is usual for the mere purpose of glazing, and effecting the glazing at the same time.” The glazes were also of peculiar composition. Beyond various experiments, this was not carried out until 1849, when this hard paste porcelain for chemical purposes was brought to such perfection, that it was pronounced to be better than that of Meissen or Berlin. There was, however, so much risk in firing this ware, in consequence of the difficulty of procuring a sagger capable of withstanding the necessary heat, that the manufacture was abandoned, and M. Arnoux turned his attention to the artistic decoration of the ordinary manufacture, and to his continual zeal and ability, combined with the enterprise which has always distinguished the firm, England is indebted for the highest honours in this branch of their national industries.

M. Emile Jeannest was engaged as sculptor, and in 1854 he left and took an appointment with Messrs. Elkington, in whose service he died.

M. Carrier de Belleuse succeeded M. Jeannest, and remained some years, when he returned to Paris, and attained so high an eminence as a sculptor that he has been placed on the Commission for the Sèvres Manufactory.

He was succeeded by M. Protât, who, after having executed some of the stone statues now adorning the India Office, returned to France.

Previous to this, Parian was, about 1842, introduced, and formed a staple branch of Messrs. Minton’s productions. In 1851 Herbert Minton and Augustus John Hoffstaedt took out a patent for “improvements in the manufacture.” In the same year Herbert Minton and James Nasmyth took out a patent for “certain improvements in machinery.” In the same year, 1851, the “Great Exhibition” was held, and resulted in an award of great merit to this firm, an honour which each successive exhibition, whether English or foreign, has augmented. In 1850 Majolica was added to the other art-productions of this manufactory, and in this it still stands pre-eminent. No firm has surpassed them in the sharpness of details; the purity of colours; the excellence of glaze, or the artistic character of these goods, which comprise every description of both useful and ornamental articles. In 1851 Della Robbia and Palissy ware were also here commenced.

The history of the manufacture of encaustic and other tiles by Minton, Hollins & Co. is the history of the entire modern trade in these useful and beautiful articles. In 1828 Herbert Minton first turned his attention to the subject, but was prevented by circumstances from fully developing his plans. In 1830 Mr. Samuel Wright, of Shelton, took out a patent for “a manufacture of ornamental tiles.” This, in January 1844, he supplemented by another patent for the “manufacture of ornamental bricks and quarries for floor pavements and other purposes.” Mr. Wright’s experiments were highly satisfactory, but from various causes, although he executed several orders, they were not commercially successful. Becoming weary of his almost resultless experiments, he sold his moulds and patent rights to Mr. Minton, who agreed to pay him a royalty of 10 per cent. on all the tiles sold. Mr. Minton commenced the manufacture in a single room next to the present throwing-house at the earthenware works, and only three men were at first employed. He was much aided in his task by the late Mr. George Leason, a practical potter, who had been brought up under him.

“Mr. George Berks,” says Mr. Stringer, to whom I am indebted for
the following notes, “who was a man of good general attainments,
did what modelling was required. One of the earliest
improvements effected by Mr. Minton was the substitution of
brass moulds for the plaster ones used by Mr. Wright, which
enabled the maker to beat up the clay so as to give a sharper
edge to the tile. Before that alteration the edges had to be
cut after they were taken from the plaster mould. A decided
advantage was thus gained; but innumerable other difficulties
had to be encountered, chiefly arising from the irregular
contraction of the clays. Sometimes the inlaid parts would at
a slight tap at the back of the tile fall out, or the tiles
would become stained in the firing; and in short all sorts of
ill luck and misadventures were the weekly result. The tiles
were at first fired in a small oven at the china works which
would hold about 700 tiles, and he and his fellow labourers
used regularly to go there to witness the drawing of the oven.
Time after time they found nearly the whole contents spoilt in
one way or other, and they were carted away to form part of the
foundations on which many of our pottery streets now stand. If
it so happened that 100 out of the 700 proved fairly good, the
fact was a source of encouragement to all concerned. Repeated
failures were, however, only followed by further experiments.
Mr. Minton was ever confident that skill and perseverance would
in the end prove a success; but surely never was any man’s
patience or pocket more sorely or severely tried. Occasionally
a few orders were satisfactorily executed, but they were on a
comparatively small scale. In April, 1836, Mr. Minton sent to
Mr. Josiah Booker, of Liverpool, a plan for tiling his hall,
and this gentleman adopted Mr. Minton’s suggestions; and it
would seem gave the order with the view of forming an opinion
of the tiles for the purpose of exportation; little imagining
the difficulties that had to be got over before they could
be successfully introduced at home. The prices quoted to Mr.
Booker were 15s. per square yard, and 6_d._ per tile of 6
inches square for the border, being about one-half the prices
Mr. Wright had charged them. In 1837, a hall pavement was
laid in the mansion of Sir John P. Orde, Bart., at Kilmoray,
Loch-Gilp-Head, N.B. It should be remarked that, at this time,
the only colours made use of were buff, red, and chocolate. In
November, 1836, after the death of his father, Mr. John Boyle
joined Mr. Minton as partner, and so continued until December,
1841. This gentleman had a keen eye to the profitable working
of the manufactures, and often cast uneasy glances at the
corner near the throwing-house, and at length began to urge
that that department ought to be abandoned. It was on one of
these occasions that Mr. Minton uttered the well-known words,
“Say no more on the subject, Mr. Boyle. I will make these
tiles if they cost me a guinea each!” We do not hear that any
other remonstrance followed this rebuke. The late Harriette,
Duchess of Sutherland, was one of the early patrons of the tile
manufacture; and, indeed, the Staffordshire potteries generally
are much indebted to her Grace for the great encouragement she
ever gave, and the interest she ever took in every improvement
calculated to elevate the character of our manufactures,
and advance the prosperity of the district. Her example and
influence amongst the nobility afforded much encouragement to
the British potter, and tended greatly to the attainment of that
success in the art which has been so marked of late years. The
tiles were extensively introduced at Trentham Hall, and some
of the finest of the early specimens are to be found there.
The first work of great importance that was undertaken was the
floor of the Temple Church, London. Lewis N. Cottingham, Esq.,
F.S.A., made an examination of the Chapter House, Westminster,
in January, 1841, in order to procure suitable examples for
the tiles proposed to be used in the restoration of the Temple
Church. On the removal of portions of the boarded floor the
pavement was found to be in a very perfect state, few tiles
being broken, and the colours in many parts as brilliant as
when laid down. Mr. Minton undertook to reproduce the various
designs composing this ancient pavement. It was a work of
great labour and difficulty; but was accomplished to the
satisfaction of the architect, and all others interested in
the work. The charge made was merely nominal, taking into
account the great expenditure necessarily involved at a time
when so many difficulties still attended the manufacture. Mr.
Minton was a diligent collector of old tiles, and friends
amongst the nobility, gentry, and clergy, in all parts of the
country, ministered to his taste, and sent him either examples
or sketches of such as they met with in their travels; nothing
pleased him better than to receive choice specimens and to
superintend their reproduction. The late Mr. Welby Pugin
furnished Mr. Minton with many tile drawings, some of which he
had designed during his many night journeys to Staffordshire,
whilst engaged in the extensive works for Lord Shrewsbury, at
Alton Towers and Cheadle Church.”

In June, 1840, Mr. Richard Prosser took out a patent for making a variety of articles from clay in a powdered state, viz., buttons, tesseræ, floor tiles, glazed tiles, &c., by pressure; by preference using screw presses of different powers for articles containing up to and including fifty square inches of surface in each piece; articles of larger surface, and of course requiring a greater pressure, being made by hydraulic press, the pumps of which were worked by steam. Patents were taken for England, France, and America. That for France lapsed in consequence of a condition of the French patent law requiring the process being worked in that country within six months of its date; the political condition of France at that time, in the opinion of the patentee, not being safe for the investment of capital. Of this patent and its application, the following notes, drawn up for me by Mr. John Turley, are of especial interest.