“V.—Bamboo, or cane-coloured bisqué porcelain, of the same nature as No. 3.“VI.—A porcelain bisqué of extremehardness, little inferior to that of agate. This property, together with its resistance to the strongest acids and corrosives, and its impenetrability by every known species of liquids, adapts it happily for mortars and different kinds of chemical vessels.”
“V.—Bamboo, or cane-coloured bisqué porcelain, of the same nature as No. 3.
“VI.—A porcelain bisqué of extremehardness, little inferior to that of agate. This property, together with its resistance to the strongest acids and corrosives, and its impenetrability by every known species of liquids, adapts it happily for mortars and different kinds of chemical vessels.”
Fig. 575.
Fig. 575.
In 1788 Thomas Wedgwood, Josiah Wedgwood’s partner in the “useful ware,” died. In the following year the medallion (Fig.575) supposed to be made of clay brought from New South Wales, was executed. In 1790 the fifty copies of the Portland vase were issued, and the same year Wedgwood published his “Dissertation” upon it.The same year he took into partnership his three sons, John, Josiah, and Thomas Wedgwood, and his nephew, Thomas Byerley (the son of his sister, Margaret Wedgwood, by her husband, who was a descendant of the Byerleys, of Byerley Hall, in Yorkshire), the style of the firm being “Josiah Wedgwood, Sons, & Byerley.” In 1793 Mr. John Wedgwood retired from the concern, and the style was then altered to “Josiah Wedgwood, Son, & Byerley.”
In the following year, 1794, Josiah Wedgwood was seized with his last illness, and on the 3rd of January, 1795, he died, and was, on the 6th, buried in the churchyard at Stoke-upon-Trent (“Burials in 1795, Jany. 6th, Josiah Wedgwood, of Etruria”), where his tomb still remains, and a tablet erected to his memory in the chancel (Fig.588). It bears a remarkably fine bust of Wedgwood, by Flaxman, an ewer and a Portland vase, and the following inscription:
Sacred to the Memory ofJOSIAH WEDGWOOD, F.R.S.ANDS.A.,Of Etruria, in this County,Born in August, 1730, died January 3rd, 1795,Who converted a rude and inconsiderable manufacture into an elegant artAnd an important part of nationalCommerce.By these services to his country he acquired an ample fortune,Which he blamelessly and reasonably enjoyed,And generously dispensed for the reward of merit and the relief of misfortune.His mind was inventive and original, yet perfectly sober and well regulated;His character was decisive and commanding, without rashness or arrogance;His probity was inflexible, his kindness unwearied;His manners simple and dignified, and the cheerfulness of his temper was the natural reward ofThe activity of his pure and useful life.He was most loved by those who knew him best,And he has left indelible impressions of affection and veneration on the minds ofHis family, who have erected this monument to his memory.
Figs. 576 to 580.—Wedgwood’s Wares.
Figs. 576 to 580.—Wedgwood’s Wares.
SEE INSCRIPTION PAGE369.Fig. 581.—Monument to Josiah Wedgwood in Stoke-upon-Trent Church.
SEE INSCRIPTION PAGE369.
Fig. 581.—Monument to Josiah Wedgwood in Stoke-upon-Trent Church.
Josiah Wedgwood, whose wife survived him, had a family of children. These were, Susannah, baptized at Burslem, on the 2nd of January, 1765, married Dr. Robert Darwin, of Shrewsbury, son of the celebrated Dr. Erasmus Darwin, of Derby (and half-brother to Sir Francis Darwin, M.D., of Breadsall Priory, and Sydnope, Darley Dale,) by his first wife, Mary Howard, of Lichfield, and was the mother, along with other sons and daughters, of Charles Darwin, the naturalist, author of the “Origin of Species,” &c. John, baptized at Burslem, April 2nd, 1766, resided at Seabridge, and married Louisa Jane, daughter of Mr. Allen, of Criselly, Pembrokeshire, and by her had four sons and three daughters (viz., the Rev. JohnAllen Wedgwood; Lieut.-Col. Thomas Josiah Wedgwood, who married Anne Maria, daughter of Admiral Sir C. Tyler; Charles, who died without issue; the Rev. Robert Wedgwood, who married Frances, daughter of the Rev. Offley Crewe; Sarah Elizabeth; Caroline Louisa Jane; and Jessie, who married her cousin, Henry Allen Wedgwood). Richard, born in 1767, and died in 1782. Josiah, one of the founders of the Royal Horticultural Society, first member of parliament for the borough of Stoke-upon-Trent, of Maer Hall, who married Elizabeth Allen, of Criselly, Pembrokeshire,and by her had four sons and five daughters, viz., Josiah (the third of that name), who married his cousin, Caroline Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. Darwin, of Shrewsbury, and had issue Henry Allen Wedgwood, barrister-at-law, who married his cousin Jessie, daughter of John Wedgwood, of Seabridge; Francis Wedgwood, of Etruria and Barlaston, the late head of the Etruria firm, who married Frances, daughter of the Rev. J. P. Mosley, of Rolleston Rectory, and has issue three sons, Godfrey, Clement, and Lawrence, the present members of the firm, and four daughters; Hensleigh, barrister-at-law, of London, who married Elizabeth, daughter of the Right Hon. Sir James Mackintosh, the historian, and has issue Sarah Elizabeth; Mary, who died unmarried; Charlotte, married to the Rev. C. Langton, of Hartfield; Frances, who died unmarried; and Emma, who married her cousin, Charles Darwin, F.R.S., author of the “Origin of Species,” &c. Thomas, who died without issue; and Catherine, Sarah, and Mary Anne.
Fig. 582.—Medallion of Thomas Byerley.
Fig. 582.—Medallion of Thomas Byerley.
For a time after Josiah Wedgwood’s death, the management of the business devolved mainly on Mr. Byerley, whose experience, and skill were of great value. In 1800 the partners were, however, the brothers Josiah and John Wedgwood, and Thomas Byerley, which arrangement continued until the death of the latter in 1810. Thomas Wedgwood, who suffered constant ill-health, took no part in the management of the business, and died in 1805, at Gunville, Dorsetshire. He was a man of considerable scientific attainments. During his father’s lifetime he prosecuted his studies with his aid and that of Alexander Chisholm, and made such progress in his researches into the properties of light, &c., that in 1792 he communicated to the Royal Society an account of his “Experimentsand Observations on the Production of Light from different bodies by Heat and by Attraction.” His continued experiments and researches resulted in the discovery of the process of photography, and in 1802, in conjunction with Sir Humphrey Davy, he made those discoveries known by a paper printed in the “Journal of the Royal Institution of Great Britain,” under the title of “An Account of a Method of Copying Paintings upon Glass, and of making Profiles by the Agency of Light upon Nitrate of Silver; with observations by H. Davy.” This is the first recorded attempt at fixing the images of the camera-obscura (which Wedgwood appears to have used from a youth) by the chemical influence of light.
On the death of Mr. Byerley, the business was carried on by the second Josiah Wedgwood alone, until Martinmas, 1823, when he took his eldest son Josiah (the third of that name) into partnership, the firm being carried on under the style of “Josiah Wedgwood & Son.” Four years afterwards, at Martinmas, 1827, another son, Francis, having been taken into partnership, the style was altered to that of “Josiah Wedgwood & Sons.”
In November, 1841, Josiah Wedgwood, senior, of Maer Hall, retired from the business, and it was carried on by his sons until the following April, when Josiah Wedgwood, junior, also retired. The style of the firm, however, continued to be, as it is to the present day, “Josiah Wedgwood & Sons.”
The manufacture of china, which had never been attempted by the first Josiah, was commenced at Etruria about 1808 or 1809, in the time of Mr. Byerley, who considered that it would be an advantageous addition to the works; but was only carried on for probably nine or ten years, and then finally discontinued. The china was of extremely good quality, both in texture of body, in colour, in glaze, and in decoration. It was not made to any great extent, and is now very scarce. In the Museum of Practical Geology, the Mayer Museum, and other collections, are excellent and characteristic specimens. The mark on the china is the simple name
WEDGWOOD,
in small capital letters, printed on the bottom in red or blue.
“Stone china” was also at one time, to some little extent, made at Etruria, examples of which are now rare. It ceased to be made about the year 1825.
In 1815, on the 15th of January, Mrs. Wedgwood, widow of thegreat Josiah, died at Parkfield, in the eighty-first year of her age; she was buried at Stoke-upon-Trent, near her husband, where a Gothic memorial tablet bears the following inscription:
Sacred to the memory ofSARAHWidow ofJosiah Wedgwood,of Etruria.Born August the 18th, 1734.Died January the 15th, 1815.
The productions of the firm at this time—and indeed through each successive change in the proprietary down to the present time—were, as they had been in the time of the first Josiah, divided between the “useful” and the “ornamented.” The “useful” consisting of services of every kind in fine earthenware, and in all the varieties of bodies hitherto introduced, to which additional patterns were constantly added; and the “ornamented” comprising all the immense variety of exquisite articles which had been made by the great founder of the works, with additional vases, medallions, and other pieces.
In 1843, on the 23rd of August, Mr. John Boyle became a partner in the firm; but his connection was only of short duration, and sixteen months afterwards, on the 4th of January, 1845, he died.
On the 2nd of March, 1846, Mr. Robert Brown, of Cliff Ville, became a partner with the Messrs. Wedgwood; but, dying on the 26th of May, 1859, Mr. Francis Wedgwood was again left sole proprietor of the works. In November of the same year he was joined in partnership by his son, Mr. Godfrey Wedgwood, in 1863 by his second son, Mr. Clement Wedgwood, and in 1868 by his third son, Mr. Lawrence Wedgwood, and (Mr. Francis Wedgwood having retired in 1870) the works are still carried on by them under the old style of “Josiah Wedgwood & Sons.”
Figs. 583 to 588.—Perseus and Andromeda Vase by Lessore; Vase by Lessore; Jasper Beads; and three Vases.
Figs. 583 to 588.—Perseus and Andromeda Vase by Lessore; Vase by Lessore; Jasper Beads; and three Vases.
TheMarksused by the Wedgwoods have been in all cases, except during the partnership of Thomas Bentley, on that particular branch of the manufacture in which he had an interest, the simple name of WEDGWOOD. In some instances the name is impressed in large capitals—
WEDGWOOD.
In others, it appears in small capital letters—
WEDGWOOD.
And in others, though not so commonly, in the ordinary type—
Wedgwood.
On a few pieces the name occurs thus:
WEDGWOODETRURIA.
Fig. 589.
Fig. 589.
On the ornamental goods (vases, medallions, &c.) in which Thomas Bentley had an interest, the general mark was circular (Fig.589), with the lettersraised, not sunk. Another was
WEDGWOOD& BENTLEY,
and another
Wedgwood& Bentley;
both being impressed.
With regard to these marks of “Wedgwood & Bentley” it may be well to remark that all pieces bearing these names must have been made in the twelve years between 1768 and 1780.
Besides these marks, a variety of smaller ones—letters, flowers, figures, and numbers, both impressed and in colours, are to be seen on the different varieties of wares. These are simply workmen’s marks, or marks denoting period, &c., and, being private marks, concern only, and are of interest only, to the proprietors themselves.
The classes of goods manufactured by the Messrs. Wedgwood at the present day are much as they were in the times of the great Josiah. The same block moulds are used; the same principles are acted upon and carried out; the same mixture of bodies and glazes, with certain modifications, are in daily use; the same varieties of goods are manufactured; and consequently, many of his vases, medallions, services, and other goods, are reproduced at the present time. And although the ornamental goods now produced have not quite that charm of super-excellence about them which those made in the days of the first Josiah possess, Messrs. Wedgwood’s jasper and other ornamental goods now stand as far in advance of their competitors of the present day as those of the great Josiah did in advance of those of his own time; they are simply unsurpassable both in design and execution. It must be remembered that in the days of the first Josiah Wedgwood there was little competition in other branches of the potter’s art, and the great care, skill, and labour he bestowed upon his purely ornamental pieces was, therecan be no doubt, amply repaid in the high prices he could obtain for them. This is not so now; for at the present day Art productions of attractive and showy character are so extensively made and so readily purchased at a low rate that the quiet, unobtrusive, but truly lovely bas-reliefs originated by Wedgwood only command a limited sale, and even then at such prices as will not admit of the same scrupulous attention being paid to their production as in the earlier days. That the present firmcanproduce work equal in excellence and beauty to that of their gifted ancestor is amply evidenced by a Portland vase, which in 1877 they made—regardless of trouble or cost—in exact imitation, both in colour and material, of the first fifty. This was polished and cut by a lapidary, and forms a priceless treasure of Art, and one that will bear the closest comparison with the great Josiah’s greatest work. The firm still produce “jasper,” “basaltes,” “red,” “cream-coloured,” and indeed all the other wares for which the works in the olden times were so famous. The jasper goods are still, as they have ever been since the first production of that marvellous body, their principal feature—the great speciality of their works. In this, since the days of Turner, although they have had many imitators, they have never even been approached, and their goods still maintain their old and high reputation. All the famous works of the olden time—from the Portland vase down through all the chaste and truly beautiful varieties of vases, plaques, medallions, services, &c.—are still made in all their beauty, with the addition of many new and ever-varying designs and combinations. In jasper, of which some excellent examples are given in the engravings, Messrs. Wedgwood have of late years produced some remarkably large and costly works. Notably among these may be named the magnificent table decoration, shown in London a few years back, and purchased by Sir Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks from Messrs. Phillips & Pearce. It was designed by Mr. Pearce, and considered to be a faultlesschef-d’œuvreof fictile Art.
The jasper is produced in dark and in light blue of various shades (with, of course, the raised figures and ornaments in white), in sage-green, in pink, and other tints. It is also produced both in “solid jasper”—that is, the solid coloured body throughout—and in “jasper dip,” which is the white jasper body with the colour laid on the surface. The “solid jasper” was re-introduced in 1856. The manufacture of majolica was commenced at Etruria in 1860, and is animportant branch of the manufacture. With regard to majolica it is necessary to state that the true Italian majolica, as well as Minton’s reproductions of that famous ware, were made with a coarse cane-coloured body and decorated with opaque enamel colours; but that Messrs. Wedgwood were the first to use a white body and transparent coloured glazes. By this process much greater brilliancy of effect is produced than by the use of enamel colours.
In “malachite,” “mottled,” “agate,” and other wares, dessert, toilet, and trinket services, and a variety of both useful and ornamental articles, are made—ranging from the large-sized garden seat and the gigantic vase down to the small and delicately-formed ladies’ ring stand. In the “mottled” ware a marvellously rich and striking effect is produced by the combination of brilliant colours, while in the “malachite” the beautiful green and darker wavings of the stone are well imitated.
“Parian” was made by the Messrs. Wedgwood at Etruria about 1848 or 1849, and was of good quality. In this both busts and figures were produced, mainly of classical subjects, and the best modellers, Wyon, Beattie, and others, were employed in their production.
Another variety of ornamental work is the “inlaid” ware, in which a variety of articles are made. The effect of this style of ornamentation is much the same as the wood “Tunbridge ware.” It is striking in its novelty, and pleasing in its simplicity. This “inlaid ware” is made by the same process as the famous “Henri Deux wares;” an impress from a metal runner being filled up with a different coloured clay, and afterwards turned or scraped level on the surface. In this ware a magnificent and highly appropriate chess-table has been produced by Messrs. Wedgwood to use with the celebrated Flaxman chess-men.
Figs. 590 to 598.—Messrs. Wedgwood’s Productions. Lessore’s Europa Plateau, and other Wares.
Figs. 590 to 598.—Messrs. Wedgwood’s Productions. Lessore’s Europa Plateau, and other Wares.
“Cream-coloured” ware, the veritable “Queen’s ware” of the olden time, is still extensively made by Messrs. Wedgwood. Of a delicate creamy whiteness in colour, light and pleasant to the touch, true and close-fitting in the “potting,” and covered with a faultless glaze, this ware still “holds its own,” and maintains its wonted supremacy. In it, services and every variety of useful articles are made; and it is pleasant to add that the pieces are still made in the old moulds used in the great Josiah’s time, with only such modifications as fit them for more modern notions. For instance, the “turin” modelled by Flaxman, and charged for in his bill, which I have printed, is still made, with only the addition of newly-designedhandles, and hundreds of others of the “ancient forms” are still in the same way preserved and produced. In the “pearl” body, which is of great hardness and durability and of a pure pearly whiteness, services and useful goods are manufactured, in plain white, printed, and decorated varieties. “Rockingham ware,” of a very superior quality and of a good colour, is made largely at Etruria in tea-pots, coffee-pots, services (the cups white inside), and other articles. The “porous ware” used for water-bottles, butter-coolers, &c., is also made at the present time; and the “mortar ware” is still made, and keeps foremost rank in the market. In the “red ware”—a rich colour and fine body—services and a large number of other articles are produced, and are frequently ornamented with raised figures, &c., in black, with good and striking effect. Blue printing was introduced at Etruria at an early date, and has, with black, &c., been continued to the present day. Under the third Josiah Wedgwood, from 1820 forward, this process was brought to intense perfection. By making a special glaze for it—the result of much deep thought and careful experimenting—he succeeded in giving a rich, soft, almost flowing look to the colour, which gave it a beauty and a richness that could not otherwise be attained. This effect was afterwards imitated, but not so successfully, by means of what is technically called a “flow”—that is by introducing a little volatilising salt in the saggar in which the ware is placed and fired.
Fig. 599.
Fig. 599.
Messrs. Wedgwood employ a large number of clever modellers, painters, gilders, and others, and many of the most skilled of workmen in every department. The present firm is quite alive to the necessity of keeping up to the full standard of excellence which the works have attained, and are making rapid strides in new branches of decoration. In order to give renewed life and greater variety to their bas-relief goods in jasper, &c., they have engaged Mr. CharlesToft, who was the principal figure modeller under Mr. Wilms at Elkington’s, who, at the time I write, is busily engaged in bringing to perfection various works intended for display at the Paris Exhibition of 1878. In place of the lamented Mr. Lessore the firm have engaged Mr. Thomas Allen, for many years known as the principal figure-painter at Minton’s, and some of whose paintings on vases will also form a feature of the same Exhibition. His work, it may be added, is mainly on the bisque, in colours, which gain great brilliancy and a much heightened effect by being glazed and fired in the oven at a high temperature.
Figs. 600 to 609.—Painted by Lessore.
Figs. 600 to 609.—Painted by Lessore.
The firm have of late introduced a process by which photographs of original drawings, in colours, are produced on ware by the same method as the autotype process. This forms a notable feature of progress in scientific decoration, and it is only meet that as photography itself was the undoubted discovery of a Wedgwood, its development as an aid to ceramic decoration should be left to his successors at the present day.
Fig. 610.—Ewer modelled by Protat, painted by Lessore.
Fig. 610.—Ewer modelled by Protat, painted by Lessore.
Figs. 611 to 618.—Messrs. Wedgwood’s Productions. Lessore’s Wares.
Figs. 611 to 618.—Messrs. Wedgwood’s Productions. Lessore’s Wares.
Fig. 619.
Fig. 619.
The principal painter at Etruria for many years was the late gifted M. Emile Lessore, an artist of more than European reputation, who takes rank above all others in that exquisite style for which he was so famous. As M. Lessore (whom I had the privilege of knowing, and who pressed me more than once to visit him at Marlotte) andhis works are so closely identified with Etruria, a few words on his career cannot but be interesting. He was born in 1805, his father being a notary, for which profession the son was at first intended. Giving up the law for Art, he entered for a short time the studio of Ingres. When twenty-six years old Lessore exhibited his first picture (“Le Frère Malade”) in the Salon at Paris. This was in 1831, and from that time until 1850 he continued to exhibit both oiland water-colour pictures, which were always eagerly sought for and purchased at high prices. In 1851 Lessore was induced, through offers made to him by the Sèvres china manufactory, to turn his attention to china painting. He attempted to introduce a more artistic feeling at Sèvres, and succeeded notably; a pair of large vases decorated by him, which were exhibited in Paris in 1853, were purchased by the Emperor of Russia for a thousand guineas. The originality of Lessore’s work caused a division amongst the artists at Sèvres, and the partisans of the two camps were so virulently wearisome in their disputes that he eventually abandoned Sèvres and came to England, where he arrived in 1858, and was employed for a short time by Mintons, but ultimately joined Messrs. Wedgwood, who thoroughly appreciated his talents and his loyal sympatheticcharacter. The most remarkable of his works were shown in the Exhibition of 1862, the Paris Exhibition of 1867, and at Vienna in 1873, and medals were awarded to him in all countries. The climate of England, especially Staffordshire, not suiting him he returned to France, living at Marlotte, near Fontainebleau, where he still continued his connection with the Wedgwoods, painting pieces and sending them to be fired at Etruria. There is little doubt Emile Lessore was one of the first artists in England to revolutionise the decoration of pottery, and some of his pieces are undoubtedly more artistic than is usually produced in faience; the drawing, without being laboured, is true to nature; the colouring, as a rule, is subdued and delicate, but the master hand is apparent in every touch. During the siege of Paris many of Lessore’s finest works were concealed by him in the cellars of his cottage, and afterwards preserved by Messrs. Wedgwood. He was the first to employ the freedom of the artist’s brush to the decoration of pottery, which previously to his time had been painted with the finish and stippled perfection of the miniature painter, but without the imagination and freshness of an artist’s sketch. M. Lessore died in the spring of 1876, and soon afterwards his remaining works were sold by Messrs. Wedgwood to Mr. Mortlock, by whom they were exhibited in London and disposed of.
The markets to which Messrs. Wedgwood’s goods are sent are more widely spread than perhaps will be conceived by the uninitiated, and it is not too much to say that, besides the home trade, which is very extensive, the “Wedgwood ware” of the present day is dispatched, as it used to be, to every quarter of the globe.