a
ackey
A water-soluble resist that allowed the pattern to remain unaffected when a subsequent transfer print of a 'sheet pattern' was applied over the whole surface. At the 'washing-off' stage (when the transfer paper is removed) the areas of the transferred sheet pattern which were over the 'ackey' were washed away leaving the outline of the first pattern. This could then be hand colored after the glost firing.
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Fitzhugh
Spode used the name Fitzhugh, a name associated with Chinese porcelain patterns that had become popular in the United States near the end of the eighteenth century, to describe patterns that employed a trellis and diaper border used to accompany selected center designs. These center designs included one with four groups of flowers with objects surrounding a medallion-like design, and others with armorial devices and monograms. Today, the name Fitzhugh is commonly used to as an alternate name for Trophies Dagger.
l
Line engraved, line-engraving
line engraved, line-engraved: In the early period of transfer printing, the engraving of copper plates was achieved with the graver, or burin. This method yielded a fairly coarse result with the lines cut deeply. The cut was "v" shaped. This method was, for the most part, abandoned around 1803 when the stipple punching technique began to be adopted.
n
Nankin
The term "nankin" is used in this exhibition to describe inner borders of varied design used in certain Chinoiserie patterns. On two occasions, "nankin" forms part of the assigned pattern name.
a
Ambrose Gallimore
Ambrose Gallimore was a founding partner of the Salopian China Manufactory at Caughley in Shropshire. His origins are somewhat obscure but evidence suggests he was born in the Staffordshire Potteries and in 1745 married Anne Spode, Josiah I’s sister. By 1749 he had moved to Caughley and by 1754 he was leasing the Caughley works. In 1775 at a newly built porcelain manufactory at Caughley, Gallimore took a young partner. Thomas Turner was a china dealer in Worcester and he perhaps brought new skills and ambition to the business. The Salopian China Warehouse was opened in London about 1783 (it was later purchased by Josiah Spode II as he expanded his London retail enterprise) After retiring from the business in the mid 1780s, he continued to live in Shropshire but after his death in 1790 he was buried in Stone, Staffordshire.
ashlar
Ashlar masonry is the strongest and most suitable stonework for monumental architecture. It consists of regularly cut blocks of stone, usually rectangular with squared sides and carefully squared corners, ideal for use in neo- classical and Greek architecture.
b
Baddeley
Brothers Ralph and John. The Baddeley family potted in the Staffordshire township of Shelton for fifty years. For a thorough discussion of the Baddeley family and how they affected Staffordshire pottery and printing, see the Northern Ceramic Society Journal, Volume 16.
bat printed
An overglaze printing method that uses a flat piece of flexible animal-hide glue pressed into an oiled, engraved design plate. The printer presses the glue bat to the surface of the pot, pounces on powdered glaze (typically black or red), carefully wipes away the excess glaze and then fires the piece in an enamel kiln.
biscuit
Pottery or porcelain that has been fired but not glazed.
black basalt
Stoneware stained black with the addition of iron and manganese. Usually unglazed except for the interior of tea and coffee wares. Introduced in the mid 18th century and marketed by Josiah Wedgwood who made it a popular body for wares in the classical taste. Black basalt continued to be popular into the 19th century.
black printing
An early name for bat printing.
bone china
A form of porcelain developed in England in the late 18th century. Chinese porcelain used china clay (kaolin) and china stone (petunste). Bone China includes a large amount of calcined (burnt) animal bone , recipes are often given as 25% china clay, 25% china stone 50% bone ash. Bone ash adds whiteness and helps fusion of the raw materials during firing.
c
caneware
Stoneware made from clays that fire a range of shades from buff color to a pale yellowy-brown. One of the earliest of the stonewares made to produce wares in the classical taste, it was introduced in the 1770s becoming less popular in the 19th century. Pieces were usually unglazed except for the interior of tablewares, and occasionally were decorated with painted enamel colors.
china clay
Also known as Kaolin, the purest form of decomposed granite, a white-firing clay which is an essential ingredient of porcelain and bone china. It is white, has low shrinkage during firing, and vitrifies or fuses at a range of high temperature firings.
china stone
A white felspathic mineral formed from decomposed granite which is an essential ingredient of porcelain and bone china, and lowers the fusion point for the clay mixture during firing.
chinese porcelain
The Chinese were the first to make porcelain, using the china clay (kaolin) and china stone (petuntse), porcelains emerged and developed from the 6th century AD.
chromium
Chromium is a hard metallic ore discovered in 1797. It can be used in the preparation of a range of colors for ceramics decoration including green, pink, and yellow.
colored glazes
Colored glaze decoration was introduced by 1760 and was popular until about 1780. The biscuit creamware was painted with glazes tinted in green, and yellow. They were particularly suited to decorating teaware made in the form of fruit and vegetables.
Cookworthy/Champion patent
William Cookworthy, was a chemist and devout Quaker. By 1748 he had discovered English deposits of china clay and china stone and begun experiments in making true or hard-paste porcelain in his home town of Plymouth. In 1768 he successfully took out a patent for the use of china clay and china stone in porcelain. In about 1770 Cookworthy transferred production to Bristol, a city with a long established ceramic industry, where he found a number of shareholders to invest in his porcelain venture. Richard Champion was one the shareholders and in 1773/74 the patent was assigned to him, and he took over and expanded the business. Champion was a Bristol merchant who traded with the American colonies and the West Indies. His finances suffered during the American Revolution and by 1778 his funds were exhausted. In hope of selling the patent he journeyed to Staffordshire where he eventually found a consortium of potters willing to invest, and in about 1781 Hollins, Warburton & Co. began to make porcelain at the New Hall in Shelton Staffordshire, eventually becoming the New hall porcelain company. The patent expired in 1796.
Copeland & Garrett
Thomas Garrett is an enigmatic figure; it is likely he worked in Spode and Copeland’s London retail business. It seems he was appointed by W.T. Copeland to oversee the Spode Works which was under the daily management of the experienced senior workman William Outrim. Garrett left the Spode partnership in 1847 and retired to live in Ealing, Middlesex.
creamware
Cream colored earthenware, creamware, was developed in the 1740s. It was made principally from white firing ball clays found in Devon and Dorset. The lead used for the glaze was naturally contaminated with iron which imparted a golden tint to the glaze in shades. Creamware was refined and improved until by the 1760s it was suitable for making fashionable, elegant tableware. See also tortoiseshell and colored glazes.
d
dipper
The dipper is a workman who immerses the biscuit fired ceramic into a liquid glaze before glost-firing.
dipping
The dipper is a workman who immerses the biscuit fired ceramic into a liquid glaze before glost-firing.
Dr. Robert Plot
Dr. Robert Plot (1640 – 1696) was an English naturalist, first Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford, and the first keeper of the Ashmolean Museum. In 1686 he published “The Natural History of Staffordshire” which, under the section on earths, included a detailed description of the local clays and potting process.
e
earnest
Earnest is a deposit paid to demonstrate a commitment. In the Staffordshire Potteries it could take the form of money or goods and was offered by an employer to a workman to seal a contract for employment.
Elizabeth Barker
Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Barker, potter of Lane Delph (Fenton), married Josiah Spode II in 1775. She died in 1782 leaving 5 small children; Josiah II never remarried. Either at the time of his marriage or on the death of Elizabeth, Spode came into the possession of the Foley Pottery, Fenton, formerly owned by Thomas Barker. To meet the conditions of his father’s will, on agreeing to buy the Spode works from the estate Josiah II sold the Foley Pottery to his brother Samuel, so that both brothers had a pottery making business.
enamel
A ceramic color for decoration over the glaze; in simplest terms a colored glass ground to a powder which can then be mixed with oil for painting onto the glazed surface, and fixed to the glaze with additional firings.
English porcelain
English potters also attempted to make porcelain with a range of raw materials, eventually deposits of china clay and china stone were discovered and a Chinese-style porcelain was patented, 1768-1796. From about 1800 bone china became the standard English porcelain.
engraved
Engravings are made by using a hand-held cutting tool and the design is created by lines cut into the copper sheet.
etched
Etched designs are made by coating the copper with an acid resistant material, drawing the design with a fine needle that cuts through the resist and then dipping the copper into acid which bites into the exposed lines. This creates a free-flowing image.
european porcelain
European potters made many attempts to produce porcelain, using a variety of raw materials. The first commercially produced porcelain in the Chinese style was made at Meissen from 1708.
f
felspar porcelain
Spode introduced "Felspar porcelain" to the market in 1821 when feldspar (modern spelling) was substituted for china stone in their standard bone china body. Production continued into the Copeland & Garrett phase of the company (1833-1847).
firing
Subjecting clay to heat, and fusing the clay to create pottery, different clay mixtures fire to different temperatures and create different kinds of pottery. Biscuit firing creates a stable piece of pottery Glaze or glost firing secures a shiny coating to the surface of a piece of pottery Decorative effects used in pottery often require additional separate firings
freeman of the city of London
No merchant might trade in London unless he had the freedom of the City, and only those approved by the relevant guild were granted that freedom. Since none but freemen could be elected aldermen, they controlled the city council which regulated all municipal affairs. Since the capital was also the centre of commerce, they dominated trade and industry throughout England. There was no guild for pottery or porcelain makers or dealers, so Josiah Spode entered the guild or livery company of the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers.
g
gadroon
Convex curves or inverted fluting, usually applied as an edge
gadrooning
Convex curves or inverted fluting, usually applied as an edge
good from oven
This system of remuneration allowed payment to the workers only when goods emerged perfect from the oven. The ware passed through many hands before firing, any one of whom might have caused some imperfection – but unless the piece was faultless no one was paid. The imperfect pieces were sold as seconds and the pottery owner kept the income. This system was open to abuse; it was abandoned by some of the better class firms such as Copeland and Minton in the 1870s but not finally abolished in 1964.
h
Holdship
Brothers Richard and Josiah Holdship were part-owners of the Worcester porcelain factory from 1751. Richard Holdship sold his share in 1759 and later offered to sell information regarding the Worcester formula to Duesbury of Derby. Josiah Holdship was perhaps the most important figure in the Worcester partnership until 1762, when Dr Wall took control.
i
ironstone china
Stone china is a dense hard white ceramic that does need a glaze. Its smooth surface results from the high percentage of glass forming material in the body recipe. Patented in 1800 by William & John Turner, their version was known as “Turner’s Patent”. The Turner factory closed in 1806. The factory of the mason family first produced their famous “Ironstone china”, with Spode producing his own “Stone China” about 1813. These later version were usually decorated and glazed and resembled dense, hard earthenware.
j
jasper
A dense white stoneware which can be stained to produce a wide variety of colors, blue being the most commonly recognized. Introduced by Josiah Wedgwood in the 1770s, at first only small plaques and cameos were made, but technological advances eventually permitted the production of vases and large decorative items. A number of potters made jasper although examples from the Spode factory are rarely seen.
John Brooks
John Brooks was an Irishman who served an apprenticeship as an engraver in Birmingham. In 1753 he left Birmingham to manage the Battersea enamel works in London. The origins of transfer-printing on pottery are obscure but Brooks made three unsuccessful attempts to secure a patent for transfer printing between 1751 and 1755. The second application in 1754 specified “the art of printing on enamel, Glass, China and other Ware History Portraits Landskips Foliages Coats of Arms Ciphers Letters Decorations and other Devices'.
l
Lady Day
In the Christian calendar, Lady Day is the traditional name of the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin celebrated on March 25 each year. It was the first day of the year, and the first of the four traditional Irish and English quarter days. In England, Lady Day was New Year's Day until 1752 when the Gregorian Calendar was adopted and 1 January became the start of the year. From its earlier history Lady Day was a traditional day on which year-long contracts between property owners and tenants would begin and end in England
lead glaze
Lead is a metal ore and has been used to make glass for more than 3,000 years. About 2,000 years ago potters adapted it to make a glassy coating suitable for pottery, and it became one of the major glazes used in ceramic manufacture.
livery company
Livery companies are trade associations based in the City of London, almost all of which are known as the "Worshipful Company of" the relevant trade or profession. They originally developed as guilds and were responsible for the regulation of their trades. Livery Company members fall into two categories: freemen and liverymen. One may join as a freeman, and acquire the "Freedom of the Company", upon fulfilling the Company's criteria. Traditionally, one may be admitted by "patrimony" if either parent was a liverymen of the company, by "servitude" if one has served as an apprentice in the trade for the requisite number of years, or by "redemption" on induction and payment of a "fine". The term 'Livery' originated in the specific form of dress worn to retainers of a nobleman and then by extension to special dress to denote status of belonging to a trade. Freemen generally advance to become liverymen by a vote of the Court of the Company.
liveryman
Livery companies are trade associations based in the City of London, almost all of which are known as the "Worshipful Company of" the relevant trade or profession. They originally developed as guilds and were responsible for the regulation of their trades. Livery Company members fall into two categories: freemen and liverymen. One may join as a freeman, and acquire the "Freedom of the Company", upon fulfilling the Company's criteria. Traditionally, one may be admitted by "patrimony" if either parent was a liverymen of the company, by "servitude" if one has served as an apprentice in the trade for the requisite number of years, or by "redemption" on induction and payment of a "fine". The term 'Livery' originated in the specific form of dress worn to retainers of a nobleman and then by extension to special dress to denote status of belonging to a trade. Freemen generally advance to become liverymen by a vote of the Court of the Company.
m
Martinmas
St. Martin's Day, also known as Martinmas or Martelmas, is November 11, the feast day of Martin of Tours. It is a quarter-day in the English calendar and a traditional time for hiring fairs. The custom in the Staffordshire Potteries was to hire workmen for 12 months from Martinmas.
Minton & Boyle
Following his father’s death, Herbert Minton succeeded to the business taking John Boyle as partner and trading as Minton & Boyle until about 1841. For more background, see Thomas Minton.
mould making
Plaster molds may be used to create shapes in clay. Most factories made their own molds, creating first a model which represented the finished product. From the positive model a negative master block mold is made, from the negative block a positive master case mold is made and from this working block and case molds are made. The master block and case are carefully stored and the working block is used to make more working molds. Mold making was a skilled occupation and the mold-making workshop was one of the busiest parts of a factory.
o
oven
The typical pottery factory oven was a bee-hive shaped structure. Pottery was placed into saggars (protective ceramic containers) which were stacked inside the oven in tall columns. Flames and smoke were directed from fire mouths or hearths through the oven and out the top through a chimney. Ovens were protected from the elements by either being built into a workshop with a strategically placed chimney emerging from the rooftop, or a “hovel” or protective shell was built from the ground at a distance from the oven wall to allow convenient workspace, the shape tapered above the dome of the oven into the neck of a chimney giving it a characteristic bottle shape. Most factories had separate ovens for firing biscuit and gloss and for subsequent enamel decoration firing.
overglaze printing
The simplest process is to apply prints onto a glazed surface either by the bat printing or hot-press printing method. The printed designs are then secured to the surface by a firing slightly softening the glaze which fuses with the printed color. Over-glaze decoration may be subject to abrasion and wear.
p
piece work
In the Staffordshire Pottery industry piece-work employees are paid a fixed "piece rate" for each item of pottery they produce. It can be considered a form of performance-related pay. Day-wage on the other hand guaranteed a fixed income calculated on daily attendance distinct for piece rate or salary. Depending on the skill and speed of the operative, piece-work could be more lucrative for the worker.
plate presser
In the late 18th 19th centuries plates were made by pressing sheets of clay onto molds. The mold formed the front of the plate, the plate maker threw a circle of clay onto the mold, and smoothing and pressing into shape, eventually using tools to trim excess and to form a footring.
porcelain
A hard dense white ceramic that is translucent.
printing
To create a print a design has to be cut into a sheet of copper. One or more of the following techniques may be used to create a design.
s
Sadler & Green
John Sadler and Guy Green were partners in a printing firm in Liverpool. In 1756 they unsuccessfully applied for a patent to print onto the glazed surface of pottery. Although they did not receive a patent, they continued printing on delftware, porcelain and creamware. They had a mutually exclusive arrangement with Josiah Wedgwood – he sent them creamware to be printed, they agreed not to print on creamware from other manufacturers. This agreement was entered into in about 1762 and continued after Sadler’s death in 1789 probably until the death of Josiah Wedgwood in 1795.
Salopian china warehouse
The Salopian China Warehouse was the London retail establishment of the Salopian China manufactory in Caughley, Shropshire. The name Salopian derives from Salopia the Roman name for the county of Shropshire. The London business was in Portugal street in a the former “Lincoln’s Inn Old Playhouse” theatre. The building was put to various uses before being adapted as a “China warehouse” where the Caughley porcelains could be displayed and sold to fashionable London customers. The premises was leased by Ambrose Gallimore and Thomas Turner, and then by Turner alone. After his death the Caughley factory moved its retail arm to Whitefriars and from 1794 Josiah Spode II leased the building finally buying the freehold in 1802.
salt-glazed stoneware
Pottery can be glazed with several different glass or glaze forming materials. Salt can be used as a glazing material in the production of stoneware. When pottery is made, during its first fire, at the height of the firing salt is thrown into the kiln, it vaporizes and sodium from the salt combines with alumina and silica which are present in the clay creating a glassy sheen on the surface of the ware. Salt-glazed stoneware was introduced in Germany in the late 13th -14th century. Staffordshire was famous in the 18th century for its fine white salt-glazed stoneware table wares. White salt-glazed stoneware continued to be produced into the last quarter of the 18th century, was its popularity declined after the introduction of creamware in the middle of the century.
score
A measurement term, meaning "20"
stippled
In stippling the design is created by punching dots into the copper, the depth and closeness of the dots creates different light or and dark effects.
stone china
Stone china is a dense hard white ceramic that does need a glaze. Its smooth surface results from the high percentage of glass forming material in the body recipe. Patented in 1800 by William & John Turner, their version was known as “Turner’s Patent”. The Turner factory closed in 1806. The factory of the mason family first produced their famous “Ironstone china”, with Spode producing his own “Stone China” about 1813. These later version were usually decorated and glazed and resembled dense, hard earthenware.
t
Thomas Minton
Thomas Minton was born in 1766 in Shropshire and trained as an engraver under Thomas Turner at the Salopian China Works in Caughley. He left Shropshire for the Staffordshire Potteries where he is believed to have played a part in Spode’s successful venture into underglaze blue printing. In 1793 Minton set up his own business with Joseph Pownall and Joseph Poulson of Liverpool as his partners. Poulson died in 1808 and Thomas Minton took his sons into partnership trading as Thomas Minton and Sons until his death in 1836. See Minton & Boyle.
tortoiseshell
Tortoiseshell decoration was made by sponging colored powder or slip onto biscuit creamware, when glazed and fired these colors ran and mingled with soft glaze creating a tortoiseshell effect. This kind of decoration was popular from the 1740s to the 1780s.
transfer printing
u
underglaze printing
When printed designs are applied to biscuit pottery, the oil which carries the color has to be driven off before the piece can be glazed, so it is subjected to heat, a process known as hardening on. When all the oil has evaporated, the pottery is glazed and fired thereby covering and protecting the printed pattern.
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William Banks
William Banks was born in Uttoxeter, close to the eastern border of Staffordshire. He was a dealer in pottery and in partnership with John Turner, purchased a potworks in Stoke-upon-Trent in November 1759. Turner transferred his part ownership to Banks in December 1763. William Banks sold the pottery in February 1764 but continued as a tenant until 1775 when Josiah Spode I took over the business, purchasing the factory and concluding the sale in 1776. This pottery was expanded over time to become the centre of Spode pottery production.
William Copeland
The first member of the Copeland family to be involved with Spode was William, born in Lane Delph (Fenton) Staffordshire in 1765. It is likely that he began working at the Spode Works in the warehouse, before he began working at the London retail establishment at the age of 19, in 1784. Copeland travelled on behalf of Spode carrying samples and seeking orders. When Josiah Spode II left London to return to the Spode Works in Stoke, Copeland was a crucial part of the London business and in 1805 became an equal partner with Josiah II’s son William Spode. William Spode retired in 1811, leaving William Copeland managing the business and owning 75% of the shares. William Taylor Copeland joined his father in 1824 and after his father’s death in 1824 entered a 7 year agreement as an equal partner with Josiah Spode II. Following Josiah II’s death in 1827 the executors of the Spode estate continued this agreement until 1833 when W.T. Copeland bought the Spode shares and took Thomas Garrett as a partner to administer the Stoke works while he remained in London.