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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.