A Brief History Of Wedgwood China
by
Max Bellamy ARTICLE REPRINTING IS PERMITTED
The story of the line begins in 1730 with the birth of Josiah Wedgwood to a family who manufactured pottery. At six years old, Josiah was an apprentice and by 14 he had suffered a bout of smallpox that weakened his right knee. By 1760, Josiah had his own factory and had been experimenting with different formulas of porcelain, clays and glazes and technological advances in the art of transferring designs to the finished product. In 1765 he manufactured a complete set for Queen Charlotte, advertised himself as the "potter to the Queen" and his business took off.
Josiah's crowning achievement was his creation of Jasperware. Jasper is translucent clay that marries the basalt and Josiah's original formulas to produce a dense, homogeneously colored stoneware. After more than 10,000 failed experiments with various clays and glazes, Jasperware was launched in 1775 to overwhelming success, especially to his customers in the new democracy of the United States of America. Josiah stated shortly thereafter, "there was no item too rich or too costly for Americans."
Wedgwood died in 1795 and the business was left to his sons, who, having been brought up wealthy, had absolutely no interest in running it. The job fell to a nephew, Tom Byerly who struggled greatly with the burden of running a business he had little love for. The next 25 years proved difficult for the company and Josiah II took over to turn things around by restoring the formulas and business standards set by his father. Needless to say, constant economic turmoil, wars and growing competition made the 1800's very difficult and it wasn't until the 20th Century, under the leadership of Josiah V that things began to improve.
With new, streamlined production facilities, aggressive worldwide marketing especially in America, and exclusive designs, Wedgwood China products began gaining prominence in the industry. In 1966, Wedgwood's shares were introduced into the London Stock exchange and since that time, the company has been involved in aggressive expansion. The assets of Susie Cooper, Royal Tuscan, William Adams, Franciscan, Mason's Ironstone, Waterford, and Rosenthal have been merged with Wedgwood to form the Wedgwood group. Josiah Wedgwood I would be proud.
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Fine China Additional Fine China Articles
The Value of Wedgwood China There is a line in the sand when it comes to placing a value on Wedgwood China and that line is 1949. After Josiah died, several generations of Wedgwood's sons and other relatives ran the business, which was never really the same.
A Guide to Wedgwood China Outlets There are recognized, factory-certified Wedgwood China outlets in many locations around the world for your shopping convenience. These places carry only Wedgwood China and anything you purchase there will be the genuine article, not a cheap reproduction, and its dating will be accurate.
The Value of Antique Wedgwood China Since the company is now slightly over 250 years old, anything made from year one to year 150 is now officially considered to be an antique. Antique certification begins for any item that can be verified to be at least 100 years old and since the Wedgwood Company keeps meticulous records on all of its designs, any piece of Wedgwood can be quickly, easily and accurately dated.
Where to Find Discount Wedgwood China There is not a lot of discount Wedgwood China available, although, given the prices of some of the items in the line, any discount is greatly appreciated. You might not think paying $50 for a plate is a discount, however, depending on the age of the particular item and the supply of pieces, $50 might seem like a discount. You might not think of it but not every design, not every creation from the Wedgwood Company has been a smash hit.
A Guide to Discontinued Wedgwood China Everything has its day and its time, and Wedgwood China is no exception to the rule. Because the company is 250 years old there are patterns that were used to create dishware that simply no longer exist, but pieces of the dishware still do. People take such good care of their Wedgwood China and such good care went into their manufacture that many of the original pieces made in the very early days of the company are still in existence.
