Josiah Spode I and Thomas Whieldon in 1749

Spode I, print (detail) 1958

Recently in the UK apprenticeships, or rather lack of them, for young people have been in the news. This reminds me that very often it is recorded in published works, Spode company publicity material, on TV and on the web that Josiah Spode I (1733-1797) was 'apprentice to Thomas Whieldon'. This oft-repeated claim is more fiction than fact.

It arises from an entry in Thomas Whieldon's notebook for 9th April 1749 (collection of the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent). It shows a hiring record of 'Siah Spoude' - our Josiah Spode I. It seems clear from the entry that this is not the record of an apprenticeship even though it is followed, on the next page, by further hiring details for the next few years.

Whieldon notes apprenticeships in quite a different way for other boys elsewhere in his notebook.

Above is an old black and white photo of the entry. It says: 'hired Siah Spoude to Give him from this time to Martlemas next - 2/3 or 2/6 if he Deserves it'. Martlemas, also known as Martinmas, is the 11th November and a traditional hiring time. Spode I's 'wages' are written in shillings and pence. The conversion to decimal money in use today in the UK gives us 12½p for 2/6.

  

Whieldon type teapot V & A

On 9th April 1749 Spode I was just 16 but at this period in history it is probable he would have already had ten years or so experience working in the pottery industry and, showing aptitude for it, would rapidly be attaining the skills of a master potter. With these skills he could get a job with one of the most successful potters of North Staffordshire at the time - Thomas Whieldon.

Whieldon's notebook records more entries for hiring Spode I. He must have been valued by Whieldon as he receives gradually increasing weekly wages as well as 'earnest' - money to bind the bargain. Spode I continued to be associated with Thomas Whieldon who acts as witness to the agreement between him and one of his business partners. Later generations of the families intermarry.

Why should such archive material be so continually misinterpreted? 

The answer perhaps lies with an initial incorrect interpretation by early Spode researchers. It is then used in the 1930s for Hayden's book on Spode written as a commission for the Spode company. The story was emphasised further by publication in 1970 of the book by Whiter then a director of Spode. The ease with which this 'rags to riches' story could be summarised in a couple of sentences was tempting and became a constant in marketing material for the Spode company whose primary interest was commerce not historical research. It would seem too that the company felt happier with the idea of their founder being apprentice to one of the industry's great figures. For some reason it was preferable to the truth that Spode I simply got a job with Whieldon. To me the fact that a young boy who had humble beginnings worked hard enough and was good enough to get not just one job with Whieldon but continuous hirings, negotiated partnerships to fund his fledgling businesses and then eventually was able to buy his own factory, run his own company and train his sons to a high standard is just as fascinating and remarkable.

Books on Spode

For further research please consult my booklist. The books illustrated here books are available to use at the Stoke-on-Tent City Archives. Don't forget to consult Peter Roden's NCS Journal article (Volume 14 1997) for the facts on Spode I's early life. This is also summarised in Copeland's latest edition of 'Spode & Copeland Marks...'

With thanks to Peter Roden for his detailed Spode research.

Spode and Printing...and Hogarth

Hogarth's House 2011

On the day that Hogarth House reopened after refurbishment and redisplay it seemed appropriate to mention Spode and printing. William Hogarth (1697-1764) rose from humble beginnings to become a great British painter and engraver and Sergeant Painter to the King. November 8th 2011 saw the culmination of a restoration project with his house reopening to the public. Hogarth produced prints from his paintings using engraved copper plates - Hogarth himself was a master engraver. 

Copper plate and tools, Hogarth House

Paul Holdway engraving Italian pattern, 2006

Engraving to produce prints is similar to that for producing pottery. For prints the engraving is engraved the wrong way round as can be seen in the illustration showing a Hogarth engraving (Hogarth House, Chiswick). You can see an excellent set of images showing a shortened sequence of transfer printing a large kettle in Italian pattern from the magazine Country Living New York with whom I worked on a project in 2006/2007. This fabulous set of photos helps to explain the transfer printing process.

Backstamp, Spode soup plate, 1816

In about 1784 Josiah Spode is thought to have perfected the technique of underglaze blue printing on earthenware in Stoke, Staffordshire - a technique which eventually brought blue printed pottery, with which we are so familiar, to the masses. Spode's copper plates are engraved the 'right way round' as the engraving is transferred from the copper plate to the pot via a piece of thin paper, hence the term transfer printed or, particularly in the USA, transferware. A name which seems to have been used in the early 1800s is 'blue ware' as can be seen in the image of a backstamp from 1816. 

I am always amazed at the skill of the engraver engraving on a flat two-dimensional copper the design for a three-dimensional coffee pot.

Spode Leg Bath, Long Eliza pattern c1820

Initially Spode's blue printed wares were for the well-to-do and this is shown in the type of wares produced such as a leg bath or rouge pot. However by the mid-1800s blue printed ware was everywhere and made by many manufacturers. Spode's however remained supreme with high quality pottery bodies, glazes, printers and transferrers and, of course, skilled engravers, many of whom had served long apprenticeships. Spode continued to use copper plate engraving until about 2008, long after most manufacturers had abandoned the technique.  In 2006 I took a series of photos of Paul Holdway, Head Engraver at Spode, working on an engraving for Italian pattern.

As well as a master engraver Holdway is co-author with the late David Drakard of the indispensable book Spode Transfer Printed Ware 1784-1833 pubd. Antique Collectors' Club, 2002, ISBN 1 85149 394 8. In this book you will find much you need to know about Spode's printed wares including history and technique. For further information visit the web pages from the Transferware Collectors Club.

Spode apprentice copper plate

When I was Curator at the SpodeMuseum, the copper plates in the museum collection used to number about 25,000 items dating back to the late 1700s. Sadly, although some have now been 'lost', the remainder are under the care of the Spode museum and I hope will be preserved. Although Robert Copeland listed them (way before computers so all recorded by hand) and researched them, their study is incomplete and it is still not sure what fascinating new information may be found and what may be of interest in the future. Researching in them in about 2002 I found new information to tell us more of the history of Spode and I am convinced there is more yet to be revealed.

Spode and the 'Spode Saga'

Cover and contents page, 1954 edition

The 'Spode Saga' - intrigue, scandal, feud? No, the name of the Spode in-house magazine produced in the 1950s.

Whilst working as curator at the Spode museum I salvaged a few dog-eared copies of this magazine from old workshops on the factory and catalogued them into the archive. Recently I was delighted to find copies for sale at a local fleamarket.

These magazines were produced a few years after World War II when rationing was still in place and the factory was struggling to find its place in the 'new world' which had emerged in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Spode archive records and minute books show the discussions and difficulties at this time with the urge to modernise the factory; and to embrace the new generation of Copeland family coming on board as young directors, yet faced with falling demand and recession, particularly in overseas markets.

The cover and contents page of the 1954 edition are illustrated together here. The design on the contents page is the border of a pattern called Spode's Byron. More about this pattern is on my Spode ABC under S.

Happy Birthday 'Cordie'

The 'Spode Saga' magazines are perhaps a surprise to outsiders. They are a fantastic snapshot of life at a pottery manufactory embracing the whole range of events and stories of people connected with the world famous company. They have input from the Copeland family who owned the company, and heads of departments, as well as a big participation from the workforce. Many family groups worked at Spode from its earliest days until the end of production in 2009 and this was very much the case in the 1950s. So we see births, birthdays, marriages, retirements and deaths recorded. These include recollections of long-serving employees such as Mary Cordwell, known as Cordie, celebrating her 80th birthday in 1954 in an article 'I remember...No5 Miss Mary Cordwell'. It seems she was still working and she tells her story of working at Spode from 1914 mentioning a royal visit by King George V and Queen Mary to the factory and being taught how to curtsy by Lady Swettenham (Mr Ronald Copeland's sister).

Inside the 1954 edition

Reports of new innovations at Spode and new designs rub shoulders with reports of factory outings, sports and social clubs. Specialist clubs for photography and the new-fangled TV along with the famous Spode choir are all active at this period. Royal visits and those of other VIPS are detailed. A series of studies on Staffordshire churches runs through a few of the magazines and, in 1953, there is a feature on beautiful Hawkesyard Priory, once the home of Josiah Spode IV.

Saggar Makers Bottom Knocker

There are portraits of current employees at work and a report of a 'Belle of the North' beauty contest; long service awards with gold watches awarded to those of over 50 years' service including Frank Simpson (I think he was a fireman?) having served 64 years.

Jokes, puzzles, cartoons (click the caption to the Saggar Makers Bottom Knocker cartoon for more information about this skill) and games are scattered through the pages. If you want to know about life at the Spode factory in the 1950s the 'Spode Sagas' are a delightful and informative study.

Three extracts I love from 'Spode Saga' in July 1952 are:

1. 'It has been noted that the new electric truck still requires a convoy of three able bodied men, whereas Herbert still pushes the old wooden one around without help'. (The factory site was about 10 acres and rails probably still exist under the current tarmac used from the 1830s to transport goods around the site pulled by a horse. They are shown on a site plan of 1833).
2. Also on the subject of transport there is an appeal to buy Nobby the Railway horse 'who has been coming to the factory for many years with Arthur Royce. Nobby is a celebrity in his own right because he has won numerous medals at shows....'  The article continues with an appeal for money to buy the horse 'so that he may have a peaceful retirement'. 
3. WANTED: New members for the Spode T.V. Society..... This slowly increasing group has now established itself as the elite organisation on the factory. Any unfortunate visitor not, of course being a proud possessor, is very soon made aware of his shortcomings and is, of necessity of course, quite speechless. At today's meeting it was proposed, seconded and unanimously agreed that in the occasions when the picture fails (which apparently happens at the most dramatic moments) T.V. loses most of its attraction.