It’s the ace of Spode
Spode Society member Simon Pirzada with a pair of Spode ice coolers, circa 1808, complete with liners, which will be among the exhibits in April
Caneware game pie dish, circa 1795, a fine example of Spode’s ‘pie crust ware’, introduced supposedly when the price of flour had become so prohibitive that pastry was a luxury
Left, bone china commemorative bust of Josiah Spode, made in 1958 by sculptor Neal French for the factory’s 225th anniversary printing was limited to the shades that could resist the temperature of the glaze firing, and a brilliant blue colour was the preferred option.
To upgrade this process from small tea wares to larger dinnerware required the invention of a more flexible transfer paper to move the designs from the copper plate to the body of the earthenware. This brought about the development of a glaze recipe that produced a perfect black-blue cobalt print.
Spode employed two of the most skilled pottery artists of their day: the engraver Thomas Lucas and printer James Richard, both having worked for the Caughley factory during the early experiments in glazes.
Joined by Thomas Minton, also Caughley-trained, Spode was able to introduce the signature blue printed earthenware to the market, perfecting it by 1784. The groundbreaking achievement redefined the British pottery industry.
Spode’s early patterns were copied or adapted from Chinese originals. His most famous was produced around 1790 when he took a popular Chinese design, Mandarin, and added a bridge with three figures and a fence from another Chinese design.
The famous willow pattern was born and went on to become the most popular underglaze blue pattern of all time. The next major step was the launch in 1816 of Spode’s Blue Italian range, with its floral chinoiserie border and rural Italian scene in shades and textures of cobalt blue, which has remained in production ever since.
By 1827, Spode had become one of the world’s leading manufacturers and Blue Italian was being exported around the globe. In the 1930s, one Spode catalogue recorded over 700 different shapes of Blue Italian.
Following his father’s death, Spode Jnr ran the business for the next three decades in partnership with London banker and tea merchant, William Copeland. During the “Golden Age” of English ceramics in the 19th century, the company expanded to become the largest in Stoke and an expert manufacturer of pottery of all kinds.
Copeland died in 1826, followed by Josiah II two years later, after which the company passed through the hands of several managers, including one of Spode’s sons, until 1833, when William Copeland’s son, William Taylor Copeland, acquired the business in partnership with Thomas Garrett.
From then to 1847, the company traded under the name of Copeland and Garrett. In 1846, William Taylor Copeland took complete control of the business, and it stayed within the Copeland family for four generations until 1966.
Top artists such as CF Hurten, were hired from Europe and the best pieces were displayed during the Great Exhibition of London in 1851 and at two further international exhibitions in London and Paris in 1862 and 1878 respectively.
After the First World War, dinner and tea sets were high on the list of priorities for young homeowners, and massive quantities were made that continue to be used and rediscovered today.
Look for such patterns as Chinese Rose, India Tree, Italian, and Christmas Tree, which are among the most well-known.
The company also produced Art Deco and modernist styles in the 1930s by recruiting sculpture Erik Olsen, who was able to capture the taste of the time along with new patterns and modern techniques.
After 1966, the company changed hands numerous times before merging with Royal Worcester.