TURNER STONEWARE JUG, UNGLAZED.
With decoration in relief of archery. Silver lid and rim.
Mark impressed Turner. (Height 9 inches.)
(In the collection of Mr. John Watson Bradley.)
Marks—Palmer, Neale, Wilson.—In regard to marks, H. Palmer or Palmer. Hanley is the earliest—sometimes only the initials H. P. About 1776 he entered into partnership with his brother-in-law, and sometimes the mark Neale alone is found and often Neale & Co. These marks are usually in circles; on one piece appears I. Neale, with the word Hanly (spelt wrongly) beneath. About 1778 Robert Wilson joined the firm, and after 1788 his name alone appears. Stoneware jugs—drab ground with cupids in relief—baskets, and cream-ware are often found marked Wilson surmounted by a crown with the letter C above. Sometimes this is present without the name. Wilson, too, is remembered for having introduced chalk into the body of his cream-ware, which was of exceptional value in whitening the ware and rendering it more adapted for under-glaze printing. At Wilson's death, in 1802, David Wilson succeeded to the pottery, and the firm shortly after became D. Wilson & Sons. These Wilsons made pink lustre, similar to that of Wedgwood, and also silver lustre, upon some of which the name of Wilson is impressed. This brings the factory down to 1820, when it passed into other hands.
We have seen that Adams and Turner and Palmer and Neale came more or less into touch with Wedgwood as contemporary rivals. Before coming to the crowd of lesser men, or lesser-known men, we must not omit Josiah Spode, who was a colleague of Wedgwood under Whieldon; Elijah Mayer, whose black basalt was almost equal to that of Wedgwood, and whose enamel cream-ware stands artistically very high; and Samuel Hollins, of Shelton, with fine red or chocolate ware, having as dense a character as Wedgwood's imitations of the Elers ware, and Hollins in his jasper produced some fine examples with original combinations of colours.
Josiah Spode the First (there are three potters in succession of that name) made, in common with other potters, the black basalt ware from 1770, when he commenced as potter, and he produced stoneware jugs similar in character to those of Adams and Turner, following the sporting subjects in relief and departing from the ultra-classical subjects of Wedgwood. This class of jug and mug was made by many potters—its character was English, and it was evidently popular. An illustration of the type appears on page 277. Davenport, of Longport, made the same pattern; it was made at Castleford, near Leeds, and Hollins and others adopted the design in relief of a fox-hunt, with horsemen dismounted preparing to join others at the "kill," which is shown on the reverse. In fact, it was almost as much copied in stoneware as the "willow pattern" was in blue-printed ware.
But Josiah Spode is best known as devoting considerable skill in the improvement of under-glaze blue-printing cream-ware. In 1783 he brought two workmen into Staffordshire from Caughley, where under-glaze blue-printing under Thomas Turner was in full swing. Spode was not the first to introduce under-glaze blue-printing into Staffordshire; this is due to John Turner, of Lane End (whom we have described, maker of the fine jasper-ware and stoneware teapots and jugs), not to be confounded with Thomas Turner, the maker of porcelain at Caughley, who introduced the "willow pattern" in 1780, which same design was introduced into Staffordshire in 1784 by Spode—a year after his two men came over from Caughley. But this and blue transfer-printing is dealt with in a subsequent chapter.
Something should be said of Josiah Spode the Second (1797–1827), who continued the blue-printed ware, and produced a great number of stoneware jugs with decoration in relief similar to those we have alluded to, and produced jasper ware in blue and white with the familiar subjects of Wedgwood's day. To him must be given the credit of introducing colour into Staffordshire earthenware, colour such as it had never before attempted. His fine imitations of the Derby-Japan porcelain designs mark a new era in Staffordshire earthenware.
BLACK BASALT TEAPOT, UNGLAZED.
Impressed mark E. Mayer. (1770–1813.) (About 1786.)
(At British Museum.)