Josiah Wedgwood | |
|---|---|
 Josiah Wedgwood byGeorge Stubbs, 1780, enamel on a Wedgwood ceramic tablet | |
| Born | (1730-07-12)12 July 1730 Burslem,Staffordshire, England |
| Died | 3 January 1795(1795-01-03) (aged 64) Etruria, Staffordshire, England |
| Resting place | Stoke Minster |
| Occupations |
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| Known for | FoundingWedgwood, devising a number of sales methods |
Josiah WedgwoodFRS (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795)[1] was an Englishpotter,entrepreneur andabolitionist. Founding theWedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in theindustrialisation of the manufacture of Europeanpottery.[2]
The renewed classical enthusiasms of the late 1760s and early 1770s were of major importance to his sales promotion.[3] His expensive goods were in much demand from the upper classes, while he used emulation effects to market cheaper sets to the rest of society.[4] Every new invention that Wedgwood produced – green glaze,creamware, black basalt, andjasperware – was quickly copied.[5] Having once achieved efficiency in production, he obtained efficiencies in sales and distribution.[6] His showrooms in London gave the public the chance to see his complete range oftableware.[7]
Wedgwood's company never madeporcelain during his lifetime, but specialised in fineearthenwares andstonewares that had many of the same qualities, but were considerably cheaper. He made great efforts to keep the designs of his wares in tune with current fashion. He was an early adopter oftransfer printing which gave similar effects to hand-painting for a far lower cost. Meeting the demands of the consumer revolution that helped drive theIndustrial Revolution in Britain, Wedgwood is credited as a pioneer of modernmarketing.[8] He pioneereddirect mail,money-back guarantees,self-service, free delivery,buy one get one free, and illustrated catalogues.[9][10]
A prominent abolitionist fighting slavery, Wedgwood is remembered too for hisAm I Not a Man and a Brother? anti-slavery medallion, which had been commissioned by Joseph Hooper, a founder of theSociety for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade. The medallion used the design from that society.
Wedgwood was a member of theDarwin–Wedgwood family, and he was the grandfather ofCharles andEmma Darwin.
There were several related Wedgwood families in the village ofBurslem, which around 1650 was the main centre ofStaffordshire Potteries. Each pot-works had onebottle kiln. Thomas Wedgwood set up the Churchyard Works, nearSt John's parish church. In 1679 the business went to his son of the same name, master potter andchurchwarden who bought a familypew, whose sonThomas, born in 1685, married Mary Stringer around 1710. She was the daughter of Josiah Stringer, adissenting minister whose church had been outlawed by theCorporation Act, but preached occasionally. The young Thomas and Mary moved to a small pot-works producingmoulded ware, then after his father died in 1716 they moved back to the Churchyard Works.[11][12] Their first son,Thomas, was born in 1716, Catherine was born in 1726, and Josiah was their thirteenth and last child.[13][14]
The children were baptised in the parish church; Josiah was baptised on 12 July 1730, probably his date of birth. Though her husband continued to occupy the pew, Mary brought them up with the values taught by her father,[15] who held that "knowledge based on reason, experience, and experiment was preferable to dogma."[16] Josiah went with the others todame school then, around 1737 when able to walk to and fromNewcastle-under-Lyme about 3 miles (4.8 km) distant, he went with them to the school there of Mr and Mrs Blunt, who were reputablyPuritans.[17]
After his father died in June 1739, Josiah finished school then, at about the usual age, began an informal apprenticeship and learnt to"throw" pots on the potter's wheel. When nearly twelve, he suffered a severe bout ofsmallpox which affected his right knee, but recovered sufficiently to get a formalindenture on 11 November 1744, serving as an apprentice potter under his eldest brother Thomas, who had taken over the Churchyard Works.[18][19] Josiah resumed potter's wheel work for a year or two until his knee pains returned, causing him to turn to moulded ware and small ornaments. His brother thought his ideas of improvements unnecessary, and turned down his proposed partnership, so in 1751 or 1752 Josiah worked as a partner and manager in a pot-works nearStoke.[20]
Several potters locally used practicalchemistry to innovate, and Wedgwood very soon went into partnership withThomas Whieldon, who made high value small items such assnuff boxes. After six months of research and preparation, Wedgwood developed an exceptionally brilliant greenglaze, and there was immediate demand for products with this glaze. Like his partner, Wedgwood occasionally took samples toBirmingham wholesalers to get orders, making business contacts. Unfortunately a knee injury spread to general inflammation, forcing him to convalesce in his room for several months. He took this as an opportunity to extend his education, reading literature and science books. His studies were helped by repeated visits from Wiliam Willet, minister ofNewcastle-under-Lyme Meeting House, who had married Wedgwood's sister Catherine in 1754; "a man of extensive learning and general acquirements".[21] Josiah attended thisEnglish Presbyterian chapel, later known asUnitarian, and was a friend of Willet.[22][23]
Around 1759, Wedgwood expanded his Burslem business, renting Ivy House Works and cottage from his distant cousins John and Thomas. They were often visited by their brother Richard Wedgwood, a wealthyCongleton cheesemonger, along with his daughter Sarah. She had been well educated, as was Unitarian practice, soon "Jos" wrote to his "loving Sally".[24][25]
On a business trip in 1762, Wedgwood had another knee accident. After attention from a surgeon, he was accommodated byThomas Bentley, who would become his close business associate. While recuperating, he met the chemistJoseph Priestley, who became a close friend, and discussed his dissenting theological ideas. In May Wedgwood began a long correspondence with Bentley, writing from Burslem, and moved into larger premises, the Brick House Works and dwelling.[26][27] During negotiations for the proposedTrent and Mersey Canal, Wedgwood met and befriendedErasmus Darwin (Robert's father), whose family long remembered as saying thatUnitarianism was "a feather-bed to catch a falling Christian". After more problems with his knee, Wedgwood had his leg amputated on 28 May 1768.[28][29]
TheEtruria Works built at the canal opened in June 1769, in July the family moved there. For several months they stayed in Little Etruria, a house built for Bentley's use, then they moved into the just completedEtruria Hall.[30]
Wedgwood had wooed his distant cousin Sarah (1734–1815) since first meeting her, but her father Richard wanted to ensure his prospective son-in-law had sufficient means, and insisted on long negotiation by attorneys over the marriage settlement. Then, "Jos" and "Sally" were married on 25 January 1764 atAstbury parish church, near Congleton.[31][32] They had eight children:
As a Unitarian,[34] aware of legal constraints on nonconformists getting education, Wedgwood supporteddissenting academies such asWarrington Academy, where he gave lectures on chemistry,[35] and was made a professor ofmetallurgy.[36] The older children first went to school in 1772; the boys toHindley, while Sukey went to adame school inLancashire along with his niece, the daughter of Mrs. Willet.[37] In 1774 he sent his son John to theBolton boarding school run by the Unitarian ministerPhilip Holland, followed by young Josiah the next year, and Tom in 1779.[38]
Wedgwood was keenly interested in the scientific advances of his day and it was this interest that underpinned his adoption of its approach and methods to revolutionise the quality of his pottery. His unique glazes began to distinguish his wares from anything else on the market.
By 1763, he was receiving orders from the highest-ranking people, includingQueen Charlotte. Wedgwood convinced her to let him name the line of pottery she had purchased "Queen's Ware", and trumpeted the royal association in his paperwork and stationery. Anything Wedgwood made for the Queen was automatically exhibited before it was delivered.[39] In 1764, he received his first order from abroad. Wedgwood marketed his Queen's Ware at affordable prices, everywhere in the world British trading ships sailed. In 1767 he wrote, "The demand for this sd. Creamcolour, Alias, Queen Ware, Alias, Ivory, still increases – It is amazing how rapidly the use of it has spread all most [sic] over the whole Globe."[27]
He first opened a warehouse atCharles Street, Mayfair in London as early as 1765 and it soon became an integral part of his sales organization. In two years, his trade had outgrown his rooms inGrosvenor Square.[40] In 1767, Wedgwood and Bentley drew up an agreement to divide decorative wares between them, the domestic wares being sold on Wedgwood's behalf.[41] A special display room was built to beguile the fashionable company. Wedgwood's in fact had become one of the most fashionable meeting places in London. His workers had to work day and night to satisfy the demand, and the crowds of visitors showed no sign of abating.[42] The proliferating decoration, the exuberant colours, and the universal gilding ofrococo were banished, the splendours ofbaroque became distasteful; the intricacies ofchinoiserie lost their favour. The demand was for purity, simplicity and antiquity.[43] To encourage this outward spread of fashion and to speed it on its way Wedgwood set up warehouses and showrooms at Bath, Liverpool and Dublin in addition to his showrooms at Etruria and inWestminster.[44] Great care was taken in timing the openings, and new goods were held back to increase their effect.[39]
_service_for_Catherine_II_of_Russia_-_Wedgwood%2c_1774%2c_creamware_-_Brooklyn_Museum_-_DSC08997.JPG)
The most important of Wedgwood's early achievements in vase production was the perfection of the black stoneware body, which he called "basalt". This body could imitate the colour and shapes of Etruscan or Greek vases which were being excavated in Italy. In 1769, "vases was all the cry" in London; he opened a new factory calledEtruria, north of Stoke. Wedgwood became what he wished to be: "Vase Maker General to the Universe".[45] Around 1771, he started to experiment withJasperware, but he did not advertise this new product for a couple of years.
Sir George Strickland, 6th Baronet, was asked for advice on getting models from Rome.[46]Gilding was to prove unpopular, and around 1772, Wedgwood reduced the amount of "offensive gilding" in response to suggestions fromSir William Hamilton.[47] When English society found the uncompromisingly naked figure of the classics "too warm" for their taste, and the ardor of the Greek gods too readily apparent, Wedgwood was quick to cloak their pagan immodesty – gowns for the girls andfig leaves for the gods were usually sufficient.[48] Just as he felt that his flowerpots would sell more if they were called "Duchess of Devonshire flowerpots", his creamware more if called Queensware, so he longed for Brown,James Wyatt, and thebrothers Adam to lead the architect in the use of his chimneypieces and for George Stubbs to lead the way in the use of Wedgwood plaques.
Wedgwood hoped to monopolise the aristocratic market and thus win for his wares a special socialcachet that would filter to all classes of society. Wedgwood fully realised the value of such a lead and made the most of it by giving his pottery the name of its patron: Queensware, Royal Pattern, Russian pattern,Bedford, Oxford andChetwynd vases for instance. Whether they owned the original or merely possessed a Wedgwood copy mattered little to Wedgwood's customers.[49] In 1773 they published the firstOrnamental Catalogue, an illustrated catalogue of shapes.[41] A plaque, in Wedgwood's blue pottery style, marking the site of his London showrooms between 1774 and 1795 in Wedgwood Mews, is located at 12,Greek Street, London,W1.[50]
In 1773, EmpressCatherine the Great ordered the (Green)Frog Service from Wedgwood, consisting of 952 pieces and over a thousand original paintings, for the Kekerekeksinen Palace (palace on a frog swamp(in Finnish)), later known asChesme Palace. Most of the painting was carried out in Wedgwood's decorating studio at Chelsea.[51] Its display, Wedgwood thought, 'would bring an immence [sic] number of People of Fashion into our Rooms. For over a month the fashionable world thronged the rooms and blocked the streets with their carriages.[52] (Catharine paid £2,700. It can still be seen in theHermitage Museum.[53]) Strictly uneconomical in themselves, these productions offered huge advertising value.[54]
As a leading industrialist, Wedgwood was a major backer of theTrent and Mersey Canal dug between theRiver Trent andRiver Mersey, during which time he became friends withErasmus Darwin. Later that decade, his burgeoning business caused him to move from the smaller Ivy Works to the newly builtEtruria Works, which would run for 180 years. The factory was named after theEtruria district of Italy, where blackporcelain dating toEtruscan times was being excavated. Wedgwood found this porcelain inspiring, and his first major commercial success was its duplication with what he called "Black Basalt". He combined experiments in his art and in the technique of mass production with an interest in improved roads, canals, schools, and living conditions. At Etruria, he even built a village for his workers. The motto,Sic fortis Etruria crevit ("Thus Etruria grew strong"), was inscribed over the main entrance to the works.[55]
Not long after the new works opened, continuing trouble with his smallpox-afflicted knee made necessary theamputation of his right leg. In 1780, his long-time business partnerThomas Bentley died, and Wedgwood turned to Darwin for help in running the business. As a result of the close association that grew up between the Wedgwood and Darwin families, Josiah's eldest daughter would later marry Erasmus' son.[56]
To clinch his position as leader of the new fashion, he sought out the famous Barberini vase as the final test of his technical skill.[43] Wedgwood's obsession was to duplicate thePortland Vase, a blue-and-white glass vase dating to the first century BC. He worked on the project for three years, eventually producing what he considered asatisfactory copy in 1789.[57]
In 1784, Wedgwood was exporting nearly 80% of his total produce. By 1790, he had sold his wares in every city in Europe.[58] To give his customers a greater feeling of the rarity of his goods, he strictly limited the number of jaspers on display in his rooms at any given time, a sales technique detailed by Cambridge professorNeil McKendrick in "Josiah Wedgwood: An Eighteenth-Century Entrepreneur in Salesmanship and Marketing Techniques".[59]
He was elected to theRoyal Society in 1783 for the development of thepyrometric device (a type ofpyrometer) working on the principle of clay contraction (seeWedgwood scale for details) to measure the high temperatures which are reached in kilns during the firing of ceramics.[60][61]
He was an active member of theLunar Society of Birmingham, often held atErasmus Darwin House, and is remembered on theMoonstones in Birmingham.[62]
Leaving his company and his fortune to his children, Wedgwood died at home, probably ofcancer of the jaw, in 1795.[63] He was buried three days later in theparish church of Stoke-upon-Trent.[64] Seven years later a marble memorial tablet commissioned by his sons was installed there.[65]
One of the wealthiestentrepreneurs of the 18th century, Wedgwood created goods to meet the demands of theconsumer revolution and growth in prosperity that helped drive theIndustrial Revolution in Britain.[8] He is credited as a pioneer of modernmarketing, specificallydirect mail,money-back guarantees,travelling salesmen, carrying pattern boxes for display,self-service, free delivery,buy one get one free, and illustrated catalogues.[9][10] He is the subject of Brian Dolan's 2004 book,Wedgwood: The First Tycoon, in which Dolan explains how he revolutionised the business model with innovations that have continued into the present.[66]
"[Wedgwood] is someone who commercialised creativity. He made an industry of his talent."
For devising a number of sales methods, historianJudith Flanders inThe New York Times called him "among the greatest and most innovative retailers the world has ever seen".[9] He is also noted as an early adopter/founder of managerial accounting principles byAnthony Hopwood, professor of accounting and financial management at theLondon School of Economics, in "The Archaeology of Accounting Systems".[68] TheV&A historianTristram Hunt called Wedgwood a "difficult, brilliant, creative entrepreneur whose personal drive and extraordinary gifts changed the way we work and live."[69] TheAdam Smith Institute states, "Steve Jobs andElon Musk are the spiritual heirs of Josiah Wedgwood, developing and promoting the new products and processes that will enrich our world with new opportunities".[10]
He was a friend, and commercial rival, of the potterJohn Turner the elder; their works have sometimes been misattributed.[70][71] For the further comfort of his foreign buyers he employed French-, German-, Italian- and Dutch-speaking clerks and answered their letters in their native tongue.[72]
Wedgwood belonged to the fifth generation of a family of potters whose traditional occupation continued through another five generations.Wedgwood's company is still a famous name in pottery (as part of theFiskars group), and "Wedgwood China" is sometimes used as a term for hisJasperware, the coloured pottery with applied relief decoration (usually white).[69] As early as 1774, Wedgwood began preserving samples of all the company's works for posterity, with the collection later put into theWedgwood Museum. In 2009, the museum won a UKArt Fund Prize for Museums and Art Galleries (Museum of the Year) for its displays of Wedgwood pottery, skills, designs and artefacts.[73] In 2011, the archive of the museum was inscribed inUNESCO'sUK Memory of the World Register.[74][75]
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Wedgwood was a prominent slaveryabolitionist. His anti-slavery medallion, which had been commissioned by Joseph Hooper, a founder of theSociety for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade, brought public attention to abolitionism. The actual design of the cameo was probably done by eitherWilliam Hackwood orHenry Webber who were modellers at his factory.[76]
Wedgwood mass-produced cameos depicting the seal for the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade and had them widely distributed, which thereby became a popular and celebrated image.[77] TheWedgwood anti-slavery medallion was, according to theBBC, "the most famous image of a black person in all of 18th-century art".[78] Thomas Clarkson wrote: "ladies wore them in bracelets, and others had them fitted up in an ornamental manner as pins for their hair. At length the taste for wearing them became general, and thus fashion, which usually confines itself to worthless things, was seen for once in the honourable office of promoting the cause of justice, humanity and freedom".[79]
The design on the medallion became popular and was used elsewhere: large-scale copies were painted to hang on walls[80] and it was used on clay tobacco pipes.[81]
The Wedgwood medallion was the most famous image of a black person in all of 18th-century art.
Thomas Clarkson wrote; ladies wore them in bracelets, and others had them fitted up in an ornamental manner as pins for their hair. At length the taste for wearing them became general, and thus fashion, which usually confines itself to worthless things, was seen for once in the honourable office of promoting the cause of justice, humanity and freedom.
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