Josiah Wedgwood

EARLY LIFE

The pottery designer and manufacturer Josiah Wedgwood was born on July 12, 1730 in Burslem, Staffordshire, England.

Josiah Wedgwood by George Stubbs, 1780

He was the eleventh and last child of potter Thomas Wedgwood (d. 1739) and Mary Wedgwood (née Stringer; d. 1766),

By the age of nine, Josiah was proving himself to be a skilled potter. However a bout of smallpox limited his strength in his leg and ultimately left him unable to work the foot pedal of a potter's wheel.

CAREER

Wedgwood originally worked in the family pottery business. In 1754 he became a partner of Thomas Whieldon, and began to devise improved wares.

In 1759 Wedgwood opened a factory at Burslem and, a decade later opened one near Hanley, which he called 'Etruria'. There he produced his famous unglazed blue or green stoneware decorated with white Neo-Classical designs, using pigments of his own

Wedgwood developed a brilliant understanding of different clays and kilns, which meant he could devise desirable new types of china to tempt customers (who at the time were just getting hooked on an exotic drink called tea.)

Wedgwood tea and coffee service, 1765 By Valerie McGlinchey,

Wedgwood's thousands of rigorous experiments led to the creation of revolutionary new types of pottery, which changed the direction of ceramic design and production in England. Under Wedgwood's management, ceramics escaped from the confines of the dining room and began to be used as decorations through style-conscious homes.

By 1763, he was receiving orders from the highest levels of the British nobility, including Queen 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.

From 1768 to 1780 Wedgwood was in partnership with Thomas Bentley, who introduced advanced marketing techniques to the company. Together, they pioneered many of the marketing strategies used today, including the satisfaction-or-money-back guarantee on the entire range of his pottery products. Wedgwood took advantage of his guarantee offer to send his products to rich clientele across Europe unsolicited.

In 1773, Empress Catherine of Russia ordered the Green Frog Service,from Josiah Wedgwood's company. 944 pieces were ordered, 680 for the dinner service and 264 for the dessert each bearing her green frog emblem. On them were painted different English landscapes all enamelled in sepia. The most celebrated earthenware service of all time, the majority of the pieces can still be seen in the Hermitage Museum.

Plate from the Frog Service for Catherine II of Russia,

In the latter part of his life, Wedgwood's obsession was to duplicate the Portland Vase, a dark blue and white glass vase from the first century BC. For three years he worked on the project, eventually producing what he considered a satisfactory copy in 1789.

PERSONAL LIFE

Wedgwood was a member of the Lunar Society, a group of important scientists, philosophers and entrepreneurs. Other members included the engineer James Watt, the financier Matthew Boulton the chemist Joseph Priestley and the freethinking poet, Erasmus Darwin.

Together with his friends in the Lunar Society, Wedgwood worked for the abolition of slavery. Wedgwood produced medallions asking for the end of slavery featuring the words "Am I Not a Man and a Brother?" underneath the seal for the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade.. These medallions became very popular. Thousands were given away at anti-slave trade meetings around Britain. People gave them to their friends, set them in a ring, or tucked them into their hat bands. 

Wedgwood's concern over social welfare led him to build a village for his workmen at Etruria.

Etruria Hall, the family home, was built 1768–1771 by Joseph Pickford near Wedgwood's new recently built, Etruria works. It is now part of the Moat House Hotel.

Josiah Wedgwood's House, Etruria. By Steven Birks, 

He had eight children of his own with Sarah Wedgwood, his third cousin, whom he married in January 1764.

DEATH AND LEGACY

Josiah Wedgwood died, probably of cancer of the jaw, at 64 in Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent on January 3, 1795.

Charles Darwin's mother, Susannah Wedgwood, was the daughter of Josiah Wedgwood. The famous naturalist himself married Emma Wedgwood the youngest of seven children of Wedgwood's son, Josiah Wedgwood II.

Wedgwood's company is still a famous name in pottery today (as part of Waterford Wedgwood). "Wedgwood China" is sometimes used as a term for his Jasperware, the colored stoneware with applied relief decoration (usually white), still common throughout the world.

Source Europress Family Encyclopedia 1999