The Staffordshire Potteries refers to the area known in the 17th century for ceramic production. It consisted of six towns that make up Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England: Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Fenton and Longton. Over 1500 pottery companies have operated in Stoke-on-Trent since the early 1700's. The reason for the concentration of potteries was the local availability of clay, salt, coal and lead, which are all needed in the production of quality pottery. Some companies only stayed in business for a few years while some have been operational for over 200 years. The distinction in the pottery is found in the Staffordshire pottery marks; they clearly identify the manufacturer and the time period when the ceramic or porcelain was produced and the pottery marks could be letters, crests or symbols on the bottom of the piece.
A popular ceramic and porcelain manufacturer was Wedgwood. The first ceramic pieces circa 1860 - 1900 by Wedgwood used standard name-mark or impressed marks, "Wedgwood". The Wedgwood mark changed many times within that same time period. Another printed mark read "ROYAL STONE CHINA WEDGWOOD & Co." and incorporated a printed mark of Royal Arms. Another Wedgwood pottery mark circa 1890 - 1906 displayed a lion standing on a crown with banners circling above stating "SEMI ROYAL PORCELAIN" and the bottom banner reading, "WEDGEWOOD & CO. ENGLAND".
Another popular Staffordshire pottery was Spode. Spode was founded in 1767 by Joshua Spode who has been credited for the perfection of the formula of fine bone china. The first pottery marks circa 1780-1790 by Spode were early impressed or printed mark in upper and lower case letter of the company name. In 1805 - 1833 Spode used typical printed marks. One pottery mark was written in script , "Spode's Imperial". Another pottery mark read "Spode's New Fayence".
Staffordshire pottery marks reflect the craftsmanship of these potteries and these marks indicate who and when these pieces of art were created. Today they are used to help to date and value a piece of English pottery from the area.
Blake is the owner of a website that called AllEnglishpottery.com, which provides information on British based pottery makers as well as providing Pottery for Sale [http://www.allenglishpottery.com]. Of course one of the most popular of all pottery from England is Staffordshire Pottery [http://allenglishpottery.com/staffordshire-pottery], which can also be found at AllEnglishPottery.com.
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