Builders of Industry III: Josiah Wedgwood

Some of the finest English ceramic wares of the eighteenth century were produced by Thomas Whieldon, renowned among Staffordshire potters for the quality of his factory work. He was exceptional, too, in the encouragement that he gave to younger potters at a time when the typical Staffordshire potter was a small businessman with a narrowly commercial outlook, concerned with making his pots as cheaply, and selling them as quickly, as possible. Having opened his factory at Fenton in 1740, Whieldon, thanks to the improvements he effected in quality and design, soon captured a large share of his competitors’ market; and a considerable part in this campaign was played by the younger men whom he attracted to Fenton Low. Whieldon’s example is significant; for he demonstrated that it was good business policy not only to encourage new ideas but to produce merchandise that, besides being serviceable, was aesthetically satisfying. On these principles, Whieldon’s partner during the years 1754 to 1759 built up the famous firm associated ever since with the name of Wedgwood.