43 Facts About Josiah Wedgwood

Josiah Wedgwood was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist.

Josiah Wedgwood made great efforts to keep the designs of his wares in tune with current fashion.

Josiah Wedgwood was an early adopter of transfer printing which gave similar effects to hand-painting for a far lower cost.

Josiah Wedgwood pioneered direct mail, money-back guarantees, self-service, free delivery, buy one get one free, and illustrated catalogues.

Thomas Josiah Wedgwood set up the Churchyard Works, near St John's parish church.

Josiah Wedgwood was the daughter of Josiah Stringer, a dissenting minister whose church had been outlawed by the Corporation Act, but preached occasionally.

Josiah Wedgwood 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.

Josiah Wedgwood's 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 near Stoke.

Josiah Wedgwood took this as an opportunity to extend his education, reading literature and science books.

Josiah Wedgwood's studies were helped by repeated visits from Wiliam Willet, minister of Newcastle-under-Lyme Meeting House, who had married Wedgwood's sister Catherine in 1754; "a man of extensive learning and general acquirements".

Josiah Wedgwood attended this English Presbyterian chapel, later known as Unitarian, and was a friend of Willet.

Around 1759, Josiah Wedgwood expanded his Burslem business, renting Ivy House Works and cottage from his distant cousins John and Thomas.

Josiah Wedgwood had been well educated, as was Unitarian practice, soon "Jos" wrote to his "loving Sally".

Josiah Wedgwood had wooed his distant cousin Sarah 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.

Josiah 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.

Josiah 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 Josiah Wedgwood made for the Queen was automatically exhibited before it was delivered.

Josiah Wedgwood marketed his Queen's Ware at affordable prices, everywhere in the world British trading ships sailed.

Josiah Wedgwood's workers had to work day and night to satisfy the demand, and the crowds of visitors showed no sign of abating.

Josiah Wedgwood became what he wished to be: "Vase Maker General to the Universe".

Gilding was to prove unpopular, and around 1772, Josiah Wedgwood reduced the amount of "offensive gilding" in response to suggestions from Sir William Hamilton.

Josiah Wedgwood hoped to monopolise the aristocratic market and thus win for his wares a special social cachet that would filter to all classes of society.

Josiah 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 and Chetwynd vases for instance.

Whether they owned the original or merely possessed a Josiah Wedgwood copy mattered little to Josiah Wedgwood's customers.

In 1773, Empress Catherine the Great ordered the Frog Service from Josiah Wedgwood, consisting of 952 pieces and over a thousand original paintings, for the Kekerekeksinen Palace, later known as Chesme Palace.

Josiah Wedgwood found this porcelain inspiring, and his first major commercial success was its duplication with what he called "Black Basalt".

Josiah Wedgwood combined experiments in his art and in the technique of mass production with an interest in improved roads, canals, schools, and living conditions.

In 1780, his long-time business partner Thomas Bentley died, and Josiah Wedgwood turned to Darwin for help in running the business.

Josiah Wedgwood's obsession was to duplicate the Portland Vase, a blue-and-white glass vase dating to the first century BC.

Josiah Wedgwood worked on the project for three years, eventually producing what he considered a satisfactory copy in 1789.

Josiah Wedgwood was elected to the Royal Society in 1783 for the development of the pyrometric device working on the principle of clay contraction to measure the high temperatures which are reached in kilns during the firing of ceramics.

Josiah Wedgwood was an active member of the Lunar Society of Birmingham, often held at Erasmus Darwin House, and is remembered on the Moonstones in Birmingham.

Josiah Wedgwood was buried three days later in the parish church of Stoke-upon-Trent.

One of the wealthiest entrepreneurs of the 18th century, Josiah Wedgwood created goods to meet the demands of the consumer revolution and growth in prosperity that helped drive the Industrial Revolution in Britain.

Josiah Wedgwood is credited as a pioneer of modern marketing, specifically direct mail, money-back guarantees, travelling salesmen, carrying pattern boxes for display, self-service, free delivery, buy one get one free, and illustrated catalogues.

Josiah Wedgwood 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.

Josiah Wedgwood was a friend, and commercial rival, of the potter John Turner the elder; their works have sometimes been misattributed.

Josiah Wedgwood belonged to the fifth generation of a family of potters whose traditional occupation continued through another five generations.

Josiah Wedgwood's company is still a famous name in pottery, and "Josiah Wedgwood China" is sometimes used as a term for his Jasperware, the coloured pottery with applied relief decoration.

Joseph Hooper and Erasmus Darwin knew each other well, via the Medical Society of London, before Clarkson and Josiah Wedgwood became involved in the abolition movement.

Josiah 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.

From 1787 until his death in 1795, Josiah Wedgwood actively participated in the abolition-of-slavery cause.

Josiah Wedgwood reproduced the design in a cameo with the black figure against a white background and donated hundreds to the society for distribution.