This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1908 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XIII COLLECTIONS AND COLLECTORS Provincial museums--Public collections in London--Formation and disposal of private collections--Criteria of quality and date--Marks. HOWEVER small a collection of English pottery may be, it generally includes a few examples of Wedgwood's productions. But it will be easily understood that a few examples cannot suffice to adequately represent the amazing variety of work which was turned out from the kilns of the great potter. Very few collections, public or private, have been formed in pursuance of a definite plan; indeed, at the present day it would not be possible to obtain by purchase anything like a complete representative series of Josian Wedgwood's productions. There are several distinct types as to form, though not of material, which are now known only from his Catalogues or his manuscript papers. And then, too, of his largest and most important plaques and vases very few examples exist, so that years may elapse without one of these rare pieces coming into the market. Josiah Wedgwood himself found, when too late, that it was impossible to make up a complete set of his own works. None of our national museums possesses a really representative collection of the works of Wedgwood. Several provincial towns, however, are richer in this respect than London. Liverpool, with the Mayer Collection, and Birmingham, with the interesting series of specimens gathered and presented by Messrs. R. and G. Tangye, are far ahead of the Metropolis. Fortunately, Burslem itself, as the central town of the Staffordshire potteries, contains the Wedgwood Memorial Institute, in which is preserved a really fine assemblage of the productions of the great potter. This collection is due to the munificence of Mr. Thomas...

Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) was a master potter who pioneered the industrialisation of pottery manufacture during the early Industrial Revolution. His experimental work on ceramics resulted in many innovations in the production and decoration of pottery. This three-volume work, edited by his great-granddaughter Katherine Eufemia Farrer and first published between 1903 and 1906, contains Wedgwood's letters to his business partner, the Liverpool merchant Thomas Bentley (1730-1780). Wedgwood's highly successful partnership with Bentley is credited with the expansion and development of Wedgwood's reputation across Europe. The letters cover the years 1762 to 1794 and provide a lively account both of the growth of the business partnership and of Wedgwood's domestic life. Wedgwood and Bentley also maintained a keen interest in current affairs, and these volumes provide a fascinating glimpse into the society and domestic life of the late eighteenth century. Volume 1 covers 1762-1772.