Josiah Spode

As one of the greatest names of the Industrial Revolution, Josiah Spode (1776-1833) is credited with the perfection of blue transfer print under glazing on earthenware and to producing the first printed “Willow” patterns that were crucial to the worldwide success of the English pottery industry. If you are looking to buy Spode China, online auctions of Bidsquare can help you find the perfect piece whether it is Spode Christmas Dishes, Spode Blue Room Collection, or Spode Christmas Plates.

Born in Staffordshire to a family of skilled potters, and after several years honing his craft with local potters, Josiah Spode established his own company in 1776, concentrating on the production of ceramic wares of the finest quality. Josiah’s skill and innovation led him to develop a highly effective method of transfer printing on earthenware with blue underglazes, one that forever changed the face of British pottery. A brilliant blue color was the preferred choice for underglaze, hot-press printing, as the shade was able to resist the heat of the glaze firing.

The increasing popularity of Chinese blue and white pottery prompted Josiah to focus his attention on the manufacture of translucent porcelain, and competing with other prominent British potters, he perfected the technology to finally create a new type of ceramic that he named “Stoke China”, but later renamed “Bone China” due to the presence of calcined ox-bone in its formula in high proportion. Bone porcelains was England's first commercially viable method of blue-printed earthenware that eventually established the definitive standard of soft-porcelain for all English wares of this kind for years to come.

Today, the Spode brand is owned by Portmeirion pottery. Some of the most popular patterns that are still in production include Blue Italian, Christmas Tree, Woodland, and the Blue Room Series. Aside from these series, new patterns have been designed that are an amalgamation of contemporary design and the legacy of this nearly 250 years of Spode.

Interesting Facts about Josiah Spode

• Spode's Felspar Porcelain is considered the forerunner of all modern English Bone China.
• The Spode Museum Trust collection is considered the largest and most wide-ranging single collection of Spode wares in the world.