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"From one of Britain's leading historians and the director of the Victoria & Albert Museum, a scintillating biography of Josiah Wedgwood, the celebrated eighteenth-century potter, entrepreneur, and abolitionist"--
User reviews
LibraryThing member bbrad
High end tableware in 18th cen. Europe included Sevres and Meissen porcelain and, late in the century, Queensware, Jasperware and Pearlware from "The Radical Potter", Josiah Wedgwood. The "Potter to the Queen" became the preeminent British ceramicist with clients on many continents, including
Wedgwood descended from a line of potters in North Staffordshire, England, an area called "The Potteries." Clay making had been there since medieval times. The proximity to coal fed the abundant kilns. "Pits and Pots" came to describe the area.
What this engaging biography shows us is that Josiah's industriousness, ingenuity, scientific experimentation, artistic talents, and business and marketing brilliance pushed his potting manufacture to world renown. He established high end shops in London, Dublin and elsewhere. He cultivated aristocratic "influencers", but his prices did not exclude middle income shoppers. His products were durable and elegant, and the designs changed enough over time to encourage repeat buyers.
He became an influential citizen in industrial England. His political coalition in the pre-railway days lobbied for the building of canals, easing the transport of raw materials and wares to and from the port of Liverpool.
Josiah's accomplishments were particularly admirable in light of several handicaps. His right leg was amputated in 1768, at age 38, after a severe smallpox infection. Josiah was a "dissenter" from the Anglican Church and was an outspoken abolitionist, even though much of Liverpool's wealth came from the slave trade. He supported the American revolutionists.
An aside: Josiah's granddaughter married Charles Darwin, progeny of a prominent Staffordshire family.
The author, Tristram Hunt, brings more than an academic interest to his subject. He is the Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which has Wedgwood wares in its collection and which owns the Wedgwood Museum in The Potteries. Importantly, he served as the local M.P. from Stoke-on-Trent from 2010 to 2017, the time in which Wedgwood PLC entered bankruptcy and was later largely liquidated and moved overseas by uncaring investors. In a scathing 17-page Epilogue the author furiously describes how greed and stupid business decisions moved Wedgwood from a company employing 2,000 people in 1986 to its disappearance from England in the second decade of the 21st century.
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George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Catherine the Great.Wedgwood descended from a line of potters in North Staffordshire, England, an area called "The Potteries." Clay making had been there since medieval times. The proximity to coal fed the abundant kilns. "Pits and Pots" came to describe the area.
What this engaging biography shows us is that Josiah's industriousness, ingenuity, scientific experimentation, artistic talents, and business and marketing brilliance pushed his potting manufacture to world renown. He established high end shops in London, Dublin and elsewhere. He cultivated aristocratic "influencers", but his prices did not exclude middle income shoppers. His products were durable and elegant, and the designs changed enough over time to encourage repeat buyers.
He became an influential citizen in industrial England. His political coalition in the pre-railway days lobbied for the building of canals, easing the transport of raw materials and wares to and from the port of Liverpool.
Josiah's accomplishments were particularly admirable in light of several handicaps. His right leg was amputated in 1768, at age 38, after a severe smallpox infection. Josiah was a "dissenter" from the Anglican Church and was an outspoken abolitionist, even though much of Liverpool's wealth came from the slave trade. He supported the American revolutionists.
An aside: Josiah's granddaughter married Charles Darwin, progeny of a prominent Staffordshire family.
The author, Tristram Hunt, brings more than an academic interest to his subject. He is the Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which has Wedgwood wares in its collection and which owns the Wedgwood Museum in The Potteries. Importantly, he served as the local M.P. from Stoke-on-Trent from 2010 to 2017, the time in which Wedgwood PLC entered bankruptcy and was later largely liquidated and moved overseas by uncaring investors. In a scathing 17-page Epilogue the author furiously describes how greed and stupid business decisions moved Wedgwood from a company employing 2,000 people in 1986 to its disappearance from England in the second decade of the 21st century.
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LibraryThing member nancyadair
Entrepreneur. Successful businessman. Experimental scientist and member of the Royal Society. Iconic trendsetter and potter to a queen. And, an ardent abolitionist. Josiah Wedgewood was all that. He also accomplished it all with a wooden leg after small pox lead to an infection that resulted in an
It is an amazing legacy.
The Radical Potter: The Life and Times of Josiah Wedgewood by Tristram Hunt, as its title suggests, is more than a biography of a man. Hunt considers the social, economic, and political world of his time. Wedgewood is considered a founder of the Industrial Revolution. He adopted the division of labor for high production. He reached a global market. He was always improving his products through experimentation. A Nonconformist and Enlightenment thinker, his Emancipation Badge of an African slave pleading “Am I not a man and a brother too?” became the most well known abolitionist icon.
Hunt was a new MP when the Wedgewood historical achieves and design books were at risk of liquidation and dispersal. He fought to save the Wedgewood Collection. He came to appreciate Wedgewood’s place in history.
His resulting book is often surprising, and always fascinating.
I learned about pottery making, the collecting frenzy known as ‘pottery fever,’ the rise of the industrial revolution and its impact, and the radical thinking of Wedgewood and his friend Erasmus Darwin.
I received an ARC from the publisher through LibraryThing. My review is fair and unbiased.
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amputation.It is an amazing legacy.
The Radical Potter: The Life and Times of Josiah Wedgewood by Tristram Hunt, as its title suggests, is more than a biography of a man. Hunt considers the social, economic, and political world of his time. Wedgewood is considered a founder of the Industrial Revolution. He adopted the division of labor for high production. He reached a global market. He was always improving his products through experimentation. A Nonconformist and Enlightenment thinker, his Emancipation Badge of an African slave pleading “Am I not a man and a brother too?” became the most well known abolitionist icon.
Hunt was a new MP when the Wedgewood historical achieves and design books were at risk of liquidation and dispersal. He fought to save the Wedgewood Collection. He came to appreciate Wedgewood’s place in history.
His resulting book is often surprising, and always fascinating.
I learned about pottery making, the collecting frenzy known as ‘pottery fever,’ the rise of the industrial revolution and its impact, and the radical thinking of Wedgewood and his friend Erasmus Darwin.
I received an ARC from the publisher through LibraryThing. My review is fair and unbiased.
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LibraryThing member thornton37814
Josiah Wedgwood was a man ahead of his times in many ways. In spite of a physical disability, his remarkable ability to experiment scientifically with clays from various parts of the world and ability to market his products propelled the Wedgwood name in the pottery industry. The story itself is
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rather dry and academic. The author often used long quotations in telling the story. These were usually cited. However, when the author referred to records such an unspecified tax list or inventory, the citations were lacking. I found this a completely unacceptable practice. The genealogist in me wanted to remind the author that "Complete and accurate source citations" should be included to meet standards. Toward the end of the book, we meet the Erasmus Darwin. Wedgwood's daughter Susanna married Robert Waring Darwin, and they were parents of Charles Darwin. I found the family connection interesting. I received an advance review copy through LibraryThing Early Reviewers in exchange for an honest review. Show Less
LibraryThing member mrmapcase
Everyone has heard of Wedgwood pottery, but do you know the man behind it? Hunt provides a detailed look at his life, pottery, social activism, and a how it all connects.
LibraryThing member ritaer
Quite detailed account of the innovations in manufacture, design and marketing that brought Wedgwood tableware and ornamental pieces to the forefront of the pottery industry and England into the Industrial Age and international commerce. A bit dry, but passionate on the role of this man in the
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Enlightenment world of science, innovation and social action. Wedgwood improved the lives of his workers and community and was strong in the anti-slavery movement. The epilogue is a passionate tale of the predatory capitalists who destroyed the company> The author was MP for the area at the time and helped in the fight to preserve the contents of the museum. Show Less
LibraryThing member NielsenGW
This is a very readable and competent biography of Josiah Wedgwood. Anyone looking for a view into British manufacturing in the 18th century, or a bit of art history, or a bit of Enlightenment discourse will find bits here worth discovering. Hunt tells a good tale, and felt satisfying to finish.
The
The
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book's glaring flaw is for a love letter to the most innovative potter in British history, there are no images of the art. Art histories need art on display. Maybe it will be in the final version, but the advance reader's version had but two maps and a family tree. A little wanting in my book. Show Less
LibraryThing member JBD1
An interesting and thorough biography of the fascinating character Josiah Wedgwood and his circle, and of the British pottery industry and its rise and fall. Fairly well sourced, with some notable omissions, and I do wonder if the final version will include more images, since I felt their lack in
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the ARC I read. But generally very good and well done. The epilogue goes a bit further afield and provides an account of the later (mis)fortunes of the Wedgwood firm. Show Less
LibraryThing member abealy
The life of Josiah Wedgwood, a pioneering advocate of the Industrial Revolution, is as inspiring and impassioned as his celebrated jasperware craftsmanship. Experimentation, innovation and a desire to take advantage of the latest technology to further the art of pottery, has today made Wedgewood a
Tristram Hunt's compelling biography, The Radical Potter: The Life and Times of Josiah Wedgwood, is a wonderful introduction to the industrial and artistic worlds that created, and were created by, Josiah Wedgwood.
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name synonymous with finest of pottery.Tristram Hunt's compelling biography, The Radical Potter: The Life and Times of Josiah Wedgwood, is a wonderful introduction to the industrial and artistic worlds that created, and were created by, Josiah Wedgwood.
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Language
Original language
English
Physical description
9.45 inches
ISBN
0241287898 / 9780241287897