Correspondence of Josiah Wedgwood

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.