Josiah Wedgwood & Sons Ltd.

Place: Burslem

Born: 1759

Biography:

Josiah Wedgwood & Sons, also known as Josiah Wedgwood & Sons Ltd., is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer founded by Josiah Wedgwood in 1759. The company was one of the largest manufacturers of Staffordshire pottery and was known for producing fine earthenware and stoneware that were equivalent in quality to porcelain but were considerably cheaper. Wedgwood is especially associated with the 'dry-bodied' (unglazed) stoneware Jasperware in contrasting colours, and in particular that in 'Wedgwood blue' and white. The company never made porcelain during Josiah Wedgwood's lifetime but specialized in fine earthenwares and stonewares. Josiah Wedgwood made great efforts to keep the designs of his wares in tune with current fashion and was an early adopter of transfer printing which gave similar effects to hand-painting for a far lower cost. He is credited as a pioneer of modern marketing and introduced direct mail, money back guarantees, self-service, free delivery, buy one get one free, and illustrated catalogues. The company was granted a Royal Warrant from Queen Elizabeth II in 1995 and was acquired by Fiskars, a Finnish consumer goods company, in 2015.