Description:
English pearlware circular plate made to mark the two hundreth anniversity of the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, designed to appeal to the American market. It is transfer printed with an image of Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock, the source print for this image is from a print by Samuel Hill, a Boston engraver, which decorated the invitation for the first annual Thanksgiving Dinner for the Sons of the Pilgrims, held on December 2, 1800. The upper border is printed with: "AMERICA / INDEPENDENT / JULY 4 / 1776"; printed on Plymouth Rock: "Carver Bradford / Winslow Brewster / & Standish"; and printed on the lower border: "WASHINGTON / BORN 1732 / DIED 1799". There is an impressed mark on back of plate: ENOCH WOODS & SONS/BURSLEM" with an eagle. The pattern on this plate was intended to boost good trade with and bolster the pride of Americans in their new country. The design encompasses 179 years of American history and was produced on various items of tableware. It can be seen on a plate (like the one shown) and on a large pitcher . The pitcher has a very different border and the configuration of the scene is also different. While not immediately obvious, the engravers here have included eagles --a prime symbol of the American Federal period -- in this border dominated by scrolls, and four medallions with ships and inscriptions.Enoch Wood (1759-1840), who came to be known as ‘Father of the Potteries’, was a very successful manufacturer who developed an export trade to North America, said in 1843 to be the largest of any Staffordshire manufacturer. Enoch Wood was also an enthusiastic antiquarian, who built up a large collection of early Staffordshire wares, parts of which are now in the Victoria & Albert Museum and other British museums. Enoch’s father was Aaron Wood, a gifted modeller who provided many Staffordshire manufacturers with models and moulds for their wares. Enoch similarly trained as a modeller and was apprenticed to the Hanley manufacturer Humphrey Palmer. In 1783, he commenced in business on his own account as an earthenware manufacturer at the Overhouse Works in Burslem, which he operated successfully for some seven years. In the early 1790s, being ambitious and wishing to expand, he entered into partnership with James Caldwell, a local lawyer, who had relatives and clients willing to advance money for the building of a new factory. The factory, at Fountain Place Burslem, was extensive and is said to have incorporated the sites of five earlier factories. It produced a wide range of earthenwares. The partnership also had mining interests, acquiring the Bycars Colliery in Burslem to provide fuel for firing the ovens. Wood’s partnership with Caldwell was dissolved in 1818, enabling Enoch to bring his sons into partnership. The ending of the Anglo- American War in 1815 saw a substantial increase in earthenware exports to the United States, particularly by the larger manufacturers, who tended to employ their own agents in America to market their wares. Blue printed earthenware formed a substantial part of this increased trade and many examples of Wood’s wares can be found today. Enoch died in 1840. His confidential clerk, named Kemp, who is thought to have played an important part in running the business, died soon after, in 1841. 1842 was a time of depression in America: this combination of circumstances, probably coupled with a desire by some of the sons to take money out of the business, led to its decline and eventual closure in 1845. The factory premises were sub-divided and subsequently operated by several other firms.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+1999.26.5 |
