Thomas Minton (1765–1836) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

potter. He founded Thomas Minton & Sons in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

, which grew into a major ceramic manufacturing company with an international reputation. During the early 1780s Thomas Minton was an apprentice engraver at the Caughley Pottery Works in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

, under the proprietorship of Thomas Turner, working on copperplate engravings for the production of

transferware Transfer printing is a method of decorating pottery or other materials using an engraved copper or steel plate from which a monochrome print on paper is taken which is then transferred by pressing onto the ceramic piece. Fleming, John & Hugh Hon ...

. The engraver Thomas Lucas went from there to work for Josiah Spode at Stoke-on-Trent in 1783, taking some elements of the fashionable

chinoiserie (, ; loanword from French '' chinoiserie'', from '' chinois'', "Chinese"; ) is the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and other East Asian artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, lite ...

patterns with him. While at Caughley Thomas Minton is thought to have worked on chinoiserie landscape patterns including willows, and to have prepared copperplates of them: but the Salopian works never produced the standard

willow pattern The Willow pattern is a distinctive and elaborate chinoiserie pattern used on ceramic tableware. It became popular at the end of the 18th century in England when, in its standard form, it was developed by English ceramic artists combining an ...

which includes the bridge and the fence in the foreground. Minton left the Caughley works in 1785, and married Sarah in London in 1789. In 1793 he established his own pottery factory in Stoke-upon-Trent principally for the manufacture of white-glazed earthen tablewares or

pearlware Creamware is a cream-coloured refined earthenware with a lead glaze over a pale body, known in France as '' faïence fine'', in the Netherlands as ''Engels porselein'', and in Italy as ''terraglia inglese''.Osborne, 140 It was created about 175 ...

including blue transfer printed and painted wares. Variations of his willow and other designs were acquired by

Spode Spode is an English brand of pottery and homewares produced by the company of the same name, which is based in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Spode was founded by Josiah Spode (1733–1797) in 1770, and was responsible for perfecting two extremely ...

and other factories, and it was in this context that the English

was created. He was favoured and employed by

Josiah Spode Josiah Spode (23 March 1733 – 18 August 1797) was an English potter and the founder of the English Spode pottery works which became famous for the high quality of its wares. He is often credited with the establishment of blue underglaze tran ...

, for whom he engraved a new version of the pattern. To Minton is also attributed the popular 'Buffalo' pattern engraved for Spode. He was assisted by Henry Doncaster of Penkhull: his pupil William Greatbatch (father of

William Greatbatch William Greatbatch (Circa 1735 to circa 29 April 1813) was a noted potter at Fenton, Staffordshire, from the mid-eighteenth to the beginning of the nineteenth centuries. Fenton was one of the six towns of the Staffordshire Potteries, which were j ...

(1802-1885), another notable engraver) became chief engraver for

and for the successor company, Copeland's.Arthur Hayden, ''Spode and his Successors'' (Cassell, London 1925), pp. 62-64. In c. 1796 Minton went into partnership with Joseph Poulson, who produced ornamental

bone china Bone china is a type of ceramic that is composed of bone ash, feldspathic material, and kaolin. It has been defined as "ware with a translucent body" containing a minimum of 30% of phosphate derived from animal bone and calculated calcium phos ...

at a factory nearby, and from c.1798 Minton employed Poulson's factory for his own china wares. After Poulson's death in 1808 he continued china production there until 1816. In 1824 he built a new factory for china, on the basis of which the company of 'Thomas Minton and Sons', known more simply as '

Mintons Mintons was a major company in Staffordshire pottery, "Europe's leading ceramic factory during the Victorian era", an independent business from 1793 to 1968. It was a leader in ceramic design, working in a number of different ceramic bodies, ...

', was developed. At his death in 1836 his son Herbert Minton (1793-1858) continued and redeveloped the business. His portrait was made by James Northcote, R.A.

Sources

External links

English Potters - Thomas Minton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minton, Thomas 1765 births 1836 deaths English potters Staffordshire pottery People from Stoke-on-Trent