SMILES SAMUEL 1812-1904 WRITER: Manuscript ofJosiah Wedgwood, F.R.S. His personal history

Manuscript of Josiah Wedgwood, F.R.S. His personal history. Including notes and copies of letters from Wedgwood to John Flaxman and others.

Samuel Smiles 1812-1904

Smiles was educated at Haddington Grammar School. In 1826 he was apprenticed to local medical practitioners. He studied at Edinburgh University, 1829-32, and engaged in practice at Haddington, 1832-8. Smiles published Physical Education (1837, new editions 1868 and 1905). He travelled in Holland and first visited London in 1838. Smiles was editor of Leeds Times, an advanced radical organ, 1838-42. He was assistant secretary of Leeds and Thirsk Railway, 1845, secretary of South Eastern Railway, 1854-66, and president of the National Provident Institution, 1866-71. In his leisure time he focused upon the advocacy of political and social reform on the lines of Manchester school, and to biography of industrial leaders or of humble self-taught students.

His publications include:

• Life of George Stephenson (1857)
• Lives of the Engineers (3 volumes 1861-2)
• Self-help (1859)
• Character (1871)
• The Huguenots in France (1874)
• Thrift (1875)
• Life of George Moore (1878)
• Duty (1880)
• Life and Labour (1887)

Josiah Wedgwood 1730-1795

Wedgwood began his career working as a potter at Burslem, Staffordshire, 1739, first as a 'thrower' on the wheel, and later as 'modeller'. In 1751 he became a partner in a small pot-works near Stoke, and then at Fenton. Wedgwood opened works of his own at Burslem, in 1759, supplying the models and mixing the clays for his workmen. He was regarded as having greatly improved ordinary wares, Egyptian ware or black basaltes, and variegated or marbled ware. In 1763 he patented a cream-coloured pottery which became known as queen's ware. Wedgwood then turned his attention to developing what was known as Egyptian Black objects. This included inkstands, salt-cellars, candlesticks, life-sized busts and vases. These black basaltes were sometimes decorated with encaustic colours, silvering, gilding or bronzing. In 1762 Wedgwood met Thomas Bentley in Liverpool. They became friends and in 1768 became partners in a company producing ornamental vases. These were very popular and in 1771 Wedgwood built a new factory called Etruria where he employed famous artists such as John Flaxman (1755-1826) to design his vases. At Etruria Wedgwood greatly increased the output of his workers by introducing what later became known as 'division of labour'. This involved subdividing all the skills of the potter (mixing, shaping, firing and glazing) and allocating each job to a specialist worker. Wedgwood also successfully advocated road-improvement and canal-extension in the potteries district. In 1766 he helpd to start building the Trent & Mersey Canal. When the canal was completed in 1777 Wedgwood was able to bring Cornish clay to his Etruria factory. Wedgwood also used the canal to transport the finished goods by barge to Liverpool or Hull.

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