It’s time for the 22nd instalment of our #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton mega-thread round-up, where we bring the latest ‘Minton’ manuscript tweets from @MintonArchive together in one easy to digest blog post. It’s a significant moment in the life of our lockdown-induced potted history project too as we’ve now reached the final chapter in the manuscript: “Art Nouveau, Art Deco and the Post-War Years”. Our latest collection of snippets doesn’t even get to the first of those subjects however – concentrating instead on the shift from Minton under Colin Minton Campbell to his son John Fitzherbert Campbell – so fear not, there’s still a little more Minton company history to come yet 😉
"It was largely due to Colin Minton Campbell's broad-minded views & his determination to employ the best talent available that foreign artists, particularly Frenchmen, were encouraged to join Léon Arnoux on the designing & decorating side". [272/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) August 26, 2020
Arnoux had already gifted Minton's wares with an elegance & sense of style but these qualities were reinforced by those who joined him, helping "to create the splendid masterpieces which won […] the highest awards". [273/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) August 26, 2020
Failing health led to Colin Minton Campbell's resignation from his position as MP in 1880 & in 1883 he dissolved his business association with his cousins Thomas William Minton & Herbert Minton-Senhouse, who had been his partners since 1868. [274/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) August 27, 2020
In its place a limited liability company was formed in which many "old servants" of the company were taken as shareholders & where Campbell remained as honorary director until his death, at his home in Woodseat near Uttoxeter, in 1885. [275/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) August 27, 2020
"On the death of Colin Minton Campbell the chairmanship of the firm passed into the hands of John Fitzherbert Campbell, the only one of Colin Minton Campbell's sons who reached adult years." [276/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton pic.twitter.com/rlno8LiC4M
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) August 28, 2020
"Born & brought up on his father's country estate outside the Potteries & descended on his mother's side from a family of country gentry, he was very different in temperament from his predecessors in the family firm." [277/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) August 28, 2020
Though John Fitzherbert Campbell fulfilled his new responsibilities conscientiously it seems he did not inherit his father's energy & business acumen and so 2 other members of the Minton family continued to assist him in running the company. [278/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) August 29, 2020
The London trade & Stoke works were looked after by Thomas William Minton & Herbert Minton-Senhouse respectively, both cousins of Colin Minton Campbell (tweet 274) & the grandsons of Herbert Minton's elder brother Thomas Webb Minton (24 & 26). [279/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) August 29, 2020
"The new generation took over at a time when trading conditions abroad were becoming more difficult & there was social & industrial unrest at home. As in other British industries 1870-1872 had been golden years in the pottery trade." [280/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) August 30, 2020
In 1871 pottery workers successfully appealed for an increase in rates of pay but by 1876 many manufacturers were pushing for a rate reduction citing depressed trade, increased foreign competition, & reduced selling prices. [281/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) August 31, 2020
The rapid increase in the use of machinery, "materially altering the conditions of work", also caused problems & in 1881 & 1892 disagreement between employees & employers resulted in strikes between Martinmas (11th November) & Christmas. [282/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) August 31, 2020
At the same time foreign competition was also causing difficulties: the U.S. imposed high tariffs & country of origin marks to protect its own industry & Germany was benefitting from progress in technical education & improved factory machinery. [283/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) September 1, 2020
The Melbourne exhibitions of 1880 & 1885 (tweet 259!) may have been a great success but during the same period John Campbell, M.D. of The Campbell Tile Co. but closely associated with Minton, wrote that he was worried about commercial prospects. [284/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) September 1, 2020
"It is a sign of the excellence of Minton's management & production that it was not until 1889 that their difficulties became acute." [285/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) September 1, 2020