It’s time for the third instalment of our #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton mega-thread round-up, bundling together all of last week’s tweets into one helpful blog post for those of you not following us on Twitter (or via RSS).
If you’ve just clicked onto the blog and are wondering what on earth a Minton mega-thread is then do check out the link to WHoM:1 in the box below – as well as collating the first week’s worth of tweets that post explains what this is all about, what our source material is, and where you’ll find it within the Minton Archive catalogue.
WHoM:1
(01/04/20 – 07/04/20)
WHoM:2
(08/04/20 – 14/04/20)
Thomas & Sarah Minton had 10 children – 4 sons, 6 daughters – and by 1807 the two elder sons, Thomas Webb Minton & Herbert Minton, were both working in the business. In 1817 they were taken into partnership and the firm became Thomas Minton & Sons.[24/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) April 15, 2020
Thomas's second daughter, Mary, married John Campbell – son of Colin Campbell (an important name for the future, though it won't belong to the same person!) – another Liverpool merchant who supplied the company with tallow and other things.[25/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) April 16, 2020
In 1821 Thomas Webb Minton, Thomas's eldest son, decided to take holy orders and withdrew from the business. Thomas dissolved the partnership with his two sons, all three signing an indenture to that effect on 1st January 1823.[26/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) April 17, 2020
(Interestingly – and, as far as is possible to ascertain, purely coincidentally – the period of the Thomas Minton & Sons partnership almost exactly covers a time when Minton, for reasons unknown, ceased to make china.)[27/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) April 17, 2020
"By 1828 the business had […] become too big for [Thomas] to superintend all the design work and so Samuel Bourne, originally an enamel painter with the firm of Wood & Caldwell, was appointed to the new post of chief designer and artist".[28/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) April 18, 2020
Bourne would continue to be responsible for design and decoration for many years, later working with – and under the direction of – the company's first Art Director, Léon Arnoux.[29/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) April 18, 2020
"By the 1830s Thomas Minton was producing a wide range of articles from plain tiles to finely painted china services, including simpler earthenware articles of all kinds […] attractive figure groups […] and a variety of ornamental pieces". [30/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) April 19, 2020
Wadsworth concludes that Thomas "is a good example of the intelligent, well-educated craftsman of his time. In the early years the works which he founded was a relatively small family business owing much to his personal efforts for its success."[31/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) April 20, 2020
"[When he] died in 1836 [he] bequeathed to his son Herbert a sound and flourishing business with an enviable reputation and one which had become a large establishment for its time since it employed five hundred men."[32/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) April 20, 2020
"When at the age of 43 Herbert Minton took sole charge of the business after his father's death, he said in a moment of depression that were it not for his mother and sisters he himself would not continue potting."[33/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton pic.twitter.com/APL2cCLQ1G
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) April 21, 2020
His father's will had made no specific provision for them and so, as he was now responsible for their welfare, Herbert "threw himself heart and soul into the development of his rapidly growing business".[34/] #WadsworthsHistoryofMinton
— The Minton Archive (@MintonArchive) April 21, 2020