Spode

Spode China

Spode is one of the oldest manufacturers of china, formed in 1770 by Josiah Spode, who revolutionised the production process of underprinting. This is a method of transfering a design from a copper printing plate to the ceramic via a fine tissue paper, after which the ceramic is glazed, sealing in the design.

The process, though manually intensive by today's standards, at the time made patterned ware more affordable than the hand-painted crockery that had been the only alternative until then. The same process is still employed today by Spode for many of its designs made in the Stoke-on-Trent factory.