| Spode is one of the most recognizable names in | | | | china slowed down considerably. Demand for it |
| ceramic collectibles, but it is their Spode Blue | | | | was still very high, and there consequently was a |
| Italian collection that really put them on the map. | | | | huge gap in the marketplace. This left room for |
| This collection was first created in 1816, and | | | | an enterprising person to step in and fill it. |
| launched Spode into the leading position in the | | | | Josiah Spode was just that person. Spode was an |
| ceramic market. Even today, it is their most | | | | English potter and, in 1784, he mastered the |
| collected range of works, and it is still in | | | | process for reproducing these famous blue and |
| production. | | | | white designs. In fact, he set the standard for all |
| If you're a collector, or want to collect, here's | | | | English porcelain. |
| what you need to know about the history of the | | | | Spode used hand-engraved copper plates to |
| Spode Blue Italian collection and the company who | | | | transfer designs on to tissue paper, and then |
| made it. | | | | used underglaze printing to create his pieces. At |
| The History Of The Spode Blue Italian Collection | | | | first, he reproduced the popular Chinese designs |
| Blue and white china was extremely popular in | | | | on to his porcelain. But it didn't take long before |
| Europe and the UK throughout the 1700's. The | | | | he began coming up with his very own signature |
| majority of the china actually came from China. It | | | | designs... Willow, in 1790, Blue Tower in 1814, and |
| was imported for decades and flooded the | | | | then the Spode Blue Italian collection in 1816. |
| market. But in 1773, the supply of the imported | | | | |