JOSIAH WEDGWOOD A MAN FOR ALL TIME

It seems that the subject of Josiah Wedgwood, his pots, his family and his own story never seem to disappear from some facet of the public consciousness in today's world of instant international communication for the masses. In Josiah's time the world was much larger, meaning that one couldn't reach it so fast and easily as we can today when the world has been made much smaller by fast travel, fast communication and more global thinking. One of the reasons he and subjects involving him are so prevalent is that he was so many things - and the things in which he involved himself were important, and in many cases momentous. The building of the Trent & Mersey Canal affected so many in England; his scientific discoveries and inventions, and those of his descendants, still matter in our world (think photography for one). It is amazing to me how often Wedgwood-related subjects pop into the modern consciousness. Clicking the title of this post will show just one small example of my thoughts of the day. A musician in Indiana making a list of important happenings not only adds Josiah's founding of Wedgwood & Sons, but the photo that accompanies his article is a picture of a tribute to Josiah from our times. Josiah on the mind of a Nicaraguan musician raised in New Orleans and an expert on early music - go figure!

But this week, that's not all. At the University of Edinburgh, an archaeological dig has unearthed evidence of chemistry accoutrements made by Josiah & his firm as well as several other important artifacts and has the chemistry world quite excited. To read a bit about this news circling around the globe this week, one can go here to a post which includes a video interview with an expert on the subject. So we have an article on historic music and chemistry and Josiah all falling into my computer in one morning. It's an amazing world isn't it? There is one more thing that fell into my realm this morning, which is interesting, odd and in part inaccurate but certainly worth a quick read.

Galileo once used one to look at the sun... but it wasn’t as big as ours! So what has THIS to do with Josiah Wedgwood you ask? I did too and couldn't resist reading further in this article from The News, Portsmouth, England.

"By Aline Nassif
Published on Wednesday 29 June 2011 07:05

GALILEO had one so he could safely look at the sun.

Now schoolchildren are following in his footsteps by having their very own camera obscura – but on a much grander scale.

This octagonal white building, pictured below, is in fact a pin-hole camera and is one of just 12 of its kind in the UK.

It works by projecting light and reflections of the surrounding landscape via mirrors through a large lens in the roof, creating a moving image onto a white table below.

Youngsters at Wicor Primary School in Portchester have been using the £10,000 camera obscura – which means ‘dark room’ – to complement art, science and history lessons.

Alexandra Birch, 10, said: ‘The first time I went inside it was so exciting. I had never seen anything like it before, it was almost like stepping inside a time machine or a different period.

‘In my class we’ve been using it to draw trees and it has really helped me with my artwork because the quality of the image it reflects is so accurate.

‘It’s not just great for art, it also gives you an amazing sense of history and all the great people in the past who have used the camera obscura from the Greeks to famous painters.

As well as helping Galileo study the sun, the invention – which led to modern cameras – was also used by Dutch artist Vermeer to paint his intricate canvases and Josiah Wedgwood to sketch English countryside scenes for a 900-piece dinner service.

Elizabeth Harbridge, 10, added: ‘It is incredible to think we have just one of 12 camera obscuras in the whole country.'

For dramatic effect the reference to Josiah works, but it's of course not accurate. Josiah was a potter and a scientist, but not really an artist. Those images on the well-known dinner service he produced for Catherine the Great of Russia were not sketched by Josiah, but purchased by him from artists and / or commissioned by him for the purpose of providing Catherine with 952 pieces of dinner and dessert ware to remind her of her English homeland, where she never lived. It was by the images on the dishes which we lovingly call The Frog Service today that she knew of the surroundings of her English relatives.

INTERESTING CURRENT EVENTS IN THE WORLD OF WEDGWOOD

For those of you thinking of a trip to Birmingham, AL to see the largest and best collection of Wedgwood outside of England, click the title of this post to read a great article on the tourist advantages in Birmingham. Not only is the Birmingham Museum of Art featured, you will also find a good deal of information about all the other things to do in this fabulous Southern city. Check our older posts for a great picture of Vulcan after you read the article here on its history.

Additionally, you can click here to see a video interview with the current CEO of Waterford Wedgwood Royal Doulton, Pierre de Villemejane, with commentary on the direction the company is now taking. With the fast-moving changes in the world market today, and the china industry is no different, this gives a quick overview of where Wedgwood seems to be going.

And you can check out Lord Wedgwood's recent travels to Houston here.

"JOSIAH WEDGWOOD" A SHIP WITH AN AMAZING STORY

Some weeks back I somehow stumbled upon a World War II era ship named "Josiah Wedgwood". One thing led to another and I learned a lot, as did my friend Tony in Scotland, who is a former mariner. Between the two of us, our curiosity got the better of us and Tony spent a good deal of time not only doing the research to figure out why the ship was named "Josiah Wedgwood", but to condense the large amount of information down to a more reader-friendly article. The links we've provided give additional detail for anyone interested in a more in-depth version! We've found trains and boats, books and pots, wonder what else we'll find named "Josiah Wedgwood"! We hope you will enjoy the fruits of Tony's labours and a big thanks to him for taking his time to elucidate this fascinating story. As is our habit, clicking the title of this post & the colored links will lead to more information on the topic.


"The corvette "Beauharnois" was built by the Morton Engineering and Dry Docks Co., Quebec City and launched on 11th May 1944 for service with the Canadian Navy. Corvettes were a temporary answer to a shortage of patrol and escort vessels until the larger destroyers entered service. Short (205 ft) and broad in the beam, they were based on a whaling ship design which allowed them to patrol in heavy weather. The hull design also gave them a reputation of being capable of "rolling on wet grass" - a challenge to the stomach of even the most hardened naval veteran! They could make 16 knots whilst a surfaced U-boat was capable of 17-18 knots.

Decommissioned in July 1945 she was purchased, along with her sister ship the "Norsyd", by Mossad Le'Aliya using a false shipping company as a "front". She was sailed to New York and renamed "Josiah Wedgwood", joined a fleet of ten Aliyah Bet ships manned by largely American crews for the purpose of running the British blockade of Palestine. Sailing from New York with a crew of 20 men (the usual crew numbered 85) she eventually reached Italy where 1259 Jewish refugees were taken on board for passage to Palestine. However, she was intercepted by the British destroyer "Venus" and towed into Haifa where all on board were transported to the Atlit Detention Camp. After being laid up in Haifa harbour she was renamed the "Hashomer" and served with the Israeli Navy until 1955.

The name "Josiah Wedgwood" was chosen as a tribute to Colonel Josiah Clement Wedgwood, 1st Baron Wedgwood of Barlaston, DSO. Also known as Josiah IV, he was the son of Clement Wedgwood and Gt-Gt-Grandson of Josiah 1. He followed a career, first in industry and then, after seeing service in South Africa during the second Boer War, became a Liberal Member of Parliament for Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1906.

After serving in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in the First World War, he returned to Parliament and, in 1919, joined the Labour Party. It was for his championing of Zionism and his attacks on the government's Middle East policies over the next twenty years that the ship was named in his honour. Serving in the Home Guard during the Second World War, he toured the USA putting Britain's case against Germany. It was while there that Churchill offered him a Peerage and he became Baron Wedgwood in 1942. He died the following year in London aged 71.

Much more detail on the background to the politics which brought about the blockade of Palestine and the formation of the Aliyah Bet fleet can be found on the internet as can a full account of the life of Josiah IV. [Go here to read a first-person account of a sailor on the ship.]

In total the 66 ships of the Aliyah Bet fleet transported 71,534 refugees out of which the 10 American ships transported 31,078 or 43.4%."

Refugees at Haifa

Wedgwood Interest Photography

Some time back I corresponded a bit with Gered Mankowitz, the son of Wolf Mankowitz of Wedgwood fame. Wolf was a dealer of Wedgwood and an author. Many of us collectors have his books in our libraries. Gered is a very famous photographer and well known for his work with The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix. In working at my desk just now, I have the TV show Pawn Stars on for noise; nothing else I like better was airing! Amazingly, someone took a framed black & white photo of Jimi Hendrix in to sell and the son bought it for $2,000 as a Father's Day gift for his dad. It was signed by Gered and numbered #4 of 25 prints made. It would probably have sold for more at an auction, but the seller was happy. By the way, the Wedgwood retail shop in London named Gered was named after Gered as I recall his telling me. For more information about this famous photographer, just Google Gered Mankowitz. You can also click here to see the Wedgwood Queensware mug with the front of the Gered store in Piccadilly, a great place to shop for Wedgwood in the not-so-long-ago-past plus it's a great looking mug!

NEW WEDGWOOD CONFERENCE CENTER & WEDDING VENUE

The beautiful buildings, gardens and grounds at the former Wedgwood Memorial College have been given a new lease on life. Imagine a beautiful sunny day and your wedding and / or reception at Barlaston in the former Wedgwood Memorial College campus, renamed Wedgwood College and Conference Center, and now having undergone changes to provide 22 hotel rooms and venue for weddings and other celebrations, meetings, conferences. Congratulations to the Stoke-on-Trent City Council for a great idea and great execution! In MY next life, I'm getting married there! Click the title of this post to see a recent article on this exciting new conference center!