Josiah Wedgwood and the industrial revolution

摘要

Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) set the pace for the revolution in earthenware manufacture in England in the eighteenth century. With careful attention to detail in what Wedgwood called his "scientific" experiments, Wedgwood greatly improved the existing earthenware body. With his ability to understand the increasing power of fashion to dictate demand, Wedgwood capitalized on the growing trend of 'pleasure shopping' and became one of the most successful and written about potters in history.;In this thesis, Wedgwood's role in the Industrial Revolution is separated from the myth that Wedgwood was the benevolent, hard-working inventor his biographer, Eliza Meteyard, started in the nineteenth century. First his reasons and methods for improving earthenware is discussed. Second, his efforts to better communication in the county of Staffordshire to help the earthenware industry grow is addressed. Lastly, his technique of using royal patronage to assign status and prestige to his works is discussed.