The Rescued Minton Tile Printing Plates at the Wedgwood Museum

摘要

In the spring of 2006 Royal Doulton plc took the decision to sell their vast store of copper printing plates that formerly belonged to the Minton factory at Stoke-on-Trent. The copper plates weighed about 70 tonnes and were sold for scrap at the then current valuation, about ￡3,000 per tonne. Staff at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent, soon learned of the decision and were able to reach a hurried agreement with Royal Doulton for the rescue of as many plates as possible; the Trustees of the Wedgwood Museum then agreed to finance the purchase of up to one tonne of rescued coppers at scrap price.