From 1781-84, transfer printing, particularly for underglaze blue, was introduced to Staffordshire and further developed by Josiah Spode at Stoke, and by the end of the 18^th century the technology was widespread. In this period large amounts of pottery for everyday use was usually transfer printed in a single colour, mainly underglaze blue, but also black and sepia. One of the most famous designs used at this time was the “willow pattern”, ostensibly Chinese but designed by Thomas Turner based on an original by Thomas Minton in the late 18^th century at Caughley.

Willow pattern plate - source
Wikipedia via kzollman

Further development, particularly by F&R Pratt, enabled multicoloured transfer printed decoration to become popular around the middle of the nineteenth century. Good examples are seen on the inexpensive Staffordshire flat-backed figure groups made for mantelpiece ornaments and on very decorative and collectable pot lids. Around 1830 to 1840 potter’s marks appeared in a cartouche with the name of the pattern and occasionally the name of the maker.

Staffordshire figures 1820, horse and
pearlware figure group - source
online-galleries

William Billingsley (1758-1828) was one of the best flower and landscape artists who had a workshop in Mansfield painting French and English porcelain. He was an apprentice and decorator at Derby from 1775 until 1796, then he set up the Pinxton pottery in 1796, the Brampton-in-Torksey pottery in 1808, but the same year moved to Worcester. Billingsley left Worcester with the constraint that he could not work for a competitor, so he set up a pottery in 1813 in Nantgarw, where very high quality, beautifully decorated, soft-paste porcelain was produced.  However, by then porcelain was being mass-produced and hand painting as a fine art was declining and the Nantgarw pottery struggled to stay afloat and closed in 1822. Billingsley ended his days at Coalport, having promoted excellent flower painting at all these factories.

Worcester shell dishes decorated by Billingsley
- courtesy Worcester Porcelain Museum

Bone China

Calcined bone had been used as an ingredient in soft-paste porcelain at Bow for some years, but it was Josiah Spode’s son, also known as Josiah Spode the Younger, who is accredited with the development of the first “bone-china” body around 1789 and it was in full production by 1794. The cattle bones were calcined and the ash ground into a fine powder, producing calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate, which was added to the hard-paste ingredients. As mentioned earlier it was a form of porcelain that was considerably harder than soft-paste porcelain and does not chip as readily as hard-paste porcelain. Bone china was very popular in Britain and became the main body for British tableware and was exported in vast quantities in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, particularly to the USA. The Spode factory produced excellent products although they became rather over ornamented.  On the death of Josiah I in 1797, William Copeland had become a partner in the firm. In 1827, on the death of Josiah Spode II, Copeland’s son, W. Taylor Copeland bought the pottery, becoming sole owner in 1833. He partnered with T. Garrett in that year to form Copeland and Garrett, which also traded as Spode.

19^th century Spode cups and saucers

Around 1840 Copeland and Garrett also pioneered Parian ware based on an earlier Derby biscuit body. It was used for unpainted busts and figures, some very large, as well as some vases and Minton dinner services. The Copeland family ran the company until 1966, trading as W. T. Copeland and sons. In 1970 the company’s name reverted to Spode. In 1976 Royal Worcester purchased Spode and in 2009 its brand was transferred to Portmeirion Potteries of Stoke.