Household The Wedgwood story is not one of unremitting success, and yet, despite many vicissitudes, this firm, which was founded in 1759, has steadily increased in prosperity and size, and today its name ranks with some of the world's biggest producers in terms of public recognition. Josiah Wedgwood started the business when he was twentynine with a capital of a few pounds in a factory which he rented for £ 10 a year. He had only a rudimentary education. When he died thirtysix years later he left a fortune estimated at a quarter of a million. His wares had become famous throughout the old world and the new, and he had established British pottery as an industry of international importance. Not only this : he had become a Fellow of the Royal Society and had gained no mean reputation as a social (e.g. abolition of slavery) and economic (e.g. construction of canals) reformer. Josiah's business was not one that sprang from the industrial revolution. Although he evolved a number of new techniques, there were no radical changes in the processes of manufacture, but he showed a flair for management which was far beyond his time. He rationalized the arrangement of his craftsmen's workshops, interspersing them with ovens and kilns, and organized the whole into a coherent productive unit. He introduced reforms in conditions of employment which gave his workpeople much greater security than had ever before been enjoyed in the industry. He was probably the first industrialist to see the importance of marrying art with industry, and he employed many well known artists. He was also an excellent designer and craftsman in his own right. His standards of taste, quality, and integrity were extremely high. It is doubtful whether with the exception of the manager of his London showroom he ever enjoyed the services of competent managers, although for eleven years he drew great support from his friend and partner, Thomas Bentley. After Bentley's death Josiah engaged Alexander Chisholm as his secretary and 'chemistry assistant'. William Hack wood acted as a kind of technical manager, but Josiah must have done a prodigious amount of executive work himself. He showed a great flair for salesmanship and promotion, and a keen sense of public relations which even today pays dividends to his successors. Although in his letters to Bentley there is abundant evidence of his shrewdness, he appears to have been remarkably unpreoccupied with financial matters. He seems to have got on to good terms with many influential people including the Queen not apparently because of his rapidly growing personal wealth, of which there was very little sign outside his home at Etruria, but largely and simply because he made very good pots indeed and took subtle pains to let people know that he did so, and that it was not difficult to obtain them. His health was never good at the age of thirtyeight he had his right leg amputated but in spite of this he was never content to rest on his laurels, always seeking improved processes, new clay bodies, fresh talent for his studios, or new ideas for promoting his wares. Household