Leedsware pottery is universally recognized and admired for the elegant and timeless quality of its design. The plain creamware construction ensures that Leedsware pottery is enjoyed for its pure stylistic design elements. Leedsware pottery is made today using the exact specifications that were laid down centuries ago, so the buyer knows that any Leedsware pottery that he or she purchases is guaranteed to look and feel exactly the same as pieces purchased centuries ago.
As the name implies, Leedsware pottery originated in Leeds, England, in 1770 by brothers Joshua and John Green along with their business partner Richard Humble. The most successful products in the early days of the Leedsware pottery business were those made out of creamware, which is made from a special form of clay found in and around Cornwall. Creamware is at first glance a rather austere substance and seems a rather unusual choice for elegant and stylized Leedsware pottery pieces. However, a little consideration of the subject points out that by choosing such a neutral medium as creamware, the creators of Leedsware pottery ensure that the pieces will be respected in and valued because of their exquisite craftsmanship, not because of their material make up.
The Leedsware pottery company went out of business in the late nineteenth century. Fortunately for Leedsware pottery lovers everywhere, many of the original Leedsware pottery molds survived demolition and many of those that did not have been painstaking recreated from notes, records, and similar existing museum pieces. The modern Leedsware pottery company prides itself on creating pottery pieces that are identical in every way to the creations that were produced by the company in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. The construction process is similar to what it was all those years ago, and many of the steps involve hands on craftsmanship.
Perhaps the hallmark of Leedsware pottery is the elegant and functional serving bowls and dishes that graced many of the finest homes in Georgian and Victorian England. Traditional British meals of the period were a multi course affair and this meant that the well to do British household had to have a substantial supply of quality serving ware to serve their meals in style. Leedsware pottery featured elegant serving dishes and bowls, tea kettles, serving trays, and fine Leedsware pottery drinking vessels.
In addition to meal time Leedsware pottery goods, the company also supplied a number of pieces for other uses. The Leedsware inkstand was a vital part of the writing desk for a man of letters of the day. The Leedsware pottery inkstand featured receptacles for ink, special compartments to hold pens, and a pot for powder that was used to dry the ink after writing.
