Save the Wedgwood Museum Campaign - BBC "Midlands Today" 19th October 2010

WEDGWOOD SOCIETY MEETING,SUNDAY, OCT 3

WEDGWOOD REDUX:  Conservation & Restoration Of Objects In The Beeson &
Buten Collections, Birmingham Museum Of Art

OCTOBER 3

      Margaret K. Burnham, assisted by her husband, James A. Burnham,
will be our guest speakers on Sunday, October 3, 2PM at Springhouse in
Jamaica Plain.

      Even a fine and special Wedgwood piece might need a bit of
clinical attention sometimes.  Returning such pieces to their best
physical and visual condition is an exacting and often fascinating
task.  This talk will offer a small glimpse of how ceramics
conservators go about this, with examples of their discoveries,
problems, and solutions as they treat objects to return them to what
Wedgwood wanted you to see.

      Margaret Burnham has been an Objects Conservator in Private
Practice since 1992.  Currently living in Union, Maine, she
specializes in the treatment of ceramics.  Her clients include
museums, historical societies, dealers, and private collectors.

      Margaret has a Bachelor's Degree in Art Education from Wayne
State University, and more recently a Postgraduate Degree in the
Conservation of Ceramics, Glass & Related Materials from West Dean
College in England, including an internship at the British Museum.

      She has worked at the Henry Ford Museum, and Birmingham Museum
of Art, and is currently Contract Conservator for the Birmingham
Museum of Art, concentrating on the treatment of the Beeson & Buten
Collections of Wedgwood.

      Margaret is a member of AIC (American Institute for the
Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works).

      Margaret will be assisted by her husband,

James A. Burnahm.  Jim is semi-retired, and works with his wife
Margaret in her practice.  He has been an Objects Conservator since
the 1970's.

Jim holds degrees in History from the University of Utah and Michigan
State University, and completed the training program in
Three-Dimensional Objects at the Detroit Institute of Arts.  He was
Chief Conservator for the Milwaukee Public Museum, and Henry Ford
Museum, before becoming Executive Director of Sloss Furnaces National
Historic Landmark in Birmingham, Alabama.

Margaret & Jim are members of the Wedgwood International Seminar.

As always, unless otherwise specified, meetings of the Wedgwood
Society of Boston are open to the public.  For directions to
Springhouse, go to www.springhouseinfo.org.

Wedgwood & Wood Family of Burslem – Family Bible up to Auction

The Staffordshire Sentinel to day reports on the sale by auction (27^th August 2010) of a Family Bible formerly owned by the Wedgwood and Wood Families of Burslem:

HISTORIANS are hoping a Bible linked to two pottery dynasties will be brought back home to Stoke-upon-Trent. A Wedgwood family Bible dating back to 1630 is going up for auction in America this month after being discovered in an attic in Maine. It is believed the Bible has been owned by two important Burslem potters – Dr Thomas Wedgwood and Enoch Wood – before ending up on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

The book includes handwritten pages by Mr Wood and inscriptions relating to the Wedgwood family.

The pieces written by Mr Wood describe how he was inspired to become a potter, who he hired at his pottery business and what he paid them and detailed descriptions of some of his most prized work.

There is also a poignant 16-page tribute written by Mr Wood's son – Enoch Wood Junior – after his father's death.

The Bible is being sold by Gould Auctions, based in Smithfield, Maine, on Saturday, August 28.

Miranda Goodby….collections officer in ceramics at The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Hanley, said: "The real interest from a local history point of view is that the Bible was written in by Enoch Wood. Without him, we would know a whole lot less about life in 18th century Burslem.

"He was known as the Father of the Potteries when he died and he was Stoke-on-Trent's first historian. He was proud of Burslem and Stoke-on-Trent. He really wanted people to understand the changes he had seen in his lifetime.

He would have been delighted at the thought of his Bible coming to light and there being so much interest in it."

She said Mr Wood was an avid collector of pottery and his pieces formed what is now the Potteries Museum.

He also loved to chronicle what was happening in the world and would often write notes in books and even bury time capsules to let future generations know about the past.

Ms Goodby said: "It is no surprise to me whatsoever that he had written in a Bible. He wanted to record what he had seen. He saved books and rebound them because they had belonged to people he was interested in, which is exactly what he did with this Bible."

Mr Wood bought the Bible at an auction in 1820 and had it rebound. It is thought the book was taken to America by one of Mr Wood's descendants after his death in 1840.

It is signed by Dr Thomas Wedgwood, who owned a pottery firm in Burslem and was a distant relative of Josiah Wedgwood, who went on to found the world's greatest ceramics company.

Ms Goodby said: "Enoch Wood's father apprenticed for Dr Thomas Wedgwood in the 1730s and was a very successful potter. There are about five branches of the Wedgwood family and if you go back to the 1620s, they are all from one family. "I don't think Dr Thomas Wedgwood was actually a doctor but there were so many Thomas Wedgwoods in Burslem, a lot of them had nicknames."

Burslem historian Fred Hughes said: "It is a very important piece of memorabilia. It certainly has connections with the family of Josiah Wedgwood. And without Enoch Wood, we might not have a Burslem. He was a leading law-maker as well as a great model maker.

It would be a great addition to the Enoch Wood collection, which is a valuable collection held at the Potteries Museum and at the city archive."

Mr Hughes said: "The Bible was a family treasure but there is nothing special about the book itself – it is the inscriptions which are more valuable. The inscriptions are absolutely crucial to the history of the early development of the pottery industry."

Mr Hughes said he would like to see the Bible end up in the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Hanley so it could be studied and put on public display. He said: "The city council already has a massive collection of Enoch Wood papers – that Bible would be a welcome addition to the collection."

Councillor Hazel Lyth, Stoke-on-Trent City Council's cabinet member for adult social care, sport, leisure and culture, said: "We are aware of the auction taking place and are interested in the artefact because of the historical and cultural significance it has for the city."

Alison Wedgwood whose husband Tom is a direct descendant of Josiah Wedgwood, said the Wedgwood family would love the Bible to return to Stoke-on-Trent. She said: "Its natural home is Stoke-on-Trent. It would be fascinating to see it and we would like to see it brought back to the city. I am very curious to see what it looks like and what notes are in there. It would be a shame if it was bought by a private collector in America."

Auctioneer Timothy Gould, of Gould Auctions, described the inscriptions by Enoch Wood as "remarkable and spectacular". He added: "The Bible and manuscripts have been inspected and authenticated by an internationally-known ephemera expert."

I hope it can be bought for the City, or it would be a great addition to the Wedgwood family archives at the Wedgwood Museum.



LINKS



Find Dr Thomas Wedgwood and Enoch Wood in the genealogical database here:

• Dr Thomas Wedgwood
  
• Enoch Wood
  

Details of the Auction:

• Gould Auction House, Maine.
  

 

Wedgwood Books @ Alibris

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The Wedgwood Circle 1730-1897 Four Generations of a Family and Their Friends
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Richelieu and the French Monarchy By Wedgwood, Cicely V. by Cicely V.
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Wedgwood-Its Competitors & Imitators 1800-1830 by Wedgwood International
Seminar Hardcover Ars Ceramica 1977. (1977) Good. $10.93 Buy now at
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The Selected Letters of Josiah Wedgwood by Josiah Wedgwood Unknown Binding
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The Last of the Radicals: the Life of Josiah Clement Wedgwood, M.P. by
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Reprint ed.. Jonathan Cape. London. (1974) 9780224010979.
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Emma Darwin’s Radio Story

Dr Emma Darwin's short story 'Calling', will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday 4^th August at 3:30 pm. It will be read by Philip Voss, and is part of the "Lost in the Lanes" series. It'll also be available as a 'Listen Again' on the BBC iPlayer for seven days after that. Read more about the creative process on Emma's blog.

Family hope to save museum's treasures

From The Staffordshire Sentinel: Tuesday 27^th July 2010

MEMBERS of the Wedgwood family have launched a campaign to protect the Wedgwood Museum's collection from being broken up and sold off. Support for the attraction has come from the UK and across the world.



The museum is under threat after being saddled with a £134 million pension fund deficit claim from the Wedgwood Group Pension Plan. It was thought the company scheme would be taken over by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) following the collapse of Wedgwood and sister firm Royal Doulton last year. But the PPF could not legally accept the scheme as there was still a surviving solvent organisation with fund members connected to it – the Wedgwood Museum in Barlaston.



Lawyers for the museum argue its treasures cannot be sold off because they are protected by "permanent endowment" status, but it will be months before a judge makes the final decision. Tom Wedgwood …a direct descendant of company founder Josiah, said: "The upcoming court case is a potential tragedy for all of us in North Staffordshire. We have had enough bad news, with closures and job losses in the pottery industry. "I don't understand how such a ludicrous case has arisen and I urge common sense to prevail. Why would anyone donate money or family possessions to trusts if the Government can introduce new legislation that means they are sold off? Now we are in a ludicrous position when we might have to try to raise funds to buy back and re-donate all the pieces which were originally donated by Wedgwood ancestors and cousins and previous generations of factory managers."



The family has launched a website and Facebook profile SaveWedgwoodMuseum to spearhead the campaign.



Dr Alan Wedgwood, head of the Wedgwood family, said: "When members of the Wedgwood family donated parts of their personal collections to the museum trust over the course of the last two centuries, this was done as an act of social philanthropy, in the belief the collection would be preserved for all future generations. New government legislation should not be introduced which can cause the subsequent break up and sale of this historic collection."



The campaign team says auction house Christie's has valued the collection at £20 million, meaning the PPF would still have to find the bulk of the £134 million shortfall. And supporters believe it is unfair to hold the museum to account because five out of 7,000 Wedgwood Group pension fund members work for it.



Tom Wedgwood said: "I want to stress to all Wedgwood pensioners that even if the collection was sold, it would not mean extra money for them.



"It would just mean the PPF has to pay less into the compensation scheme when it eventually steps in."



A "permanent endowment" covers any asset which trustees cannot spend because of a restriction in the charity's governing documents.

A Darwin Family Tradition

Back in March I wrote a piece congratulating Dr Emma Darwin, best-selling and award-winning authoress on the achievement of her Doctorate – following in a grand family tradition. Soon after, Emma, who has just written a short story for broadcast on BBC Radio 4, e-mailed to alert me to the fact that, in her own generation, she was just but the latest. Her sister Carola achieved her Ph.D. in Musicology last Autumn whilst their eldest sister Sophia was awarded her Ph.D. in Mathematics some time ago.

Dr Sophia Darwin is a member of the Department of Mathematical Sciences at my alma mater Durham University.

Dr Carola Darwin is a celebrated English soprano singer, more details here and here.

I hereby suggest that a collective noun for Doctors could be "A Darwin of Doctors."

FW: The Burke's Peerage & Gentry Collection

The Burke's Peerage & Gentry Collection
Price: £195.00 plus postage and packing: £20 (UK) and £50 (RoW)
Burke's Peerage will cease to offer the current Burke's Peerage & Gentry
Collection in July, 2010.
If you would like to take advantage of this offer before it ends please
visit ... <http://www.burkespeerage.com/store/store-collection.aspx>
http://www.burkespeerage.com/store/store-collection.aspx
The Collection features the following reference works published by Burke's
Peerage & Gentry:
Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage (2003, 4,556 pages) Burke's Landed
Gentry, The Ridings of York (2005, 958 pages) Burke's Landed Gentry, The
Principality of Wales and the North West (2006, 1,009 pages)
The combined published price of these books is £697 plus postage and
packaging. The Collection is priced at £195 plus postage and packaging
(£20 UK and £34 World). This offer is open to individuals and libraries and
is available only direct via the Burke's Peerage & Gentry website.
Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage
Edition: 107th
Editor in Chief: Charles Mosely
ISBN: 0-9711966-2-1
No of Pages: 4,556
Year of Publication: 2003
Burke's Landed Gentry, The Ridings of York
Edition: 19th Volume II
Editor in Chief: Charles Mosley
ISBN: 0-9711966-4-8
No of Pages: 958
Year of Publication: 2005
Burke's Landed Gentry, The Principality of Wales and The North West
Edition: 19th Volume III & IV
ISBN: 0-9711966-6-4
No of Pages: 1,009
Year of Publication: 2006
For further details please see ...
<http://www.burkespeerage.com/store/store-collection.aspx>
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Burke's Peerage, Marriotts, Castle Street, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, MK18
1BP, UK Fax - 01280 730 241 Email - <mailto:admin@burkespeerage.com>
admin@burkespeerage.com Web - <http://www.burkespeerage.com>
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Alibris Book Fetch Results for "Wedgwood"

__________________________________________________________________

ALIBRIS BOOK FETCH RESULTS
__________________________________________________________________

The Selected Letters of Josiah Wedgwood by Josiah Wedgwood Unknown Binding
Cory, Adams & Mackay. (1965) With Dustjacket Very Good. $6.36 Buy now at
http://www.alibris.com/booksearch.detail?invid=9726376729&cm_mmc=B-_-1-_-A-_
-A

The Personal Life of Josiah Wedgwood, the Potter by Wedgwood, Julia And
Herford, C. H.
Hardback BIBLIOBAZAAR. (2009)
9781116687903.
New. $34.56
Buy now at
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_-A

The Personal Life of Josiah Wedgwood, the Potter by Wedgwood, Julia And
Herford, C. H.
Hardback BIBLIOBAZAAR. (2009)
9781116687897.
New. $36.65
Buy now at
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_-A

Wedgwood's Catalogue of Cameos, Intaglios, Medals, Bas-Reliefs, Busts, and
Small Statues: Repr. From the Ed. of 1787. Ed. By E. Meteyard by Josiah
Wedgwood Paperback Nabu Press. (2010) 9781147434682.
New. $28.30
Buy now at
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_-A

Wedgwood Blue by Wedgwood, Pam (Cop)/ Wedgwood, Oliver (Cop)/ Wedgwood, Sam
(Cop) PAP/COM. Paperback Alfred Pub Co. (2005) 9780571523597.
New. $8.03
Buy now at
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New “Save the Wedgwood Museum” Website

New site set up: http://www.savewedgwood.org

Campaign E-mail address

The campaign to Save the Wedgwood Museum has set up an e-mail address for supporters to get in touch and pledge their support:

SaveWedgwood@gmail.com