Carlton Ware

Carlton Ware was a pottery manufacturer based in Stoke-on-Trent. The company was established in 1890 by James Frederick Wiltshaw, William Herbert Robinson and James Alcock Robinson trading under the name of Wiltshaw and Robinson. The trademark "Carlton Ware" was introduced in 1894.

Carlton Ware concentrated on the decorative giftware end of the domestic pottery market throughout most of its career. Carlton Ware is best known (and most eagerly sought) for the items produced during the 1920s utilising new methods of production where the decal and hand-painting work was applied to high-glaze substrates.

Amongst the first of these were a series of designs inspired by the artwork discovered in Tutankhamen's tomb, which can be fairly said to represent the beginning of the art deco pottery movement. Other popular designs included stylised dragons, birds, and a series of Oriental-inspired patterns of which New Mikado and Chinoiserie were the most popular.

The famous script "Carlton Ware" trademark was introduced in 1928. It remains to this day some of the most eagerly collected ceramics in the world.