E. Radford Art Deco Pottery
The hand thrown Art Deco output from E. Radford pottery has a wide collectors base with early pieces being highly sought after. A distinctive matt glaze lent well to designs incorporating trees, landscapes and floral imagery.
The ‘Trees’ pattern was produced in proliferation and is accredited to a single painter, James Harrison. Jugs, vases and bowls were the company’s core output though animal fancies were introduced at a later date. Paintresses were allowed a free reign to design pieces themselves.
Radford was born in 1882 the son of Edward Thomas Radford (Pilkingtons worker 1903-1936, Manchester) and was later to follow in his father’s footsteps joining Pilkingtons in 1905. After the First World War Radford returned to the pottery trade as an agent, founding the Radford Handcraft Pottery in 1930 at the Alexandra Pottery in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent under the umbrella of H. J. Wood Limited trading until 1948. Production of moulded (as opposed to hand-thrown wares) continued.
Radford retired in 1948 to concentrate on church matters along with his wife, briefly continuing his interest in the trade by teaching pottery, before dying in 1969. Prominent members of the pottery fraternity at the time often undertook community work, Radford having been a councilor and scout leader.
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