The Majolica of Thomas Forester & Sons

Forester is one of the best known names in majolica yet most people couldn't identify a piece if it fell in their lap. One of the reasons for this is that Forester marked few of their majolica wares. In fact, much of what we now recognize as Forester is from ads advertising the company. That's unfortunate because their output was prodigious and they deserve recognition for creating many of the wares we see for sale today.

Thomas Forester 1832-1907

Thomas Forester was born in 1832 in Lancashire, England into a pottery family. His father worked at Mintons where Thomas joined his father working as a young man as a presser. In time, he honed his skill by moving to the Victoria Works before eventually joining Wardle & Co. By this time he had gained sufficient experience to be offered a management position. He then left England and gained employment as a manager at Peterinck & Son in Belgium. 

In 1877 he returned home with sufficient capital to establish his own pottery, the Church Street Majolica Works. After modest early success he demolished the facility after two years to build a significantly larger pottery which he named the Phoenix Works. 

At the age of fifty, he brought his two youngest sons Herbert and Victor into the business and further expanded his facility into an adjoining factory, nearly doubling his space. Forester & Sons was now one of the largest potteries in Stoke-on-Trent. 

Thomas Forester

The company specialized in majolica ware but potted utilitarian and other decorative earthenware as well. As styles shifted so did the company's output.

Forester showroom 1890

Thomas Forester & Sons invoice letterhead

Most Forester majolica is unmarked but fortunately for their vigorous advertising in trade journals we can identify some of their patterns today. Forrester also purchased other failed potteries such as Samuel Lear's pottery and the Victoria Pottery Company and continued issuing their lines of majolica patterns.

A contemporary account of Forester's work in The Pottery Gazette read thus:

Mr. THOMAS FORESTER– A visit to the new manufactory of this enterprising gentleman amply repaid us for the trouble taken, and the new things just emerged or emerging into life were well worthy of inspection.

In most, if not in all cases, the colours employed in the decoration were bright, and artistically displayed. 

Among his more modern designs are a cockatoo basket of a triangular shape, well adapted for corners, &c., the birds being brightly-tinted, on variously-coloured grounds. A very handsome piece of majolica pottery is the medallion jardiniere, oval in shape, coloured in dark blue, yellow, and pink, measuring: twenty inches in length, with flowerpots to match. 

Another jardinière, some sixteen inches long, called the Roman jardinière, is equal in many points to the former; but for massive workmanship and effective colouring the former, perhaps, stands first. I also noticed several new designs in baskets, including primrose, Japanese, Greek, and rustic, all of which were effectively decorated. His new cockatoo jugs are very showy and worthy of notice.

The Dolphin vase is another very fine specimen of pottery, consisting of three dolphins supporting a cornucopia vase, the whole standing some sixteen inches high. Perhaps not the least among Mr. Forrester's novelties may be considered his latest style of decorating majolica, which consists of innumerably and variously coloured spots upon either a dark or light coloured groundwork.

The specimens we saw were very effective, and have already commanded large sample orders.

Forester advertisement from the Pottery Gazette

Forester advertisement from the Pottery Gazette

Forester advertisement from the Pottery Gazette

Advertisement from the July 2,1883 issue of The Pottery Gazette

Mr. THOMAS FORESTER.-A visit to the new manufactory of this enterprising gentleman amply repaid us for the trouble taken, and the new things just emerged or emerging into life were well worthy of inspection.

In most, if not in all cases, the colours employed in the decoration were bright, aud artistically displayed. Among his more modern designs are a cackatoo basket of a triangular shape, well adapted for corners, &c., the birds being brightly-tinted, on variously-coloured grounds. A very handsome piece of majolica pottery is the medallion jardiniere, oval in shape, coloured in dark blue, yellow, and pink, measuring: twenty inches in length, with flowerpots to match. Another jardinière, some sixteen inches long, called the Roman jardinière, is equal in many pointe to the former; but for massive workmanship and effective colouring the former, perhaps, stands first. I also noticed several new designs in baskets, including primrose, Japanese, Greek, and rustic, all of which were effectively decorated. His new cockatoo jugs are very showy and worthy of notice.

The Dolphin vase is another very fine specimen of pottery, consisting of three dolphins supporting a cornucopia vase, the whole standing some sixteen inches high. Perhaps not the least among Mr. Forrester's novelties may be considered his latest style of decorating majolica, which consists of innumerably and variously coloured spots upon either a dark or light coloured groundwork.

The specimens we saw were very effective, and have already commanded

Contemporary description of the wares at Forester

Forester cheese bell was designed by Joseph Roth from who 

they purchased the molds

Forester majolica cheese bell

Forester majolica crown cheese bell designed for Victoria's 1897 Jubilee 

Forester butterfly lip pitcher later copied by the Etruscan Works

Forester majolica overlapping leaf plate

Thomas Forester majolica overlapping begonia leaf bowl

Forester majolica overlapping leaf dessert stand

Forester majolica overlapping leaf dessert stand

Forester majolica bamboo cuspidor

Forester majolica pug dog humidor

Forester garden seat

Forester majolica garden seat

Forester majolica fish plate

Forester majolica sardine box

Forester majolica sardine box

Forester majolica sardine box

Forester majolica sardine box

Forester majolica bird & basketweave jug

Forester majolica owl pitcher

Forester demonic pitcher

Forester majolica elephant pitcher

Forester majolica cat basket

Forester majolica drinking pig jug

Forester majolica woman holding pig jug

Forester majolica Father Christmas jug. 

Also made by Shorter & Sons

Forester majolica squatting monkey jug

Forester majolica toby jug

Forester majolica devil jug

Forester majolica dog jug

Forester majolica cat decanter

Forester four part shell server

Forester majolica poppy tray

Forester majolica bread platter

Forester majolica leaf plate

Forester monumental majolica floor vase or umbrella stand.

Forester majolica Dolphin vase described in the 

magazine article above

Forester copy of a Minton majolica design

Forester majolica elephant teapot

Forester majolica tea ware

Forester majolica rose tea set

Forester majolica tea ware

Forester majolica tea ware

Rustic tea set attributed to Forester

Forester majolica tea ware

Forester majolica wild rose & rope tea ware. For more on this pattern go here.

Forester majolica tea set, copied without feet by Etruscan Works

Forester majolica basket

Forester majolica basket

Forester majolica basket

Forester majolica cockatoo basket

Forester majolica basket

Forester barbotine charger

Forester barbotine charger

Forester barbotine vase

Forester & Son vase marked Arbor Florescent

Reverse of Forester leaf plate

Forester impressed mark

Forester impressed mark

Forester ink mark post 1890

Forester majolica is erratic in its quality with few pieces ever reaching the level of sophistication or quality of the larger potteries but some of it is still quite clever. Their designs often exhibit many of the same influences as other ceramics of their day, but simpler and more rustic in execution. They were also relentless in copying the work of other potteries. Still, many of their wares are beautiful and will be recognizable to most collectors.  

Because of their prolific output, most Forester majolica is relatively easy to find. It was inexpensive when it was new and mostly remains inexpensive today. If you're lucky enough to find a marked piece expect to pay about 50% more than for an unmarked example..

Thomas Forester by Latham & Bott

Thomas Forester with his wife Mary Ann Forester

Thomas Forester and his wife both died in 1907. Although the company continued potting majolica under the management of their sons well into the 20th Century, they expanded their line to include fine china and art pottery. These eventually became the mainstay of the pottery and remained so until the pottery closed in 1959.

To quote from his obituary:

“It has been Mr. Forester's mis­fortune to be greatly and frequently misunderstood. Per­haps no incident in his remarkable business career has been so misrepresented as the manner in which he completely revolutionized the majolica flower vase industry in England. Mr. Forester, with his practical knowledge of Continental ware, and his keen foresight, manufactured flower vases cheaper than English manufacturers were producing, but better value than the Continental makers were sending. The result was just what he expected: he got hundreds of orders that would have gone abroad under the old conditions”

Forester family gravestone, Staffordshire, England