The Spode Museum Pattern Books

Amongst the pattern books in the Spode Museum Archive there is a series which contains designs especially produced for Thomas Goode & Co at the turn of the century
The designs were created to the taste of Goode's clients and executed by Spode designers and craftsmen at the Spode Works in Stoke upon Trent, Staffordshire
The current Spode factory, operating from the same site where the Josiah Spode I began his company in about 1770, continues to supply fine bone china to Thomas Goode

The Thomas Goode connection

Soon after Josiah Spode I had set up his manufactory in Stoke in 1770, he realised the importance of having a presence in London, the centre of trade and fashionable taste
He soon established his own London warehouse, run at first by his son, Josiah Spode II and later by the Copelands
In this way the factory kept up with changing trends, and Spode became renowned as leaders of taste in the ceramic industry
By the 1830s, the company was supplying several retail outlets in London and the need for a London base of their own diminished
The shops they supplied included Oslers, Mortlocks, Philips and Daniels
Thomas Goode is the only one of these early retailers to have survived, a credit to its reputation for quality and reliability

Thomas Goode founded his first store in 1827, at 15 Mill Street, London
It quickly became established as the most prestigious china and glass emporium in the city, 'the' dictator of taste in fashionable London society
The shop catered for the upper end of the market and was supplied by the best manufacturers - Goode's clients would only accept the best quality product

It is not certain when Spode's relationship with Thomas Goode & Co began but, by the 1840s, Goode's were placing orders with Spode for crested wares
By the 1860s they were commissioning exclusive patterns and by August 1880 the number of commissions was such that Copeland started a new series of pattern numbers specifically for them in the 'Goode's Books'
The 'Goode's Arms Books', in which Goode's orders for armorial wares were kept separately from those of other retailers, appeared from 1895
At one time there were so many orders from Goode's that a separate warehouse was set up on the factory to service their wares

The Clients

Both Thomas Goode and Spode established themselves as suppliers to the leaders of society from an early date
Following a visit by the Prince to the factory in 1806, Spode was appointed 'Potter and English Porcelain Manufacturer to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales'
Spode has continued to hold Royal Warrants, supplying successive reigns ever since
Thomas Goode & Company have acted as agents for monarchies and principalities of all nations for over a hundred years, receiving their first Royal Warrant from HRH Edward, Prince of Wales in 1863
Discretion has always been their watchword, the 'Goode's Arms Books' held at Spode, now in the Spode Museum Trust's archive, were catalogued only by number and date, the client's name was not passed on to the supplier

The Wares

Goode's early orders to Spode for replacement pieces and crested ware soon expanded into orders for some of the most exquisite and elaborately decorated wares ever produced in this country
Many of the patterns in the Goode books were adaptations of patterns designed for general release, but some of the special orders were remarkably avant-garde for their time - the short runs for special orders allowed greater freedom for experimentation

The finest painters and gilders were employed on Goode's commissions
In the mid 19th century, Spode's craftsmen were renowned for their skill
Painters such as Charles Ferdinand Hürten, Charles Brayford Brough and John Arrowsmith are known to have produced work for Thomas Goode
Enamelling techniques were perfected during this period, many of the Goode designs incorporate raised-paste gilding and jewelled enamel details
A trend for bleu-celeste (turquoise) groundlay was established through the taste of Goode's customers

Some extraordinary services resulted from the collaboration between Thomas Goode and Spode
In 1907, acting on behalf of Czar Nicholas II, Goode asked Spode to produce some replacement pieces for a famous 18th century Sèvres service originally made for Empress Ekaterina II of Russia
The service was produced but unfortunately never delivered due to the assassination of the Czar

Spode also supplied specially commissioned patterns for 'off the shelf' sale in Goode's shop
'Marlborough Sprays', a floral pattern on earthenware, was first produced at the request of Goode's in 1915, when the French manufacturers, Luneville, whose factory was in the war zone near Strasbourg, could no longer send supplies
'Marlborough Sprays' is still in production today and remains one of Spode's most popular patterns

The Marks

In the mid-19th century Spode began to permit the addition of retailers names to the manufacturers backstamp
These were engraved and applied specially for the client at an extra charge
Three marks are known to have been used for Thomas Goode, the standard mark incorporating 'T. GOODE & Co LONDON' and 'COPELAND'S CHINA ENGLAND' all under a crown, continued in use until 1972
Other marks were especially devised to order for prestigious pieces including faux Sèvres mark in pale blue seen on the Ekaterina dessert plates