Johnson Brothers China

September 12, 2020

Johnson Brothers china history

Johnson Brothers china is one of the most widely recognised English pottery china brands of the 20th Century.
Their china catalogue included some incredibly popular china patterns, including the best selling china pattern of all time, "Eternal Beau"
The Johnson Brothers' china brand was established in 1883.

There were four 'Johnson Brothers' - Alfred, Frederick, Henry, and Robert
All sons of Robert Johnson and grandsons of the famous Meakin pottery family.
China manufacturing was in their blood and destiny.
The oldest brothers took over the established Charles Street pottery in Hanley and commenced production of "White Granite" ware.

By 1888 the Johnson bros china business had grown, fueled by increased demand from North America, and by 1886 the brothers operated 3 factories.
In 1889 Robert Johnson moved to New York to promote the business in America.
By 1910 they were producing sanitary ware, under-glazed transferware, which would ultimately grow to produce their most successful lines and had factories in the UK and Germany.
Exporting Johnson Brothers china globally to UK colonies and to the America

By the mid-1940s Johnson Brothers were one of the world's largest manufacturers of earthenware and ironstone china.
Continued expansion in the 1950s and 1960s saw Johnson Brothers factories operating in Canada and Australia, but competitive pressures were growing and in 1968 Johnson Brothers became part of the Wedgwood Group
The industrial divisions were sold off and the tableware brand merged into the Wedgwood tableware division.
Johnson Brothers China was dropped as a brand, only to re-emerge in 1991 as Johnson Bros and the restructured Waterford-Wedgwood groups lead tableware brand.

Production of Johnson Brothers china in the UK ceased in 2003 after almost 120 years of continuous production.
Fiskars, a Finnish company now owns the Johnson Brothers trademark and Johnson Brothers china pattern book.