Janine Wiedel's photographs of The Potteries 1978

[mr.hobblesworth]

I just got a load of photography books (well, more like fanzines really) from the excellent Cafe Royal and one of them was a collection of Janine Wiedel's photographs of pottery workers in the mid 1970s. Thought they may be of interest to some on here. I don't find them particularly interesting but imagine if you worked in the industry or knew people who are on the photos, you might well do.

 

 

loads more at this link...

 

https://wiedel.photoshelter.com/gallery/THE-POTTERIES-Stoke-on-Trent/G0000eJ8CNVFR0ns/C0000QkcABpNr9g8

 

If you want to purchase the 'book', it's available direct from Cafe Royal for £6 here...

 

https://www.caferoyalbooks.com/shop/janine-wiedel-the-potteries-stoke-on-trent-1978

[Aussie Rules]

Cheers Hobbs, brought back mainly fond memories of the time most of my kith and kin worked in pots'n'pits

[NellyTheValiant]

She has taken a good number of the pits in North Staffs and Shelton Bar too

 

https://wiedel.photoshelter.com/gallery-collection/INDUSTRY/C00008Rui1zfu3AM

[mr.hobblesworth]

She has taken a good number of the pits in North Staffs and Shelton Bar too

 

https://wiedel.photoshelter.com/gallery-collection/INDUSTRY/C00008Rui1zfu3AM

 

https://wiedel.photoshelter.com/img/pixel.gif

 

 

The 1970s, there.

[Valiant62]

Fascinating, thanks for these.

[RailwayRowdy]

As the vast majority of us (if not all) were born and bred in the Potteries, we tend to wax lyrical about the past and our industrial heritage.

 

However, a visit to the Potteries Museum and a view of the superb films documenting the times (some featuring the excellent Arthur Berry) tell a different story.

 

The wonderful skills of the paintresses were hardly appreciated by their employee’s, as they had to supply their brushes at their own expense.

 

Also, in the freezing cold of winter, these wonderfully skilled women had to decorate ware by coal fires which they themselves had to provide the fuel !

 

Also there was a cartel of pottery owners who deliberately kept wages low. It was to no employers advantage to pay better wages when they had a captive working audience with little opportunity of differing employment other than the pits.

 

Hence workers children were introduced to the industry immediately they left school as their family desperately needed their additional income.

 

In the years to come this is one of the reasons why Stoke On Trent had one of the lowest take ups of further education in the country.

 

All credit should be given to those dedicated and skilful workers.

 

The “out of town” pottery owners, less so.