Wade ceramics were already part of most British households when they suddenly and rather unexpectedly became a household name in the 1950s with their Wade Whimsies.
Their gas and electrical ceramics may have changed the way we live over the years, but the Wade firms have also produced a myriad of creations; from Disney figures to tiled fireplaces, wildlife figures to rocket nosecones, from pub ashtrays to exquisite deco figures. The history of the firm, though, is even more diverse.
The story supposedly goes something like this:
Henry Hallen sets up business in 1810 out in the wilds. George Wade sets up his business some time after. Wade takes over Hallen at the turn of the century, and later amalgamates with other Wade firms. In 1960, Wades celebrate their 150th birthday!
Except it doesn’t.
This book tells how the Wade firms were really formed. It reveals that the Wade firms are over 50 years younger than is often claimed, and not in fact founded by Henry Hallen or George Wade. It describes a set of market-led companies that broke out of their plagiaristic ways by producing the innovative Van Hallen figures and the now infamous Wade Whimsies. It also tells of the lives and loves of the Wade family through the ages, a dynasty that has shaped a world famous company, and touched the lives of millions throughout the world.
Burslem in Stoke-On-Trent is the setting for the Wade/Hallen saga, and historical details of this evolving Mother Town are included as a backdrop to the narrative. Although a new branch of Wade Ceramics Ltd has opened as far away as Kentucky, Burslem is still the home of Wades. Many of the places mentioned in this book are still there, and information is included to allow you to locate them easily.
The Wade Bibliography
The first book on Wade was Pat Murray’s `Whimsical Wade’ (1986), an inspirational and long overdue tome on the many sets of Wade Whimsies. It is now thought by some to be a collector’s item in its own right. It was eventually superseded by the more comprehensive `The World of Wade’ Books 1 and 2 (1988 & 1994) by Ian Warner and Mike Posgay, which cover the full range of Wade products. Pat Murray’s less essential `Pre-War and More Wades’ (1991) is an extension of ‘The World of Wade’ idea. However, her `Charlton Price Guide to Wade Whimsical Collectables’ is more than just a second edition of her first book as it includes an extensive price guide.
This book does not attempt to cover every Wade product in the fine detail of the Wade books described above, but instead to document the history of the Wade companies and how their products came (and went).
This book follows the Wade pottery marks system given in the introduction to ‘The World of Wade Book 2’.
Listing the sources for this book would take a book itself. Ten years of research has taken the author and fellow researcher Di Wade all over the country; through a seemingly endless number of census returns, parish registers, trade directories, legal documents, patents, council documents, cemetery records, a host of old newspapers and trade magazines, a mountain of local books and essays, and a myriad of personal accounts and anecdotes. To all the kind and helpful people we have had the good fortune to meet along the way, a big thank you. Particular thanks to Audrey and Bill, and John and Gary.
DAVE LEE is a Publications Consultant for ICL. He was educated at Canford and Keele, and now lives in Kidsgrove on the edge of Stoke-On-Trent. He is a Beauford shareholder (and previously a Wade shareholder).
DI WADE is a teacher of Mathematics in Stoke-On-Trent, where she was born and bred. She is the great great granddaughter of Joseph Wade, a founder of the Wade companies. Di is also a local historian and genealogist, though she claims only amateur status for both.
