Editing Spode (section)

{{Short description|English brand of pottery and homewares}}
{{other uses}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Spode
| logo = Spode-logo-png-transparent.png
| type = [[Subsidiary]]
| genre = 
| predecessor = 
| successor = 
| foundation = 1770
| founder = [[Josiah Spode]]
| defunct = 
| location_city = [[Stoke-on-Trent]]
| location_country = England
| location = 
| locations = 
| area_served = 
| key_people = 
| industry = [[Pottery]]
| products = {{flatlist|
*Pottery
*housewares
}}
| market cap = 
| num_employees = 
| parent = [[Portmeirion Pottery|Portmeirion Group]]
| homepage = {{ubl
|[https://www.spode.co.uk spode.co.uk]
|[https://www.spode.com spode.com]
}}
| footnotes = 
| intl = 
}}

'''Spode''' is an English brand of [[pottery]] and homewares produced in [[Stoke-on-Trent]], England. Spode was founded by [[Josiah Spode]] (1733–1797) in 1770, and was responsible for perfecting two important techniques that were crucial to the worldwide success of the English pottery industry in the 19th century: [[transfer printing]] on [[earthenware]] and [[bone china]].

Spode perfected the technique for transfer printing in [[underglaze]] blue on fine earthenware in 1783–1784 – a development that led to the launch in 1816 of Spode's Blue Italian range, which has remained in production ever since. The company is credited with developing, around 1790, the formula for bone china. Josiah Spode's son, Josiah Spode II, successfully marketed bone china.

In 2008, the Copeland Spode company went through some financial troubles. It was taken over in 2009 by [[Portmeirion Pottery|Portmeirion Group]], a pottery and homewares company based in Stoke-on-Trent. Many items in Spode's Blue Italian and Woodland ranges are made at Portmeirion Group's factory in Stoke-on-Trent.

[[Image:Spode.jpg|thumb|Dish, 1831, manufactured by Spode Ceramic Works V&A Museum no. 566A-1902]]
[[File:Spode 1.JPG|thumb|right]]
[[File:Spode 3.JPG|thumb|right]]