The son of a manager at Mintons, Thomas Forester mastered the craft of ceramic manufacture during his early employment at Wardle and the continental firm Peterinck of Tournai, Belgium. Forester returned to England and established the Phoenix Works in Longton, completed in 1879. He was joined in partnership by his sons Herbert and Victor in 1883. The firm of Thomas Forester & Sons was one of the last in Staffordshire to continue majolica production.
Forester produced a wide array of functional tablewares as well as garden items. Many pieces feature motifs inspired by Minton and other major manufacturers, albeit in a more rustic vein. The firm was one of the first to adopt mechanization in the production of majolica. Delicate floral and foliate decorations of a Barbotine style were applied to vases, baskets and other ornamental wares. Such pieces are often incorrectly described as French majolica.
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