Frederick Alfred Rhead (1856–1933) was a potter working in North Staffordshire, England. He is not to be confused with his son

Frederick Hurten Rhead Frederick Hurten Rhead (1880–1942) was a ceramicist and a major figure in the Arts and Crafts movement. A native of England, worked as a potter in the United States for most of his career. In addition to teaching pottery techniques, Rhead wa ...

(1880–1942) who was also a potter, and who worked mainly in the USA. His other children included the pottery designer Charlotte Rhead. Rhead's father, G.W. Rhead, worked in the pottery industry, and young Frederick was apprenticed at

Mintons Ltd Mintons was a major company in Staffordshire pottery, "Europe's leading ceramic factory during the Victorian era", an independent business from 1793 to 1968. It was a leader in ceramic design, working in a number of different ceramic bodies, ...

. He was one of a number of apprentices who in the 1870s learnt the art of ''

pâte-sur-pâte ''Pâte-sur-pâte'' is a French term meaning "paste on paste". It is a method of porcelain decoration in which a relief design is created on an unfired, unglazed body, usually with a coloured body, by applying successive layers of (usually) white p ...

'' decoration from

Marc-Louis Solon Marc-Louis-Emmanuel Solon (1835 – 23 June 1913), pseudonym ''Miles'', was a renowned French porcelain artist. After beginning his career at the Sèvres Pottery, he moved to Stoke-on-Trent in 1870 to work at Mintons Ltd, where he became the le ...

, a French émigré who was the leading exponent of this ceramic technique. Rhead continued to work in ''pâte-sur-pâte'' after leaving Minton. He joined

Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapid ...

and went on to work at a number of potteries including a failed venture of his own. His most famous piece of ceramics is the "Gladstone Vase" which was presented to

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

by the Liberals of

Burslem Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is often referred to as the "mother town" of Stoke on Trent. T ...

in 1888. The vase is on public view, having been loaned to the

Gladstone Pottery Museum The Gladstone Pottery Museum is a working museum of a medium-sized coal-fired pottery, typical of those once common in the North Staffordshire area of England from the time of the industrial revolution in the 18th century to the mid 20th cent ...

Longton, Staffordshire Longton is one of the six towns which amalgamated to form the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent in 1910, along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Burslem and Stoke-upon-Trent. History Longton ('long village') was a market town in the parish of S ...

. Besides working in three dimensions as a ceramic designer, Rhead worked in two dimensions as a graphic designer, although in the latter field he was somewhat overshadowed by his brother

Louis Rhead Louis John Rhead (November 6, 1857 – July 29, 1926) was an English-born American artist, illustrator, author and angler who was born in Etruria, Staffordshire, England. He emigrated to the United States at the age of twenty-four. Early life T ...

who pursued a successful career in the USA. The three brothers Frederick, Louis and George Woolliscroft Rhead Jr collaborated on book illustration projects, for example an edition of ''

The Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a progenitor of ...

''.

Bibliography

* Bumpus, Bernard ''Collecting Rhead Pottery: Charlotte, Frederick, Frederick Hurten'', 1999 Bernard Bumpus (1921–2004) was the leading authority on the Rhead family. In 1986 Bumpus curated an exhibition at the

Geffrye Museum The Museum of the Home, formerly the Geffrye Museum, is a free museum in the 18th-century Grade I-listed former almshouses on Kingsland Road in Shoreditch, London. The museum explores home and home life from 1600 to the present day with gallerie ...

in London. This exhibition, ''Rhead Artists and Potters'', toured several UK museums including the

Potteries Museum & Art Gallery The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery is in Bethesda Street, Hanley, one of the six towns of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. Admission is free. One of the four local authority museums in the city, the other three being Gladstone Pottery Museum ...

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

. Bumpus hoped to take a version of the exhibition to the US, but, despite American interest in the Rhead family, this project foundered. * Bunyan, John; foreword by Haweis, H.R. Rev. ''Pilgrim's Progress-from this world to that which is to come'', Embellished with over one hundred and twenty designs done by three brothers: George Woolliscroft Rhead, Frederick Rhead,

, publisher

The Century Co The Century Company was an American publishing company, founded in 1881. History It was originally a subsidiary of Charles Scribner's Sons, named Scribners and Company, but was bought by Roswell Smith and renamed by him after the Century Associa ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 1912.on-line book
''The pilgrim's progress from this world to that which is to come'' * Defoe, Daniel, ''The Life and Strange Adventures of Robinson Crusoe'', illustrated by Frederick and

, publisher R. H. Russell, New York, 1900. * G W and F A Rhead, ''Staffordshire Pots and Potters'', Hutchinson and Co., 1906.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhead, Frederick Alfred British illustrators English potters 1933 deaths 1856 births