Marmalade jar, with lid, stoneware, in the form of an orange; base, moulded registered design mark with encoded date of 15th November 1878, made by F and R Pratt and Co, Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, 1878
The orange-shaped jar was produced by F and R Pratt & Co based at the Fenton Potteries, High Street, Fenton, Staffordshire in part of the well-known “Potteries” area. The business was founded in the early 1800s by brothers Felix Edward Pratt (1813-1894) and Richard Pratt (date unknown).
The original business was started, around 1753, by their father William Pratt, a master potter, at Lane Delph in Fenton. On William’s death (1799), his widow and sons took over the business. The sons later split to form two different companies: Richard and Felix became F&R Pratt & Co. whilst William and John formed J & W Pratt.
During the Victorian era, F & R Pratt saw a commercial opportunity to produce multi-coloured lids and pots which could be used for food products, toiletries and cosmetics amongst other uses. A talented, self-employed artist and engraver, Jesse Austin (1806-1879), joined the business around 1843. It has been noted that Jesse Austin used famous paintings, paintings of royalty, city scenes and events, as inspiration for his work as he lacked imagination despite his talent. The two men worked together for over 30 years, producing a vast array of pottery, including the jars and lids, known today as Staffordshire pot lids.
F & R Pratt and Co. were one of the 13,000 exhibitors at the 1851 Great Exhibition (also known as the Crystal Palace Exhibition). During its opening, from May until October, around six million people attended the event in Hyde Park, London. It was the first in a series of World Fairs – organised by Prince Albert- to showcase the culture and industry of the age. The company produced a series of ‘Exhibition Pieces’, with the best examples of their pictures embellished with a wide gold band.
Prattware – as it became known- became collectable after an exhibition in Blackpool, in 1897, three years after Felix’s death. The first public auction for this decorative pottery occurred in 1924.
This jar, in the shape of the principal ingredient of marmalade, was produced for the domestic market, presumably as a decorative way to serve the preserve at the dining table. Marmalade is a popular preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruit boiled with sugar and water. The word originates from the Portuguese marmelo (meaning quince) and marmelada (a quince paste). The Greeks and Romans knew that when quinces were slowly cooked with honey, they would ‘set’ when cool producing a jelly substance.
Mentions of a ‘marmalet’ have been found in different letters and documents from the 1500s, including a reference of King Henry VIII receiving “a box of marmalade” from a Mr Hull of Exeter, in 1524. It is surmised that this was probably a solid quince paste (marmelada) from Portugal as it arrived in a box.
The British food historian and scholar Ivan Day claims that marmalade has been around for centuries, in different forms, citing a recipe for Marmelet of Oranges in a book by Eliza Cholmondeley around 1677. This produced a thick, dark paste. A printed recipe for an orange marmalade without chunks appeared, in 1714, in Mary Kettilby’s cookery book “A Collection of above Three Hundred Receipts”. This is thought to be the first printed recipe for orange marmalade.
However, the marmalade we recognise today is accredited to 18th century Scottish recipes, which contained more water resulting in a more spreadable preserve. Originally, marmalade appears to have been eaten with the evening meal but the Scots are also given the credit for starting the fashion of eating it at breakfast time.
There are a few stories and myths surrounding the origins of marmalade. In 1797, Janet Keiller is supposed to have invented marmalade by using a spoiled cargo of Seville oranges which she brought in Dundee harbour. Her son, James Keiller, was the first to sell a brand of marmalade on a huge commercial scale ( James Keiller and Sons, Dundee). In 1864 another famous marmalade brand was started by James Robertson, another Scottish entrepreneur.
An earlier myth involves Mary Queen of Scots: she supposedly took the preserve as a cure for seasickness and when she was ill later in life. The name is supposed to have derived from people saying “Marie est malade” (Mary is ill).
Marmalade can be made from a variety of citrus fruit: lemons, limes, grapefruit and the most commonly used, Seville or bitter oranges. Today, there is a wide choice of the preserve, including thin cut, thick cut, shred-less, black (using brown sugar or black molasses) and flavoured - with ginger, whisky and other spirits.
Written by Karen Stewart, Ceramic Research Volunteer
