John Bartlam

John Bartlam (1735–1781) was a British potter who emigrated to America in 1763, and established a factory in Cainhoy, then called Cain Hoy, nine miles north of Charleston, South Carolina before moving to Camden, South Carolina. His porcelain is the earliest ever produced on American soil.

Early life He was born in Stoke-on-Trent and worked for twelve years as a potter in Staffordshire. He married Mary Allen in 1754 and had a daughter, Honor, in 1761 and another, Betty Allen, two years later. Bartlam then emigrated in 1763.

Porcelain from South Carolina No high quality porcelain was being produced in America at the time, only basic stoneware. Luxury porcelains with underglaze blue decoration had to be exported to wealthy colonists in America from Britain. However suitable kaolin deposits had been discovered in the 1730s in the Carolinas, and some clay was even being shipped to England from Charleston. Bartlam first began his pottery enterprise in 1765 in Cain Hoy, employing African-Americans as apprentices in the business. Bartlam moved his business to Camden, South Carolina in 1772 where there were plentiful supplies of kaolin. From there he exported Queen's Ware “equal in quality and appearance and can be afforded as cheap, as any imported from England.” His products were regarded as a threat by Josiah Wedgwood.

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