Photograph of an "Apprentice Thrower"

The young male apprentice is sitting at a potter's wheel which he is using to shape a small jar. Several completed jars can be seen on shelves to his left. In the background is an older employee throwing a larger container. Throwing refers to the process of using a potter's wheel to mould clay into the desired shape.

This photograph features in 'The Production of Earthenware' reprinted from The International Industrial Review, by John Summersall.

Pottery has been manufactured at in Chesterfield and district since at least the fifteenth century. The firm that became Pearson's & Co. at Whittington Moor was established in 1810 after William Johnson bought a pottery business in Newbold. The business was bequeathed to his wife Catherine nee Pearson on his death and she left the business to her nephew, James Jervis. Around this time the business became known as Pearson's and Pearson & Co was incorporated under the Companies Act as Pearson & Co (Chesterfield) Ltd in 1922. The firm closed in 1994.