James S. Taft was born in 1844 in New Hampshire, and he started a functional pottery firm in 1872 for the manufacturing of redware and stoneware. In 1879, an Englishman by the name of Thomas Stanley joined the company and developed the dark, majolica glazes that became an initial cornerstone of the company's design.
Hampshire pottery boomed in the early 1900s after joining the Arts and Crafts movement and bringing accomplished chemist Cadmon Robertson (Taft’s brother) into the company. Robertson developed over 900 glaze recipes while at the firm, including every well-known Hampshire glaze. Hampshire Pottery took its glazing very seriously since about half of the pottery lines to come out of Hampshire are only glazed and feature no additional designs. The most well-known hue is a matte green, but other popular colors are satin black, blue, ochre, and mauve. Works with additional surface designs often feature Grueby-like floral patterns, leaves, or simple flower buds.
Hampshire Pottery used buff clay and finished the bottoms of the pieces with a white semi-gloss. Almost all the pottery lines are marked with the die-stamped designation “Hampshire Pottery” and the letter “M” in a circle. Common forms are vases, mugs, tea sets, lamp bases, pitchers, and bowls.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and everything about the Hampshire body of work displayed the designers’ genuine love for the popular Grueby pottery. Most Grueby imitators sought to make a quick buck, and their body of work faded in value as the years went on. Hampshire pottery lies in stark contrast to this, and their pottery has risen in value along with the Grueby lines. Hampshire created a niche of their very own, with enough quality, diversity, and care to produce beautiful art pottery that created innate value through meaningful emulation.