The Wedgwood papers form a vital primary source for research into the history of the Josiah Wedgwood and Sons firm, their famous wares, the manufacture of pottery and the Wedgwood family and their associates, forming a uniquely rich archive of the pottery industry. However, the material ranges far beyond the subject of the production of pottery. The commercial success of Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) made him a national figure and he and his children numbered many distinguished people among their circle including their relations the Darwin family, artists (George Stubbs, John Flaxman, Joseph Wright of Derby), writers (Coleridge, Wordsworth, Harriet Martineau, Mrs. Gaskell), scientists and Lunar Society Members (Joseph Priestley, Matthew Boulton, James Watt, Humphrey Davy, Erasmus Darwin, Sir Joseph Banks, Lavoisier, John Whitehurst) and intellectuals such as Sir James Mackintosh. Many of their letters are included in the accumulation, in one or two cases the largest quantities known to survive in one place.
The single most important element of the Wedgwood accumulation is the voluminous correspondence of Josiah Wedgwood with his partner and mentor, Thomas Bentley (1730-1780). Approximately 900 letters survive from Wedgwood to Bentley covering a wide range of subjects. Close details of the day-to-day running of the factory and business affairs jostle with local and national politics, the arts, science and family matters. Here is to be found material on such much matters as the Duke of Bridgewater's scheme for the Trent and Mersey Canal in which Wedgwood was actively involved, on humanitarian movements, American independence, questions of finance, medical treatment and friendly societies. Josiah I was a committee mamber of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade and material relating to his involvement survives. The archive contains a wealth of information for the economic and business historian being rich in order books, vouchers, ledgers, material concerned with the workforce and its organisation, scientific and technical information and business correspondence.
The Mosley Collection: Named after the late Mrs William E Mosley who preserved the papers together with her father Godfrey Wedgwood. The records relate to the family and firm and date from the mid 18th century to the early 20th century. The family papers include correspondence, accounts, deeds, legal papers, probate records, papers relation to private and public office, charity, political papers, estate administration, printed materials and maps, household management, manorial records, ecclesiastical other than the Church of England, miscellaneous. The Business records include correspondence and related papers, accounts, estate administration, deeds, legal papers, welfare, printed materials, and miscellaneous papers.
The Etruria and Liverpool Collections: The collections demonstrate the evolution of the business from family to factory. The Etruria part represents those manuscripts which have remained on familiar territory (residences, factories, showrooms). It includes many original out-letters, some from Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) which have been returned to the collection. The Liverpool part was reunited with Etruria in 1973 and retains its separate identity and references. The family papers include personal correspondence, diaries, personal accounts, household accounts, financial arrangements, probate records. The family/factory papers include evidence of title, articles of partnership, legal papers, estate administration, experimentation (scientific work). The factory papers include personnel records, business correspondence, catalogues, internal circulars, production, services, distribution, celebrated works, visitors to the factory, political papers, private and public office, parish, charities, the postal service, maps and plans, and printed materials.