Burslem, now part of Stoke-on-Trent, was known as ‘the Mother Town’ of the Potteries because it was the first to develop ceramics manufactures at the industrial revolution. The town’s history is dominated by potters and potteries, with the Wedgwood families among the earliest – Aaron Wedgwood’s Big House works was the first to have a tiled roof. Hodgkiss offers a detailed account of the town and its industry, illustrated with prints, photographs and reproductions of the potteries’ design sheets and advertisements.