Linthorpe Art Pottery

The pottery was established in 1879 at Linthorpe Village, Middlesborough, by the land owner, John Harrison, and Christopher Dresser, the well known Arts and Crafts designer.

The motivation behind the pottery was partly philanthropic, to provide work in an area of low employment, and partly aesthetic. The pottery was functional, decorative, reasonably priced and consistent with Dresser's principles of design. Linthorpe was one of the first potteries to utilise glazes as a purely decorative feature. The characteristic greeny-brown glaze seen on this flask was probably influenced by Dresser's visit to Japan in 1876. Other oriental inspired glazes were also part of the pottery's repertoire, developed by the manager, Henry Tooth.

When Tooth left to form the Bretby Pottery in 1882, Dresser's association also terminated. The factory ceased production a few years later, and the business sold. Despite its short history, Linthorpe's influence can be seen in several potteries, a number purchasing their moulds when they were auctioned off.