The famous red Spode logo was introduced in its present well-known design in 1970.

This was an important year for the Spode company as it marked the bicentenary of the founding of the company by Josiah Spode I. He had been working as a potter in various businesses from the mid 1750s. Something of an entrepreneur he had juggled mortgages and business partnerships for several years but by 1770 was well-established at Stoke with his own successful pottery company.

By the end of the 1700s Spode I, and his son Josiah Spode II, had brought the company to the forefront of the British ceramic industry by this time firmly based in Staffordshire. Perfecting the underglaze blue printed ware, for which the company is famous; and, later, inventing their beautiful pure white, translucent bone china this father and son team established Spode as a brand which endures to this day.

Early wares produced by the company in the late 1700s and early 1800s were often unmarked. There are several reasons for this: as a new brand the name was initially unknown; it cost money to apply the marks by hand onto pieces; and sometimes Spode made blanks - undecorated pieces - to sell to other manufactures who would then decorate them to complete their own order.

Gradually as the Spodes developed and established their brand and their pottery became highly desirable by all sorts of customers from royalty downwards the pieces began to be marked. One of the marks in the early 1800s was an elegant handpainted Spode in script - sometimes in upper case and sometimes in lowercase; usually neat and nearly always in red.

The designer, John Sutherland-Hawes, was commissioned to produce a new logo to mark the bi-centenary of the company in 1970. His brief was to present a uniform image of excellence. Taking inspiration from the early 19th century red painted Spode marks plus later printed adaptations he produced the 'Gothic' style logo in red which has become so famous.

Whatever the ownership of the company the Spode brand has endured and when the Copeland family owned the company from 1833 - 1970 the Spode brand was always used alongside their name often styled Copeland late Spode. (In fact the marks, or backstamps, used on Spode wares are many and varied with 400 or so recorded!)

From 1970 the Sutherland-Hawes Spode logo design was used exclusively, enduring to this day.