Ironstone was patented by the British potter Mason in 1813. His father,
Miles Mason (1752–1822) married the daughter of Richard Farrar, who had a business selling imported Oriental porcelain in London. Subsequently, Mason continued this business, but after the East India Company ceased the bulk importation of Oriental porcelain in 1791 he began to manufacture his own wares. His first manufacturing venture was a partnership with Thomas Wolfe and John Lucock in Liverpool, and he later formed a partnership with George Wolfe to manufacture pottery in Staffordshire. Subsequently other manufacturers produced ironstone, Other sources also attribute the invention of ironstone to William Turner of Longton, and
Josiah Spode who is known to have been producing ironstone ware by 1805, "which he exported in immense quantities to France and other countries". The popularity of Spode's ironstone surpassed the traditional
faience pottery in France. In the 1860s, British manufacturers began adding agricultural motifs, such as wheat, to their products to appeal to the American market. These patterns became known as "farmers' china" or "threshers' china". Plain white ironstone ware was widely marketed in the United States until the end of the 19th century. Notable 19th-century ironstone manufacturers in the United States include: •
Empire Pottery •
Onondaga Pottery, Syracuse China •
Walter Scott Lenox •
Homer Laughlin ==Types of ironstone ware==