At the age of fourteen Josiah was formally bound apprentice to his brother. Here is the form. The quaint words sound ceremonious--almost solemn. The writing provided that he was--
"To learn the Art, Mystery, Occupation or Imployment of throwing and handling which he, the said Thomas Wedgwood, now useth, and with him as an apprentice to dwell, continue and serve."
An apprentice in those days at the pottery works was allowed "his meat, drink, washing and lodging, with suitable apparel of all kinds, both linen and woollen and all other necessaries, both in sickness and in health."
In return the master "was to teach or cause to be taught the art of throwing and handling."
How poor these potters were, and how poorly they paid their apprentices, may be gathered from this:
For the first three years he got 1_s._ a week, for the second three years he got 1_s._ 6_d._ a week, and for the seventh and last 4_s._ a week. Besides this he got, once a year, a pair of shoes. At the end of his apprenticeship, if he chose, he got 5_s._ a week for five years. It was a dreary enough outlook for an eager, ambitious boy anxious to make his way in the world.
But boy though he was, the difficulty of getting on--pain, weakness--none of these obstacles were allowed to overcome Josiah. Then even at that early age he showed the germs of that perseverance that stood out so strongly by-and-by in the character of the man.
Strange as it may seem to us, what sounds the very common business of making rough earthenware milk-bowls and butter-pots and plates was often half shrouded in mystery, and went near to being something of a secret.
Pottery was yet in its beginnings--not yet an art--and it could only grow and come to perfection by someone giving to it deep thought and long, patient, painstaking experiments. For instance, one man might pore over the matter and discover something new or come to some conclusion. He might find one substance, a clay or a soil, that when mixed with a second substance produced a third thing--something new. He might begin to work this out in his pottery, and immediately all the workmen in the place knew the secret of how he did it. The knowledge spread, and while he believed it was still all his own, other men had seized on his discovery; other potteries were turning out his ware and selling it.