Drabware

Staffordshire potters had been producing saltglazed drabware since about 1720 and a stained, glazed earthenware with stamped or sprigged ornament since 1755. Wedgwood’s drabware, with its distinctive greenish brown color, was introduced about 1811 both as a dry body stoneware used mainly for decorative objects, and as a stained earthenware, primarily used for tableware. Beginning about 1819, the stoneware usually had a smear glaze and was ornamented in contrasting colors or occasionally the stoneware itself was used to ornament caneware. It was produced mainly during the middle of the 19th century, but has been revived for time to time in the last 30 years for commemorative pieces.