Bretby Art Pottery, more properly known as Tooth & Co. Ltd., was established in 1883 by William Ault (pictured) and Henry Tooth, the former artistic manager at Linthorpe Pottery. Ault left after four years to set up his own pottery at Swadlincote. The Bretby company produced costly art pottery as well as production ware and stayed in the hands of the Tooth family until 1933. After the second World War the firm became known as Tooth and Company Limited Bretby Art Pottery. Henry Tooth was born in 1842 at Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire, the son of an agricultural laborer. Showing an early flair for art and design, he joined the Linthorpe Pottery at Middlesborough as artistic manager. He left Linthorpe in 1882 to form a partnership with William Ault in Woodville.
When Ault left the partnership, Tooth joined with John Downing Wragg. Together they operated under the name of "Tooth and Co", and from 1891 used a new mark - a rising sun above the word "Bretby". They opened showrooms in London, and exhibited at all the large international trade fairs.
In 1912, Wragg resigned, and a new company, "H Tooth & Co Ltd", was formed, with Henry and his son, William, as the directors. However, Henry was now in his 70s, and his health was deteriorating. He died in 1918, aged 76. William carried on until 1932, when he sold the company to Fred Parker, whose family continued to run the business until the 1990s.
Marks include the familiar rising sun over the name BRETBY, a stylized HT for Henry Tooth, and the brand names Clanta and Clanta Ware.
