The Earthenware Factory of Creil and Montereau

The Montereau earthenware factory in Seine et Marne was founded in 1749 by Etienne François Mazois, who obtained a ten-year privilege to produce fine earthenware, setting himself the main objective of competing with the English earthenware factories called Queens'ware.

In the years that followed, the earthenware factory was taken over by Englishmen, notably Christophe Potter, who would be the instigator of printed decorations on fine earthenware and porcelain. This was an important innovation that would propel the factory forward, allowing it to move into industrialization.

The Creil pottery in the Oise department was founded in 1797 by Charles de Saint Cricq Casaux. This factory flourished particularly during the 19th century and produced high-quality printed designs on white or green and yellow backgrounds.

Interesting anecdote: this company was the largest employer in the town of Creil for decades.

The merger of the two factories took place in 1840, and production was then branded Creil and Montereau. This period was followed by significant growth in the factory, which received numerous awards and medals. The Creil and Montereau factories owe their success to the transfer-printed decoration process (this process appeared in the 18th century).

In 1895, the Creil pottery suffered a terrible fire, forcing it to close its operations on this site. The business was then refocused on the Montereau site.

In 1920, the Creil et Montereau group was acquired by the Choisy le Roi factory, which then belonged to Hyppolyte Boulenger. The company then signed its products with the acronym HBCM (Hyppolyte Boulenger Creil et Montereau). The Montereau site closed permanently in 1955.

"Arnoux took great pains in his factory. He was looking for the copper red of the Chinese; but his colors evaporated during firing. To prevent his earthenware from cracking, he mixed lime with his clay; but most of the pieces broke, the enamel of his raw paintings bubbled, his large plaques warped; and, attributing these disappointments to the poor equipment in his factory, he wanted to have other grinding mills and other dryers made."

— Gustave Flaubert, Sentimental Education , chapter II; cf. Jacqueline du Pasquier, “Earthenware: more chic than porcelain”, Review of the Society of Friends of the National Museum of Ceramics , ^no . 15, 2006, pp. 71-77