Bilston enamels were ‘the epitome of 18thcentury charm’ writes Susan Benjamin in her book, . But the trouble with identifying Bilston is that there were no big factories, and no identifying marks. ‘Identifying Bilston is an inexact science,’ explains specialist dealer Martyn Edgell. ‘It was a cottage industry. A single box involved lots of different workers and workshops, often interconnected families, each contributing in a different way. One person might specialise in making hinges, for example, another stamped out the copper sheets, and someone else applied the enamel, or painted the flowers. So when we talk about Bilston enamel, we're usually using this term quite loosely for enamelware made from around the 1750s onwards
