Words by Susan Weber, Eleanor Hughes, Catherine Arbuthnott, Jo Briggs, Earl Martin and Laura Microulis

Contributions by Paul Atterbury, Gaye Blake-Roberts, Claire Blakey, Julius Bryant, Miranda Goodby, Caroline Hannah, Kathleen Eagen Johnson, Martin P. Levy, Ben Miller, Sequoia Miller and Rebecca Wallis

The first comprehensive study of the most important ceramic innovation of the 19th century

Colorful, wildly imaginative, and technically innovative, majolica was functional and aesthetic ceramic ware. Its subject matter reflects a range of 19th-century preoccupations, from botany and zoology to popular humor and the macabre.Majolica Maniaexamines the mediumsconsiderable impact, from wares used in domestic settings to monumental pieces at the Worlds Fairs. Essays by international experts addressthe extensive output of the originators and manufacturers in Englandincluding Minton, Wedgwood, and George Jonesand the migration of English craftsmen to the U.S.New research including information on important American makers in New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia is also featured. Fully illustrated, the book is enlivened by new photography ofpieces from major museums and private collections in the U.S. and Great Britain.