Lids for pots of bears’ grease and various kinds offish and meat paste were mass-produced from the 1840s. The earliest examples decorated with multicolour underglaze transfer-prints were probably made about 1847 by F. & R. Pratt of Fenton, who employed Jesse Austin (1806–79), t n e best-known engraver of pot-lid designs. T.J. & J. Mayer of Burslem must have adopted the technique by October 1850, when their customer Crosse & Blackwell patented this view of the Crystal Palace. By the time the Great Exhibition opened on 1 May 1851, both Pratt and Mayer had brought out commemorative pot-lids illustrating the interior and exterior of the building and the opening ceremony.

Multicolour underglaze transfer-printing enabled polychrome decoration to be executed without hand-painting. Separate line engravings were made for the black or brown outlines, and stipple engravings for each primary colour in the design. The transfers printed from them were placed on the once-fired lid one after the other with the ‘keyplate’ for the outlines last. Then the lid was glazed and fired again. The success of the finished product depended on the quality of the engraved plates and the degree of care exercised in aligning the transfers.