The story
In 1960, the company received the designation Koninklijk (Royal), on the occasion of its 300th anniversary. Later research showed that the company had been active even earlier and it celebrated its 400th anniversary in 1994, on the basis of the results of historical research. In 2007, documentation was discovered showing that the company was already active in 1572, as a Spanish map of that date shows bricaría (Spanish for brickworks) in Makkum.
In 1689, Freerk Jans brickmaker so tichelaar bought one half of the works, and then in 1694, the other half. Tichelaars who have managed the company through the ages are:
Pieter Jelmers to 1869
Jelmer Pieters Tichelaar 1831–1911 (1869–1899)
Jan Pieters Tichelaar 1835–1919 (1869–1899)
Pieter Jans Tichelaar 1868–1913 (1900–1913)
Jan Pieters Tichelaar 1893–1981 (1913–1963)
Pieter Jan Tichelaar (1963–1985)
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Cees van Zeumeren (1985–1994)
Jan Tichelaar (1994–present)
During the eighteenth and nineteenth century, it was mainly dishes for daily use and tiles that were made in the clay ovens. Around 1865, the demand for dishes decreased. The brothers Jelmer and Jan started a drastic innovation process, whereby the company could continue as a factory for decorative pottery. Throughout the ages, the company has retained the old working methods, working with locally dug clay that is covered in a white tin glaze after the first firing, called the Majolica technique. In 1882, the use of plaster moulds was introduced, increasing the assortment of decorative pottery.
From Wikipedia’s article on Royal Tichelaar Makkum, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4