The Wade Group of Potteries started in 1810 at Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England. Early in the twentieth century several potteries merged to become George Wade & Son, Ltd.  and other potteries have been added through the years.  Only in 1953, after Sir George Wade  developed Whimsies, a small solid ceramic collectable animal series, did Wade become a household name in the UK and America and the company has been known ever since as the “Home of the Whimsie”.