Mashman Bros Ltd was established by William and Henry Mashman in Sydney in 1885. William (1851-1912) and Henry (1856-1922) had, along with two other brothers, trained as potters at Doulton's Lambeth works where their father also worked as a maker of everything from glazed jars to sewer pipes. William and Henry emigrated to Australia in 1883 and went into business in a pottery in Willoughby two years later. They produced various household objects as well as pipes and chimney pots. They opened another business in Auburn in 1889 when their other brothers and mother joined them in Australia. The family business continued to grow (opening another pottery in Kingsgrove in 1910), with Henry and William's sons, Theo (1895-1964) and Frederick (1879-1964), later taking the reins. By the 1930s the company was producing its famous range of 'Regal Art Ware' which included vases, jardinières and jugs in Art Deco designs and featuring distinctive, glossy glazes of mottled and streaky golds, blues, oranges and greens. The firm flourished again during WW2 through the supply of utility wares for the government. Mashman Bros merged with Royal Doulton in 1957 and continues to produce bathroom wares and terracotta products from its factories in Chatswood and Kingsgrove. Mashman Bros pottery features in a number of significant decorative arts collections including that of the Powerhouse Museum.
