In 1840 the Birmingham engineer Richard Prosser invented a process whereby he could compress finely powdered clay under great pressure in a screw press. The Stoke-on-Trent manufacturer Herbert Minton bought a stake in this revolutionary invention of dust-pressing clay and adapted to make machine-pressed tiles, thereby bringing about the mass production of tiles. The price of tiles fell and this, combined with quicker decoration methods like transfer printing, meant that tiles were now readily available and could be used on a large scale in public buildings and homes. Special handmade and hand-painted tiles were still produced however by adherents of the Arts and Crafts Movement like William Morris and William de Morgan who refused to accept machine production and catered for exclusive markets.