In the early 19th century Joseph Machin and Company were one of the principal manufacturers of china and earthenware rivalling makers such as Wedgwood, Spode and Minton.
However, due to the bankruptcy of the Stoke-based factory in the late 1830s the name disappeared from public knowledge.
Their wares have always been popular with collectors but were often wrongly catalogued as being by those makes whose names have survived.
Twenty five years ago, Philip rediscovered the factory and was rewarded for his efforts by receiving a Godden award for his work in ceramic research.
Geoffrey Godden also commissioned Philip to write a chapter on the factory in his new book, 'Staffordshire Porcelain'.
Co-author Bill Thom was inspired by Philip's work to amass a collection of Machin china and suggested to Philip that a full scale book was needed.
This has now been published under the Castle Hills Publisher imprint and is selling well on the internet. In the first month the costs of producing the volume have nearly been covered.
Philip, who lives at Castle Hills, said: "A book has never been devoted to that factory before and I think that's the reason a lot of people have been very interested.
"I've always collected ceramics and this is a mystery factory," he explained. "I kept finding things that did not fit in with the well known names such as Spode and Wedgwood so I did a bit of detective work.
"I gathered together a big group of ceramics where you know it must be from the same factory but then by a pure stroke of luck I came across one of the very rare pieces they marked. Once that turned up it all fitted together and the mystery was solved."
The aim of the book is to make readers more aware of Machin wares and give them the tools and assistance to identify this important manufacturer's pieces.
More than 35 per cent of the Machin patterns are included in a book which also contains nearly 1000 full colour illustrations. It contains many pieces never previously revealed and the book has a detailed shape analysis of Machin pieces compared with other makers of similar shapes to aid in identification.
Pat Preller, a prominent authority collector, said: "For many years the wares of Joseph Machin have been a mystery despite the factory being one of the larger works of its time in the early years of the 19th century.
"This book, the result of painstaking and extensive research since the 1970s by Philip Miller and latterly by Bill Thom, seeking out examples hidden in museums, antique fairs, private collections, often under other attributions, covers a large variety of shapes, numerous patterns and, most usefully, comparative shapes from contemporary manufacturers.
"A detailed history of the Machin family and their potworks brings the factory and its wares to life in a book that should be a 'must have' for everyone interested in pots of the early 1800s."
Geoffrey Godden, the UK's leading scholar and writer on early ceramics, added: "Philip Miller, to my knowledge, has been researching the Machin wares for over 30 years.
"At last we are to be treated to the full story of the Machins and their varied products. The range of illustrations will astound collectors.
"The display of Machin shapes compared closely with similar shapes by contemporary manufacturers should prove extremely helpful, as well as the many illustrations of Machin bat-printed design."
Philip is now working on another lifelong project, a biography of the architect Decimus Burton, famous for designing the Palm house at Kew Gardens and the Wellington arch and screen at Hyde Park. By coincidence, Burton's family originally came from Haddon, just a few miles from Kelso.
Philip was responsible for the 1981 centennial exhibition of Decimus works held at the Building Centre in London and other international venues.