the earthenware collector - forgotten books

1 . WINCANTON JUG . Nathaniel Ireson,1 748 .

Glaisher C ollection o

THE

EARTHENWAREC O L L E C T OR

BY

G . WOOLLISCROFT RHEAD

J'n

WITH SIX TY ILLUS TRATIONS IN

HALF-TONE AND NUMEROUS MARKS

5 33NEW

‘

YORK

MEAD‘

& COMPANYC"

1920

FOREWORD

BY THE ED ITOR .

S old as civilisation itself, the‘

art of the potter

A presents a kaleidoscope of alluring charm .

To paraphrase the word of AlexandreBrongniart, no branch of industry, Viewed In referenceeither to its history or its theory, or its practice, offersmore that iS interesting and fascinating, regardingalike its economic application= and its artistic aspect ,than does the fictile art nor exhibits products moresimple ,

‘

more varied, and their frailty notwithstanding,more desirable .

Of course the crude vessels of ancient times,as well

as the more serviceable and scientifically more beautiful articles of to-day, exist primarily for one and thesame obj ect—the use and convenience of man . Thestofy of the potter and his technique has been toldrepeatedly, sometimes as a general survey and sometimes as a specialised branch of a widely extendedsubj ect , but notwithstanding the numerous booksd evoted to it there is always something new to berecorded, fresh pieces to describe, new points to advanceand discuss .

k

In these respects The Earthenware Collector will servethe twofold purpose of explaining clearly and conciselythe various English wares and how to identify them

FOREWORD

and of relating the potter ’s life and the‘

manifolddifficulties that he has constantly to overcome ; forsome of these men, with little knowledge of theircraft , were yet adventurers , as the Elizabethan voyagerswere , sailing into unknown seas in quest of discoveryand fortuneMr . WoOlliscroft Rhead is a practical potter . He has

served the customary seven years ’ apprenticeship withMessrs . Minton, the leading firm of Stafford shir

‘

tfa

potters during the seventies . He is , moreover, anartist and .Art Examiner in Pottery to the Board ofEducation, and consequently is exceptionally qualifiedto t reat of pottery wares whose intrinsic interest forthe pollector largely depends on their msthetic valueand charm . We need only cite M . Solon as a similarlygifted writer whose work, on that account , carriedboth authority and conviction .

Naturally the author touches lightly on the earlierBritish wares as scarcely coming within the scope ofthe ordinary collector, whose interest is likely to beconfined to a definite period beginning with the p ictu resque Slip ware of

'

Wrotham in the early decades of theseventeenth century and continuing until the openingof the Victorian era, when Pottery shared with therest of the arts the decline inseparable from the greatlyincreased resort to mechanical means of production,to say nothing of the tyranny of commercial andutilitarian principles .

It is rarely possible for a collector to cover so wideand so varied a field as the whole of British

\Ceram ics

but even if he specialise in a particular period, or inthe ware of a p articular factory, it is incumbent onhim to appreciate the general development of thepotter ’s art and craft , the extent and direction in

8

FOREWORD

which one potter influenced another, the pecu liarcharacteristics of such wares as, for example, theBlerS, and the way in which these wares merged intothe more picturesque productions of Astbury, and thed ifference between a Whield on TOb y and one of theRalph Wood typ e . Unless this knowledge be derivedfrom the patient and careful consideration and comparison of pieces with ' well authenticated examples,the collector will find himself encumbered with worthless specimens and probably many forgeries , and nodoubt he will have paid dearly for his acquisitions .It is hoped that this book

'

will enable the collectorto avoid these and similar pitfalls . The author hasendeavoured to unfold the story of the potter ’s triumphsattractively, and the read er

‘

w ill rise from its perusalwith enhanced knowledge and trained interest in thewares in his possession .

H . W . LEWER.

N0 Art With Potters Can Com pare ,

We Make ou r P ots of what w e Potters Are .

R .

(inscrip tion on heirloom jug , m ade by Ralph Wood and signed

at b ottom : T . Locker .

AUTHOR’

S PREFACE

HE aim and purpose of the present work, is tosupply the would-b e collector , and especiallythe collector of more modest means , the

connoisseur, student and general reader with a knowledge of the development of British "

Earthenware,and an acquaintance with the character of the variouswares and makers , so as to enable him, so far as ispossible by means of the Written word, to make hisselections with some degree of intelligence and und erstanding, thereby saving him many a disappointment .The book covers the whole story of British Earthen

wares from those of the Slip and Salt Glazed periodnow more and more sought after

,to the less coveted

but still interesting Specimens of the early nineteenthcentury . There is also an introductory chapter onEarly British Pottery .

The illustrations include many rare examples fromwell known collections . The bulk of them , however ,are selected so far as is feasible , as typical examples ofthe different leading classes , marked

.

pieces being givenwherever possible . In some few instances , notablythat of Church Gresley

,earthenware was made at

places hitherto associated With China alone . A numberof m arks are also included which will serve as a furthermeans of identification .

I I

”

AUTHOR ’S PREFACE

There is , besides , a full glossary of pottery andtechnical terms , together with a bibliography and listof sale prices byway of making the book as completeas possible .

My thanks are due to Dr . J . W . L . Glaisher, F .R .S . ,

for permission to reproduce a number of examplesfrom his fine collection, and for many kindnesses . To

Mr . Frank Falkner for several unique pieces , and forhis kindness In reading the chapter on Slip wares andmaking valuable suggestions . To Mr . Edward Sheldonfor a number of pieces hitherto unpublished, and toDr . Sid eb otham , Captain Price , Mrs . Comyns L—ewer,Mr. P. Entwistle , Mr . H . Stu art Page, Mr . W . Bosanko ,

Dr Crawford and Mr . C . E . Parkinson for photographsof pieces and for help In various ways .

G . WOOLLISCROFT RHEAD .

Doune Lodge, Putney .

12

CONTENTS

CHAPTERI EARLY BRITISH, MEDIE VAL AND SIX

TEENTH CENTURY WARESII SLIP WARES

III ENGLISH DELFT WARES

IV JOHN DWIGHT AND STONEWARESv ELERS AND ASTBURY WARES

vr STAFFORDSHIRE SALT-GLAZED WARES

VII . THOMAS WHIELDON A ND VARIEGATEDWARES

VIII WEDGWOOD

IX THE WOOD FAMILY

X CONTEMPORARIES AND FOLLOWERS OF

WEDGWOOD

x1 PRATT WARE

x11 TRANSFER PRINTED WARES?

LUSTRED WARES

THE YORKSHIRE POTTERIES

POTTERIES OF THE TYNE, WEAR AND TEES

LIVERPOOL AND HERCULANEUM

CAMBRIAN AND SALOPIAN WARESSOME MINOR POTTERIESTHE PHILPOT FAMILY

1 3

PAGE

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGExx THE MAKERS OF IMAGE TOYS AND CHIMNEY

ORNAMENTSGLOSSARY OF TERMS

BIBLIOGRAPHYINDEX

14

ILLUSTRATIONS

1 . WINCANTON JUGMEDIzEVAL TILE , WINCHESTER CATHEDRALANGLO SAX ON JAR c . 600

go

oe

y

12 .

13 .

WROTHAM TYG .

TOFT DISH . ARMS OF CORDWAINERS"'C0M

PANY

1659

TO FACE PAGEFrom

‘

isp iece

MOULDED SLIP D ISH . ADAM AND EVE

COVERED TYG . JOHN HUGHESON . 1691

A .H .L . 1677

DWIGHT BOWL

BLUE DASH CHARGER.

BRI STOL COVERED POSSET POT . 1703

10 .

I I . STONEWARE JUG . MARKED

NOTTINGHAM BEARSTATUETTE LYDIA D WIGHT

14 . ELERs COVERED TEA POY15. PORTOBELLO BOWL

WHITE SALT GLAZE16 .

18.

PEW GROUP .

SALT GLAZE MUG . RALPH SHAWE ’

S PATENT

ENOCH BOOTH .SCRATCHED BLUE MUG .

1 742H

I S

KISHERE

26

26

40

ILLUSTRATIONS

TO FACE PAGE19 . SALT GLAZE PLATE . ENAMELLED 120

20 . WHITE SALT r GLAZE D ISH . PERFORATED

2 1 . DOUBLE PERFORATED TEAPO‘

T. TORTOISESHELL a

CAULIFLOWER BASINPEGASUS VASE . FLAX MAN

CREAM—WARE FIGURE OF FORTITUDE

STATUETTE OF VOLTAIRE . BLACK BASALTES

RALPH WOOD FIGURE OF D IOGENESSALT GLAZE SOUP TUREEN . AARON WOODPLAQUE OF ABELARD . ENOCH WOODSAUCE TUREEN ' AND COVER . ELIJAH MAYER

TURNER CUP AND SAUCER

ADAMS STANDBOTTLE-SHAPED VASE . J . VOYEZ

SATYR MASK JUG

JUG AND PLATTER. MASON ’

S IRONSTONE

TEAPOT AND VASES . MASON ’

S IRONSTONE

FLASK DUKE OF CUMBERLAND PRATT

JUG . NELSON AND BERRY . PRATT

TEA POY . PRATT

LIVERPOOL MUG . TRANSFER PRINTEDMUG . TRANSFER PRINTED . J . AYNSLEYRAILWAY JUG . TRANSFER PRINTEDRAILWAY JUG . TRANSFER PRINTEDGOBLET . COPPER LUSTRE

JUG . S ILVER LUSTRE

LEEDS CENTRE-PIECE . CREAM-WARE

16

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THE EARTHENWARE COLLECTOR

CHAPTER“

I

EARLY BRITISH , MEDIE VAL AND S IX TEENTH CENTURYWARES

E art of the potter has always exercised, noless for the craftsman than for the man inthe street , a charm and fascination of which

no other craft . can boast . The‘ reasons for this are

not far to“seek—it is one of the oldest arts practisedby fna‘

n it is one of the chief means we possess ofdeciphering past history

,since pottery

,though frail

in its character,is from its very nature practically

impervious to the ravages of time . Moreover, thatelement of mystery and chance , inseparable from itsproduction , that trial by, or ordeal of fire to whichthe p otter m ust submit his handiwork , the greattraditions of the art , the varied possibilities of thematerial itself

,the ductibility of the clay beneath the

s deft fingers,calln into being shapes fantastic ,

beautiful,these several qu alities combine to

st the subj ect with an interest Which is its own ,unique .

19 .

THE EBIRTHENWARE COLLECTOR

This subj ect is a sufficiently comprehensive one,extending from the period of the primitive dwellersin these islands who fashioned the rough v essels usedfor the purpose of preserving the ashes of their dead .

These,however, though full of interest to the special

ist and student of hi story, will have only a secondaryvalue for the general collector, and this quite apartfrom the fact that it would be obviously impossibleto deal In any complete sense with these earlier periodswithin the limits of a small handbook . Nevertheless ,some short account of the general development ofthe potter ’s art in Britain is necessary to the clearunderstanding and right perception and grasp of thetheme , a

It is therefore to the barrows and grave moundsthat we must look for the examples of Ancient Britislipottery which have survived to our time , and whichare sufficiently characteristic to prevent confusionwith the work of other races , though it is doubtlesstrue that certain early British types bear a strongaffinity with those of Scandinavia and North Germanyas well as with some examples from Ancient Egyptand even Peru and Mexico just as certain ornamentalmotifs such as the wave form

,have been found in

countries widely separate .

The reader will not expect to find duu ng this remoteBritish period , a high level of ceramic technique . Thevessels were of a rud e character

,formed by the hand

alone , without even the aid of the potter’s Wheel,

which in its more primitive form is figured on ancientEgyptian monuments . They were often enough madeas convenience or the necessities of the moment d iBtated , sun dried and baked by means of the funeralpyre , and it is from this latter circumstance of incom

20

EARLY BRITISH AND MEDIE VAL WARES

p lete fusibility that so many of these mortuary vesselshave been lost to us . The ornamentation of this perioddiscovers the same primitive type as the form , conSisting of zig-zags , chevrons , etc . , formed by a sharpstick or flint , or by pressing a twisted thong on the

still plastic clay . The broad overlapping flange whichforms such a characteristic feature of ancient . Britishcinerary urns , hanging Over from the neck to the

shoulder of the vessel and suggesting a coat collar,was made b y beating out a thin band of clay to therequired length, adjusted and fixed to the neck of thevessel after it was built .

” The building ”con

sisted of bending in circular fashion a number ofrolled strips of clay on a slab or base forming thebottom, and continuing the process in successive ringsuntil the top of the vessel was reached, the furrowsbeing afterwards filled in b y thinner strips of c lay andthe Whole scraped level, a somewhat tedious processdoubtless , but the only one possible to the primitivepotter . It is still in use by artist p otters workingon their own .

The colour of these pieces varied according tolocality and character of the materials used : it hasbeen sriggested that charcoal was employed as acolouring matter, producing the dark hues found inmany pieces , which are much more commonly foundthan the light )We have then, during the Ancient British period :

“

I . Cinerary and Mortuary urns , used for containingthe ashes of the dead

,varying greatly both as to

"

sizeand ornamentations . 2 . Food vessels ,

“

which usuallyaccompany the urns or are placed within them, used,it is believed, for the purpose of containing an offeringof food for the departed ; these, invariably small in

' 2 1

THE EARTHENWARE . COLLECTOR

size , are generally narrow at the top, gradually swellingout to a wide mouth like a cu p , and often providedw ith small handles . _3 . Drinking cups, which sim ilarlyare supposed to have contained some liquid to accom

pany the remains . These are of tall form f glob u larin the body, contracted in the middle and expandingat the mou th, often elaborately ornamented ,

in

unusual instances they assume the form of a moderncup with a single handle . 4 . Incense cups : these areflat, 1OW vessels , often perforated , often again withsmall handles , or loops round the sides . Some au thorities are inclined to believe that they were used iof thepurpose of carrying fire to. the spot where cremationtook place, the handles serving the purpose of su sp ension b y a chain or other device . They are alwayssmall, varying from 1 1 to 3 in . in height and in everyinstance unglazed .

The question whether any of thered Samian Wareso much valued by the Romans and found in largequantities at their various settlements was or was notmade in this country at present remains unanswered .

It Was imported from Aretium , the modern Arezzo .

The discovery, however, at York in 1874 ,of a portion

of a mould for a bowl, would lend support to the Viewthat this beautiful ware, which may be well studied atthe British and Guildhall Museums and at Colcheste

‘

r,“

was also made to some extent in this country . Onthe other hand we have a curious record of a Romankiln Of the period of the Emperor Domitian discoveredin St . Paul

’

sS Chu rchyard In 1677 by one John Conyers ,an apothecary and collector of antiquities, who hasleft us a detailed account of four kilns placed crosswise , With sketches of the kiln and pieces . Thesekilns Were full of the coarser sort of pots

,but none

22

EARLY BRITISH AND MEDLZEVAL WARES

answered“

to the descrip tion of Aretine or SamianWare,which “was beautifully turned on the lathe , and ornam ented With a variety of applied ornaments pressedin moulds '

; the paste of a fine red, with Smooth closetexture , and covered with a glaze so thin that it mayalmost be called a smear .

A character in the Menaechm u s of Plautus bidsanother knock gently at the door, the reply being :I think you are afraid the doors are made of Samianware thus expressing at once the delicate andfragile character of the fabrique and the esteem inwhich it was held by the Romans .

So far as present researches enable us to gather, thethree principal potteries existing during the RomanoBritish period were those of the Upchurch

.

Marches inKent ; the Du rob rivian potteries on the river Nen In

Northam p tonshire (two R oman kilns were discoveredin 1822 at Castor, near Peterborough) and the Salopian potteries on the Severn .

Marks or names are continually fou nd on this ware,the name being followed by F . (fecit) or M . (manu) , asCELSINVS .F . 8. signifying the factthat these artists made the pieces . The abbreviationO . or OF . or OFFI . (officiana) , as OF .RVFINI

indicates the manufactory of some potter, or someplace named in the inscription . The pieces bearingthe inscriptions above given w ere all found in theneighbou rhood of London . Occasionally the Inscriptions are of a convivial character, as Bibe,Amico deMeo (Drink , friend of m ineThe potteries of the Up chu rch

‘

m arches were cond fined to a particular district of a few miles in extent.

The ware is either of a bluish black or of a dark drabcolour , the black being produ ced by firing in what is

23


known as a smother kiln, i .e . , the fire suffocatedat the moment the contents had attained a heatsufficient to ensure uniformity of colour . The formsOf this ware are extremely graceful and are found ingreat Variety the decoration consisting of bands Oflines associated with circles , spots , dots, simple guilloches , etc .

The colour of Castor ware varies from a yellowishbrown to a dark brown, and not seldom bluish black .

It is thin and well potted, the shape . of ' a refinedcharacter . The ornamentation consists of delicatescroll work associated with figures both animal andhuman, executed in an engobe of slip , hunting scenes .

being a favourite motif .Twox d istinct kinds of ware are found In the SevernValley, the one White , made of Broseley clay paintedwith strips of red and yellow and other simple devices,the other red, also made from the native clays, but offine texture . There was also a considerable outputof mortuary vessels , many having beenfound on theSite of the ancient city of Uriconium .

In addition to the above, there were considerablepotteries in the neighbourhood of the New Forest inHamp shire , kilns having been discovered in additionto large quantities of ware , many exampl es showinga purplish glaze w ith slight metallic lustre . Occasionally specimens are found marked by indentations more or less deep made by pressure of thethumb .

The amount of pottery produced during the RomanoBritish period must have been enormous . Among themore useful wares occur large bowls or basins havinga flanged rim for holding, a suggestion that might Wellbe adopted at the present day since the handling of

24


2 . MEDIE VALTILE Tw o -HEADED EAGLEWITH SHIELD . From

Winchester Cathed ral .

Sheldon Collection .

3 . ANGLO-SAX ON TWO-HANDLED JAR, c . 600 . Du g u p in

Parliam ent Street, Westm inster.


26

EARLY BRITISH AND MEDI‘

ZEVAL WARES A .

cuppes, while the men of worshippe in the\

halle are

served in pottes in the latter , earthen pots are usedat the table of the dependants , while

‘

leddeic p otts arefor the Serving of Lyveries and meallys in mylord ’s hou s . We have also the account of threehundred pitchers being provided for the feast given tothe poor on the anniversary of the death of QueenEleanor, Wife of Edward I .

2 . Illuminated MSS . from which we are enabled togather some idea of the general shape , as well as inrare instances the character of decoration of the variousvessels used at the table, and for cooking , washing,and other domestic pu rposes

3 . The comparatively few pieces themselves whichare to be seen in the public museums and Which alonesupply us with definite information as to body, glaze ,w orkmanship and decoration.

Notwithstanding the fact that at the end of theand probably earlier, this country

, a reputation for her earthenware (anthe goods of Florimond Rob ertet,

‘

whochateau of Bury in 1504 , refers to the finenot only of . France b u t of other countries ,England) , the production from the Normanthe days of Elizabeth must be said to be of a

character, the shapes often clumsy,and coarse , these being as a matter

entirely in keeping with the rush-covered floorsobtained even to the days of Elizabeth andthe Queen ’

3 presence chamber being coveredway . The tall Norman pitchers , swelling outbody and again Swelling at the head , covered or

ed with a green or yellow glaze, are toGuildhall Museum, which contains an

27


excellent collection of these early wares mostly dugup in and around London .

By the thirteenth century the form of these vesselshad slightly modified, becoming thicker in the neck ,

and though with less protuberance , more bulky In thebody by the fourteenth century it had attained thegraceful contour of the leathern black j ack ! Theywere decorated in various ways with notched stripsand knobs of clay with incised lines spiral or otherwise ; with various relief forms and with painted bands .Occasionally, however, these jugs and pitchers attaineda high degree of excellence , as , for example , the fine,fourteenth century jug in the British Museum B .40 ,

with low reliefs of a dragon, a rampant lion , and eagleson a reddish brown ground . Also the much earlierexample B . I , with reliefs of horsemen, hounds , andstag, somewhat reminiscent of the fine Roman cup inthe same collection with a chariot race in slip .

The green glaze is . ubiquitous ; it is found constantly on jugs and other useful wares , on the puzz lejugs , which appear to have been made from an earlyperiod, —a thirteenth century example occurring in theBritish Museum on the ewers in the form ofKnights on horseback , suggested doubtless by themetal ewers made as early as the twelfth century ;on the money pots , Christmas boxes or thrift pots,which are of various Shapes; and like the covetouswretch inthe Mass of theMicrocosme Who exceededin receiving but was very deficient in giving, restorednothing ’till they were brokenThis green glaze was the mediaeval potter ’s stay sofar as colour decoration was concerned, just as was the

“ Mass of the Microcosm e , or a Moral] Description Of Mau d?H. Browne . 1642 .

28

EARLY BRITISH AND MEDIZEVAL WARES

cobalt blue of a later time when the potters had succeeded in producing a white bodyb r aWhite covering forthe body. Cobalt would have been no use on the redand buff bodies of the earlier periods made of the nativeclays which are never entirely free from the presenceof iron, Since it would simply tell as black .

. Greenglaze

,of which copper is the base , has been employed

in its many variations since the days when Tubal Cainfirst taught men the use of metals .

There can be no possibility of doubt that theseuseful wares were also made b y the great monasticestablishments which from the twelfth” centuryonwards produced the fine encaustic tiles, thoughtheir production of every-day vessels attained no levelabove the average . Just as the art of mural paintingraised the character of the easel productions of the

producing it , so the fictile art during this periodes elevated , only when it enters the service of

architecture; and the level attained in this tile industrywas a high' one indeedWalled tile decoration was a development or exp an

sion of the principle of m osaic .

“Thus we have incisedstones first used in conju nction with m osaic, as in thetom b a of William,

son of Robert Count of Flanders ,who died In 1 109 , discovered in the ruins of the churchof St . Bertin at St . Omar .

We have next in order of decorative developmentthose patterns consisting of a mosaic of separatepieces , differently coloured . Example Rievau lxAbbey

,Yorks .

Ornamented tiles , which were doubtless due to thed iflicu lty and expense of obtaining the materials ofthe pavements of Opus Alexand rinum and Op u sVermicu latum, are of four kinds .

3 9


1 . Incised or Impressed : in Some instances thepattern is sunk , and In others the field, leaving the pattern In relief . Example : Castle Acre Priory, Norfolk .

2 . Relief tiles , in which the subj ect is modelled inlow relief a mould or die is taken and the clay pressedinto the mould. This . system was abandoned early

,

owing to its unsuitability to pavements , but wasrevived In the later debased work . Examples : Reading, thirteenth and fourteenth centuries ; NorthBerwick, thirteenth and fourteenth centuries ; Tavistock, fifteenth century .

3 . Inlaid or encaustic . This Is by far the largestclass , eing found the most suitable for decorative

p avem t wor The method of making was asfollows : A woo en tray equal to the size of the tilerequired was filled with red clay and scraped level ;the design was impressed by means of a wooden stampou t in cameo or relief . The cavities thus obtainedwere filled with clay in a slip state, of a differentcolour to the ground, poured from a spouted vessel .In drying, the clay would sink, when the cavities wouldhave to be refilled . It was necessary that the claysshould be as far as possible of the same quality, so as toavoid different shrinking in firing , and consequentcracks . When dry the tile was scraped flat , coatedwith powdered leadgore, and fired, the glaze impartinga yellowish tone to the light parts and a richer tone tothe red . Examples of these tiles occur in many ofthe existing churches of the mediaeval period, thefinest examples being those unearthed in 1853 on theSite of Chertsey Abbey

,Surrey . The character of this

remarkable pavement , probably a s fine as any inexistence , may be gathered from the scattered fragments in the different museums .

30


pavements which exhibit levity and curiosity, be iiislight penance for three days , the last in bread andwater and let the monk be recalled before the feastof All Saints , fand never again be lent , excepting topersons of our order, with whom, let him not presumeto construct pavements Which do not extend thedignity of the ord erg

’

This, however, can only be construed as evincingfiadetermination on the part of the Cistercians to keeptheir knowledge and Skill to themselves , it does notnecessarily follow that they alone possessed the secretof encaustic tile making .

Ancient kilns have been found in Worcestershire,

Staffordshire, and at Great Malvern, containingfifteenth-century tiles ; at Droitwich with fourteenthc entury tiles , and at Great ’ Saredon, near Cannock ,

with those of the sixteenth century .

The productions of the monasteries would naturallyin

’

clude costrels or pilgrims’ bottles ; those of the

marbled variety form a class of ware found in mostwell-regulated collections . These are vessels for liquorto be carried and slung on the person ; they varyconsiderably in shape, and are provided either w ithsmall handles on either side of the neck, or loops atthe sides through which a strap Could pass . Some arebarrel shaped (thu s imitating the earlier leathercostrels which were both barrel and bottle shaped) ,flat at one end and mamm iform ,

i .e In the form of aw oman

’s breast . Jewitt contends that this breast-like”

form is an allusion to the use of the vessel, though theliquor would be sucked from the nozzle ratherthan, this form which has no orifice .

The marbled costrels are usually pear shaped andfour looped, the smaller examples having an elongated

32

EARLY BRITI SH .AND MEDIE VAL WARES

foot or stand with elongated neck . The m arb hng Is inred

,green, and orange , the process being the precursor

of the agate and marbled wares of Astbury, Whield on ,

and Wedgwood .

Interesting stove tiles in l ow .

.relief, covered withgreen glaze

,were made during the reign of Elizabeth

examples occur in the British Museum with the Tudorrose crowned, the initials E R. and above , theRoyal arms w ith supporters :A similar design was employed for a hanging candle

bracket made of buff ware with a yellow glaze . Specimens are to be seen in the British Museum, the Willettcollection Brighton ,and

’

elsewhere .

The butter pot industry brings us to a somewhatlater date —the pots

_were tall, cylindrical vesselsmade of coarse cl ay, in their appearance somethingof a cross ‘ between a chimney pot and an inflatedbolster case ! and werem ade to contain 14 lbs . of b utter .We learn from Plot that the butter of Uttoxeter

(some 14 or 16 miles from the potteries) was so good-that the London c heesemongers set up a factory herefor these commodities . The trade was regulated byAct of Parliament to prevent the many abuses In themake of the pots and the false packing of the butter "

by the little m oorland ish cheats (than whom nopeople whatever are esteemed more Forthis purpose a surveyor was kept the summer througharm ed with an iron instrument called a b u tter b oare

which was thrust obliquely to the bottom of the potby way of testing the amount and so avoiding theinconvenience of weighing . We have a record of fivepots of butter sent from Uttoxeter to the garrison ofTu tbury Castle , bought j or the sum of which

'

Dr . Rob ert Plot Natu ral History of Stafford shire . 1686

33 C


would work out at 2d . per lb Half a century earlier,

butter was retailed at as much as 7d . per pound, butthis Stowe declares was a judgment for their sinsIn addition to the various wares above enumeratedand made during the period we have b een considering ,

there were the condiment p ots , with globu lar body ,and

narrow necks chafing dishes made during the fifteenthcentury and probably earlier cisterns pipkinscooking pots and even frying pans and last , thoughby no means least , the watering pots , heavy cumbrousoib jects, calculated to make

” Mary, Mary p articua

larly contrary if she were condemned to water hermarigolds with such vessels as these , and to manifestj oy rather than grief when nothing remained in theirinterior

PRICES .

Stove Royal Arms , Crowned TudorRose and cypher of QueenElizabeth . green glaze .

1 3 in . 9g in . Christie .

February,1 91 1

Another similar .

The m otto , P lu s ne m’

est riens , Nothing rem am eth to m e,

and a representation of an earthen w atering p ot with w ater ru nningfrom it , w as ad opted as a b ad ge or cogni z ance b y Valentia , Du chessof Orleans , at Blo is, to m anifest her grief for the d eath of her hu sb and , Lou is , b rother to King Charles VI .

34

CHAPTER II

SLIP WARES

F Robinson Crusoe had essayed to decorate therough necessary pots that he made at the‘

gost ofso much labour and pains (it will be remembered

that the process of glazing was , as it were, forced uponhim b y the accident of the fire melting the sand onw hich it was placed) , the\method adopted wouldu ndoubtedly have been slip; since this is at once thesimplest and most primitive of all the c eramic processes , and has been used almost from the period ofthe making of the first pot .

Slip,already referred th in the preceding chapter,

is simply clay red u ced by the addition of water to theconsistency of thick cream,

and dropped, dotted, ortrailed on the ware in the clay state , i . e . , before ithas been fired at all, from a spouted vessel somewhatresembling a small teapot

,or it may be applied b y

means of a brush, or with any instrument , the mattersimply resolving itself into one of mere convenience .

This constitutes the whole rationale of the true slipmethod, except that various accessory devices wereernp loyed , such as the use of sgrafiito or gra

fiato , whichconsists of the cutting or inci sing of lines, etc . , in theclay bymeans of a sharp pointed instrument, or the

35


laying of a ground or engobe of a different colouredclay or slip from that of the body and cutting throughto the ground, a process which was carried to greatperfection b y the Italians from the fifteenth centuryonwards .

The colouring of the slip was produced by the

addition to the white slip of the various colouredbases or oxides for example , oxide of iron will producea red ;

”topper a green ; cobalt a blue . Manganese

was‘

freely used and produced a colour varying in itsintensity from purple brown to substantially black,and with this the pleasant streaked or mottled effectsforming such a feature of these wares were produced .

There was also the process of combing or marblingby means of a toothed instrument , producing the effectof paper marbling .

The ware was a fterwards coated with a fine glazeproduced from silicate of lead . Galena, the ordinaryore of lead (su lphide of lead) , obtained from the Derbyshire mines, was dusted in a pulverised state up on theunbaked ware through a coarse cloth or muslin bag

,

and a silicate formed by its reaction with the silica ofthe body during firing . The pieces were put in saggers

(rough vessels made of common marl) to protect themfrom the flames and gases of the oven, and fired to thetune of 1250

°

Centigrade .

The slip method was employed by the Romans, itwas in use during the m ed imval period, and

“ is in useat the present tirge . Most visitors to Switzerland willhave noticed, and probably purchased, the varioussmaller obj ects—money boxes, egg cups, plates, etcoffered for sale at the various resorts

,differing, so far

as method is concerned, in no essential particular fromthe pieces we are about to consider. The period known

36

as the . English Slip Period, however, commenced inthe second decade of the seventeenth century andended with the last yearsof the eighteenth.

Slip was made at most places in England where

p ottefy was produced, but more”

particularly at Wrot

ham in Kent , the earliest in point of date at differentplaces within the metropolitan area in Staffordshireand at Tickenhall and Cockpit—Hill in Derbyshire .

WROTHAM

Wrotham slip was in the first instance a developmentof the early method of stamping patterns on the ware,either on the clay , or body itself, or in a differentcoloured clay from that of the body, and applied .

There was also the method of pressing with a stick,the end of which was cut"-or notched to particularpatterns .

4

The dated examples of . the purely pressed pieceswhich were the precursors of the true slip methodcommence with 1612 . The three-handled d oublelooped Tyg in the Mayer Museum , Liverpool, 1s m

scribed LL . 1612 . A similar Tyg, with the sameinitials but dated 162 1 , is in the Victoria and AlbertMuseum

'

. This latter date occurs on a Tyg in theGlaisher collection

,with the initials T . I .

‘

Each ofthese pieces are in plain red or buff ware with geom e

trical stamped patternings . The fine Tyg in thelast-named collection inscribed G .R. 1654 , atypical Wrotham piece , is practically identical in shap ewith the foregoing, and shews the slip development indrops on d ots, . and geometrical patterns over the bodyof the piece .

Certain Tygs are extant having stamped ornaments

37


applied promiscuously over the surface, suggestingthe effect of barnacles on a ship ’s bottom . Dr . Glaisherpossesses a remarkable example, three-handled treblelooped

,with the inscription T .B . , I .B.

QThis

was found at Trimingham in Norfolk and mayfi have

been made there , though it is also possible that itwas . made at Wgotham . A similar one in the samecollection is dated 1633 .

The word WROTHAM appears on a number ofpieces, although in no instance does the name of anypotter appear at length, with the exception of a coveredTyg formerly 1n the Sol on collection

,inscribed John

Hu .gh 1690 ,and a late example in the Glaisher

collection inscribed “ W.F .Kem gin 173 9 shevving thatproduction was continued at Wrotham to this lastnam ecl date .Of the various initials found on this interesting and

rare fabrique , I .W.

” occurs in a number of instances—ou a candl estick and a» puzz le jug in the British

Museum , dated 1656 and 1659 respectively, and also ona Tyg in the Victoria and Albert Museum .

GR . is found associated with the dates 1642 ,

1650 , 1651 : the same initials occu rrifi g on a puzzleTyg in the British Museum, in conjunction with theinitials dated 1653 .

The full name Wrotham occurs as early as 1656on a jug in the Glaisher collection 1n conjunction withthe initials T .M . ,

G .R . ,I .E . Dr . Glaisher, who has

given much consideration to these wares, affirms thatI .E . occurs on every piece after 1675, which he iscertain 15Wrotham , and remarks that it is very curiousto get it in 1656 and with the initials G .R . Wehave these same initials I .E . in a number of instancesdated 1681 , 1697 , 1699 , 1703 , 1704, 1710 , 1713 , 1717 ,

,38

4 . WROTHAM TYG , 1659 .

Glaisher Collection .

5. To r r D ISH . Diam eter , inches . Arm s of the

w ainers’

Com pany .

Fall mer C ol lection .

SLIP WARES

examples of slip ware found in arid around London,though doubtless it is somewhat singular that thissanctimony should apparently be confined to themetrop olis, where one would expect to find less ratherthan more than elsewhere, and where also one wouldnaturally look for a higher level of decorative accom

p lishm ent The period of the metropolitan pieceswas that of Praise God Barebones, as the few datedexamples shew, and the Puritanical attitude towardsthe fine Arts rs notorious . Godliness was

,as it were , in

the air,” the mottoes on these singular pi: ces reflecting

the prevailing sentiment . We are therefore exhortedto

FAST AND PRAY .

This a favourite inscription appearing on a cup In theBritish Museum , D . 2 1 , and repeated on a number ofexamples .On a large red glazed jug decorated with yellow

slip,found 1n Fenchurch Street and now in the Guildhall

Museum,we have a repetition of this injunction in more

insistent terms and with charming iterative, togetherwith an exhortation to repentance and godly living :

FAST AND PRAY AND PRA Y

AND FITTY THE POOR AMEND THY

LIFE AND SENNE NO MORE 1656

On a portion of a vessel fOu nd in Princes Street, the‘ inscription imperfect :

FEARE G (OD) .

On a jug found in Lincoln’

s Inn

FEARE GOD EVER .

41


On an oviform jug ornamented with wavy lines andfleu rs—de-lys, also found in London

FEAR THE LORD THE GOD .

1

On a cup also ornamented with fleu rs-de-lys, found inMoorgate

HONOR THE LORD .

On a jug ornamented with zig—zags

HELP LORD FOR GOOD AND GODLY MEN DO .

On another jug,also ornamented with zig-zags, asso

ciated with the oft quoted When this you see remember me we havg the solemn injunction rendered stillmore impressive by the curious orthography '

OBEAY GODS WOURD .

On an oviform pot with bands of zig-zags'

, the mottorecalling the custom of the introduction

~

Oi the skeletonat Egyptian feasts :

REMEMBER THY END TRULY .

The Restoration brought about marked changes, notonly in manners but also in the general mental outlook ,

this being reflected in the altered character of inscription on the slip production

,In place of devoutness

We now discover that wisdom lies in mirth, and thatthe philosophy of the Persian Omar , that Old

Mahometan Blackguard ,

” as Carlyle called him, is theonly true one ! On a drinking cup (undated) in theGu idhall Museum

,found in Half Moon Street we are

exhorted to

BE MERY AND WIE (WISE) .

This same motto, however, is found on a red glazed pot

42

apparently of a much earlier date (figured In Hodgkin’s

Early English Pottery suggesting that this piecemay have been made before the first Charles a ssumedthe crown of martyrdom

,and that the more devotional

insc riptions are confined to the period Of the Commonwealth .

The slip of the metropolitan pieces is thinner and theglaze darker than that of a ny other slip ware as tothe site of the van ous metropolitan potteries

,if indeed

there were more than one , which is extremely probab le,or of themakers of these pieces, we have no knowledgewhatever .

STAFFORDSHIRE

The general character of the Staffordshire pieces isdominated by the peculiar technique of Thomas Toft

,

who appears to be one of the earliest practitioners .Of Toft ’s personality nothing whatever is known :

we know , however, that a very extensive slip factoryexisted in the district where his works traditionallywere, which 1s scarcely a lane , as described 1n so manybooks of reference, still less is it a village : these callup visions of rose-crowned hedges, and are redolent ofthe sweet odour of the hawthorn ! there is nothingthat could be describ ed as rural about Tinkersclough ! It is simply a collection of shord ru cks

with groups Of poor cottages dispersed here and there,

flanked on the one side by a coal pit and on the otherby Shelton Church , and bounded on the south by the

“Trent and Mersey Canal . One remembers the longsagger wall that stretched almost from

”

Shelton toEtruria from which we as children forty years agowere accustomed to pick the rings

,props

,stilts , etc ~

used in the propping of the ware during firing,covered


with the well-known treacle glaz ex The garden wallsof most of the cottages in this district were and arestill built of disused saggers, and it was in one of thesecottages that we were wont to apply our ears to thetiled fl oor to listen to the faint click, click, click, click,of the miners picking beneath This fact , of theminers coming so near the surface that their operationscould be distinctly heard, bears eloquent testimonyto the extent that the coal measures were and are stillworked . In this district , in the high road abovereferred to, it was at this period necessary for all houseshaving exposed sides to be propped by great beams toprevent them from falling . In this extraordinarydistrict it was possible in the midst Of a crowdedthorou ghfare for a man to suddenly throw up his armswith a cry and disappear into the bowels of thef earth -l

the ‘ Mayor and Corporation attending directly afterwards for the purpose Of reading the burial service atthe gaping mouth of the disused pit shaft , which hadbeen merely covered over instead of filled in .

*

It m u st'

not be supposed that the picturesque dishes ,tygs , posset pots , cradles , etc . , which command suchhigh prices at present formed the staple production of

either theTinkersclou gh or other factories .‘

These weremade for festal occasions— gifts at births ,—birthdays ,weddings , and to be used on high days and holy-days .The bulk of Toft ’ s production as well as that of therest of the potters of this period would be the roughuseful wares—j owls , steins , ba

‘king dishes and whatnot , sold as Plot states to the poor cratemen whocarry them at their backs all over the country, 1

‘ or

This circu m stance actu ally happened in the mid d le o f Hanleysom e fifteen years ago .

1 Dr . Rob ert P lot Natu ral History of Stafford shire .


Lion seated or halframpantLarge Fleur de Lys

Cavalht r drinkinga toastGeometrical design

Busts of man andwoman calledCharles II and

-Catherine ofBraganza

Heraldic dish

Cavalier holdinga rose in eachhand

Dish with ArmsOf Charles II

Two-headed eagle

It will perhaps be unnecessary to draw attention tothe universal rule , not only in pottery but in artgenerally, of an artistic personality stronger than theaverage initiating an artistic System and being at once

Trellis border Dublin Museum

imitated b y all and sundry This was the casethe red ware of the Blers with the red lead gware of Astbury ; with Wedgwood

’s j asper ;Pratt

’

s coloured relief ware, and to t

46

Frank Falkner Collection.

Manor House COl

lection , Chrrb u ryFormerly in Soloncollection

Frank Falknercollection

Formerly in Hodgkin collection

Arms the Frank FalknerCordwainers collectionCompanyInitials R . W . Bodenham collec

Ou either tionside of theheadReferred to by Marryat as being

,

in the collection of Lady StaffordReferred to by Solon

SLIP WARES

instances , the Ralph Wood group of the Vicar andMoses ,

”the Enoch Wood bust of Wesley, and the

Walton tree groups .

Q

Almost all the decorative motifs of Thom as Toftsdishes have been repeated by other artists and generallysigned by their names the Mermaid dish appears inthe Lomax collection with the signature RalphSimpson another is in the Glaisher collection . Areplica of the fine dish representing Charles II in theOak appears in the Glaisher collection with the nameWilliam Talor

'

; another example belongs to Mr . FrankFalkner . A dish Of the same subj ect with head only

in the Lomax collection having the initials

(not one of Toft’

s dishes) , with the nameOsland on the border . The Pelican in herappears in several instances , bearing differentincluding that of

"Ralph Simpson (Lomax

on) . The half-rampant lion of Dublin wasm itated by Ralph Simpson (Lomax collection) ,

alternated with an ornamental devicethe place of the trellis border of the Toft dish .

Simpson was certainly the ablest of Toft’

s

interesting James Toft dish of the two-headedn the Lomax collection differs only in detail

fine Margere Nash dish of the British Museum,

of the eagle in the latter instance su gg\estihg

decoration Of Italian damasks .'

es the various decorative accessories ,ccd in the Toft instances with

se their meaning and significance .

dish signed George Taylorthe subj ect commemorating theII

,being the replica of an unsigned

47


dish 1n the same collection having a border composed Ofeighteen heads . the tw o cherubs supporting the crownbecome 1n the Taylor dishmere meaningless ornaments .

Doubtless the original dish of this subj ect will one daycome to light bearing the name of Thomas Toft , ifindeed it is not already known The same may be saidof the subj ect of the lady In the costume of the Tudorsholding a rose in each hand . A dish of this subj ectoccurs in the Lomax collection bearing the name ofWilliam Simpson ; another was formerly in the Hodgkin collection signed “ William Wright Stillanother signed Ralph Toft is given in Hodgkin asbeing in the collection Of General Pitt Rivers .The extreme probability is that Toft signed all hisdishes

“

, which disclose a strength and virility seldomfound in the work of his many imitators .

One imagines Toft to have been a man of substance ,well satisfied With himself, and taking huge delight inthe production of these quaint and amusing pieces,drinking his quart of ale at the Jolly Potters orQuiet Woman and smoking his long Riggs ’

w ith the utmost complacency . Solon producedpate sur—pate plaque representing Toft making a slipdish, and shewing the use Of the pipette, the instrumentby means of which the slip was applied to the ware .

There IS also an excellent pen drawing ln StaffordshirePots and Potters of Toft in his workshop, both ofcourse wholly imaginary since there is absolutely nodata to go upon .

It is certain that Toft ’s true place as ceram lc artist

(he was not a potter in the sense of Palissy or offMaestro Giorgio since he initiated no fresh ceramic

Charles Riggs, of New castle-u nd er-Lym e, was at this periodm aking his fam ou s clays .

”

48

SLIP WARES

system) has not yet been sufficiently realised much lessdefined his perception off the possibilities and limitations of his material was most admirable, as anyonemay discover by making even a cursory trial in the useof the pipette, and thi s notwithstanding the fact thathis technique“ was SO finiform ly simple : his understanding oi the p rinciples Of decorative d e51gn was

clear and considerable, remarkably So considering thefact that his associates , having little to teach him, his

opportunities for instruction would be small he maywell be said to have earned a forem ost place in theannals of British Ceram ics .It will be Observed that the single dated piece by

.

f’l’

homas Toft is of the year 167 1 . The story of then a cottage in Hanley by Solon ’s friendism issed as a fable , since the dish haslight . He would be fortunate indeedthis d lSh, as it would establish a datenitely associating Toft with Tinkers

prices of these wares havesince the publication of the

English Potter It mayhowever be taken that all the Toft dishes were

the period of Charles II , or rather,re they made before 1660 , the date of

the circumstance that dishes occur signedoft dated 1676 and 1677 , we must assume that

the two Tofts were brothers , though it is possible thatthey were father and son . The dish representing a manbrandishing a sword in each hand is a variation withpoorer rendering of Thomas Toft

’

s Cavalier drinking atoast , formerly in theZSOlon co llection, though many ofRalph Toft

’

s dishes display exceptional ability . The

49


list of StaffordshireSlip potters whose names appearon their wares is as follows in the order of data

Joseph King , C .W. 1664

Thomas ToftRalph ToftRalph TurnorRichard MeerWilliam SimpsonRichard Meir

Ralph Simpson

Jghn TaylorRobart ShawJames JohnsonWilliam ChaterleyRalph Taylor

Job HeathWilliam Taylor

George TaylorJoseph GlassJames ToftJohn Wright ,

John WrightJohn MeirWilliam Wright

William Ley

Joseph Mosson I 727

Incised dish, BritishMuseum

Chester MuseumBritish Museum

Frank Falkner fficol

lectionLomax collection

British Museum

British MuseumCollection of Mr . E .

Sheldon

Glaisher collectionand BritishMuseum IGlaisher collection

Lomax collectionFrank Falkner collection

British Museum

Formerly in HodgkincollectionWillett collection,BrightonGlaisher collection

it

SLIP WARES 4 ”

Rob b art WoodRobart Pool given by Mr . Charles L . LomaxGeorge Ward

The names William Sans , Thomas Sans , and William

Rich are also given in various published lists , as wellas T . Johnson and J . W . Ford . Mr . Charles J . Lomax,the well-known slip collector, has however takenconsiderable pains to identify the different slip pottersand writes I am satisfied that there is no rehab leevidence of Sans and Rich having produced Slip ware

,

at any rate I cannot find anyone who ever saw anexample so signed . The careless manner in whichsome of the old writers on pottery have recorded whatthey believe to be facts causes no end of difficultyand loss of time in endeavouring to verify their statements . ”

Mr . Frank Falkner, who has given much attentionto the subj ect of slip wares , has a theory with respectto the prominence of the lettering on these slip dishes ,and thinks that the dishes may have been made andpresented to the landlords as a

"

kind of tribute—somerecognition of the potter tenant appropriating in hiscraft something of the actual earth which had belongedto the squire , in contradist inction to the farming tenantwho , feeding the land , relinquished it in slow qu a.

The idea has considerable poetic charm, but“

it shouldbe p ointed

‘

ou t that the decorative value”

of letteringas opposed . to, and in contrast with , ornament hasalways been recognised moreover, it is extremelyprobable that the early p otters were half farmers andhalf potters . Certainly so in some instances , both in thiscountry and elsewhere . Mr John Eyre speaks of one ofthese farmer-potters at Noron in France close to the

51


6 . M'

OULDED SLIP D ISH ,ADAM AND EVE . Bu ff clay coated

w ith yellow slip . D iam eter, 1 74 inches .

The stings of d eath is sin : and the strength of sin is

rst of Corinthians and the 56

Falkner Collection .

7 . COVERED TYG . John H u gheson 169 1 , m arb led .


52

SLIP WARES

borders of Brittany, who was engaged in cultivatingthe land when unoccupied in the making of pots whichwere dried in the sun by the read side . In the villageof Graffham

,near Petworth, until quite recently“l a

potter made flower-pots , candlesticks and fancy articles ,

and combined this occupation with pig-breeding .

Also at Upper Hume—near Leek, in Staffordshire , thereis a small drying establishment for sewing silk ; theworkmen having small holdings upon which they keeptwo or three cows , and when work is slack they cultivatethe land .

DERBYSHIRE

The Derbyshire production introduces us to anentirely different technique from what we have beenconsidering in this the dishes are pressed in moulds ,the outlines of the patterns being raised and formingcloisons into which the coloured slips were poured .

The rims of the dishes were notched, serving the double

purpose of ornament , and of preventing them , beingfired bottom upwards , from sticking to the b atsor slabs on which they rested : it also protected thedecorated side of the dishes from grit , of which a certainamount always falls in an oven as Well as a kiln .

As a matter of fact the treating of ware comingfrom the enamel kiln with fine sandpaper is a generalpractice ; in the case of the oven, any falling gritwould b e incorporated with the glaze from the fact of

“ harder firing .

That this method of placing in the oven _ wascontrary to Staffordshire practice is proved by the factof the glaze in the Derbyshire specimens all runningfrom the centre of the dish to the rim , whereas in theStaffordshire pieces it all runs in one direction . More

53


over the fine lion rampant dish by Toft at SouthKensington has badly warped ' on the side on which itrested, the glaze all running in the direction of thewarp . This practice of notching and of placing

,

though the notching was not confined to Cockpit Hill,may have some bearing upon the much disputedquestion of the origin of these wares .

Examples of the method of cloisonné are to be foundin the dishes in various Collections inscribed SM .

illustrating the adage One burd in the hand is worthtwo in the bush .

” In these (see British Museum,

D .38) a hand at the top grasps a bird, the field ofthe piece being foliated ornament , on either side ofwhich is perched a bird , the inscription . in the

A similar type of dish is decorated with fou f lionspassant alternated with fleu rs-de-lys and bearing theinitials RS . with a Wyvern in the centre .

The Royal Arms is a favourite motif , and is foundin several variations ; an example is the dish in theGlaisher collection with a Tudor rose in the centreand the initials R .H .

The most remarkable however, and decoratively themost accomplished of this class of dishes is the onein the Frank Falkner collection with a representationof the Temptation

,the tree foliation b eing similar in

character to the British Museum dish D . 39 . A tabletat the foot of the tree is inscribed The stinge ofdeath is sin and the strength of sin is the lawe . I st

of Corinthians and the 56 vers .Another distinct class of dishes is of octagonalform with ornamentations in relief . Examples are

found in the Glaisher,Lomax and Falkner collections,

with four pomegranates alternated with fleu rs de lys,

54

SLIP WARES

inscribed, in the one instance with and in theother E S .

” Thesemay safely lay claim to decorativequ al ities of a high order and are usually assigned toCockpit Hill .Potteries have existed at Tickenhall from a very early

period as proved by the remains unearthed : in themiddle of the seventeenth century it was a veryextensive production . Here , says Phylip KinderHistorie of Dairb yshire,

” are” your bestFictilias made you, earthen Vessels , p ots and

panchions,at Tycknall and carried all east England

through?

The dates recorded on Derbyshire Slip are later thanthose of either Wrotham , Metropolitan or Staffordshire,and roughly speaking range from 1720 to the

“end ofthe century . In 1 785 the buildings of the works atCockpit Hill were sold by au ction . Dr . Glaisher has adish of a strutting cock dated 1784 which wou ld makeit , presuming it is of Cockpit Hill, and

- that productionwas continued until the buildings were sold (there wasan earlier sale of wares in one of the latest piecesmade at the works . A number of these same cocks arehowever extant and it is possib le that many of thesewere

'

m ad e at Tickenhall or Staffordshire . In any casethis particu lar dish exhibits a considerable d ecline on

the score of artistic power .With the graffiato specimens, made in all parts ofthe country, must be bracketed those we

'

xam p les of

purely incised ware without the engobe covering ofslip . This method, really a form of engraving, datesfrom the bone scratchings of prehistoric man and is theprecursor of Graffiato in the scale of decorative development . An interesting and unique example , since ita ctually describes the maker as a potter, is the three

55


handled pot in the Glaisher collection (the decorationconfined to inscription) , with

R I C H E R D MU R R E L SI 77O POT MAKER

JO S U P H R E P P I N G E L

An early’

example, however, of the process, is the dishin the British Museum D 46 , of coarse red ware with afleu r-de- lys in the centre, and fishes , flowers; etc .

,

executed in li

nes and impressed dots the inscriptionD A. Possibly from the circumstance

.of

its notched edging and other characteristics it maybe of Tickenhall origin .

From this etched-like or engraved process , the deviceof covering a piece with an engobe of slip of a differentcolou r to the ground, and cutting or scratching throughto the under surface

,is an easy step, especially as this

is an old process largely employed in mural decorationin Italy during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries .A simple example is the memorial tile or headstonein the British Museum D . 1 1 1 (many of these headstoneswere made during the Slip period, some of which arestill to be seen in situ in the different churchyards ofthe This specimen is marked B E.

1695, with the favourite inscription :

When this V C

Rem em b er m ee.

A further instance is the fuddling cup of the BritishMuseum D . 1 17 , with the inscription

m y frend is He That Love m e Wil lBu t Ho He is I cannot tall . I M '

1770

Fuddling cups were a peculiarly Staffordshire device—nests of three to six cups cemented together with acommunication between so that the drinker mustempty all or none .

56

S P’H EN

11151151151e 6 551 48547 1151 EARLY ! item s :

C LAU'HAm I THE CILD I s BoRfi (69L IC’ RK SK

1 . Four-handled tyg (British Museum ) . 2 . !Incised three-handled ju g (Glaishencollection) . 3 . Cu p , b rown glaz e (British Mu seum ) . 4 . Mem orial tab let (BritishMuseum ) . 5. Dish (Glaisher colléctioa) . 6. Tyg (Glaisher collection) . 7 . Triplecu p (British Museum ) . 8 . Four-handled tyg (British Mu seum ) . 9 . Fu ddling cu pTaunton Museum ) . 10. Gob let graifiato (Salisb ury Mu seum ) .


Another example of this incised work is the jug in theBritish Museum C .34, inscribed

HERE YOU MAY SEE WHAT . I REQUSTOF HANST GENTLEMEN

MY BALY FILED OF THE EAST1 COM BUT NOW AND THEN . 1 7 16 .

The word belly,if not the general orthography ,

absolutely locates the piece . In the Staffordshirevernacular it is pronounced bally the spelling inthe inscription is intended to be so pronounced .

A further development of the process of graffiatoconsists in cutting away portions of the upper surface,giving ad ditional contrast between the ground and theornament . We have an instance of this in the fineHarvest jug of doubtful provenance in the BritishMuseum D . 1 15, illustrating the more romantic side ofharvesting . A youth and maid are standing with aheart-shaped panel between them inscribed 1708 . Itis cupids dart wounded my heart,

” with the furtherlegend

LO i u nto you r hou se am sent as a token from a irind

When you r harvest fo lks . are d ry then I w ill them attend .

1708 .

A n interesting class of graffiato dishes of somewhatearlier date than most of the Staffordshire pieces wasmade at Donyat near Illm inster in Somerset , and atCrock Street , -

a hamlet of that town. Several of thesehave been sufficiently authenticated, as for example adish commemorating the birth of a monstrosity in theshape of twin children joined x

together . In the LifeProgresses and Rebellion of James Duke of Monmouth,George Roberts 1844. we have a definite record ofthat monstrous birth at Il-Brom ers, a parish of

58

THE EARTHENWARE i COLLECTOR

The above by no means exhausts the list of obj ectsexecuted in thi s interesting fabrique . There were theowl jugs which form aac lass iri themselves thesewere usually combed or marbled

,the head forming

both cover and cup . They . were made from a com

p aratively early period and indeed continued to b emade ln salt glaze .

The list includes candlesticks, o f which there were a‘

variety, cruets , p 1geon . and bird calls , money boxes,lanterns, barbers

’ bowls, cradles, these last being madefor presentation at births .Fine examples of English slip are now quite beyondthe reach of the collector of limited means

,and prices

are not likely to fall . The sum of £650 recently givenbyLady Werner for a Toft dish which she generouslypresented to

, the British Museum , must be consideredab normal, since the piece was sold for the Red Cross .A piece of advice that may be given to the would-b ecollector of slip is

,beware of f09’g67

’i68 and im itations,Of all classes of English ware slip is the easiest tofabricate . The man who once hoodwinked Solon, oneof his own apprentices , whom we will call X since heis still 1n America possibly pursuing the same vocation,was an accomplished craftsman and not only madeslip

,but set up a salt glaze oven and produ ced salt

glazed wares . Ea parenthesis , Solon refers to Toftas being descended from an old Roman Catholic family.

It is probable that he obtained this piece of informationfrom this same apprentice

,who was a Roman Catholic,

an orphan,brought up under the care of the nuns at

Stoke Convent , and as already hinted, a man whomSolon wou ld be disposed to listen to . It is quitewithin the range of probability also that this was thefriend who once saw the Toft dish in a

,cottage in

60

SLIP WARES

Hanley,

and that the information was given to Solonwith a definite object in View .

Dr . Glaisher has a forged tyg which he bought as aforgery : it is however certainly not by X since theforgery is obvious, the piece being poorer and generallysm aller in character than the genuine article .

61

CHAPTER III

ENGLISH DELFT WARES

T is a somewhat curious circumstance that a production of the Cassiterid es or Tin Islands , foundedon a process of which tin forms the principal part ,

should be deemed foreign to those islands : yet so it is .The so called Delft wares are not indigenous to the soilof , this country, being an imitation of an imitation ,

that . is to say,English Delft is founded Upon the

technique of the Dutch potters who in turn receivedtheir method from that of Luca della Robbia and theItalian Maiolicists of the fifteenth and sixteenth centu ries . Not that the Italians themselves actuallyoriginated or invented their technique : thedevice ofcovering a coloured body with a white stanniferousenamel arose from the circumstance of the inabilityof the potters to ’

p rod u ce a white ware it was praotised by the Arabs and Persians, and was even used inAssyria and Babylon . It 18 a purely legitimate methodWhich might be adopted at any period . The processis as follows :The clay, which presents but little difference in itscomponent parts in the three cases of Della Robbia,Maj olica, and

o

Delft, is thrown and turned in theordinary way, and fired, producing an extremelyporous substance which is d ip p ed

' in a white glaze orenamel derived from binoxide of tin

,or stannic oxide,

the proportion of tin being increased according to the

62

ENGLISH DELF’

I‘ WARES

degree of hardness required, this coating b eing'

thicker

or thinner according to the porosity of the body. Itis then painted with colours in their basic or purestate, i . e . underglaze colours, the painting necessitat

ing great dexterity on the part of the artists by reasonof the porosity of the enamel ground . It is afterwardsglazed thinly and fired again . The result gives a

charming quality essentially different from any otherpottery process by reason oi

_the peculiar fusion of the

underglaze colours with the enamel .With respect to the Delft p roduction, M . Harvard

,, Histoire de la Faience de Delft

,states

that no pottery was made there before the close of thesixteenth century . Recent researches have

,however,

shewn that as early as 1550 Dutch potters set up kilnsat Leeuwarden and elsewhere, following Italian modelsin their artistic methods . There is no doubt that theearlier Delft period

,which we may place roughly as

’

between 1596 and 1650 ,betrayed a strong Italian

influence , and that the Chinese character in the productions of the second period was adopted inthe first instance on account of the competition ofChinese porcelain imported into Holland by the DutchEast India Company (one of whose depots was atDelft) which threatened the very existence of theDutch fabrique .The colour palette was the simple one of the Italians,

t viz . the cobalt blue, which was the staple colourforming the groundwork or base of the decorativecolour scheme, used alone in a large number of instances,especially in the middle period in imitation of theChinese blue ware an orange, varying in tint fromreddish to yellow one or two greens derived from acopper base occasionally a red, and manganese

63


From 1 710 the fabrication was frankly commercial;the wares being exported to all parts of the world

, as

many as thirty factories being in Operation in Delftalone . m oreove1 the Dutch potters themselvesmigrated to foreign countries

,including England

,on

account of competition between themselves .As early as 1676 , letters patent were granted to one

Ariens van Hamme, who had been encouraged by theBritish Ambassador at the Hague to settle here, forthe m akeinge of tiles and p orcelane !sic] and otherearthenwares after the way practised in Holland .

J

For some years previous to this , however, a certalnEdmund Warner had been exporting to Holland andalso selln to the potters in London considerablequantities of English Clay, as evinced in a case, tried in1693 by the Barons of the Court of Exchequer, relating

'

to the seizureby the Custom House officers of a parcelof potter

’

s clay under the pretence that it wasj

fu ller’s

earth . It then transpired that the said Warner hadbeen continuously exporting this clay for a period of

above twenty years, evidence being given in Warner’s

behalf by five London potters , who swore they, haddone business with him

,in some instances for above

twenty-five years .We have

,then

,evidence of Delft production m this

country from a comparatively early period : as a.

matter of fact,dated examples are extant , apparently

of English make, from as early as 163 1 .

There can be/little doubt that L ambeth was the

scene of the earliest production, which spread first toBristol and then to Liverpool and Staffordshire . Therewas a later fabrication also at Wincanton in Somersetshire

,the works being carried on by Nathaniel Ireson

about 1730 . Examples appear with the name WIN

64

ENGLISH DELFT WARES

CANTO on the back of the . pieces, the date 1 737 .

Another specimen bearing Ireson’

s name is dated1748, this being a large jug in the Glaisher collectionwhich we are privileged to illustrate . (Frontispiece) .The various classes of ware produced at Lambethincludemugs, dishes or platters, wine jugs , pill slabs,posset pots, and candlesticks . Figures of cats alsofrom 6 to 8 in . in height appear in various collections .The barrel-shaped mug decorated with an all-overpattern in blue, with border round the

q

‘

top inscribedWILLIAM AND ELIZABETH BURGES . 24th

AUGUST 163 1 , and under the handle 1632 is, up tothe present , the earliest dated piece of English Delftware known . A sim ilar

g

m u g in the British Museumis inscribed JOHN LEMAN 1634 another atSouth Kensington is marked ANN CHAPMANANNO In the Mayer Museum , Liverpool, isstill another with ships and landscape

,and marked

“ JOHN WILLIAMSON 1645.

The subj ects of the dishes are often of a scripturalcharacter . A specimen in the British Museum, E .49 ,has in the centre a representation in pOc hrom e ofJacob ’s dream, with the legend GENESIS THE 28,and on the rim four oval panels representing theseasons with Italian arabesque of a decadent Characterbetween, inscrib ed C .H . 1660 . Another 1n the samecollection has a rather elaborate presentation in

fiychrom e of the Temptation, with a meander oft m the border .Indifferent imitations of Palissy

’s fine dish La Fecon‘

dite were also made, with, on the border, the initialsC

I E

the date 1659, and the arms of he city of London and

65 E

1 7‘

2 8

1 . Wine jar (in several collections) . 2 . Merry Man series (British Mu seum .

3 . Election dish (British Mu seum ) . 4 . Dish (British Museum ) . (5. Plate (FrankFreeth collection. ) 6 . Dru g p ot (British Mu seum ) . 7 . Tankard (British Mu seum )8 . Candle p ot (MayerMu seum , Liverpool) . 9 . Mu gs . Thom as Faz ackerley and Cather

ine Faz aokerley (Mayer Mu seum , Liverpool) . 10. Mug (Mayer Mu seu m , Liverp ool) .1 1 . Bowl, incised inside (British Mu seum )


inscribed William and Elizabeth Burges, and IS probably b y the same hand .

Caudle pots often assume extremely attractive andfanciful shapes : covered examples are extant withserpent handles on both pot and cover, the three feetrepresenting birds, the lid and cover surmounted

"by acrown and crowned swan the painted flogal decorationin blue and green, with the inscription

T

C . F .

It may be noted that a triangular arrangement of threeinitials generally represent those of husband and wife

,

the lower initials the christian name and the upper thesurname .

A puzzle cu p“

in the form of a goblet , with piercedrim and elaborate syphons‘in the centre, appears in theBritish Museum, E . I 3 , painted in blue with the arm s s

of the Drapers ’ Company and inscribed LW.

Candlesticks are of various forms often enough theyare provided with a tray in the middle of the

(stem tocatch the drippings of the wax . A specimen occursin the South Kensington collection painted ~ on thefoot with the Fislim ongers

’

Arms and the initialsW.W.E . 1648 .

The pill slabs were often painted with extremeelaboration and with considerable skill an example inthe British Museum, E .70 , in the form of a shield ispainted in blue with the arms of the Apothecaries

’

Company, with crest , mantling and supporters , and themotto OPIFERQUE PER ORBEM DICOR,

” belowis an oval cartouche bearing the arms of the City of

London . Two other pieces also with the Ap othecariesfArms occur at South Kensington .

The figure of the domestic cat is a favourite motif in

68

ENGLISH DELFT WARES

pottery it was made in slip, in salt—glazed solid agate,which was especially suited to the representation of thetortoiseshell variety, and also in Delft ware . Of thelast named process two instances occur in the Schreibercollection at South Kensington

,with painted decora

tion . In the British Museum,E . I I , is a inug in the

form of a seated grym alkin, sponge marbled and

painted in blue and yellow, with the initialsB

R E

. and the date 1674 within a circle on the breast andrepeated under the base .

Although it is generally not easy to differentiatebetween the p roductions of Lambeth, Bristol andLiverpool, yet there are certain Characteristics belonging to each which afford us some guide as to id entification . The enamel of . Bristol is often thicker thaneither of the two other fabrications, and also slightlytinted , though the body itself is thinner, and thecobalt blue of a somewhat darker tone than that usedat Lambeth . There are also differences in theoharacterof the painted floral and other decorations in the caseof Bristol the touch is crisper

,the character being

nearer to that of oriental work . Moreover there wereproductions peculiar to -Bristol

,as that of the process

known to the Italians as Sopra Bianco whichconsists of painting in opaque white enamel upon ablue or celadon ground, a style of work practised inFrance at Saint Amand les—Eaux . D1nner plates areextant with borders of this character

,the centres

painted with flowers or landscapes ln blue . These wereproduced about the middle of the eighteenth Century.

There were also plates having a ground of powderedmanganese and other tints with panels or medallions

69

THE EARTHENWARE C OLLECTOR

painted in blue . An instance is the well-known election plate with panel 1n the centre bearing the 1nscription NUGENT ONLY . 1754 , and on the rimT .B . 1754 . This may safely be assigned to Frank

,

who was a supporter of Nu gent at t he election of thatyear, as also the plate with Calvert and Martin forTu kesb u ry 1754 Sold by Webb .

1 ,

These Delft election pieces form a class . Possiblya few words of explanation will serve to make themeaning of these p ieces more Clear .The General Election of 1759 followed upon the ,

death of Henry Pelham ,which marked the end of the

Broad Bottom Administration, as well as a policy of

p ea'

Ce at home and ab road, inaugurated by Sir RobertWalpole in 172 1 .

Robert Nu gent who was the candidate for Bristol,Which returned two members, came out at the head Ofthe poll, but was Closely followed by the two othercandidates, Beck Td and Phi lips .At Tewkesbury

, Calvert and Martin were bothelected, but were petitioned against in the Novemberfollowing . Mr . Freeth

’ s explanation of the inscn p tionon these pieces is that the plates were made at thetime of the petition and were sold by a local dealernamed Webb .

T he Taunton election pieces refer to a bye-election,

the member having died without having taken his seat .The candidates were Sir John Pole and Robert Maxwell,afterwards Earl of Farnham who was returned .

The Wenman and Dashwood pieces refer to theOxfordshire election . The candidates were as follows

Lord WenmanSir James Dashwood 0“ Interest

Lord ParkerSir Edward Turner

New Interest .

ENGLISH DELFT WARES

Wenman and Dashwood had previously representedOxfordshire and were again returned . References tothis election occur also on Salt Glaze .

The Bristol Delft Plates With Wilkes and Libertyand a portrait of Wilkes refer to the Middlesex electionof 1768 .

The early history of the Bristol Delft Factory is,like

many of the early factories, extremely obscure . Thewo1ks were situated on Redcliffe Backs, and duringthe earlier years of the eighteenth century were in theoccupation of Richard Frank , son of Thomas Frank,gallipot maker, whose marriage is recorded in 1697 andwho was probably the founder of the works . Jewittrefers to a platemarked on the rim

13

S Bl

I 7O3

as being the earliest example known .

As the death of Richard Frank occurred m 1785, itis not possible that he was in occupation much before1730 . His productions were plates, dishes, and tilesf or fire-places and wall decorations .One of the principal painters at Frank

’

s works WasMichael Edkins

,who hailed from Birmingham,

”

wherehe was apprenticed to a house

~

painter . A platepresented by the Painter ’s grandson to the JermynStreet Museum

,now at South Kensington, is absolutely

authenticated and bears on the back the initialsEl

NI IB

1760

being those of Michael and Betty Edkins . The

painted subj ect , h owever, a landscape with figures inthe Chinese style, bears a strong resemblance in the

7 .

I


8 . BLUE Dksn CHARGER . 1677 .


0. BRISTOL COVERED POSSET P 01 ,1703 .



piece of St . Mary Redcliffe and also assisted Hogarthin the fixing of his pictures in that altar p iece . Thislatter picture is now in the possession of Dr . Glaisher .About the middl e of the century Frank took his son

Thomas into partnership, and in 1777 removed hisworks to Water Lane, a factory which had been occupied by James Alsop, who made brown stonewares .Frank was succeeded b y his son—in- law Joseph Ringin 1786, but app arently the business was disposed ofsome two years earlier, as an inventory of stock dated17 84 includes an item of £7 53 . for delph ware .

i

The Delft fabrique had by this time been supersededby the more serviceable cream wares of Wedgwood .

Ring therefore engaged Anthony Hassel of Shelton as

manager, and occupied him self from this period in theproduction of cream "colour and other Staffordshireearthenwares .During the early years of the eighteenth century

,

Delft ware was the principal article of . trad e in Liverpool . The three principal potteries were those ofAlderman Shaw, Seth Pennington , to whom is attributed the various punch bowls extant

,and Zachariah

Barnes , who produced the well-known tiles printed bySadler and Green .

Two plaques, a view'

of the west prospect of GreatCrosby and one bearing the arms of the MerchantTaylors Company in Crosby Church, dated resp ec

tively 1716 and ,

1722 , appear to be the earliest production of Shaw’s pottery, which was situated onShaw

’

s Brow . Most of the dated examples , however,are of a later period .

Two mugs , a quart and a pint , painted 1n polychromewith flowers , bear the initials T .F . 1757 and C .F .

1758 . These are believed to be the work of Thomas

74

ENGLISH DELFT WARES

Fazakerly, one of the principal“ artists at Shaw’s

factory, the initials on the smaller jug referring toCatherine Faz akerly, his wife .

At this period , the shipping trade of Liverpool wasrapidly increasing . It was the custom when a

”

vesselwas dispatched on a voyage to have a punch bowl madefor the purpose of drinking success to the trip . Theseb owls, which were often large , some measuring 22 in .

in diameter bore painted representations of the vessel,generally in blue

,with suitable inscrip iton, as success

to the Monmouth This is in the LiverpoolMuseum . These examples of which there are anumber, an excellent sp ecIm en oc curring at SouthKensington, hail from Seth Pennington

’

5 Pottery, and

“ are said to be the work of one John Robinson.

This very laudable custom of commissioning punch

thowls for the pu rpose of drinking su ccess to this orthat, was apparently extended even to agriculture,though the proportions of the agricultural bowls wereless am p le than those of the shipping trade . A punch

“

bowl appears in the British Museum E1 46 with apastoral landscape and vine border . The inscriptionRichard Wyatt

, App ellsham . Prosperity to theFlock . May 3oth 1754 .

The important subj ect of transfer printing is dealtw

with ln another part of this work : a brief descriptionof the process may not be out of place here .

A metal plate is engraved,and a print taken In pot

thin tissue paper,which i s turned face

on the ware and pressed or rubbed smartlypad . The paper is then removed, leavingon on the ware , which is then fired .

credit of the application of this process"

to

potteryhas been claim ed both by the Battersea Enamel

75

THE EARTHENWARE ‘ %LLECTOR

Works and Liverpool, but all authorities a gree thatthe practice commenced about the year 1750 . Thefamous Liverpool Delft tiles made by ZachariahBarnes , and printed by Sadler 8: Green at their worksin Harrington Street , were usually 5 in . square, and;include -a set of actors and actressd

’

s in character, the“;

majority taken from the engravings in Bell ’s BritishTheatre

,

” issued 1776—78 . A single figure usually

appears on a cartouche or scroll, hung with trophiesand emblems, w

i

th trellis background, the name of/theactor or actress being given together with that of thecharacter represented, asMr . Garrick in the character of Abel Drugger .

Mrs . C ibber in the character of Monima .

A frame of twenty of these appears in the BritishMuseum , E . 166 .

There were also“

a set of ZEsop’

s Fables,with

slight scroll borders, the design well engraved andbased probably on Francis Barlow ’s drawings . Therewere besides , a number of subj ects fanciful and humor-Q;ous taken from various sources— caricatures

,or the?

broadsides so popular at the period,etc . , etc .

The tiles were printed in either red or black : an

example printed in red shows a Highland lad andlassie dancing and is marked J . Sadler, Liverpool,

”

others are marked Liverpool, others “

J . Sadler,‘

Liverp l .

Certain dishes , well known to and appreciated bycollectors , varying in size from ,

1 2 in . to 18 in . indiameter, painted freely and in some instances orin polychrome

,have acquired the name of Blue

Chargers from the circumstance'

of their rimsdecorated with a series of dashes or strokes inThe subj ects of these dishes range themselves into

76

ENGLISH DELFT WARES

two classes —1 . Subj ects from scriptural history.

An early specimen in the Victoria and Albert'

Museum,

probably of Lambeth origin ,is dated 1653 ,

representsChrist with two disciples on the road to Emmaus .The Temptation was a popu lar

“

? subj ect and itsrepetition was evidently placed in

”

the hands of personspossessing no

‘

sort of claim to artistic knowledge orpower its representation therefore rapidly degeneratedinto an absurd convention, the result bordering uponthe grotesque—2 . Portraits of Royal Personages andother celebrities

,including half lengths , full lengths ,

and equestrian. The dates of these range,roughly

Speaking , from 1650 to about 1 720 . Thus we haveCharles II standing sceptre in hand beneath a colonnadedated 1668 . Portraits of William and Mary

,both

and standing, the usual inscription being W .

the dish at South Kensington with equestrianof King William is inscribed K . W . The

conqueror Marlborough,standing with his baton,

encased in a suit of nondescript armour, a cloak overhis shoulders with the scalloped edgings associatedwith the Reign of Richard II

,the inscriptio n D . M .

Also equestrian figures of The Duke of York, not he often thousand men ” fame

,but the personage who

afterwards became King James II .

These dishes, from the circumstance of the workmanship being oi a bucolic, rough or coarse character, havebeen, rather loosely, assigned to St afford shire, thoughwhy Staffordshire especially should be credited withcoarse workmanship at this perio d is not very clear .That a certain proportion of Delft rware was made inStaffordshire is extremely probable from the Staffordshire man’

s partiality for the imitation of anythingand everything that happened to be going .

”

77


We have record of a dish made by Thomas Heath,who was potting at Lane Delph (now Middle Fenton)in 1710 , the description of which appears to answer tm .

this ware we have the name Lane Delph , which wouldof itself suggest the production of Delft ware in thisdistrict ; we have the adm irable jug by Adams of

Greenfield s in the Tunstall Museum we have record r,

of Wedgwood’s imitation of an eighteen-inch OrientalDelft ” dish, and the amusing story given by MissMeteyard of the warehouseman entrusted with thecarrying of the precious piece home to the customerbeing feasted and treated for a whole week on e

account of his master ’s successful work . The p eculiarcharacter of the gra phic statement demanded by theDelft method i s

,however, foreign to the Staffordshire

man , who is at home with his picturesque slip andsharply cut salt-glazed wares . On the whole , therefore,

‘

the balance of probability is against the circumstanceof much Delft ware being produced in Staffordshire

CHAPTER IV

JOHN DWIGHT AND‘

STONEWARES

TONEWARE Is composed of plastic clay.

“ withsand to prevent cracking . Its chief quality isits compactness and hardness, due partly to itsring, which produces a state of semi-vitrification,

‘

and partly to the nature of the m aterials Of which it iscomposed .

Although pottery answering to the description ofstoneware has been made during all periods, it was notuntil the sixteenth Century that the fabrique wasperfected by the German and Flemish p otters of thatperiod .

Solon declares that stoneware, although the simplestin its constituent materials

,ranks as one of the most

perfect processes from the technical point of View, withthe single exception that it lacks translucency .

This sense of completeness however, must be considered as partially dependent upon the character ofthe glazing

,-which was accomplished by means of

comm on salt to which the body is specially suited,After the partially vitrified body had received the complement of this peculiar glaze and not before,

”continues

this author, it ceases to -b e assimilated to terra-cottaand forms a special class of itself .”

Salt glazing d oubtless originated where stoneware

it

. THE EARTHENWARE COLLECTOR

was carried on with such success, the practice datingonly from a comparatively recent period

,although

some authorities have declared that it was employedfrom as early as the twelfth century .

The method is as follows : common salt (chloride ofsodium) is thrown or shovelled in the oven when theheat is at its highest , through apertures made for thepurpose . In the s old ovens a platform was erectedupon which the men stood naked to the waist andswathed in w et cloths . At this high temperature thesalt is : volatilised, the ware being placed in saggershaving perforations to allow the vapour of the sodiumchloride to reach the ware, and the water vapour torezact upon one another, forming, with the chlorine ofthe salt , hydrochloric acid, which escapes , the sodaattacking the silica of the ware, forming a silicate ofsoda, in this way the ware becomes coated with a thinlayer of soda-glass

,which is deposited in fine granula

tions , the surface resembling the skin of an orange .

Fine Salt-glazed stonewares were made In the Citiesof the Rhineland and in the Low Countries from thebeginning of the sixteenth century, the earliest apparently being of Raeren make

,a specimen in the Cologne

Museum being dated 1500 .

The ware was exported,in large quantities to this

country . As early as 1534 the Pewterers Companyobtained power to stamp work in the same way as theGoldsmiths and Silversmiths . Early German jugs aretherefore found with English Pewter mounts andstamped inside the lid with the Ci owned Tudor Rose .

In the Taunton Castle Museum occurs one of theseSilver mounted jugs of the type made at Nassau withthe chevron ornamentation heightened with blue andmanganese, and Wm : Shakspere 1602 scratched

80

WOODEN BOX

POTTERY

DENBY POTTERY.

NEAR DERBY .

ephen ,

G reen,

Im perial P otteries

Lam b eth .

Stephen G reen ,

Lam b eth.

OLDFIELD co.

CHESTEREIELD .

MAKERS .

PATENTEES ,

DENBY POTTERY,

NEAR DERBY.

J . OLDFIELD co .

CHESTERFIELD

WATER FILTER

MANUFACTURERSWHOLESALE AND RETAIL

AND FOR

JOHN DWIGHT AND STONEWARES

Ben Jonson’

5 version, in Gipsies Metamorphosed,of the origin of these vessels is at any rate am u sm g,

and has the merit Of being at least as reasonable as theassociation of this mask with the obnoxious Churchman :f ‘

The jug of Town ale that reconciled Justice Jug andhis runaway daughter

,who being pursued by her ‘

Father,met

,and were for the time being turned into

.

stone at Chester he great with justice and she greatwith ju gling, ever since preserved in picture upon themost stone jugs of the Kingdom .

It was a custom to bury these pots under the hearthstone In deference to an old superstition that thepresence of a bottle under the hearth keeps awaywitches and the evil eye . Bellarmines we

'

re -frequentlyburied as witch bottles, this being the era of jm

'

m o

regis, the celebrated statute against witchcraft , passedin the first year of King James I .The jugs were made of Various definite siz es . Therewas the gallonier , containing a gallon, a truly noblevessel l the pottle pot , two quarts the pot

,a quart

and the little pot , a pint . A character in the play ofEpsom Wells exclaims , Uds bud

,my head begins to

turn rou nd ; but let’s to the house,

’tis dark ! we ’llhave one Bellarmine there

,and then, Bonus Nociu s .

It is not probable that either these or other stonevessels were actually made in this country before thethree closing decades of the seventeenth century,though we have record of the petition to Queen Elizabeth oi ' one William Simpson

,who complains that a

certain Garnet Tynes, a foreigner living in Acon , heldthe monopoly of stone drinking pots made at Cologne .

‘Snnp son prays that this monopoly be transferred tohim , and he will not only serve them as plentifullyand sell them at as reasonable price as the other; but

83I


will,as far as in him lieth , drawe the making of such

like pottes into some decayed town Within the realm ,

Whereb ie mame a hundred poore men may be sett awork .

In 1626 a patent was granted to Thomas Rous andAbraham Cullen and later, in 163 1 ,

to David RamseyEsqu ier, on? of the groomesof our p ryvie chamber,

’

in both instances the parties declaring that they hadsolved the mystery of the German stonewares : butit is probable that the petitions were merely blinds ”

to cover the monopoly of importation,since there Is no

actual evidence of any such ware being made in thiscountry b efore Dwight took out his patent in 1 671 ,

though Stow declares that as early as 1570 JasperAndries and Jacob lJansen had exercised thescience in this reahn .

Dw ight’s patent sets forth that he had discovered

the Mistene of the stoneware vulgarly called Cologneware,

” and that he designed to introduce a Manufacture of the said wares into our Kingd om e of EnglandeWhere they have not hitherto been wrought or made .

”

In 1684 the patent was renewed, Dwight havingrepresented that he was producing White Gorges,Marbled Porcellane Vessels; Statues, and figures , andFine stone Gorges and vessels never before made inEngland or elsewhere .

In consequence of certain persons having infringedhis patent , Dwight was in 1693 compelled to proceedagainst them . In Chancery Proceedings (B A before

8: 107 Bridges) are preserved the pleadingsof John Dwight and the sworn evidence of the defeudants , John Chandler, David Blers , John Elers hisbrother, James Morley and Matthew Garner .Dwight urged that C handler, Who had been in his

84


employ and had acquired knowledge and skill as to hisinventions

,had enab led the defendants to im itate his

manu factu res ! The result of the action we have beenunable to trace .

This effectually disposes of the theory, repeatedlyput forward, that John Philip Elers obtained anyinformation from Dwight as to the vein of Clay atBradwell, and goes far indeed to prove that he (Blers)was making salt-glazed stone wares at that place .

As a matter of fact David Blers admitted the production of brown stoneware . See next Chapter .In 1 866 an important discovery was made in awalled-u p chamber of the old Fulham works of anumber of obj ects which were brought under thehammer and distributed amongst the principalmuseums . Of these, the magnificent bust of PrinceRupert

,now in the British

“*Mu seum , is one of the

finest works of the kind in It is life size ,wearing the collar and star . of the Garter , of drab wareand heightened with touches of oil gilding .

In the same museum is a statuette of Meleager anda statuette of Mars in Roman dress , height 1 2 in . and13 in . respectively, these are of brown ware imitatingbronze .

In the Victoria and Albert Museum occu rs the smallr ecumbent figure of his daughter Lydia Who died in1673 , an extremely tender . and sensitive work, quiteworthy of the master .

In 1 869 Mr . and Lady Charlotte Schreiber visitedthe Fulham works and there discovered two notebooksin Dwight ’s handwriting with entries dated from 1689to 1698which include recipes for his various bodies, etc . ,

and some of the few items of personal information thatFu lham , Old and New ‘ Charles Jam es Feret . rgoo .


I O . DWIGHT BOWL , w ith im pressed applied ornam ents .

G laisher Collection .

1 1 . STONEWARE JUG ,d rab and b rown , m arked Kishere .

’

Sheldon Collection

86


Mr . Samuel Dwight 5, desiring his mother, myexecutrix, according to her

' ability to confer on himWhat he m ayhereafter deserve when he shall return to .

his duty .

”

Nothing Is definitely known as to the working of theFulham factory immediately after the death of Dwight

,

but it is probable that his son Samuel did ultimatelyreturn to his duty and carried this on from the demiseof his mother in 1 709 until his death which occurred in1737 , when his widow Margaret Dwight continued theproduction of stonewares in partnership with ThomasWarland until 1746 ,

in which year they became bankrupt . As a matter of factDwight in his Will instructedhis .wife to carry on the works or sell it in her discretionin favour of his son Philip .

’

The productions of the Fulham Pottery after Dwight ’5death

,though never rivalling those of the great potter ,

nevertheless possess exceptional interest . Jewittrefers to an historically interesting flip can belongingto Robinson Crusoe,

’ said to have been made for himabout 1 709 and carefully

“

preserved by his family,though Whether it was made by Dwight himself or notis a question ; it is incised z

Alexand er Selkirke . This is m y one (own)When you take m e on b ord o f shipP ray fill m e fu ll w ith pu nch or fl ip p

Fu lham .

A large tankard of grey body the upper half-glazedbrown appears in the Schrieber collection with bust ofa Queen

, ! lanked on either side by a Yeoman of theGuard ; below, a pack of hounds and hare, signed

4' Rob inson Cru soe first appeared in 17 19 .

88


Wm; Marsh,‘ round the rim is the incised inscription

On Banse d owns a hair w e fou ndThat led u s all a Sm oaking Rou nd .

I 729 .

This is probably Fu lham . In the British.Museum

E 35 is a sim ilar piece with similar inscription butsigned Abraham Harman att Lewis in Sussex1724

—5.

There can be little doubt that Dwight ’s initiativeproduc ed a number of imitators in different parts ofthe

“

country, working on similar lines . Shaw affirmsthat one Miles of Hanley made a brown stonewareabout 1685. Moreover the little mug of grey b odymottled browm on its upper half , which formed partof the Enoch Wood collection and now at SouthKensington , is a proof that the Staffordshire productionwas of a very high class. This order of excellence wasmaintained during the latter half of the eighteenthcentury, as witness the fine jugs by William Adamsand John Turner 1n the Burslem and Hanley Museums .Among the persons that Dwight proceeded againstin 1693 was James Morley, a Nottingham potter : itis probable therefore that stoneware was made atNottingham at least as early as this date . the earliestdated Nottingham piece, however, is the two-handledloving cup withperforated b owl,

"the broad rim incised

Sam'

u el Watkinson Sarah his Wife . 1700 .

M252;ess } of Nottingham .

“

These perforations or piercings are characteristic ofNottingham ware . A small jug in the Victoria andAlbert Museum with pierced bowl and ribbed cylin

drical neck is marked No .ttn 1703 .

A large christening bowl in the same collection, dark

89


brown, With two incised bands is inscribed November

20 . 1726 . Other characteristics of Nottinghamstoneware are—a certain thinness of the ware, whichis well potted, the glaze always thin and not mottled,the dark reddish brown of the body having

‘

a certainmetallic 400k,

due to high firing . Scratched inscription in cursive characters is also common . The latestdated piece of Nottingham stoneware is a jug made by

1“Thomas Haig in 1 772 .

The Nottingham mugs are famous,and usually have

a band with some floral device together with incisedinscription . A good example is the one given byJewitt

,

* with Rose, Shamrock and Thistle and threecrowns

,the inscription

John Nottingham

Johnson Sept“

. ye 3Schoolrnaster 1 762

the maker’s name, as in many of these pieces appearson the bottom : Wm . Lockett , included in an exactlist of the Burgesses andAFreehold ers of the town andcounty of Nottingham,who voted at the election formembers of Parliament in 1774 .

James Morley, already referred to in connectionwith Dwight

,was one of the earliest makers of these

mugs,and the production was Continued by his suc

cessors . The names Mug-house Yard ” and MugHouseLane take their origin fromMorley’ s old factory,carried on b y Charles Morley, one of the Sheriffs ofNottingham in 1 737, and which, from the staple production

,was known as the Mug-House .

It was from the Mug-House that many of the characteristic bear jugs were issued, those in which thehead forms the cup, the body of the pieces being

Ceramic Art of Great Britain .


12 . NOTTINGHAM BEAR . Brown stoneware .


I 3 . STATUETTE : LYDIA DWIGHT.

V. 6 a

’

A . M u seum , IS .

‘

Kensington .

92

THE EARTHENWARE“

COLLECTOR

Lambeth,and Stephen Green, Lambeth . The

j ugs of various sizes with a well-modelled head ofNelson and impressed “

N ILE and TRAFAL

GAR 1805' are among the early productions of

Messrs . Doulton 8: Watts .There was also a small manufactory of stoneware atMortlake founded by Joseph Kishere, still in existencein 181 1 . Specimens in the Victoria and Albert Museumare impressed Kishere Mortlake,

”Kishere,

”and

Kishere’

s Pottery, Mortlake, Surrey, See Chap .

XVIII .

94

CHAPTER Va

izLERs AND ASTBURY WARES

HE little community of m ooreland ish cheatsasPlot Calls them , inhabiting the collection ofstraggling wooden huts known by the name

of Boz lem ,

” making their coarse but picturesquewares described in an earlier chapter, must have beenconsiderably disturbed by the advent of the twoGermans or Dutchmen whq had taken up their residdence in the old Tudor Mansion at Dimsdale , somemiles distant , and had also occupied the premises

at Bradw ell little more than a mile away .

Who were these two mysterious foreigners,and what

was the meaning of the clouds of unfamiliar smoke andvapour seen issu ing

'

from the gorge of Bradwell WoodThe element of mystery and rOm ance associated withthe doings of the brothers Blers is dou btless to a greatextent due to Simeon Shaw . The tremendousvolumes of smoke and flame cast forth from theirsalt glaze oven the communication tube betweenthe two places used to intimate the approach of personssupposed to b e intruders

” the Circumstance of theemployment of “ the m ost

fl ignorant and stupid workmen to perform the laborious Operations, keeping themunder lock and key and strictly examining each priorto quitting the manufactory at night the idiot who

Dr . Plot’

s History of Stafford shire

95


was employed to turn the potter’s wheel, etc etc .

*

Doubtless there is a substratum of truth in theseallegations : there certainly was in the case -oi thesp eaking

'

tu b e, though it may have been used simplyas a business convenience .

The Elers are first heard of in Fu lham ,where they

were domiciled at the time of Dwight ’s action againstthem in 1693 . Dwight complained that they,

'

together

with the three Wedgwood s , AarOn, Thomas , andRichard and others had corrupted his workman Chandler and Other of his servants , by promises of greatrewards and obtained the secrets of his manufacture .

The Elers admitted that Chandler was at that time intheir employ, for the making of browne muggs andred theap otts which they had made for the past threeyears

,b u t denied that they interfered with him while

he was still in the service of Dwight , which service hehad quitted two years before they hired him .

David Blers said he had learned his potting businessin Cologne, where he had resided for some years (bothbrothers had previously been Silversmiths

'

by trade) ,he denied that he had made any other pots except theabove mentioned browne muggs and red theap otts , andfurthermore asserted that the letters patent mentionedin the bill were void and contrary to law since severalpotters had made the manufactures mentioned in thepatent at the time that it was granted to Dwightj

* Dr . Sim eon Shaw : H istory of the Stafford shire P otteries l 1829 .

1'

Ou r know led ge of Dw ight and also of the b rothers Elers has

b een consid erab ly au gm ented b y the pu b lication in 19 00 of a three

volu m e w ork called Fu lham Old and New , b y Charles Jam es

Feret , who spent consid erab le tim e and m oney in searching b aptism al and other record s . The attention of Professor Chu rch w as

d raw n to this w ork b y Mr . William Bu rton . A search was m ad e at

the Record Office in reference to Dw ight ’

5 action . The ab ove

statem ents are b ased u pon a copy b y P rofessor Chu rch of Chan

cery P roceed ings . Before 1 7 14 . Brid ges . 156—9 . kind ly lent to

the present writer b y Dr . Glaisher .

96


14 . BLERS COVERED TEA POY . Red u nglazed w arew ith appliedstam ped ornam ents . c . 1 700 . H eight , 3§ inches .

Sheldon C ollection .

PORTOBELLO BOWL . Astb u ry’

s red -glazed w are . Appliedd esigns in white of the taking of Portob ello . c . 1 739 .

Height, 2 } inches .

Sheldon C ollection .


th’ gorge, was the reply, i.e . , in the direction of Dimsdale Hall .It may be added that this district has been carefully

and repeatedly explored, without however discoveringa single piece either of salt-glazed ware other thanthe pipes above referred to

,or of the red ware associated

with the Elers .

This last named substance is a fine unglazed stoneware extremely compact and hard

,of a beautifully

light red which Wedgwood made many attempts torival

,carefully finished on the lathe

,and ornamented

with delicate enscrolled reliefs produced by the p ressureof brass stamps

,and avowedly made in more or less

imita tion of similar‘

wares which China was at thatperiod exporting with its tea .

There was nothing new either in the compositionof the body or the method employed in its ornamentation . We have seen that Dwight had already producedthis same red ware

,though it is not p ossib le to point

to any existing specimens : we know also that themethod of stamping from metal dies was practised byDwight our real indebtedness to the labours of JohnPhilip Blers lies in his finely careful levigation of t heclays and the skilful use of the lathe, by which meanshe was enabled to produce a more perfect , delicate andfinished fabrique, and which in point of fact constituted a complete revolution of English pottingmethods .

The significance of this production was not lost uponthe Burslem potters

,who were many of them shrewd

and able men . Shaw records the circumstance thatJosiah Twyford was the first to gain admittance to theworks at Bradwell, Eventually

,continues Shaw

,

Mr . Astbury, by feigning idiocy, and obtaining

I OO

ELERS AND ASTBURY WARES

employm ent there, learned the secrets , and made redware, being soon followed in this business by otherpotters . From the fact that Astbury was born in1688 the period of his association with John PhilipElers would be during the last year of the latter’5soj ourn in Staffordshire .

Practically the only means we have of identifyingany Blers pieces is in the fine quality and colour of thebody

,and the beauty, delicacy and finish of the work

manship The various seal marks found on thesepieces cannot be traced to any particular potter .The little piggin and ladle In the Victoria and AlbertMuseum which formed part of the famous Enoch Woodcollection is generally regarded as being by Elers .

Two teapots occu r in the Hanley Museum, the onewith leaf shaped panels and foliated ornamentationand the other globular shaped, with an all overpattern of figures and ornament, m ay reasonably beassigned to Elers .

Of the pieces occurring in the British Museum, thefine bag shaped cream jug G 2 , with wavy rim andcrab stock handle and floral ornament at the base maybe accepted as a genuine Elers example, as also themug G .3 ,

with globular body and ribbed neck,orna

mented with a branch of prunus and figures .

The Blers quitted Staffordshire in 1710 poorer inpurse than when they came . Shaw maintains that thereason of their exodus was the annoying inquisitivenessof the Burslem potters ; it is much more probablehowever that , it was lack of commercial success . Welearn from Miss Meteyard ’s Life of Wedgwood that

J . P . Blers had afterwards been in distressed circumstances

,was taken notice of by Lady Barrington, a

whimsical good sort of woman ,and by her

,

set up in a

101


glass and china shop in Dublin—was very Successful

in business , etc etc . So , the improvements effectedby Elers in the art of potting, the new order of thingswhich he undoubtedly initiated and inspired

,pretty

nearly landed him in the bankruptcy court , whereasthe retailing of glass and china in Dub lin enabled himto send his son Paul to the Temple in London, wherehemade great proficiency in his studies and became afirst-rate Counsel .We cannot refrain from quoting the already wellknown eulogy of Dr . Martin Lister, who in a letterpublished in 1693 referring to the soft red iron-ore orhaematite of Lancashire, expresses himself in thefollowing terms I have this to add, that this ClayHaematites is as good, if not better, than that whichis bought from the East Indies . Witness the Tea potsnow to be sold at the potters in the Poultry in Cheapside

,which not only for art , but for beautiful colour

too, are far beyond any we have from China: Theseare made of the English Haematites in Staffordshireas I take it , by two Dutch—men, incomparable artists .Astbury made good use of the knowledge which hegained at Bradwell . Upon his return to Fenton hemade the red ware with the wavy engine turning whichappears in a number of collections—he used this samered ware as a groundwork for his stamped white Claydecorations , glazed with a fine lead glaze ;his naturallyquick perception would be further quickened by thesight of

“

such perfect technique and consummateworkmanship . His lead-glazed ware must b e considered as a development and advance upon the redware of Elers, since what it lost In delicacy it certainlygained In richness and colour quality .

The features of this ware, fine examples of which are

102


The fine coffee pot in the British Museum , G . 35, bearsa device of a vase with growing vine, and has a whiteSpout and handle . The reader will therefore perceivethat this ware occupies a position midway between thered ware of Elers of which it was as already stated adirect development , and the variegated wares afterwards made by Whield on and Wedgwood of which itwas the precursor .

In addition to the above, Astbury made a number ofsmall figures in similar clays

,but usually employing

two or more different clays in one piece for variety andcolour contrast

,glazed with the same lead glaze . These

may be said to represent the beginnings of Englishpottery figure making (though isolated figures weremade earlier In various materials) and are now seldommet with . They often represent figures playing variousmusical instruments a set of fourteen such figu res inthe Willett collection at Brighton have been given thename of Nebuchadnezzar ’s Band . Several x of these ,however, are in the Whield on glazings . The mostcomprehensive collection of Astb ury and Whield onfigu res

—the potters followed each other very closelyis in the possession of Cap tain Price of Buckingham .

A sight of this collection is a revelation .

An example in the British Museum is the figure of . a

Grenadier,G . 36 , in the costume of the period imme

d iately preceding Culloden which, if it is really by theelder and not by the younger Astbury

,must be one of

the last figures he made,since the costume settles the

date . Inlthis example the body is dark red with thedetails . in white . This specimen has

,however

,been

claimed for Liverpool (where Astbury was imitated)on the score of the bird appearing on the hat .Dr . Sid eb otham has a figure of a standing bag piper

104

ELERS AND ASTBURYH

WARES

in two clays splashed with brown, and a companionfigure of ' a man playing a violin also a seated cobblerwith eyes and shoes of red clay , and a figure of a MerryAndrew in buff body with base/and support of twodifferent coloured clays . All

' these figures vary fromperhaps 4 to 6 or 7 in . in height .

No marks are found on any of the elder Astb u ry’

s

productions other than the seal marks already referredto in connection with Blers (the mark ASTBURYfound on various pieces is believed to refer to theyounger Astbury who potted later) , but the characterof this ware is so individual that it is well-nigh im p ossible for the collector to be mistaken .

Of the various seal marks found on the red wares ofElers

,Astbury, and their followers , No . 1 occurs on an

undecorated Cylindrical teapot . British Museum, G .5.

2 . A similar mark . Teapot . Sheldon collection .

3 . Teapot decorated with birds , sprays and figures .

E .M.G6.

4 . Barrel-shaped cream jug, basket work on lip andhandle . A cartouche with figu re of a mandarin andfloral spray . B .M.G 1 1 .

5. Cylindrical teapot , figure of Athens with Spraysand scrolls . Wavy engine turned pattern on shouldersand above base .

6 and 7 . Large and small teapot . Victoria and

Albert Museum .

8 . Milk jug with cover, engraved turned pattern,said to be that ofWedgwood, who is also believed tohave adopted these seal marks on this class of ware .

The following marks together with No . 19 occur inthe Glaisher collection :

9 . Teapot , Elers style , late example .

10 . Teapot,engine turned . Astbu ry .

105

CHAPTER VI

STAFFORDSHIRE SALT-GLAZED WARES

E have seen that the method of salt glazingis a comparatively early one

,and was

largely practised in Germany and the LowCountries during the sixteenth and seventeenthcenturies . I t has been shown also that in this countryJohn Dwight produced an exceptionally fine type ofsalt-glazed ware from the date of his first patent

, 1671 ,

and that he was qui ckly followed by other potters ofthe country . The white salt-glazed stoneware ofStaffordshire, however, must be considered as anindependent production, peculiarly English

,owing

nothing whatever in its character to foreign influenceand possessing qualities so unique as tomake it one ofthe most esteemed of British wares . If its initiationwas due to Dutch influence, i . e . the brothers Blers

,

as seems probable,it very quickly assumed a purely

native character in the hands of the Staffordshire men .

.

It began to be produced about 1690 or about thedate that Dw ight was proceeding against the Elers forthe infringement of his patent of 1684 , and continueduntil 1780 , when it was finally superseded by Wedgwood ’s more serviceable cream ware .

The body is so fine, and so extremely hard as toalmost resemble , a porcelain . It was , according toShaw, successively made of

Brick earth and fine sand,108


Can marl and fine sand,Grey coal measures clay and fine sand

,

Grey clay and ground flint,

the last-mentioned improvement, being attributed toAstbury in 1720 .

The different developm ents of Staffordshire saltglaze are as follows1 . Drab-coloured ware with applied ornaments in

white Devon clay .

2 . White ware with sharply cut ornamentations,

the pieces pressed in moulds .

3 . Scratched blue .

”

4 . Coloured enamelling .

5. Transfer printed, occasionally coloured by hand .

6 . COb alt blue glazing .

We shall obtain an idea .oi the identity of some ofthese early salt glaze p otters

“"from the Chancery pro

ceed ings above referred to in connection with Dwight .On the 15th December, 1693 , an order was made thatAaron Wedgwood

,Thomas Wedgwood, and Richard

Wedgwood,be inserted as defendants to the plaintiffs

(Dwight’s) bill .

It is known that Dr . Thomas Wedgwood made saltglazed wares . He appears in Wedgwood

’ s list ofpotters working in 1710 as making brown stone, andRichard Wedgwood as making stone ware .

On the 19thMay following the date above given, aninjunction was awarded against the said defendants ,workmen

,servants and agents for stay of their making

and vending of wares com p lainted of in the bill, untilthe court make other Order to the contrary .

It is not likely that any of theWedgwoods, thoughall were capable potters

,were possessed of much

artistic ability . For their ornamental motifs, there

109


fore,they would probably be dependent upon either

borrowing from any sources to hand, or hiring suchartistic ability as they could command . The inferenceis that the three Wedgwoods and also the Elers,amongst others

,were responsible for many of the early

drab-coloured pieces . The fine mug in the HanleyMuseum with small impressed ornaments in the Elers

’

style and device of a bird holding a cup, is probablyby the Elers, and is dated 1701 , the earliest dated pieceat present known . It is even possible that many ofthe pieces washed with white in the inside are of anearlier date than is generally supposed

,since we know

that Dwight was cognizant of the use of flint beforeAstbury } ?

With the work of Astbury we are upon much surerground . there is no question of Astbury ’s artisticcapacity, and it is not difficult to trace his hand In thevarious pieces extant .The approximate date of his improvement of the

whiteness of the body is generally accepted as 1720 .

The first flint mill was erected at the Ivy House nearHanley in 1726, and this was also the year of Benson

’sfirst patent for the grinding of flint stones

,Astbury

being one of the first to take up this patent .Ralph Shawe

’

s patent of 1733 for a kind of graffiatoware with a lining of White, is not material to thepresent issue, since neither the method of decorationnor the inside lining was new . He was a litigious souland tested the validity of his patent in a trial atStafford in 1736 . The Judge ’s advice to the pottersis given in a conversation in the Burslem vernacular

Note b y Dwight d ated 169 8 . Calcin’

d b eaten sifted fl ints

w ith d oe instead of white sand , etc .; this is given as a recipe forwhite stoneware .

I I O


1 6 . PEW GROUP . White salt glaze w ith d ark-b rown colou ring . H eight , 6& inches .


1 7 . SALT GLAZE MUG . Ralph Shaw e’

s patent, appliedd esigns in white on b rown-

glazed b od y . Height , 4k inches .


1 8. 2 . SCRATCHED BLUE MUG . Enoch Booth 1 742 .



pecten shell motifs must be attributed to the Woods ,The character oi Aaron Wood ’s work is to be seenin the large signed dish in the Wedgwood Institute ,Burslem . The circumstance alone of his workingunder conditions of such secrecy

,under lock and key

and so forth,will of itself shew that he was not an artist

in the sense either of his elder brother or of his sonEnoch . (There are no secrets in fine Art His prod u ctions , most capable workman though he was ,whose services were requisitioned by many of theleading potters

,were of the more mechanical order,

the“

various cartou ched forms,enclosing trellis and

other patternings,b em g characteristic and typical .

Hem -was born in 1718 and apprenticed to Dr . Thomas

Wedgwood,junr .

,in 173 1 . He afterwards worked for

Whield on and others and finally set up in business forhimself . A block for a spittoon in the British Museum,

G .56 ,bears the signature Aaron Wood .

”

An almost endless variety of shapes were mad-eduring the period of the salt -glazed productionthese include camel teapots

,house teapots, heart or

lover ’s teapots,squirrel teapots

,and the pecten shell

appears on all manner of forms . All the potters madesalt glaze during the period of its vogue

,including

Josiah Wedgwood . White salt-glazed teapots occurmarked Wedgwood

,

” probably belonging to theperiod of his occupation of the Ivy House or BrickHouse works

,Burslem .

The development of the salt-glazed process followedexactly the same lines as did the Bow and Chelseaporcelain at a somewhat later date

,i .e . the earlier

pieces were in the white alone . Colour was introducedfirst in blue alone, and afterwards in polychrome . Inthe case of salt glaze, the blue was dusted in a powdered

1 14


state into incised markings (scratched blue) , and asthis production dates from about 1740 , the incisedPortobello teapot by Astb ury must be considered asone of the earliest specimens .The earliest dated example , however, is the mug inthe Glaisher collection marked Enoch Booth 1742 ,

which has the additional interest of bearing a potter ’sfull name . Booth was a potter of Tunstall whoestablished a factory at Cliff Bank and about 1750

commenced making cream colour .The fine two-handled scratched blue posset pot inthe Hanley Museum is marked MB . 1748, and maybe said to constitute one of the romances of collecting .

We know for a fact that this piece was offered in Newcastle-under-Lyme for a matter of 18s . if it cameunder the hammer at present it couldn ’t be secured forless than a hundred guineas . What Mr . Jahn actuallypaid for it we do not know, but it was some similarsmall sum to the one indicated .

It should here be stated that just as the early whitesalt-glazed figure pieces were touched with black andmanganese

,so a small flask occurs in the British

Museum,G .50 ,

with incised I .M . and the date 1724 ,filled in with black . In other words, although thescratched blue pieces date only from 1742 , the methodwas in op eration as early as 1 724 .

Initials,dates and inscription naturally occur more

frequently on scratched blue than on any otherclass of salt glaze . In Hodgkin

’s book we have :

I 749John CopeIIear gou s

We have also, among other instances, the entirely

1 15


charming inscription of the convivial sort in Mr . FrankFreeth

’

s collection :Som e tim es Strong Beer

Som e tim es Sm all B eer

Som e tim es Water Clear

Let m e not b e starved here

1 76 1

The political principles of the original owner of thetwo-handled loving OUp in the possession of Mr . EdwardSheldon would appear to be pretty broad

,since she

blesses both the reigning monarch and the PretenderOn one side

‘

is incised Elizabeth Cutt and P—e

Charles for ever on the reverse Eliz . Cutt and. _D own with the Rump and on the base

,God

Bless Brave George our King and Send him Long torain Amen . The explanation however, is, that thecup was made for Elizabeth Cutt , who, to protect herb ody and estate from harm by the soldiers of PrinceCharles, professed devotion to the Stuart cause, but,to ease her conscience and appease her own sense ofloyalty

,she had the prayer for King George incised

on the base .

Coloured enamelling was first introduced as anenrichment to the modelled or raised portion of theware and afterwards on the flat surface . It began

,

tob e produced about 1 750 , and was obviously adoptedas a means of competing with the porcelain of theBow

, Chelsea, and other factories , at that periodextremely popular . The designs of the purely paintedspecimens disclose a strong Chinese influence , thefinest examples being attributed to the two Dutchmenwho are said to have worked at Hot Lane about thisperiod . A drum-shaped teapot in the Sheldon collec

tion with Chrysanthemum and leaves in polychromeafter the Hizen manner

,is marked on the base and1 16

1 . Mou ld (form erly in l ahn collec tion, Hanley Mu seum ) . 2 . Sm al l flask (BritishMu seu m ) . 3 . Mu g (Schreib er collection) . 4 . Mu g (BritishMu seu m ) . 5. Mu g (Schreib ercollection) . 6 . Two-handled cu p (British Mu seu m ) . 7 .

f Bottle (Schreib er co llec tion ) .8, Large ju g (Frank Freeth collection) . 9 . Pair of plates (Schreib er collection) .


Mr. Edward Sheldon, the Manchester Corporation ArtGallery

,and indeed in many others .

The process of transfer printing was applied to saltglazed wares soon after its introduction on pottery about1 750 ,

the colours being red,lilac

,and black

,often

painted in polychrome by hand .

It can scarcely be said to be satisfactory, as thegeneral effect was somewhat crude ; moreover, it waslargely produced during the latter part of the saltglazed period when the character of the ware deteriorated .

An octagonal plate , with transfer printed river scenein lilac

,appears in the British Museum

,G . I 18 . This

may possibly be of Liverpool make,where salt glaze

was also produced .

The rare pieces entirely covered with a fine richcobalt blue glaze must be considered as a separateclass

,and were produced by William Littler of Longton

about 1745-50 . They are occasionally decorated in

enamelled white or black,or with oil gilding . Speci

mens may be studied in the British and South Kensington Museums

,and also appear in various collections .

Salt-glazed figures are also extremely rare . Theyfollow the same development as the material itself

,

i .e . they were first in white , afterwards dusted withblue

,and finally decorated with enamel colours . There

were also during the earlier,possibly the earliest

period,those archaic figures generally small

,made in

solid agate . For these,the homely domestic cat was a

favourite motif,the markings of the tortoiseshell

variety being easily produced by the method, knownlocally as scrod eling and consisting of beating outthin layers of clay of different colours, laying themalternately on top of each other, doubling them up or

1 19


1 9 . SALT-GLAZED PLATE ,w avy ed ge, w ithm ou ld ed ornam ents

on rim, colo u red . Enam elled in the centre w ith Chinese

figu re tied to a tree . c . 1750 . Diam eter,8 inches .


2 0 . WHITE SALT-GLAZED D ISH , w ith raised ornam ent,perforated .

V. CS» A . M u seu m , 5. Kensinglon .

120


rolling them,and cutting through crosswise with a

wire , the pattern being shewn in a series of irregularcurves . Dr . Glaisher has a perfect agate cat

,and good

specimens occur in the Falkner-Sid eb otham andSchreiber collections . These examples measure from

4 to 5 in . and are generally in two colours .

Of figures in the white,a charming little strutting

figu re of a man in three-cornered hat with mask anddomino, 4%in . in height , appears in Dr . Sideb otham

’

s

collection . This is probably a variation of someChinese original .In the same collection is the well-known Sp inario ,

a nude boy extracting a thorn from his foot , modelledfrom the antique . Also a little figure of a cock modelledwith considerable spirit and sense of style, probablyfrom a Chinese original .The pair of hawks 1n the British Museum ,

G .46 ,are

also after a Chinese model ; the plinths, eyes and beaksare coloured a dark brown .

Of the famous Pew ” groups, two and sometimesthreefigures seated on a high-backed chair

,some seven

or eight examples are known, one being at Dresden .

The earliest and undoubtedly the finest is in theBritish Museum; O 4I , and may safely be assigned toAstbury since the peculiar convention adopted isprecisely that of this distinguished potter ; the rest ofthe pieces present differences in the character of theworkmanship from the specimen first referred to .

In most of these exceedingly rare pieces the variousdetails are heightened and relieved with black .

The Arbour groups form a separate class, b uthave some affinity with the pew groups since theygenerally represent figures seated either in an arbouror under a tree . The little group in the Willett

I ZI


collection,Brighton, of two lovers seated beneath a

spreading tree forming the background,is a well-known

example . This specimen is entirely in white, and isabout the same size as the pew groups

,i . s . about 6

or 7 in . in height .

Dr . Glaisher ’s unique Temptation group must .be considered separately from the foregoing . It isdifficult to think of a Stafford shire p otter of the earlysalt glaze period who could have produced a work ofsuch naive freshness in point of style . It couldscarcely have been produced by Astb ury ; it is certainly not by the elder Ralph Wood . There remainsonly Whieldon ; but whoever may have been theauthor, it must be classed as one of the m ost distinctivethings in the whole range of pottery figure making

,

British or foreign.

A few figures important only for their rarity areextant with blue dustings . A very archaic exampleof a man in a wig occurs in the Hanley Museum . Thereare also small extinguishers representing a lady inbell-shaped skirt . These were made also in the white .

Of figures with coloured enamelling the two inTurkish costume in the Schreiber collection are amongthe best known .

The owl jugs form a

‘

class in themselves . Theseare a variation of an earlier type made during theslip period

,and referred to in a former chapter .

The head forms a handled cup . Dr . Sid eb otham hasa fine one . Dr . Glaisher has two also fine . In eachof these examples there are applied notchings of stripsof clay on the body and head

,with

,in Dr . Sid eb otham

’

s

Specimen,dots of black slip .

The Staffordshire Bear jugs and Bear fountains, like the Nottingham ones

,are amusing and

122

CHAPTER VII

THOMAS WHIELDON AND VARIEGATED WARES

F we imagine a man of mild and modest aspect,of

quiet and unassuming manners , attired in themore sober middle-Class costume of the mid

eighteenth century,we are able to visualise the out

ward appearance of Thomas Whield on . Wedgwood,

who In the first instance spoke of the equally modestand retiring Flaxman as a most supreme Coxcomb

,

”

always referred to his quondam partner in terms ofrespect .

Whield on,the date of whose birth is not known

,

commenced business in a very small way in a little rowof thatched cottages in Fenton Low, at some periodprevious to 1740 ,

making amongst other things agateknife handles for the Sheffield cutlers and snuff boxesfor the Birmingham hardware manufacturers .In the first instance he was his own traveller

,trudging

on foot from town to town with his pack of samples onhis back .

The few items of personal information we have ofthis distinguished potter are mainly derived from hisassociation with the more pushfulWedgwood, and fromthe valuable pocket-book in Whield on’s handwritingunearthed by Jewitt

,whereinwe read of the annual

Wed gw ood to Bentley , Jan . 14 , 1 775, d ou b tless allu d ing toFlaxm an

’

s d isappointed action in connection w ith the aw ard of the

Royal Acad emy Gold Med al to a m an who proved a nob od y .

124

WHIELDON AND VARIEGATED WARES

hirings,which generally took place at Martinmas

,

the beginning and end of the potter ’s year, and theamusing bargains he made with his workpeople andapprentices , the gifts

“ in kind ” of old cloaths, newpairs of stockings , and clogs . How on April 9 , 1749,he hired Siah Sp oad e, to give him from this time toMartelm as next 2/3 , or 2/6 if he deserves it etc . , etc .

Besides Spode,Robert Garner andWilliam Greatb ach

were numbered among Whield on ’

s apprentices . Thepotter also employed intermittently Aaron Wood, theblock cutter, who had served his apprenticeship toDr . Thomas Wedgwood .

The productions of this period other than those abovereferred to were image toys and chimney ornaments

,

black-glazed tea and coffee pots,candlesticks

,pickle

leaves,and tortoiseshell and melon table-plates with

ornamented and scalloped edges .

It was in 1 753 or 1754 , more probably the latter year,that Josiah Wedgwood

,then a young man of twenty

four,finding his partnership with Harrison of Newcastle

unsatisfactory,entered into partnership withWhieldon,

who was considerably Wedgwood ’ s senior . One of theClauses of the agreement was to the effect that theyounger potter should practise for their j oint benefitcertain processes which he had experimented In w ithoutthe necessity of revealing the methods . This appearsto refer chiefly to the well-known Class of relief wareformed of leaves

,glazed with a rich green glaze,

examples of which are to be seen at South Kensingtonand elsewhere, and which had previously been made byWhield on and others . Wedgwood materially improvedthe quality and richness of

“

the glaze , which was composed oi flint glass , red lead , white enamel and calcinedcopper .

125


There can be no doubt that salt glaze was the mainstay of the firm during the greater period of the partnership indeed

,we have a memorandum of Wedgwood

to the effect that white stone ware was the principalarticle of our manufacture , and the prices were nowreduced so low (1759) that the potters could not affordto bestow much expense upon it .It was inevitable that the partnership between two

men of such totally different temperaments could notbe of long duration . Whield on’

s more conservativemethods did not suit the younger potter, and on theother hand Wedgwood

’ s enterprise was not to thetaste of Whield on . It was not that Whieldon wasafraid of Wedgwood ’s more ambitious proj ects, as thathe had his own ideas of what a potter should be . Afterthe expiration of the stipulated period of five years ,i .e . in 1 759 , the partnership was amicably dissolvedand the two potters went their widely different ways .It would be interesting to discover, says Solon,

the share Wedgwood had in the production ofWhield on’

s more refined pieces . He spent much of histime in the first years of their partnership in preparingblocks and moulds : and it is not improbable thatsome of those delicate pickle trays

,scalloped plates ,

perforated teapots of tortoiseshell, and agate warenow so highly prized are the work of his own hands .Whield on ware has become a generic term for

all the different variegated wares which are known tohave been made both beforeWhield on’

s time, as in thecase of Dr . Thomas Wedgwood who made a very goodclass of solid agate, and also by other potters duringthe period of Whieldon’

s activities .

Whieldon’

s productions may be classified u nder thefollowing five heads

126


collection is an excellent example of fine veining . Otherspecimens occur in the different museums of the potteries and in many private collections, though perfectexamples are doub tless rare .

The best pieces were turned, as in those cases ofembossed examples produced by pressing in the mou ldsthe conformations of the veining were injured . Thu swe see that in the cases of handles of even the bestpieces

,the veining is confused by pressing and squeezing

during the making .

The process was not new we have seen that Dwightmade a kind of agate ware, and as previously stated, itwas largely and successfully made by Dr . ThomasWedgwood as early as 173 1 , and by others . The

surface agate produced by “ combing was , as we havealso seen

,extensively practised during the “ slip

period .

We have,moreover, the record of a patent taken out

in 1 724 by Robert Redrich and Thomas‘

Jones forStaining

,veining

,spotting

,clouding, damascening, or

otherwise imitating the various kinds of marble,porphyry and other rich stones, tortoiseshell, etc .

, on

wood,stone or earthenware .

Whieldon s tortoiseshell ware was extremely rich andsoft in its effects his double

"

perforated teapots andoctagonal plates are inimitable . A good example of aperforated teapot 1s illustrated from theSchreiber collection . . The best plates , which are extremely rare , maybe distinguished from the inferior ones by their flatnessand breadth of rim . These are glazed with a com

bination of manganese , orange, !copper green, andcobalt

,the manganese largely predominat ing .

A magnificent collection of tortoiseshell and al liedwares was unfortunately destroyed at the disastrous

128


Alexandra Palace fire in 1873 , including a pigeon housew ith birds im pressed A New Pavilion . A similarpiece occurs , however, in the British Museum, H z .

This tortoiseshell method was applied to all mannerof Obj ects , but chiefly to tea and coffee p ots, _

sau ce

boats, j ugs, tea p oys, and plates , both on flat and reliefsurfaces, as well as to figures .

The cauliflower, pine apple and maize ware constituted an admirable convention

,the green leaves

contrasting most pleasantly w ith the cream-white flowerin the first named

,which was made in enormous

quantities and in many sizes and shapes , and also withthe orange fruit of the two last . The devices wereapplied mostly to tea and coffee pots and plates .It has been asserted that Wedgwood initiated the

cauliflower type . It was probably made both byWedgwood and Whieldon, and was certainly imitatedby all the potters .The rare pieces of a clear orange-brown tint withapplied foliage of pale yellow may safely be assignedto Whield on, though this class of ware was doubtlessinitiated by Astbury .

From a purely artistic standpoint Whield on must beregarded as the most distinguished of all the Staffordshire potters

,this distinction being more evidenced in

the little figures or image toys (the phrase is hisown) of which he made a number, though . few havesurvived to us, and which, although they have neverthe sense of completeness of execution of the elderRalph Wood’s figures

,nevertheless exhibit qualities of

a far rarer kind .

Their most surprising quality is their extrememodernity, suggesting the tentative sketches of someof the more advanced artists of the impressionist school

129 I


2 1 . DOUBLE PERFORATED TEAPOT . Tortoiseshell glazing.

V . 6 A . M u seu m , 5. Kensington.

22 . CAULIFLOWER BAS IN . Green glaze on leaves

V. 6 ' A. M u seu m , 3 . Kensington,

130


of to-day . The little Crucifixion plaque, for instance,in the Willett collection at Brighton, suggests in itsmodest way, something Of the mingled dynamic forceand naivete of the work of the great Serbian sculptorIvan Me§trovic

’

, though MeStrovié can scarcely beCited as an impressionist .In a very different vein the little arbour group In thesame collection, of a man of fashion making love to alady, might b e the work of Pryde or Nicholson, butdisclosing more power and suggestiveness than eitherof these able artists have at their command . Mr.Lomax has another of these arbour groups of twoactors , a man and a woman

“ declaiming .

Surely these things could not have been made In thegeneral way of trade , far away as they are above thecomprehension of the ordinary buyer, and there wereno cultivated connoisseurs collecting Whield on piecesat that period . Subj oined is a brief list of the moreimportant of these toys oc curring in the differentcollections

Chinese Kylin or Dog F0 . Collection of Mr . GeorgeStoner, a most impressive example of what Ruskinwould call the noble grotesque .

Man and woman on horseback,the latter on a

pillion . Willett collection, Brighton . H . 83; inMounted soldier . Somewhat similar to the foregoing . Captain Price collection .

Plaque . Portrait of Sarah Malcolm,laundress,

executed in 1733 for the murder of her m istress andtwo maids in the‘ Temple Chambers . After a paintingby Hogarth . H . in . Willett collection, Brighton .

D’

r . Glaisher has a similar piece .

Figure of Quin as Falstaff . Collection of FrankFalkner.


Figure of an elephant , splashed with black andmanganese . H . in . British Museum, H .28 . Adifferent and in some respects finer elephant , standingon tortoiseshell plinth, occurs in the Hanley Museum .

H . 7 in .

Figure of a lioness on rocky tortoiseshell base . Han

ley Museum . H . 7 in . A similar figure, equally good,with tail missing

,occurs in the Glaisher collection .

Pair of buffaloes with Chinese figures on backs,freely

splashed with manganese . H . 63 in . Schreiber collection .

Figure of Lao Tsz e, the . Chinese god of longevity,with his emblems of. stork, deer, etc a charmingexample of the melting quality of Whieldon’

s glazings .Schreiber collection .

The Sp inario ,a boy extracting a thorn from his

foot,and companion figure in similar pose with large

grotesque head, both freely splashed with manganese .Schreiber collection .

Figure of an actor in turban and flowing mantle,

brown and green glazing . H . 5-g in . Falkner

Sid eb otham collection . A similar figure occurs in theLomax collection .

Rhinoceros with man on its back, brown and b lueglazings . H . 8 in . This subj ect occurs in severalcollections, notably in that of Captain Price .Various figures of birds are extant

,usually perched

on tree bases . Two fine examples are‘

to be seen in theSchreiber collection . An interesting specimen is in theHanley Museum with conventionalised sprays on body.

Bust of the Duke of Cumberland , H . 7 in . Willettcollection

,Brighton .

Bust of Alexander Pope . H . 8} in . Willett collection, Brighton .

132


The prices obtained recently for Whieldon pieces,

though high,are relatively low compared with some

other potters . The following are given from the

Connoisseu r’

s useful quarterly publication,

SalePrices .

3 . cl .

Toby jug . Mottled blue and brown . H .

105in . Pu ttick Simpson 25 4 0

Boy r1d ing on bullock . H . 7%in . Feb . 4 ,1 914 84 o 0

Figure of actor with dagger . H . 53 in .

Feb . Pu ttick 8: Simpson 2 1 o 0

Figure DO . different model . H . sé in .

Pu ttick Simpson 40 o 0

Toby jug—small, with pipe . H . 9%in .

Feb . 4 , 1 914 . Pu ttick & Simpson 60 18 0

Chinese Kylin . H . 9 in . June 1 8, 1913 .

Pu ttick Simpson 10 10 0

Milk ju g. Cauliflower . H . 55} in . March

Pu ttick & Simpson 4 7 6

Pair of hawks . H . 10 in . Dec . 5, 1912 .

Christie 25 4 o

Teapot and cover and cream jug andcover . Cau l iflower . Christie 5 5 o

Teapot and cover of agate pecten shellshape . July Christie 1 1 1 1 o

St . George and Dragon . H . 1 1 in. July 24,1 913 . Christie . 12 12 0

Teapot and cover, brown splashed . June 22 ,

1914. Sotheby 2 o o

134

CHAPTER VIII

WEDGWOOD

N Josiah Wedgwood , who came of a race of potters,we are brought face to face with one of the mostremarkable personalities of the eighteenth cen

tury,since by his superabundant energies he com

p letely changed the spirit and direction of BritishCeramic industry, inaugurating an entirely new systemwhich was promptly followed by the whole of hiscontemporaries

,as some think for good, as others for

ill . Be this as it may, it is certain that the improvements which he effected in the art of potting were onthe whole greater than those of any other individualpotter .The story of his life has been told so often that itwill only be necessary here , indeed only possible, torecount the leading facts

,which may be put in tabu

lated form as follows

Born July 1 2 . The youngest of the thirteenchildren of Thomas and Mary WedgwoodFather died, Josiah went to work at factory ofhis brother Thomas .Attacked by smallpox , the result of whichpermanently affected his right knee .

November 1 1 . Bound apprentice to his brotherThomas for a period of five years . Continuedfor a further two years as j ourneyman .

135


1751—2 . Entered partnership with John Harrison, aNewcastle tradesman . Started business at thefactory of Thomas Alders , Cliff Bank, Stoke .

1754 . Entered partnership with Thomas Whieldon atthe same factory .

1 759 . Started business on his own account at the IvyHouse Works

,Burs lem .

1761 . Introduction of Cream Ware, and employmentof the engine lathe .

1762 . Potter to her Maj esty .

1 762 . Occupation of the Brick House Works,

Burslem .

1 764 . Marriage with his cousin Sarah Wedgwood .

1 766 . Production of Black Basaltes .1 768 . Entered partnership with Thomas Bentley

,a

Liverpool merchant .1769 . Establishment of the village and works of

Etruria .

1773—4 . Production of service for the Empress of

Russia , and introduction of the Jasper body.

1775. Opposition to Champion’s patent,and com

m encem ent of Wedgwood’s association with

Flaxman .

1775—6 . Experiments in Rosso Antico .

1780 . Death of Bentley .

1 783 . Elected Fellow of the Royal Society .

1 785. Introduction of Jasper dip .

1787 . Production of Cane colour or Bam b oo;Iware .

1 790 . Production of the“ first fifty copies of the

Portland vase, and partnership with his threesons John, Josiah, and Thomas, and his nephewThomas Byerley .

1795. Death .

136


It was decorated in a variety of ways—b y handpainted patterns delicately pencilled

,by transfer

printing—a carrier with pack horse conveyed a cargoof it each week to Liverpool for the purpose of beingprinted by Sadler Green—It was also decorated bylustre .

A list of the more important figures made in thismaterial

,mostly coloured in enamel, may not be out

of pl ace here .

Pair of figures . Prudence and Fortitude . H . 21 in .

Milton . H . 182 in .

Shakespeare .

Vandyke .

Ceres and Juno .

Madonna and child . H . 14 in .

Figure of a Lion. H . 921 ih . Im p ressed“ Wedgwood .

Charity, m od elled'

b y Mrs . Landre . Impressed Wedgwood .

”

Bust of Shakespeare . H . 10%in . Impressed Wedgwood .

Bust of Zingara modelled by Richard Parker . 1774 .

H . 1 1 in .

Venus with Cupid and Dolphin . Impressed Wedgwood .

Bust of Voltaire, from s ame mould as marked blackbasalt example .

Theodore Parker is recorded as having modelled in1769 The Sleeping Boy

,

” A Boy on a couch andCupid reposing . Mrs . Landre Charges in 1 769 forfour Scripture pieces : Moses and the Serpents

,

Joseph ,

” “ The Lord ’s Supper,

” Six Friars,

” “ AMagdalen , and Christ and the Virgin She also

138

WEDGWOOD

receives~

a fee for designing the series of Faith,Hope

and Charity .

In the spring of 1773 the famous Russian service wascommenced, an enormous undertaking ! The pieceswere to be enamelled with views of British scenery

,

each piece bearing a different view . Wedgwood,who

was a provident soul, with at least one eye to the mainchance , saw possible difficulties , suppose the Empressshod die when the service is nearly completed (1) as itwill be a very expensive business it may not be amissto m ention something of the sort to the Consul and

139


a few days later I think we shod have some assurance that no revolution in the North shod affect thevalidity of. the Consul’s order to us . The service wasfor use at the Grenou illiere form Ing part of thepalace of Tzarsko-Selo ; a child and frog were to beused on the under side as a mark,

“ the chi ld wassubsequently omitted and the frog alone appeared

,

painted green within a shield .

The providing of the requisite number of views alsopresented difficulties . I wish you could send me agood Camera Obscura, not too cumbersome, that Icould take to the Gentn’

s seats here, as I find it willmy power t o pay some acceptable compt’s in

that .way to some Gent!“ in our neighbourhood .

The service was enamelled at Chelsea, an average oftwenty-eight enamellers being constantly employed .

Books and prints were ransacked for subj ects,artists

,

engravers and collectors o f pictures were communicated with .

It was exhibited during June and July, 1774, at theShow rooms in Greek Street , Soho (Portland House) ,and soon became the talk of the town . Mrs . Delany,writing on June 7th, says I am just returned fromviewing the Wedgwood-ware that is to be sent to theEmpress of Russia . It consists

,I believe

,of as many

pieces as there are days in the year . There arethree rooms ‘below and two above filled with it , laidout on tables

,everything that can be wanted to serve

a dinner . I suppose it will come to a princelyprice . It is not precisely known how much theEmpress paid for it . has been stated .

A few duplicates of the Russian service were exeouted . Wedgwood suggests that thefinepainted piecescondemned on account of blisters or other fault, should

140


2 3 . PEGASUS VASE , b lu e jasper , w ith su b ject ofApollo andthe Mu ses, m odelled b y Flaxm an . H eight , 16 inches .

V. 6 » A . M u seum , Sou th Kensington .

142


commonly associated,and in which he has been imitated

in ahnost every civilised country in the world . It isa crystalline body in which sulphate of barytes formsthe largest individu al part . A modern formula isas follows

Sulphate of BarytesChina ClayDorset ClayFlintGypsum

It was coloured by the addition of various oxides,

cobalt forming the colouring matter for the blue . Itbegan‘ to be produced about 1 775 and in the firstinstance the body was coloured throughout (this beingknown as solid j asper) . Later a means was found forapplying the colour on the surface of the ware insteadof mixing it with the body this was called j asper dip

,

and may be said to be an instance in which necessityis the mother of invention . It was due to the increasedprice of cobalt , which had risen to 36s . per lb . Wedgwood refers to the high price of cobalt in a letter toBentley in April

,1 777 , in which he announces the

success of his new ground . It must not , however, beassumed that the solid j asper was abandoned from thisperiod, as Wedgwood continued to make it as well asthe j asper dip, although of course to a less extent ,occasionally the solid and the dip were associated , the coating and the

'

body being of differentcolours . Wedgwood experienced at first some difficulty in preventing the colouring matter of the bodyfrom staining the white reliefs

, esp ecially in the thinnerparts . This was eventually overcome . The coloursmost frequ ently employed were blue in various shades,

144

WEDGWOOD

sage green,olive green, lilac , pink,

yellow,and black .

There was also a white body principally employed forcameos

,which Wedgwood was particularly proud of .

The most exquisite things I eversaw . Pray examinethe texture

,the surface , and the workmanship with

yr glass , and then if you can find in yr heart to sellthem , set what prices upon them you please, but it willbe really a sin and a shame to part with them for 153 .

a p an .

”

Jasper was employed for almost every conceivableobj ect vases

,flower pots

,plaques

,and portrait

medallions , cameos , intaglios , tea and coffee services,etc . All kinds of trinkets were also made, as ear-rings ,lockets , bracelets , snuff boxes , smelling bottles , operaglasses . The plaques were used for insertion in chimneypieces

,book-cases

, Chairs,

"writing tables,etc . , the

larger ones being used for framing .

Vases with bas reliefs began to be produced about1 781 : their finest period being from 1786 to the deathof Wedgwood In 1 795.

Wedgwood began his experiments in connection withthe copy of the Portland vase in 1 785,

but it was notcompleted until 1790 . The first issue was intended tobe fifty

,at the price of fifty guineas each it is not

known how many were actually made . Miss Meteyardgives a list Of fifteen known copies , together with thenames of their owners .A second issue was made at the beginning of the

nineteenth century, and a number of copies have sincebeen made in various sizes and colours . A fine exampleonce belonging to Charles Darwin , Wedgwood

’

s kinsman

,is

‘

at South Kensington . The modellers employedon the work were Hackwood

,Webber and William

Wood .

145


The Pegasus vase was considered byWedgwoodhimself to be one of his masterpieces . The sub j ectrepresents the Apotheosis of Homer . This was prod u ced in blue (example in the British Museum presented by Wedgwood) and also in black (Tweedmouthand Sanderson collections) . Another vase with Pegasus cover, has Flaxm an

’

s reliefs of Apollo and theMuses an example is in the Victoria and AlbertMuseum . This subj ect was also repeated on vasesof di fferent shapes .Wedgwood, in spite of every precaution, failed toprevent the secret of the j asper body from leaking out .

It was due to the treachery of a workman who foundthe '

p articu lars in a pocket book dropped by the greatpotter . Immediately the secret became known imitation began to be made by nearly all the potters in thedistrict—Palmer in the first instance , in conj unctionw ith his partner Neale, the Adam ses , Turner, Elij ahMayer

,Wilson (afterwards partner with Neale) , Birch,

Lockett , and others .The chief artistswho either worked for . Wedgwoodor whose designs Wedgwood employed were as follows

Angelini . RomeBacon

,John

Barret,George

Beauclerk , Lady DianaCoward, JohnDalm az z oni, Angelo . RomeDavaere, John . RomeFlaxman , JohnFratod d i . RomeHackwood, WilliamLandre, Mrs .


for Wedgwood except supply one or two views for theRussian Service .

*

Lady Di Beauclerk designed a number of thingsincluding two j ardinieres with reliefs of Bacchanalianboys under festoons of drapery and skins . She wasthe daughter of the third Duke of Marlborough .

John Coward assumed the head of the modellingdepartment in 1 769 at a salary of £200 per annum .

He was the modeller of the Somnus or Sleeping Boy,

executed in black basaltes , one of the largest andfinest models ever executed forWedgwood 85Bentley .

”

TIt was a copy from an antique original in the collectionof the Grand Duke at Florence .

Dalm az z oni was an extremely capable arti st andworked for Wedgwood from 1787 to the potter

’s death .

He was the head of the little Wedgwood colony inRome, and worked independently of Flaxman . Heemployed Pacetti

,Angelini

, Manz olini, Fratod d i,and Mangiarotti .Davaere worked in Rome in Flaxm an

’

s studio,under

a yearly salary. Here he modelled the large Borghesevase and pedestal

,the latter quite an admirable work .

He came to England a little before Wedgwood ’s deathand ultimately succeeded Webber at the ornamentalworks gtFlaxm an

’

s association with Wedn od began in1775in a very modest way . His first bill for modellingis preserved . He continued to work for Wedgwoodintermittently until the potter ’s death and afterwardsfor the firm . Flaxman was the sculptor (most fittinglychosen) who executed the monument to Wedgwood inStoke Church .

Flaxm an’

s models were so numerous that anything

Mayer. TMeteyard . 3; Ib id .

148

WEEGWOOD

like a complete list is out of the question here : thefrieze of Blind Man ’ s Buff may,

however,be mentioned

,

since it is one of those works In which we have more ofthe sculptor ’s own individuality. It is certainly oneof the most artistic things Wedgwood ever producedand occurs on a flower pot in the Victoria and AlbertMuseum .

Diana visiting Endymion was modelled byFlaxman in Rome about 1 787 : the plaque appearsin the Tweedmouth Collection and is the only oneexisting .

The Muses watering Pegasus in Helicon is an excellent instance of Flaxm an

’

s work on a small scale itoccurs on a pomade box in the Tweedmouth collection ,and is . the only piece of its kind known .

About 1 785 Flaxm an Was .working on the chessmen .

He charges for his tim e at this period at the rate of aguinea a day Dec . I st 1 784 . Three days employedin drawing bas reliefs

,vases

,chessmen

,etc . , £3

and again March 8th,1 785, a drawing of chessmen,

£6 63 .

Fratoddi and Mangiorotti were cameo engraver s ,and as above stated were working in Rome underDalm az z oni .

Hackwood was Wedgwood ’s general handy-man,and

modelled,besides a number of portraits

,a great

quantity of miscellaneous work . He was one of thefew of Wedgwood ’s artists who were allowed to Signtheir works . The medallion portraits of Garrick 8:Wedgwood (British Museum I . 8 1 and I . 91 ) aresigned Wm . Hackwood and W .M. respectively .

Miss Meteyard quotes a bill from Mary Landre toBentley dated Jan 21 st, 1769 ,

in which among otheritems the following appear : History ofAp olow £1 I S .

149


2 4 . CREAM -WARE FIGURE OF FORTITUDE , colou red in enam el,m arb led b ase . H eight , 2 1 inches .

V. 6 ' A . M u seu m , 5. Kensington .

25. STATUETTE OF VOLTAIRE, b lack b asaltes .

V. 6 A . M u seum , 5. Kensington .

150

WEDGWOOD

The Drunken Sylenu s, 53 . The Lord ’

s Supper andCom p ai, £2 2 3 Six Fryers and. a Magdalen at ashilling each .

Lochée usually modelled on a small scale he was atStowe Copying gems in 1787 and also in the followingyear .Pacetti was an Italian artist of considerable power

and.one of the more important ofWedgwood’

smodellers .His works include :Priam begging the body of HectorThe Sacrifice of IphigeniaThe Simulacrum of HygeiaEndymion sleeping on the rock Latm os

Marcus Aurelius making his son CommodusCaesar .

Apotheosis of FaustinaThe Nine Muses .Pacetti also probably modelled the relief of the

Birth of Achilles,which has been assigned to Flaxman

,

but which,however

,is not worthy of so great an artist .

Miss Meteyard gives a bill from Theodore Parkerdated September and October, 1 769 , in which twelveitems appear

,mostly statuettes, for which Wedgwood

Pays £3 3 8Pichler was a gem engraver . A cameo in the British

Museum 3 of a Conquered Province is signedI'

IIXAEP

Pingo was an Italian, who modelled in 1769 therepresentations of the battles of Plassey and Pondicherey .

*

Sir Joshua Reynolds did practically nothing, exceptone or two portraits . He furnished a sort of certificateof merit for the Portland Vase when that work was

Mayer MSS . , q u oted b y Miss Meteyard .

I51


exhibited in London . One or two of his subj ects werereproduced by Wedgwood, as The Infant Academy.

”

Rou b iliac died in 1 762 . Wedgwood apparentlycalled upon his widow

,and obtained from her a sketch

book,which doubtless proved serviceable for small

ornamental and other details . Reproductions weremade of some of his well-known works .Joachim Smith was a modeller in wax

,of Berners

Street,Oxford Street , employed by Wedgwood in

making portraits of the nobility and gentry,which

were produced first in the ordinary white biscuit ware,

and,from 1 773 in the white vterra cotta body Wedg

wood declaring to Bentley in 1 774 his ability to supply,heads of the same colou r , texture, etc .

, etc .

P . P . Stephan modelled for Wedgwood about 1 774 .

Miss Meteyard quotes an interest ing letter fromWedgwood oi this year referring to two wax models byStephan,

H0pe, and a Conquered Province,

” inwhich the potter displays considerable artistic discrimination . He finds that Stephan is wanting in theappreciation of the ideal . The character of the Facesare those of common mortals of the lower class

,etc .

George Stubbs was the well-known animal painter .He executed the large family portrait group for Wedgwood . The potter had experimented a good deal

.in the

way of earthenware tablets or slabs for Stubbs to paintupon in enamel colours

,the size of which ultimately

reached 36 in . X 24 in . Wedgwood instructed Bentleyto write to Stubbs intimating his willingness to takepayment for these in paintings .Tassie

,described by Miss Meteyard as one of the

most remarkable artistic characters of the eighteenthcentury was a capable gem engraver who executeda number of portraits in wax and vitreous paste

,many

152


song to Diana, the wax model of which appears in theseries belonging to Lord Tweedmouth

,etc . ,

etc . In1 788 he went to Rome and worked in the CapitolineMuseum . In the following year he accompaniedWedgwood ’s eldest son in a tour through Italy. Heworked on the Copy of the Portland Vase .

Mrs . Wilcox was a wife who was a better handthan her husband who was a China painter of Wor

oester and had ” served his time at Christian’s worksat Liverpool . Mrs . Wilcox was employed for a consid erab le time on the painted Etruscan warebetween 1 769

—1 776 . She acted as overlooker to thewomen painters who worked at Chelsea on the RussianService .

There is no p recISe data as to the period whenWedgwood began to m ark his wares ; the Ivy Houseproductions bear no marks . The word WEDGWOOD in lower case letters placed irregularly occurson a Queen’s ware teapot supposed to have been madeat Burslem . The word

W E D G W O O DWEDGWOOD

in caps, two sizes , and Wedgwood In lower case letterswere used up to the date of his partnership with Bentley .

A circular stamp in caps without en

closing rm gs is known only on a set of three vasespainted in imitation of natural stone

,gilt serpent

and scroll handles . *

Rathb one, F Old Wedgwood . 189 4 .

154

WEDGWOOD

The same lettering, placed on a wafer or bat of clay,was aflixed inside the plinths of basalt vases andoccasionally on the pedestals and busts of large figures .The circular stamp WEDGWOOD 8: BENTLEY .

ETRURIA in caps with enclosing rings was made tofit round the screw of basalt , granite, and Etruscanvases

,never on j asper . *

The marks Wedgwood and Bentley in caps (twosizes) and in lower case letters (two sizes) occur onbusts

,granite and basalt vases

,figures

,medallions,

plaques,and cameos

,usually accompanied by a number

corresponding to that in Wedgwood ’ s publishedcatalogue .

The initials W . B accompanied by a number,occur on very small intaglios .

The markea” in an oval is rare, only

Q 7 1 N®

occurring on chocolate and white seal intaglios, usuallyportraits . Punctuation only occurs on this and thethree circular marks given .

The word WEDGWOOD in caps three sizes andalso in lower case letters three Sizes were employedchiefly during the period following the death of Bentley,while the last three were continued after Wedgwood ’

s

death .

The above marks must not be confused with themark WEDGWOOD CO occuring on pottery

"

made at Ferrybridge,Yorks

,between 1796 and 1 800 .

This also applies to the marks WEDGEWOODand W .S . Co

’

s WEDGEWOOD referring to a.

Rathb one, F . : Old Wed gwood .1 894 .


pottery established in 1826 at Stockton on Tees, byMessrs . William Smith 8: Co . , against whom theWedgwoods of Etruria obtained an injunction restraining them from the use of the name WEDGWOOD orWEDGEWOOD .

The following is a list of prices obtained during thelast half of the nineteenth century for copies of thePortland Vase

,given in Josiah Wedgwood . A . H .

Church . F .R .S .

Tulk collection copySamuel Rogers ’ copyPurnell collection copyCornelius Cox collection CopyW . Durning Holt collection Copy

J . L . Prop ert collection copy

The chief collections dispersed during the pastthirty-five years are the followingDe la Rue

,1 866 ; ,Marryat , 1 867 ; Barlow, 1869 ;

Carruthers , 1 870 ; Bohn, 1 875; Sibson, 1877 ; Shad~

ford-Walker,1 885 Braxton Hicks

, 1 887 J . Bowker,

1 888 Cornelius Cox ,1 890 Bolckow

,1 891 J .

Anderson Rose,1 891 W . Edkins , 1 891 W . Durning

Holt,1 892 G . H . Vize, 1892 ; Braxton Hicks , 1 895

Madame de Falbe, 1 900 W . Bartlett , 1901 ; W . J .

Stuart,

1901 Watterson, 1 901 ; Apsley Pellatt,

190 1 Willoughby Loudoun, 1902 and J. L . ,Prop ert

The large vase of black and white j asper dip, Ap oth

eosis of Homer,” now in the Tweedmouth collection

,

brought in 1877 no less a sum than £735.

Chu rch : Josiah Wedgw ood .

156

CHAPTER IX

THE woon FAMILY

ROM the accompanying genealogic al diagram,

we see that Ralph Wood and Aaron Wood werethe two sons of Ralph Wood

,the honest

miller of Burslem,who was born in 1676 ,

and thatRalph Wood, j unr . , and Enoch Wood were the sonsof these two brothers respectively .

Wood (the honest m iller of Bu rslem , ) b . 1676 .

Ralph Wood , b . 1 7 15, d . 1772 AaronWood , b . 1 7 1 7 , d . 1 785.

IRalphWood , b . 1 748 , d . 1795 Enoch Wood , b . 1759 , d . 1840

The first three members of this remarkable family havealready been referred to under Salt Glaze, andwhile

,in addition to salt-glazed wares , they made most

of the more popular classes of ware,except in the

Instance of Aaron Wood,figures formed one of the

most important branches of their production . Thetwo

‘

Ralph Woods were the first English figure makersto mark their wares . The marks “ R . Wood orR . Wood

,Burslem and Ra Wood

,

” or RaWood’

Burslem, are generally accepted as being those offather and son respectively . There are various reasonsfor this hypothesis firstly the differences , slight butdistinct, in the character of the modelling and secondly

158

THE WOOD FAMILY

the circumstance that all the known examples markedR . Wood are in the underglaze method

,i .e . ,

thecolouring is applied before the obj ect is glazed

,while

many of the Ra . Wood pieces -are colou red in theenamel method

,in which a glassy flux is added to the

colour bases to enable them to fuse with the glaze at acomparatively low temperature . Another differenceis that the younger potter adopted the practice ofadding a factory number . Mr . Frank Falkner

,in his

extremely valuable book The Wood Family ofBurslem

,gives a fairly complete list of such numbered

pieces .The pieces marked R . Wood include the follow

mgHudibras on horseback . H . 1 1 12

1 in .

’

With b asket hi lt that w oii ld hold b rothAnd serve for fight and d inner b oth .

”

This is a really impressive piece of modelling whichwould do honour to any country ; glazed with manganese

,orange and brown .

The Vicar and Moses . H . 91, in . The parson isasleep in the pulpit , the clerk praying in the pewbelow

,an excellent piece of true humour . The

British Museum specimen is marked R . WoodBurslem . The same mould was used by the youngerRalph Wood

,coloured both under and over glaze

,and

marked Ra Wood Burslem,with the factory number

62 . The piece enj oyed great popularity . It wasafterwards imitated by many potters with inferiormodelling and colouring .

Old Age . H . 9 in . An o ld man with crutch andstick . The smaller salt-glaze figure in the British

I59


26 . RALPH WOOD F IGURE OF D IOGENES LOOKING FOR AN

H ONEST MAN . Colo u red glaz ings . H eight , _1 2 inches .

The only exam ple known .

Collection Baddley Wood .

160

THE WOOD FAMILY

Museum is probably an earlier version by the samepotter . Thi s was afterwards imitated by Walton

,who

worked during the first three decades of the nineteenthcentury .

Pair of figures . H . 7—12 in . Young

man with scythe , and'

girl with a barrel, the formerimpressed “ R . Wood .

”

Charity . H . in . A woman with two children .

Uncoloured with the exception of the scarfs round thewaists of the figures .The following unmarked pieces may reasonably beascribed to the elder potterVan Tromp drawing his sword . H . 10 in . Imitated

from the figure of Hudibras, evidently by R . Wood .

Group . Roman Charity . H . 73 in . A womanwith two children offering a cup of water to a manseated beside her . An impressive sketch group in theFalkner-Sid eb otham collection .

Diogenes with lantern looking for an honest man .

H . 12 in . The plinth only is coloured . Collectionof Mrs . Wood of Henley Hall, apparently the only onerecorded . Illustrated .

Two groups,each of a man and woman . Flute

player ” and bird cage . Heights , 9—5in . and 10 1} in .

respectively . These have all the characteristics of theelder potter ’s modelling.

Toby Philpot Jug . British Museum ,H . 78 . H . 9§

in . Obviously by Ralph Wood, senr . , and probablythe original of a type that was afterwards imitated byall the potters .Al derman Beckford . Willett collection, Brighton.

H . 1 15in . An excellent figure modelled from thestatue in the Guildhall . Beckford was Lord Mayor ofLondon 1763 and 1770 . If this be really by the elder

1 61


p otter it must b e one of his latest works . . Only twoexamples are known . This figure has been attributedto Wedgwood, i .e . Wedgwood paid some one to modelit (see Church, English Earthenware It is moreprobably, however, by Whield on.

In Ralph Wood,junr we deal with an artistic

personality of less power and distinction than hisfather, though his powers were still considerable . Themarked pieces in each instance impressed Ra WoodBurslem include

Mould No .

9 . Lost sheep, figure of a shepherd . H . 9 in . Thisis found in coloured glazes, enamel and creamcolour .

10 . Lost piece, figure of a woman holding broom withcoin in left hand . H . 8§ in . Companionfigure to last named . This is also found inunder and over glaze and in the white .

23 . St . George and the Dragon . H . 1 1 in . Anindifferent group, produced in under and overglaze colours . This was afterwards imitatedby Enoch Wood .

Jupiter . H . 10%in . Coloured glazings .Sportsman . H . 8 in . Coloured glazings .

51 . Toby Jug . H . 10 in . Coloured glazings , basedon his father ’s model .

55. Satyr head jug, with terminal figure on handle .

H . 8%in . Colou red glaze and enamel .62 . Vicar and Moses . H . gi in . Coloured glaze and

enamel . Made from his father ’s mould asalready stated .

80 . Bust of Handel . H . 9 in . Enamel, and creamcolour .

162


12 Ap ollow s at 10d .

1 2 Ap ollow s gilt . The gilding cost an extra 5d .

each .

1 2 Men with lost sheep at 9a. Shepherds to match .

1 2 Sailors ’ lasses .

There were also a dozen each of stags, spotted whiteand black . Hinds

,ditto . Goats , sheep, and rams at

similar rates. Also a pair of the Neptune and Venus,

gilt at 3 3 . 6d . , together with six dozen small figures ateighteen pence the dozen .

A 10 per cent . discount was allowed on the aboveprices , Wedgwood paying for the cask .

Wood’

s production included Dolphin flowerholders and various vases

,glazed green and other

colours . A letter exists from Ralph Wood to ThomasWedgwood (partner of Josiah) dated 1 9 Oct

°

1 784 , asking for settlement of acct . for flower pots :

164

THE WOOD FAMILY

his necessities obliged him , othervv1se he wouldn’t have

asked so soon .

Of Aaron Wood, we/

have his son ’s written voucherfor the fact that he was never heard to swear

,chew

tobacco, take snuff, whistle or sing in his life , andstill was considered the most lively

,pleasant and

merriest man in the country .

*

Whistling,it is true

,under any circumstances

,is an

abomination,but one finds it impossible to forego the

enquiry,in the words of a , d istingu ished Welshman of

the present day,why shouldn ’t he sing Possibly he

had no voice .

Mr . Falkner , in the book we have freely quoted,would appear to suggest by the arrangement of hisillustrations that Aaron Wood was responsible for themodelling of the remarkable salt-glazed pew group ofDr . Sid eb otham ’

s collection .

"

It is quite likely thismay be so

,since

,although it is amazingly skilful in

certain directions,the character of its work proves

equally that while its author possessed no figureknowledge

,he nevertheless had an abundance of

humour . Moreover , its touch suggests tentativeefforts at the human figure in ornamental piecesundoubtedly by Aaron Wood

,as for example in the

mask feet of the soup tureen illustrated .

This modeller is doubtless responsible for many ofthe pecten shell motifs which were varied to an amazingdegree

,though doubtless they were also produced by

his far abler brother .

The pecten shell was particularly suited to themethod of block or mould cutting

,since its embossments

could be accomplished by a single stroke of the cuttinggouge . Its lines

,also

,concealed the seams of the

The Wood Fam ily of Bu rslem . Frank Falkner .

165


2 7, SALT GLAZE SOUP TUREEN AND COVER, m od elled b yAaron

Wood .

Falhner Collection .

2 8. CANE-WARE PLAQUE OF ABELARD; ~ Ah early w ork b yEnochWood . Inscrib ed Ab elard . Enoch Wood

Scu lpsit .

”


166

THE WOOD FAMILY

sections of the mould, always the great trouble of thepotter . Plaster 'moulds were introduced from Parisby Ralph Daniel of Cob ridge about 1750:Enoch Wood evinced artistic c apabilities at a veryearly age . The plaque

,

in the British Museum,H .45,

with a shield of arms and floral decoration bears apainted inscription on the back to the effect thatThese Arms were m od ell

’

d byEnochWoodA D . 1771 .

being then in the 12th year of his age . SignedWilliam Wood .

” This would be accounted early evenfor the present era of infant prodigies .The j asper plaque Descent from the Cross basedon Rubens ’ great work at Antwerp was modelled at theage of eighteen, i . s . in 1 777 , a most creditable pieceof work for so young a man .

John Wesley,on the occasion of his second and

last visit to the Staffordshire Potteries in 1781 ,gave

sittings to Wood, who was then twenty -two years of

age,for a bust

,from which many replicas were made

,

and of which a large number of imitations were madeby the various potters of the district . Much mightbe said on the subj ect of Wesley busts

,the number of

different specimens produced running into hundreds,so great was the popularity . of this preacher in thePotteries and so extended his influence .

The bust of Whitfield was made as a companion tothe Wesley

,and is inscribed on a tablet at the backThe Revd G eorge Whitfield ,

Died Sept . 3oth 1 770 , aged 56

Enoch Wood Scu lp . Bu rslem .

A larger bust of Whitfield, lustred to imitate bronz e ,appears in the Hanley Museum

,and is considered one

of the most admirable pieces of potting that Wood everproduced .

167


This bronze imitation appears to have been a favourite process with Wood . T he well-known Tritoncandlestick produced by Wedgwood Was imitated byWood in bronze lustre . Another of these imitationbronze pieces i s the group of the Virgin and child, alsoa direct c opy of one of Wedgw ood

’

s cream warefigures . Examples of both the Wedgwood and theWood figures appear in the Victoria and AlbertMuseum .

Of marked figures by Enoch Wood the following maybe referred toLarge figure of Eloquence, or St . Pau l Preachingat Athens . H . 22 in . Enamel colouring . E . Wood .

”

Jasper medallion of Abelard,half length, with c

'

ompanion p laque of Heloise . H . 62in. Enoch WoodSculpsit .

” Illustrated .

Seated lion . H . 313in . Enoch Wood Sculpsit .

Made both in j asper,glazed earthenware

,and

china .

Large group of Bacchus and Ariadne,imitated

from the group produced by Wedgwood, Which wasmodelled from the well-known work of the Frenchsculptor Houdon

,and which

,although a copy

,must be

considered as a veritable triumph of the potter’s art

the difficulties attendant upon the production of awork of this size (it measures nearly 30 1 in. ) being aloneconsiderable . Wood ’s group

,which if our memory

does not fail us,was somewhat smaller than Wedg

wood ’s,is found both marked and unmarked .

Jug , with raised figures on a blue ground,glazed, a

most brazen copy of Flaxm an’

s beautiful design ofBlind Man ’s Buff, shewing that the potters had noscruples regarding the appropriation of each other

’

sproperty .

168


was made at the Derby—Chelsea works, produced incolour .The partnership was dissolved in 1 818, from whichdate the firm became Enoch Wood 85Sons . Woodwas at this time the most considerable potter inStaffordshire , and was styled the Father of thePotteries . ” His works at Burslem may be termedpalatial

,occupying an extensive area of ground . He

was an indefatigable collector of old Staffordshire waresand formed a large and valuable Collection . Ward, inhis History of Stoke-on—Trent , says Enoch Woodcollected the early and later specimens of the fictileart-f rom the rude butter pot of Charles II ’

s time to thehighly

=ad orned vase of modern days .

In 1835 the collection was dispersed, two-thirds ofwhich were divided between the museums of London

,

Edinburgh and Dublin . The rest were sold to theKing of Saxony and are now at Dresden .

Enoch Wood was the first of the Staffordshire pottersto make use of bone in earthenware . He refers to thisfact in a letter of September 26th, 1826 I was thefirst person that made use of bone in earthenware, whenin my apprenticeship at Mr. Palmer

’s,at Hanley Green .

It is somewhat difficult to realise that this man, whodied at so comparatively late a date as 1840 , was alivewhen George II still occupied the throne, and was agrown man of over thirty during the events that led upto the French Revolution .

The following recent prices are given from theConnoisseu r Sale prices . The amount obtained forthe first mentioned item is high , especially as it i sunmarked

,but it must be remembered that it is an

exceedingly fine specimen, marked in every inch, asRuskin said of the unsigned Velasquez .

1 70

THE WOOD FAMILY

Ralph Wood,seh r .

Toby jug . Inscnb ed It is all out ,Then fill him agian . H . 93 in . Feb

4 , 1914 . Pu ttick 85 SimpsonThe Vicar and Moses . H . 95

} in.

Pu ttick 85 Simpson 25 4Pair of Groups . Shepherdsand Shepherdesses . H . 104} in . Feb . 4 , 1 914 .

Pu ttick 85 SimpsonPair . Shepherd and Shepherdess . H .

872in . Pu ttick 8: SimpsonRalph Wood

,j unr .

Neptune and Venus , pair . H . 102in .

Feb . 4 , 1914 . Pu ttick 858im p son

Rodney mask cup . Blue and white .

H . 4} in . March 6 , 1914 . Pu ttick

85 SimpsonSt . George and Dragon . H . 1 15in .

July 4 , 1914 . Pu ttick 85 Simpson 10 5Enoch Wood :Bust of Wesley . H . 10 in . April 3 ,

1914 . Pu ttick 8c Simpson .

171

CHAPTER X

CONTEMPORARIES AND FOLLOWERS OF WEDGWOOD

F the crowd of potters that followed Wedgwood ’s lead and more or less adopted hisbusiness and technical methods

,the

“

fourWilliam Adam ses are among the most important .

The Adams family is one of the oldest of the pottingfamilies of Staffordshire, tracing their ancestry to thereign of Edward I . It was John Adams who built theBrick House works at Burslem in 1657 afterwardsoccupied b y

-Josiah Wedgwood .

The four WilliamAdam ses may be given in chronological order as follows

William Adams of Greengates 1745—1805

William Adams of Brick House and C0bridge Hall 1 748

—183 1William Adams of Stoke ‘

1 772—1 829

William Adams of Greenfield s 1 798—1865

The first three were cou sm s, the last two father and5011.

Adams of Greengates, friend and pupil of JosiahWedgwood

,commenced business at Tunstall in 1789

making black basaltes,j asper, stoneware and cream

colour,

* but he appears to have worked a small potteryin Burslem from about 1780 .

The statem ent b y Miss Meteyard Life of Wed gwood that

Ad am s rem oved to Tu nstall after Wed gw ood ’

s d eath is ob vio u slyan error .

172


29 . SAUCE TUREEN AND COVER . Cream -warew ith enam elledd ecoration . Ehjah Mayer .

V. G» A . M u seu m , 8 . Kensington .

30 . TURNER CUP AND SAUCER . Bu ff w are d ecorated in b lu eenam el m arked Tu rner

Collection of M r . H . S tu art P age .

1 74


in her car and Cu pids and goat , with Greek fretabove and guilloche below , impressed Turner .In the same collection are three cameos stamped in

each instance Turner, with subj ects of Britannia ,Neptune and a Sacrifice to E scu lap iu s .

”

The Greek fret border,often occurs— ou a basaltes

vase , for example , in the Burslem Museum with‘a

fri eze of Cupids and goat .

About 1780 ,says Shaw , he discovered a vein of fine

clay on the land of Green Dock from which he obtainedhis supplies for the excellent stoneware that he prod u ced ,

one of the best examples being the large jugat South Kensington of Britannia succouring a Slave ,imp ressed Turner .Mr .

“

Frank Freeth has two Charming teapots withmedall ion subj ects in relief on chocolate background ,together with a third with classic reliefs and border inchocolate . The first-mentioned style of teapot wasimitated at Castleford , Leeds .Turner died in 1786 and was succeeded by his two

sons John andWilliam,who continued the manufacture

of the wares initiated by their father .

Elij ah Mayer was one of the most distingu ishedpotters of the eighteenth century, but very little isknown of him . He occupied a works In High Street ,Hanley

,and made black basaltes quite equal to

Wedgwood, drab stoneware and cane colour , together

w ith a cream ware which also equalled WedgwoOd’

5

both as to potting and decoration . His wares are notalways marked

,but E . Mayer ” appears impressed

on a number of pieces , notably on a basaltes teapot inthe British Museum , K .29 , with a frieze of Classicalsubj ects .As already stated in a previous chapter, the first

176

WEDGEWOOD ’

S CONTEMPORARIES

Josiah Spode served his apprenticeship to Whield on .

Little is known of his early career or productions exceptthat he was married , and the second Josiah Spode born,before the father was out of his apprenticeship ,

i .e . in1754 ,

before he had attained the age of twenty-one ,and while he was still in receipt of the m u nificent sumof 7s . 6d . weekly !Up on the completion of his apprenticeship he started

a small factory at Stoke and made cream ware andblue printed .

In 1770 he occupied the works at Stoke vacated byBanks 85 Turner and produced white stonewares , .

j asper and caneware , though his principal manufacturewas cream wares on Wedgwood

”s lines .His j aspers were sometimes good , sometimes ind ifi

ferent his stonewares Occasionally excellent . Manyof the jugs with sporting and hunting subjects , p eculiarly English in their character , are due to Spode . Ofhis buff stonewares , a teapot , sugar box , and creamjug, glazed inside , the ornament of an Adams character enamelled with blue lines

,formerly In the possession

of Mr . G . W . Rhead , senr . , is equal to anything thatWedgwood ever did of the kind .

A cream ware dish with Scalloped Sides and wavyedge

,the border painted in black w ith a vine motif,

occurs in the British Museum , stamped Spode .

Spode was one of the most considerable potters oiStaffordshire : his work will be further dealt withunder transfer-printed wares . He died in 1797 andwas succeeded by his son the second Josiah .

John Davenport first entered into partnership withWolfe of Stoke

,which partnership lasted but six years ,

The b rothers Ad am , architects, not to b e confu sed w ith'

the

Ad am ses, potters .

I 77


whenDavenport set up for himself at Longport , on thepremises formerly occupied by John Brindley , brotherof the famous engineer . He made all kinds of ware

,

including china, and after 180 1 , glass , the earthenwareincluding figures, stoneware , vases , Toby jugs , andvarious ornamental articles .After 1805he made what he called an ironstone

china which was decorated in various ways . Hewas member of Parliament for Stoke-on—Trent for manyyears ; he died in 1848 and left a prosperous businessto his two sons Henry and William .

The marks are : Stone china within a circularrib bon with Davenport Longport , StaffordshireIndian Stone China

,the letters arranged m a circle ;

Davenport’ ’ with an anchor ; The Royal Crown , with

Davenport Longport , Staffordshire , this after 1806when he was patronised by George IV ; DavenportStone China on tab lets with the anchor set at anangle . Davenport in Caps with symmetricalanchor

,and Davenport on a ribbon with an anchor

beneath .

Job Ridgway founded the Cauldron Place factorybetween Stoke and Hanley in the latter years of theeighteenth century, which was after 1814 continuedby his two sons John and William . Between this dateand 1858 all classes of wares were made of excellent .

quality,including a large quantity of blue printed .

”

A cylindrical mug of white stoneware with huntingscene in relief stamped J Ridgw ay occurs in theBritish Museum , R . 16 .

The firm employed and still employ a number ofmarks as I . RIDGWAY .

” RIDGWAY 85SONS .

I . RIDGWAY on a ribbon with a beehive underneath , and various marks referring to particular

1 78


The three potters Palmer, Neale and Wilson areclosely associated , and unscrupulously pirated Wedgwood ’s productions , although in the case of the potherof 1770 in regard to Wedgwood

’s Etruscan patent,

when the latter consulted his solicitor , Palmer hadclearly as much right as Wedgwood to the production

,

since both Wedgwood’ s and Palmer ’ s subj ects were

taken from the same work of Sir William Hamilton .

Black vases had been made for some time previouslyby a number of potters , and the painting itself was aridiculous travesty of the beautiful ancient Etruscanware . Wedgwood perceived this such arguments

,

said he , may have their weight with ‘ a jury ”

Eventually a compromise was effected , each partysharing in the patent , and dividing the costs .Humphrey Palmer occupied the Church . Works

,

Hanley, from about 1760 , making the various classes ofwares that Wedgwood produced and occasionallyemploying Voyez . The name H . Palmer Hanleyoccurs within a circle , in imitation of one of Wedgwood ’ s marks . The word Palmer occurs and alsoH .P .

He entered into partnership with J . Neale in 1776

when the style of the firm b ecame Neale 85’

CO . Anumb er of basaltes and j asper pieces appear markedNEALE . NEALE 85 CO and occasionally

,

chiefly on basaltes , I . NEALE . HANLEY withina circle . Some of these things were good—a j asperkettle in the Hanley Museum decorated with a floralband being quite admirable—others indifferent .

The cream ware figures , Toby jugs , etc . ,of Neale 85

Co . demand notice , since they appear in a number

Wed gw ood to Bentley—u nd ated , b u t referab le to the springof 1 77 1 .

1 80

WEDGEWOOD ’

S CONTEMPORARIES

of collections and are moreover of uncomm on merit .

Among these may be mentionedDiana , holding bow ,

with sheaf of arrows slungover her back . H . 5 in . Ifnp ressed Neale 85

Co .

”

Autumn , a girl holding a bouquet of flowers , on squareplinth impressed Autumn . H . 55in .

Flora . H . 12 35in .

Hygeia . H . 9 in .

( Toby jug , imitated from the Ralph Wood model .H . 10 } in . Impressed Neale 85 CO .

An example of the well-known group of the parsonand clerk returning home after a drunken b out isimpressed Neale 85 CO . This was also produced b vother potters .

Palmer and Neale married daughters of ThomasHeath of Lane Delph . The third daughter became thewife Of the potter Pratt .

In 1786 R . Wilson entered into partnership withNeale , the firm becoming Neale 85 Wilson . Su b se

quently , however , Neale retired and the business wascarried on by Wilson alone .

Wilson varied Wedgwood’ s method of the super

imposition oi different bodies , —black figures on buff ,red figures on black , etc .

This device was imitated by Shore 85Goulding whoran a small factory at Isleworth between 1760 and1820 . A very indifferent copy of Wedgwood’ s copyof the Portland vase appears in the Schreiber collection of cane-coloured body with the figures in red ,

impressed S . 85G .

The Portland vase,i .e . Wedgwood’s copy , was also

copied both by Neale and Wilson a large example b ythe latter of grey body with cream-coloured figures

181


appears in the above-named collection impressedWilson .

The French modeller John . Voyez must be noticedin this c onnection . In March , 1768 , Wedgwoodwrites to Bentley I have hired a modeller for threeyears , the best I am told in London, he serv

’

d his timewith a Silversmith , has work

’

d several years at a ChinaWork , has been two or three years carving in woodand marble for Mr . Adams the famous Architect , is aperfect Master of the Antique stile in ornaments , vases85C . 85C . 85 works with equal . facility in clay, wax ,

wood or stone .”

Wedgwood advances him,£2o , pays his expenses to

Staffordshire by coach and provides a house for him .

Voyez acknowledges Wedgwood ’s exceeding genteelbehaviour in a letter to Cox , Wedgwood

’s clerk,

gives him instructions as to the sending of his furnitureby waggon including a p r of black stocking breechesfor which Wedg wood is to pay, and winds up by saying ,if it suits you to send me a stone bottle of GoodPorter and Charge it as above you cannot oblige m e

more , for I am just dead for want of it .

”

In the Spring of the following year he is arrainged atthe Stafford Assizes for some offence not stated

,

sentenced to three months ’ imprisonment and to be—~whipped with a cat-o-nine-tails .During his imprisonment the partners discuss

.their

probable line of action with_ ,

resp ect to Voyez . Wedgwood , while expressing his intention of having nothingfurther to do with him on any acct . ’ is evidentlyimpressed with the strides his rivals are

“making ln thematter of vases : reasons very soundly that as he hasgot the start of his competitors in this particular

,much

the most p rofitable he ever lau nched into ,’tis a pity

182


to lose it so soon , prices might be lowered by competition and as many buyers are not qualified to discernnice differences in forms and ornaments if the imitations are tolerable the demand from us might bediminished . What then ,

” continues he , do ourcompetitors stand most in need of to enable them torival us the most effectually S

‘

ome person to instructthem to compose good forms , and ornament them withtolerable propriety . V can

'

do this much moreeffectually than all the potters in the County puttogether , and without much Personal labour , as theornaments may be b ot or m od el

’

d b y others .” Wedg

wood therefore pays him his full wages of 363 . per weekfor his unexpired term of two years in order to preventhim taking service elsewhere , Voyez e mploying t hetime in working both for himself and for

°

Palmer ofHanley , and according to Miss Meteyard , whose biaswould naturally be in favour of her hero , industriouslyspreading reports that Wedgwood was bankrupt andhad run away from his creditors .

The earlier work of Voyez was of the pseudo-classicalorder which Wedgwood himself was producing andwhich was fashionable at the period . An example isthe vase in black basaltes in the BritishMuseum , K . 1 1 .

with a frieze of Venus and cupid in Vulcan ’s“ Smithysigned

and marked

MADE BY H . PALMER’

HANLEY STAFFORDS . E .

Another vase executed in the same year appears in the

1 84

CONTEMPORARIES

Holb ou rne Museum , Bath, with a really fine relief ofPrometheus attacked by the vulture , the signature

J . Voyez Scu lp eb at , 1769 , and on the plinth H .

Palmer . Hanley . Staffordshire .

Wedgwood’s fears of the successful competition of

his rivals,especially Palmer and Voyez , would appear

to be well grounded since in the matter of the application of relief medallions to black basaltes they are hereactually in front of him .

Not the least important of Voyez ’ activities was theproduction of cameo and intaglio seals on which heforged Wedgwood and Bentley ’s name . These he soldafter the manner of a cheap j ack from a vehicle atthe various towns , and by the help of handbills scattered among the crowd , sometimes disposed of as muchas £10 worth a day . His catalogue of seals now in theOld Library , Union Street , Birmingham , was issued inI 773From this date to 1788 we hear practically nothing of

him when he suddenly changes his style from the

classical to the more purely naturalistic . The FairHebe jug produced in the latter year i s the bestknown of his productions , and finds a place in mostcollections having any pretensions to completeness .

This shows on the obverse two rustics seated b y~ the

trunk of a tree , the youth offering a bird’ s nest to the

girl . Above them is a scroll stamped FAIR HEBEand on the reverse is a standing sportsman with cup ,

a dog at his Side,and a bottle between his feet stamped

R .G . indicatingKing George , whose health is aboutto be drunk. Behind the figure on a scroll is inscribedA Bumper ! A Bumper ! and on some specimensthis legend is altered to God save the King .

Many poorer imitations of this jug were made , so

1 85


3 1 . ADAMS STAND , b lu e jasper, w ith classical figu res of a

Sacrifice , etc .

V . 6 1 A . M u seu m , S . Kensington .

1 . P ILGRIM BOTTLE-SHAPED VASE , w ith scenes in relief fromShakespeare . Colou red glazes . c . 1760 . Signed J .

Voyez . Height , 65inches .


3 3 . 2 . SATYRMASK JUG . Colou red glazings ,mad e b y RalphWood and m od elled b y Voyez .

V. 6 » A . M u seu m , S . Kensington .

186

WEDGEWOOD ’

S CONTEMPORARIES

that it behoves the collector to be careful in makinghis . purchases .The Bacchus jug is a characteristic example of

the work of Voyez . It IS extremely bizarre , borderingon the grotesque . A figure of Bacchus seated on abarrel holds a cornucopia from which springs a dolphinforming the lip or spout . On the reverse stands asatyr with goblet and an owl by his side , the handlebeing formed of a sea lion . The sense of connectionbetween these several artistic motifs is not very clear ,nor is the

“

jug very satisfactory as an Obj ect of utility .

An oblong .panel in the British Museum , K .8 , has avase in the centre with terminal female figures oneither side holding up a festoon . This is stamped

J . Voyez and belongs to his earlier period , i .e.

about 1773 .

An excellent vase mottled with brown in the samecollection with Acanthus leaves at foot , two grotesquemarks on the body and vine clusters at the bases ofthe handles , is marked

‘ ‘ Voyez,

and Hales fecitVoyez

‘

entered into partnership with T . Hales ofCob ridge, who was working about 1785.

There can be no doubt that Voyez is responsible formany of the satyr mask cups and jugs extant , thoughsome of the best , doubtless , were modelled b y theWoods . These continued to be made at a later period ,of inferior workmanship .

Captain Price is of opinion that many pieces usuallyascribed to the elder Ralph Wood , as for example TheHudibras on horseback and Van Tromp drawing hissword ,

”were modelled by Voyez though made byWood .

If this theory be correct we must also credit Voyezwith the modelling of such pieces as Diogenes lookingfor an honest man and The Peasant at Prayer,

”as

187


well as other pieces . It is certain that the full measureof Voyez ’ activities has not u p to the present been .

determined .

Mr . Frank Fre‘

eth has several pairs of spill holdersformed of tree trunks with rustic figures and animals

,

these , though unmarked , would appear to have beenproduced by Voyez during his later period .

Figures and groups showing considerable meritappear marked Lakin 85Poole,who were in b u sinesSatHanley between 1770

”

and 1794 . On their invoiceheading they specify

‘

among a long list of articles,

Figures in great variety .

The best known group Shows Marat in the act offalling to the ground , stab bed , with Charlotte Cordaystanding dagger in hand . The marbled base i s in

scrib ed : The Assassination of Marat by CharlotteCordé , of Ca

’en in Normandy 1793 . The piece isimp ressed underneath the base Lakin 85 Poole .

”

A numb er of pieces also occur marked Lakin .

”

Although Mason may scarcely be considered as animitator or follower of Wedgwood , and was moreoverof a somewhat later date , it will be convenient toconsider him here .

In 1813 Charles James Mason (afterwards C . J .

Mason 85Co . ) took out a patent for a body which hecalled Ironstone China now much sought after bymany collectors . It consisted in using the scoria orslag of ironstone pounded and ground in water , withflint

, Cornwall stone , and clay , together with oxide ofcobalt . This formed a substance extremely hard anddurable which was used for such things as bedsteadposts

,large punch bowls , cisterns , etc . , as well as

ordinary wares .The initials G .M. in the earlier style of the firm

1 88


34 . JUG AND PLATTER . Mason’

s Ironstone

Collection of M rs . Comyns Lewer .

35. TEAPOT AND ORNAMENTAL VASES . Mason’

s Ironstone

China .

Collection of M rs . Comyns Lewer .

190


3 . cl .

Lakin Poole . Mask mug,marked

Lakin 85Poole , and four shell dishes .Sotheby . June , 1906 1 6 0

°

Mason ’s Ironstone . Dinner service . 197pieces , decorated in colours . Christie .

March , 1906 53 1 1 0

Dinner service . 10 1 pieces, paintedin colours in the Chinese taste . Pu ttick

8z Sim p son . March , 1913 13 10 o ‘

1 92

CHAPTER X I

PRATT WARE

ERTAIN j ugs , of Slightly cream—tinted earthenware , glazed with a bluish glaze , bearing reliefornamentation of sporting subjects or those

connected with the sea , and coloured in the underglaze method , have for some time past been known tocollectors under the more or less vague term of Prattjugs . The specimens are invariably unmarked , andup to a quite recent date no sufficiently definiteinformation as to their authorship was available . Asa consequence , pieces appearing at intervals in thedifferent sale-rooms command comparatively low

prices , and thus afford a field for the collector oflimited means, especially as these rates are certain toincrease . As a matter of fact this potter is not nearlyappreciated as much as he deserves to be , inasmuch ashe may be said to be the one Staffordshire potter whosework bears any affinity to that of the great Italianm aiolicists , and this in so far that the modelling isvigorous and full of character, and the colour palettethe same simple restricted one of the Italians , viz . , a

cobalt blue , a green of fine quality, a rich orange and abrown .

It must be remembered that these pieces suffer inreproduction by photography ; the work, althoughbased upon form and relief, is conceived from a colourstandpoint , the effect therefore in translation oftenappears ruder and coarser than it really is, the colour

193 N


value being necessarily somewhat lost or distorted .

A jug found in various collections is impressed at thebottom with the word PRATT in capitals . Itenables us to identify with tolerable certainty thevarious classes of this interesting ware , which may b eplaced under five different liead s , viz .

1 . Incidents connected with the sea , of which a

typical specimen is the marked jug above referred tothe subj ect being the Farewell and the Return .

On the obverse is a sailor bidding adieu to his sweetheart in a field , his ship in the d istance , and on thereverse he is coming ashore and hastening to meether . This same subj ect

,appears also on other jugs

(unmarked) with varying borders and accessories .

More often , these sea subj ects consist of portraits ofnaval and military heroes

,made in celeb ration of the

different victories won during the period of this production , i .e . 1780 to about 1820 .

Thus we have the Nelson and Berry jug, with bustsof the two naval commanders , their ships between ,inscribed on the neck Admiral Nelson ,

” “

CaptainBerry.

” Of this jug several variations are extant byless important potters , the modelling coarser and thecolouring ruder than the originals . A specimen existswith Captain Hardy substituted for Captain Berry .

H . 6 In .

The Duncan jug refers to the defeat of the DutchAdmiral De Winter Off Camperdown In 1797 , and bears abust portrait of Duncan whose name is stamped on hissash

,with,on the reverse , two gleaners In a field H . 51In

The Jervis jug , referring to the victory over theSpanish Fleet off Cape St . Vincent in 1797 , withportrait of the Admiral holding a trumpet , inscribedLord Jarvis . 72 in.

I 94


36 . SMALL FLASKWITH EQUESTRIAN FIGURE OF THE DUKE OECUMBERLAND . Relief colou red .

V . 6 A . M u seu m , S . Kensington .

3 7 . JUG NELSON AND BERRY . Raised d ecoration, colou red

u nd er-glaze .

V. <5: A . M u seu m , 5. Kensington .

3 8 . TEA POY WITH CARICATURE COSTUME FIGURES . Reliefcolou red .

V. 55 A . M u seu m , S . Kensington .

196


mug of Midnight Conversation in the HanleyMuseum . It is a reproduction of the well-known saltglaze specimen

,but the quality of colouring and general

effect is so fine as to make it quite unique .

The fine fruit dish in the South Kensington collectionhas

,on either side of a growing vine, a shepherd with

crook and a spotted dog,and a girl gathering fruit , the

sentimental interest being imparted by a winged figureof Cupid in a neighbouring tree accompanied by a dove ;the subj ect is repeated on the opposite side, and in thecentre are sheep and lambs and shepherds ’ crooks .The piece is Arcadian in its naive simplicity .

Pratt made all kinds of ware and also employedtransfer printing . In the Victoria and Albert Museum13 a Sp l l

‘

it flask with an excellently modelled figure ofNelson in relief

,coloured on an ornamental ground of

b lue transfer, marked D .R . on the bottom in blue,doub tless the initials of the recipient of the piece .

It must be remembered that we have been speakingof the Felix Pratt , prob ably the third ,

who was workingfrom about 1780 to about 1 820 . His work may beidentified by the peculiar blue tinge of the glaze inwhich there is a little more than the ordinary pinch ofzaffre , the style of the modelling of the pieces , and aboveall the extremely fine quality of the colouring . Hewas largely imitated by other potters and especiallyat Liverpool (Herculaneum) and Sunderland ; fromthis circumstance a number of Pratt jugs have beenknown as Sunderland jugs . These imitations were,however

,always inferior to Pratt ’s own work, the

difference b eing noticed on comparison of the pieces .

The Pratt firm continued the under-glaze traditionthroughout the whole of the nineteenth century, butmainly in transfer printed subj ects (under-glaze) after

198

PRATT WARE

the early Victorian painters—Wilkie, Mulready, Landseer—initiated by the father of the present Messrs .Pratt

,b . 1 813 , d . 1 894 ,

for which he was awarded amedal at the 1851 Exhibition .

We interviewed the representat ive of the Pratt firmat Fenton some few years ago

,and although little is

known of the earlier Pratts,the family possessing no

records beyond the grandfather of the present memb ersof the firm , we elicited two or three interesting itemsof information, as 1 . There have been six generationsof Pratts

,potters . A Felix Pratt

,presumably the

first, married one of the three daughters of ThomasHeath

,who was potting at Lane Delph (now Middle

Fenton) in 1 710 . The two other daughters becam ethe wives of the potters Palmer and Neale . Thepresent factory was built on the Site of that occupiedby Thomas Heath . 2 . The Felix Pratt of the piecesunder review considered himself a better potter thanwas Josiah Wedgwood . 3 . That this potter was anexcellent colour maker : an important piece of information

,since there can be no doubt that colour is the

most valuable quality in these pieces,and the chief

quality by which they may be recognised from themany inferior pieces which are constantly com ing intothe market .I t is very diffi cult to recognise Pratt ’s pieces from the

descriptions in sale catalogues,as they are mostly

unmarked . A specimen of the Sailor seated on achest , however, was put up at Christies, April 17 ,

1917 , and brought the comparatively low sum of

£4

I 99

CHAPTER”

XII

TRANSFER PRINTED WARES

HE process of Transfer printing may be saidto bear the same relation to painted Waresas did the type-printed book to the earlier

written manuscript,and for a precisely similar reason

the a dvantages of a more extended output .It Would serve no purpose to institute any sort ofcomparison between hand work and printed work anymore than between the printed and the written book,

the qualities sought after being so different . Given awell-considered design a printed piece m ay be a veryinteresting and attractive thing indeed . In point offact , the storiation or subj ect matter of transferprinted .wares is full of interest

,and like the earlier

printed fan,which was in some sense the newspaper of

the period, forms an interesting commentary upon, orrecord of current events .This truly vast subj ect of transfer printed waresoffers an excellent Opportunity for the collector ofm ore modest means to indulge his fancy . He may gofor the whole subj ect , or he may specialise in itsvarious branches as Liverpool black printed Leedsred

,black

,and purple ; the Staffordshire pale or

deep blue ; the willow pattern ; masonic jugs andplates ; the railway pieces, etc .

200


and immersed in an acid bath, the acid attacking thedrawn lines and eating downwards into the plate .

Both processes have their own advantages—theengraved line is cleaner and m ore clearly cut , theetched line is freer . Most engravings , however, aredone on an etched groundwork ,

i . e . the outlining andin many cases much more is etched first and the workfinished with the graver .Etching has been, and 1s still employed by itself :fact etching has been preferred during recent years,being a more rapid process . The present writerexecuted some years ago for Messrs . Wedgwood anumber o f portraits of celebrities

,including , Queen

Victoria (for the Jubilee) , Disraeli, Longfellow. A

ju g with portrait of the last named was produced forthe American market , a copy being presented to thedistinguished poet a little time before his death . TheseLongfellow jugs on the rare occasions that theyappear, fetch fairly high prices from the

’

circumstanceof the issue being confined to America .

The developments of trans fer printing, broadlyspeaking, followed the lines of the development of theart of engraving generally . It will be obvious thatthe more delicate effects of engraving could not beobtained b y

'

a method involving a second transfer, tosay nothing o f the more or less rough-and—ready methodof printing compared with the delicacy involved in theprinting of an etching or even an engraving . Theprocess of stipple engraving was introduced into thiscountry by the engraver Ryland about 1760 .

The method known as bat printing was in use atWorcester some twelve or fourteen years later than theabove date . The potters found that b y

‘

em p loying a“ bat of gelatine or soft glue instead of paper, and

202


by priming the engraved plate with Oil, leaving theOil only in the engraved work, and pressing the baton the plate

,an exact facsimile of the engraved work

in oil could be transferred to the ware and dusted overwith colour in a powdered state by means of a piece ofcotton wool .Mr . C . F . Binns Story of the

'

Potter states thatthe process was not a commercial success, and has neverbeen worked upon a large scale though we wellremember the bat printing shop at Mintons in theearly seventies

,and it is certain that a good deal

was produced by the Minton firm at that period .

Bat printing as already stated was employed earlyat WOrcester : a bat printer from these works namedWilliam Davis was working for Adams Of Cob ridgeabout 1 777 . It was also e mployed at Bad d eleys,Shelton ; Worthingtons , Hanley Copelands atHerculaneum and b y Zachariah Barnes at Liverpool .Aquatint as a transfer process never obtained muchvogue . The engraved m ethod was introduced intoEngland about 1 773 . Peter Pever Burdett

,an

engraver,offered his services to Frederick the Great ,

to lay the results of certain chemical experiments atHis Maj esty ’s feet .

‘The Offer, though refused byFrederick , was accepted by Wedgwood, who producedsome pieces in this method . Burdett worked also atLiverpool .The more recent process Of Germ an Lithographictransfers printed in polychrome in Germany and sentover here by the hundreds of gross to be clapped onthe ware does not come within our scope .

HISTORY

I t is -

a somewhat curious circumstance that the idea

204


The Liverpool Delft tiles—Affidavit sworn bySadler Green, August 2nd ,

1 756 , in which theydeclared they had printed twelve hundred tiles in sixhours and had been upwards of seven years in workingout the process .The Worcester porcelain mug . Portrait OfFrederickthe Great, dated 1757 .

MAKERS AND THEIR PRODUCTIONS

It is sufficiently clear that the Liverpool Delft tilesalready referred to in an earlier chapter ' were theearliest instances of transfer printing on earthenware .

These comprise a series of "fancy subj ects taken fromvarious sources, as The Ladies Amusement

,

” a bookof designs by Pillem ent and others Antique Car icatures

,

” many signed J . Sadler,Liverpool a series

of ZEsop’

s fables, a further series of figures of actorsand actresses in character, taken mostly from BellsBritish Theatre . The partnership between Sadlerand Green terminated at some period between 1 769 and1 774 . Sadler died in 1 789 and Green abandoned thebusiness some ten years later .A fairly comprehensive set of Liverpool printedcream wares appears in the Schreiber collection, thesubj ects extremely varied, the pieces including almostall classes of ware .

We have the jug Of courtship and matrimony ,

with two heads doubled to convey a different impression, the one way all smiles, the other all frowns, theinscrip ioni:

When two fond fools together m eet

Each look gives joy each kiss So sw eet

Bu t w ed ,how cold and cross they

’

ll b e

Tu rn u psid e d own and then you’

ll see,”etc .

206


A handsome jug records the first attack of theBastill e Taken by storm after a conflict of three hoursby the Citizens of Paris . July 14th 1 789 on threverse,

“ Storming the Second Draw-Bridge at theBastille .

Wesley teapots and,

j ugs were common and appearin many variations , with a portrait of the preacher anda motto, as, Let your conversation be as becomeththe Gospel of Christ .Various sporting jugs appear : a large jug in this

collection gives a cock-fight on the one side and arepresentation of a fighting cock on the other .Wedgwood, as may be readily imagined, was one ofthe first potters to perceive the almost unlimitedpossibilities of this process . A consignment of warewas sent weekly by carrier from Staffordshire toLiverpool for the purpose of being printed by SadlerGreen . These early pieces are rare . A curious

teapot appears with the subj ect of The Miller ’ sMaid grinding old men young again

,and the verses

of a ballad beginning

Com e, old , d ecrepid , lam e or b lind ,

Into m y Mill to take a grind .

Wedgwood continued to send his wares to Liverpool,and although Sadler Green printed for many pottersbeside Wedgwood, including Leeds, the process soonSpread to Staffordshire .

The humour of the Staffordshire pieces was ofa somewhat broader character than elsewhere . Afavourite subj ect was the Tythe Pig taken from acontemporary broadside

,of which several pottery

versions are extant,mostly mugs . A variation of the

subj ect,printed in black and roughly coloured by hand,

207


3 9 . LIVERPOOL MUG . Transfer printed .

Collection of M r . H . S tu art

Transfer printed and colou red . H u m phreys and

Mendoza fighting at Od iham in Ham pshire onWednes

d ay Jany 9 th, 1 788 . J . Aynsley , Lane End .

V. (S: A . M u seu m , 5. Kensington .

208


is on a mug at South Kensington with The Tythe inkind or the Sow ’s Revenge . The parson , withtything tables sticking out of his pocket , is attackedby the sow

,the farmer andh is family looking on with

unconcealed glee,the parson exclaims

The fattest p ig it is m y d u eOh save m e from the w icked sow .

The various Arms jugs are well known ; they weremade for the members of the great guilds , as well asthe lesser ones

,many being produced at Liverpool by

Richard Abbey while with Sadler 8: Green . TheFarmer

’

s Arms gives on the one side the arms , w itha dairymaid and mower for supporters , and the mottoIn God is our trust . The example at South Kensington is Signed T . Fletcher

,Shelton,

” and as is usualwith these jugs the initials . of the recipient , in thisinstance J.P . There were

’

also among others theWeaver ’s Arms Wave truth with trust ” ; theJoiner

’

s Arms Join truth with trust theBaker ’s Arms Praise God for all the lastnamed signed S . Daniel , Stoke .

A charming mug appears in the above-named collection of The General Toast

,

” representing five

gentlemen seated at a table, the verses of Here ’ s tothe maiden, etc . ,

occupying the rest of the mug,signed Aynsley .

”

J . Aynsley of‘

Lane End was a most interestingpotter, and appears to have been his own engraver asmost of his productions are signed with his name .

A mug in the Schreiber collection records the prizefight between Humphreys and Mendoza in 1788 withthe names of the various personages represented on ar ibbon . Signed J . Aynsley . Illustrated

209 O


It appears to"

have been A’

ynsley’

s practice to presentto his apprentices on leaving the works

,pieces bearing

moral lessons for their guidance through life,thus

imitating a far greater man,Hogarth

,who had fans

printed with the Rake ’s Progress , etc .,given as

solemn warnings to his domestics .A plate appears in the British Museum ,

H . 36 ,

representing a lady under an Open pair of compasses .

The inscription FEAR GOD KEEP WITHINCOMPASS AND YOU WILL BE SURE TO AVOIDMANY TROUBLES WHICH OTHERS ENDUREetc . Round this appear four scenes—lady with cards ,woman drinking, etc .

,and the legend : Attend unto

this simple fact . As thro’ this Life you rove, That

virtuous and prudent ways Will gain esteem and love .

Lane End .

Masonic jugs and mugs are numerous, and bear theusual emblems, etc . The reader will scarcely expect

'

a Mason to divulge the secrets of his craft , consequentlyany detailed explanation of these devices is p reclu ded ,

though,

The World is in painOu r secret to gain

B u t still let them w ond er and gaze on

Fo r they ne’

er can d evise

The w ord nor the Sign

Of a free accepted m ason !

This being the sort of doggerel that appears on thesepieces

,together with the Mason ’s arms, differing

in almost every instance,being fanciful designs by the

artist who employs the various recognised emblems tomake up a design suiting his own fancy . The realMason ’s arms also appears . The pieces were madeat all potting centres—Staffordshire, Liverpool, Leeds,

210


4 1 . RAILWAY . JUG . Black transfer printed , show ing the

Rocket .

”

Glaisher C ollection.

42 . RAILWAY JUG . Black transfer printed . Entrance to

Liverpool and Manchester Railway .


Z I Z


and elsewhere . Adams of Cob ridge had as__

early as1 775 introduced transfer printing in Staffordshire .

John Turner of Green Dock was the first to print inunder-glaze blue , followed about 1 784 by Josiah Spodewith his willow pattern engraved by Minton, and

“

three years later Adams of Greengates commenced theunder-glaze blue method .

The principal'

makers of blue printed were thefollowing :

John TurnerAdams of StokeAdams of Greengates

Adams of StokeBenjamin Adams

Adams Sons, succ essors to William

Benj aminAdams 1 830

—1840

Enoch Wood 8: Sons 181 8—1 846

Andrew Stevenson 1810—1818

2 14

Pale Blue Printed .

English and American views . Co lumbusviews

,other subj ects

in great varietymarks Adams

,

Adams C0 .,

B .

’

Adams .English and Am erican views . Columbusviews .Variou smarksreferring to the different p atterns .English views, AmericanandFrenchviewsCeltic Chinamark . E . WoodSons . Burslem .

in circles .English and Americanviews

,dark blue ,

marked A Stevenson

'

warranted . Staf

ford shire, w ithcrown in a circle .


J . R . Clews 1818—1829

Joseph Stubbs 1 798—1 829

J . 8c W . Ridgway 1824—1836

Ralph Stevenson 1815—1840

John James 1802—1829Rogers

Charles Meigh 1820—1840

R . Hall 1800—1820

J . 8: R . Riley 1820—1827

2 15

English, Americanand Picturesqueviews . Syntax .

Quixote and Wilkied esigns . Select views

,

marked Clewswith a crown .

English and American views

,marked

Joseph Stubbs .Longport in a circle with star .English and Americanviews , Beauties ofAmerica .

American views,dark

blue, marked RalphStevenson . English views . Britishlakes , etc . markedR .S . , R.S .W.

and R . StevensonWilliams .

American and otherviews , markedRogers .

American and otherviews, markedMeigh andCharles Meigh

,

Hanley .

’

English views . Pictu resqu e scenery,etc .

Picturesque views .English views


To the above list must be added—Wedgwood,

Etruria, who after the death of Josiah in 1795madeblue printed ,

and black printed after 1830 .

Wedgwood Co . ,Burslem— (Ralph Wedgwood)

black printed .

Josiah Spode the second succeeded his father in1 797 and made as already stated a variety of printedwares

,the patterns including Castle, Dagger

“

border,

Italian India,

Milkmaid,

NewNankin

,

” Tower , Turk,

” Roman,

” Oriental,

216


Leeds,Liverpool (Herculaneum) , Swansea, Caughley,

Newcastle and Sunderland, Middlesbrough, will benoticed elsewhere under these headings .

The three brothers Mayer . Jos , Thomas, and Johnos must not be confounded with Joseph) , who suc

ceed ed Joseph Stubbs at the Dalehall Works in 1 836 ,

initiated the practice of printing in polychrome on thebiscuit . This was continued by the Pratt firm atFenton who made the small box covers with picturesafter Mulready

,Landseer , and other painters of the

thirties and forties for which as already statedthey were awarded a medal at the 1851 exhibition .

It must be remembered, however, that Sadl erGreen had experimented much earlier In this process

,

which 1s of doubtful utility owing to the time occupiedin printing

,resembling the present day English process

of colour etching inWhich each colour is printed froma separate plate .

PRICES

Transfer P rinted Wares

Transfer p rInted jug with portrait of Nelsonon the one side and plan of the Battleof Trafalgar on the other . Sotheby .

Nov . , 1904 3 15 0

Transfer printed jug withsubj ect relatingto the Independence of America .

Sotheby . Nov ., 1904 3 3 0

Twelve plates and large dish transfer printed .

Farmyard scenes in blue . SothebyMay

,1 907 1 10 0

Transfer printed mug in red: FletcherC0 . Shelton . View of the Grand

2 18


3 . cl .

Cricket match played in Lord ’s Ground,

Mary-le—bone . June 20 . 1 790 andfollowing day between the Earls of Winchelsea and Darnley for 1000 f

gu ineas .

H . 6 in . July, 1914 45 3 0

See also Leed s p rices . Creamware d ish.

2 19

CHAPTER XIII

LUSTRED WARES

T is necessary to draw a sharp line of distinctionbetween the lustred wares produced by theStaffordshire and other potters during the last

decades of the eighteenth century and later , and thetfi

’

ie lustres of the middle ages . Gold , silver , platinum ,

and b ronze were used in the preparation of lustres , andthe English potters found that a preparation of golddissolved in aqua regia , mixed with balsam of

,

sulphurand turpentine , applied to the ware and,

fired at a lowheat

,produced a metallic Sheen on the ware, requiring

no burnishing . It had,however , no iridescence , which

is the most precious quality of true lustre the samemay be said of the so-called Silver lustres obtainedfrom the then newly discovered platinum . The

silver-lustred teapots , etc . , presented the same deadevenness of surface as did the metal obj ects whichthey were Intended to supplant . There can be littledoubt that the Staffordshire potters in their silveredwares had no further obj ect in view than producingthe similitude of metal , as their shapes were borrowedfrom the silversmith ’s work of the time . It must ,however , be remembered that these wares were prod u ced , not for the cabinet of the cultivated connoisq

seu r, but for ordinary use in the cottage .

220


upon-Tyne,established between 1780 and 1790 pro

d u cing lustred and printed wares .

3 . Pieces in which plain bands , etc . , of lustre areassociated with painted decoration , or in which painted

panels of figure and other subj ects appear , the rest ofthe piece being coated with lustre . A charming littlejug in the Hanley Museum has finely enamelled figuresubj ects in oval panels , the rest of the p iece plainlustred in bronze .

4 . Painted patterns in lustre up on a light ground .

A cup and saucer in the Victoria and Albert Museumwith border in platinum lustre is marked Swanseaon the saucer and a cross ,

in red on the cup .

5. Painted patterns in lustre,usually copper , upon

-coloured ground such as blue , as affordingcontrast . A cup and saucer in the Victoria -and AlbertMuseum with blue rim , lustred with copper , is markedScott .

”

6 . Patterns produced by a resist , I .e . the pattern ispainted on the ware in some substance easi ly solublein water , as sugar , or glycerine , to which some colouringmatter is added to enable the pattern to be seen . Thewhole 15 lustred over and the piece immersed In water .The lustre

,being mixed with a resinous vehicle,

resists the water and the pattern is washed off,leaving it white on a lustred ground . These resistpieces are usually though not always in Silver orplatinum lustre and form by far the largest class .

7 . Pink , lilac or purple lustre obtained from gold andPurple of Cassius , this being more directly associatedwith Josiah Wedgwood , the quantity of gold usedbeing necessarily very small . The various mottled ,

veined or marbled pieces belong to this class .It must be confessed that the pieces of the first

222

LUSTRED WARES

mentioned class , both of silver and copper lustre, beara most remarkable resemblance to metal . A numberof pieces are to be seen at South Kensington by variousmakers , mostly unmarked . It should be borne in mindthat a Similar class of goods is at, fp resent

. being madecommercially , and some of these pieces , not made forpurposes of deception , have been offered by dealers asold pieces . It is rarely , ”

however , that old p ieces ~

are

so well preserved as not to Show some marks of wear ,though this worn appearance could be easily produced .

Upon the invention of the process of electro-platingin 1838 the production of plain silver and bronze lustregradually declined

,and finally ceased about the middle

of the century .

Plain lustre was applied to figures also . A mostexcellent figure of a mounted Hussar , coated withsilver lustre

,unmarked , b u t probably by Wilson of

Hanley, appears in the British Museum , H .80 , height10 } in .

There are also a pair of small seated figures appearing in different collections of girls reading , marked“ Wood 8: Caldwell (1790Enoch Wood employed lustre both as a completecovering for his figures and also as a decoratio n ofportions of the pieces . We have already referred to theb ust of Whitfield and the group of the Virgin and child ,which are covered with a bronze lustre dulled by theaddition of some metallic substance for the purpose offurther simulating the effect of the metal .A number of lustred figures were made by Ralph Salt

of Hanley and other potters of the thirties and fortiesof the last century .

The bronze lustre produced at Brislington wasbrilliant in hue but the glaze was thin and uneven , the

223


43 . G OBLET . Copper luStred w ith painted b ord er .

Collection of M r . W B osanko .

44 . JUG . Painted in silver lu stre w ith vine and wheat .

Collection of Dr . Crawford .

224

LUSTRED WARES

wares were of the ordinary utilitarian character usuallydescribed as baking dishes , soap dishes , etc . , but reallyporringers made in imitation of the food vessels usedby the sailors of Spanish ships carrying wool and copperore to the port of Bristol . The factory was establishedin the latter part of the eighteenth century by RichardFrank the Delft potter

,who with his son carried on the

works , which were closed in 1789 .

The Character of silver resist ” patterns is such ascan b e produced most easily by freehand brushwork .

The vine was a favourite motif , as both the fruit andtendrils could be easily p roduced by this process , andare most effective , as is also the contrast between the

fruit and the leaves . It was mostly applied to jugs ,but appears -also on plates as well as on tea ware .

Bird s‘

of various types are associated with such conventionalised foliage as would be suited to the method .

Animals are rarely met with; though an interestinglion occurs in the well-known and extensive collectionof Mr . William Ward of Blackbu rn . There are alsohunting and farm-yard scenes . Many are presentationpieces and bear the name and initials of the recipientand what is more important , dates . These last beginabout 1812 . A silver-lustred jug , though not

“ resist ,in the Ward collection, bears the name RichardBacchus . ”

Silver resist was usually employed on the creamcoloured body ; a canary or buff body was also used,but instances m e not common . Still more uncommonis a turquoise blue ground .

Silver resist ” was made by many Staffordshii epotters including Wedgwood . A candlestick in theVictoria and Albert Museum bears Wedgwood

’

simpressed mark . It was also made at the Don pottery ,

225 P


Sw inton‘

;

‘

Rotherham ; Castleford, and Leeds . Thepattern book of the Don pottery offers artic les ornam ented with gold and silver to any pattern. In

Kid son’

s Leeds Pottery is illustrated a resistjug inscribed Thomas Farn In the Mayercollection at Liverpool , among the Herculaneumspecimens is a large resist j ug inscribed . Ex Donaof T . HattOn . To William Halliday , Everton CoffeeHouse .

There appears to have been some attempt to p roducethe resist patterns by means of stencils for thepurpose of cheaper production it is probable , however,that it was not employed to any great extent .

Mottled or marbled lustre was made chiefly“

b yWedgwood in the lustre obtained from Purple ofCassius and is extremely rich and eff ective ; manyexamples exist . A beau tiful perforated basket (numarked) appears in the South Kensington collection .

In the same collection is a shell-shaped sauce boat withcover and spoon, a flower holder in form ‘of

‘

a shell, anda b asket with perforated Cover for flowers all stampedWedgwood .

”

Other Staffordshire firms who produced lustred waresare J . Lockett 8: Sons , who still c ontinue its manufacture , Mayer 8: Newbold , Bailey 8c Co C . A llerton 8:Sons , J . F . Wileman , Copeland Garrett , Mayer ,Minton , Meigh , Ralph Salt , Beech 8: Hancock , and

Till of the Sytch . This last-named potter occupied theSytch Pottery, Burslem , an old-established factoryoriginally worked b y Messrs . Keeling , and afterwardsby R . Hall and Messrs . Barker , Sutton 81 Till (Till of

"

the Sytch) who produced good lustred wares amongother things . The present style of the firm is T . TillSons .

226


factories . A most serious drawback , however , is itslack of permanency , the pieces losing their brilliancythrough ordinary use , i . e . it wears Off.

The above -m entioned‘

fault of wearing applies moreor less to all lustred wares the collector therefore willexercise care in the cleaning of his specimens . ~Hotwater should not be used .

The following is a list of themore important makersof lustred wares

J . Aynsley . Lane End .

Bailey 8: Batkin . Longton .

Bott 8: Co .

Cop eland 8: Garrett ; Stoke .

Dawson (pink lustre) . Sunderland .

Dilwyn . Swansea .

Dixon , Austin 8: CO . Sunderland .

Fell , St . Peter ’s Pottery . Newcastle-ou

T . Harley . Lane End .

Lakin 8: Poole. Hanley .

Leeds (silver resist) .J . Lockett 8: Sons . Lane End .

E . Mayer . Hanley .

Mayer 8: Newbold . Lane End.

Meigh . Old Hall Works , Hanley .

Scott 8: Co. Southwick , Sunderland .

Spode . Stoke .

Wedgwood . Etruria .

Wilson"

. Hanley .

Wood 8: Caldwell . Burslem

2 28

1813 ~

1800

I 79°

1790

1800

1790

1800q 18371790

1789I 790

1776 onwards1790

—18181790—1818

LUSTRED WARES

PRICES

Lu stre Ware

75 s . at.

Silver lustre resist jug , with vine andbarley pattern . Sotheby. June , 1906 5 0

Silver lustre jug,bird and flowers , inscrib ed

J . Simpson . original Staffordshirewarehouse . Chi istie . Jan .

,1908 .

Sunderland figures of the four seasons decor~

ated in colours and p urple lustre , eachimpressed Dixon

‘

Austin 8: Co .

Sotheby . Feb . , 1908 . 10 o

229

CHAPTER X IV


LEEDS

F the various potteries that existed in differentparts of Yorkshire , Leeds is the most important . The early history of these works , like

so many of the greater factories , is extremely obscure ,thou gh most authorities agree that the factory comm enced working about 1760 , at which date it wasapparently in the occupation of two brothers namedGreen .

Solon affirms that white and enamelled salt glazepreceded the manufacture of cream colour at Leeds

,

referring to an enamel jug extant inscribed with thename of the town , and though this statement isdoubted by the Messrs . Kid son , the historians of theLeeds pottery , it is probable that Solon was right , sinceif the works existed in the middl e of the eighteenthcentury as seems probable , the presumption is thatthe current wares of the period were made .

In 1774 the firm was Humble , Greens 8: Co and atthis date the pottery was apparently in a flourishingcondition . One of the earliest pieces of authenticinformation , given in the Annals of Leeds andprobably taken from a newspaper of the time , refers to

230


management for ' the creditors , and becoming soleproprietor in 1825.

From this date to 1834 the style was -Wainwright8: Co . , other partners having entered . At the deathof Wainwright in 1834 the factory was managed bythe head cashier Stephen Chappell , carrying it on till1840 when he acquired the works for takinginto partnership his brother James , and trading underthe style of S . 8: J . Chappel . In 1847 they becamebankrupt . From 1850 to 1863 the firm was Warburton8: Britton , and from the last-named date to the closeof the works in 1878 the style was Richard Britton8: Sons .

PRODUCTIONS

Hartley; Greens 8: Co as already stated , i ssuedillustrated pattern books from time to time, the firstappearing in 1783 . Fresh editions were issued

‘ in1785, 1786 , 1794 , 1814 and 1815. These r m ay bereferred to at the Art Library, South Kensington ,and although the engraved line illustrations give onlythe shapes without the painted or applied decoration

,

they afford a valuable means of identification of Leedsware , since many pieces rather loosely assigned toLeeds are really of Staffordshire make . It is “ notgenerally real ised that the pierced work associatedwith the Leeds factory is really an imitative product

,

pierced work having been extensively and skilfullyemployed in Staffordshire long before it was done at

'

Leeds . ” It must be admitted , however , thatalthough Leeds pierced work was in the first instance aborrowed art , it soon acquired a character quite its

See Bu rton English Earthenwares and Stonewares’

.

232


own,and in s om e respects even . excelled the Stafford

shire production .

To give anything like a complete list of the variousTerrines , sauce Terrines , Sallads , Compotiers , PiercedFruit b askets , Potpourri Jars , etc . , as well as thedifferent tea wares enumerated in these pattern b ookswould be to weary the reader , and without theiraccompanying illustrations would serve n o purpose .It is sufficient to say that almost every imaginableclass of article was made the candlesticks includingthe Dolphin , Toilet ornamented , Griffin

,

“

S quare Fluted ,

”Corinthian Vase and Compo

site .

”

The different productions of the factory may beclassed as follows .

Queen’

3 or Cream wares either produced in the whiteor decorated in various ways , asBlack printed and blue printed .

Lustred agate and tortoiseshell wares .The pieces .Other paintings in enamel .

,There was in addition a considerable amount ofBlack Basaltes produced , mainly on the lines of Wedgwood

’s imitators . The perforated patterns of thecream ware are made up of circles , ovals“ diamonds ,hearts , etc the effect being somewhat similar to therice grain found on Chinese porcelain , which in theoriental pieces is filled with glaze . This piercing wasupon occasion extremely elaborate , imparting a lightness and elegance to the pieces which renders themvery attractive .

The, elab orate centre pieces were a feature of ! the

Leed s production , the most frequent designs beingcomp osed of three or four tiers of escallop

”

shells , sup

233


45. LEEDS CENTRE-PIECE . Cream -ware.


234


p orted by dolphins or ornamental brackets , the baseplain or pierced , or made in imitation of rock-work ,

the whole surmounted by figures of P lenty withcornucopia , either seated or standing .

The illustration given from .Dr . -Glaisher ’s collection,

one of the finest , will serve to give an idea of thegeneral character of these pieces which generallymeasu red from 30 in . to 4 ft . in height and weremade in several pieces to take apart .

The Quintal flower horns were five-necked vases ofvarious shapes , embossed and painted in enamel withbirds ,

‘

flowers,etc . ,

~

Or otherwise decorated in colour .Although these were characteristic of Leeds , they

were also made in Staffordshire as well as at Sunderlandand elsewhere .

The curious pieces find a p lace in variouscollections . Mr . Frank Freeth has a set of teapot ,teapoy

,sugar basin

,

“ slop bowl and cream jug . A setis also to be seen at South Kensington . They arepainted in a free outline with male and female portraitsgenerally on either side of an orange tree , with sprays offlowers , etc .

,and inscribed The

‘

p ortraits

are probably those of Prince William V of Orange andhis wife Sophia Wilhelmina , whom he married in 1797 .

They therefore belong to the~

central period of theLeeds production .

Mottling and marbling were common devices—MrFreeth has a cylindrical mug marbled all over thesurface , with ,

in front , a medallion in relief of a Ship infull sail

,inscribed Ville de Paris

,and on each side a

naval officer,also in relief , inscribed respectively Lord

Rodney ” and Lord Hood , this being one of the‘

many pieces commemorating Rodney ’ s victory off

Dominico in 1782 .

235


Inscription of a more or less sentimental kind was alsofrequently adopted—on a teapot, within a painted panelin front occurs

Beau ty and riches w ill faid and fly aw ay ,

Bu t tru e love and virtu e never w ill ~d ecay .

On another teapot within a scrolled panel

When this you see Rem em b er“

m e

Tho’

m any m iles w e D istant b e .

”

On a coffee pot , painted with bouquets of flowers , etc .

Friend ship w ithou t Interest ,Love w ithou t Deceit .

Many pieces were decorated by one Allen , an enamellerof Lowestoft , who did business both with Leeds andStaffordshire , decorating the ware and selling it on hisown

”

account .A good deal of transfer printing was done at Leeds

,

Messrs . Kid son stating that in 1791 over two hundredpo

‘

unds ’ worth of copper plates were in,

use . Theearlier printing was in black

,blue printing being

introduced about 1790 , when a large quantity ofWillow pattern was produced .

It is a somewhat curious circumstance that very fewLeeds pieces are marked except

,the blue printed

,and

in these the mark is impressed in the ware .

The earliest mark was LEEDS POTTERY,used

during the whole period of the factory . The samewords were used repeated crosswise .

For the period 1781—1818 :

HARTLEY GREENS 8: COLEEDS POTTERY .

We have also LEEDS POTTERY in a curve andHARTLEY GREENS 8: C0 . LEEDS POTTERYin two lines curved .

236


ROCKINGHAM

The association of Leeds with Rockingham has

already been referred to . This factory, which prod u ced earthenware and tiles , Was established in 1757b y Edward Butler, on the estate of Charles Marquis ofRockingham, at Sw inton, Wath-upon Dearne , and wasafterwards worked by William Malpass .In “

1778 Thom as B ingley introduced the well-knownbrown and chocolate-coloured teapots so much esteem ed,together with the Cadogans which were reallypuzzle pots without a lid and filled at the bottom .

They were generally In the form of a peach with a sprayof b lossom at the top springing from the handle, andglaz ed like the Rockingham pots with oxide ofmanganese .

The m arks, when they occur, are Rockingham in

cursive characters, and later Bram eld and occasionally the name of the London dealer , Mortlock .

Bingley also introduced cream ware, which excitedthe j ealousy of the Leeds firm and led to an amalgamation of the two factori es which, however, only lastedfor a short period, 1790

—1800 , when the style wasGreens , Bingley 8: Co .

From 1806 the firm was John 8: William Brameld ,

and afterwards Thomas, G . F . J . W . Brameld ,who introduced porcelain about 1820, the marksbeing BRAMELD and Rockingham Works,Bram eld .

About 1826, Earl Fitzwilliam, their landlord, cameto their assistance, the firm having become embarrassedin its finances, and from this date to the close of theWorks in 1842 the Fitzwilliam crestWas used as a mark,with Rockingham Works, Bram eld .

238


DON POTTERYThe Leeds firm had also an interest in the DonPottery at Swinton, founded in 1790 by one of theGreens . The productions were similar to those of

Leed s and included pierced work, basket ware, etc aswell as between 1810 1 2 a small quantity of china .

In 1834 the works were purchased b y Samuel Barker ,of the Mexborough Old Pottery , the business continu ing until as late as 1896 . The mark is DONPOTTERY , both impressed and painted . A latermark is a crest of a rampant liOn holding a pennon,with the words DON POTTERY .

CASTLEFORD

A pottery was established in 1790 at Castleford, abouttwelve m iles from Leeds , by David Du nd erdale, andmade Queen ’s w are, black b asalts , teapots and jugsin~

,

a white stoneware ornamented with figures in relief,blue lines and edgings .The firm was D . Du nd erlane 8: Co in 1803 , and in

1820 the factory or a portion of it was carried on bya number Of workmen , who were succeeded , first byTaylor, Harrison Co . , and afterwards in 1854 byThomas Nicholson . The mark of the earlier firmwas D D 8: Co . , with Castleford or Castleford

The pottery at Ferryb ridge ,

~

near Pontefract , wasstarted in 1792 by Tomlinson 8: Co . ,

Ralph Wedgwood, a cousin of the great Josiah , cameEl to

u partnership in 1796, retiring in 1800 . Duringthis short period the pieces , which were imitations

‘

ofthe Etruria productions, were stamped Wedgwood8: Co .

”.The style was Knottingley Pottery ” until

1804, and afterwards‘f Ferrybridge .

” A tray of ”cream


LEEDS MONOGRAM CREAM—WARE P IECES painted in polychrom e , and tw o WEDGWOOD JASPER TEAPOTS inlilac and b lack respectively .

V. (54 A . M u seu m , 5. Kensington.

240


ware painted with a leaf border and turquoise edging ,occurs in the British Museum, impressed Wedgwood8: C0 . Ferryb ridge Pottery still exists , as well as twoother works in this district making earthenwares .There were also in the vicinity of Leeds the HunsletHall and Rothwell Potteries , making cream wares afterthe manner of the Leeds pottery .

At the Belle Vue Pottery, Hull, Jeremiah and JamesSmith entered into partnership with the Staffordshirepotter, Job Ridgway, for the manufacture of plainearthenware and blue printed . The partnership existedfrom 1802 to 1804 when Ridgway retired . Between1826 and 1841 the pottery was carried on by WilliamBell, when at the last-named date it was sold byauction .

The mark was two bell s , . with Bellevue PotteryHull

,occasionally both impressed and printed .

PRICES .

Leeds . 75 s . d .

Basket di sh, stand and cover, embossedand open work . Sotheby . June,1906 2 2 0

Jug painted W1th flowers, 1nscr1b ed JohnBarnes , Chadlington, 1769 . Sotheby .

July, 1907 2 10 0

Teapot and cover, painted with portraitsof George III and Queen Caroline .

Sotheby . Nov . ,1 908 2 8 0

Coffee pot and cover, on one side exoticbirds and on reverse , a lady in agarden, inscribed under handle

,

R . Dixon .

” "Sotheby . March,

1914

2 41


s .

Dish, creamware . Transfer-printed inbistre with Hector

’s body tied tothe tail of the Chariot of Achilles .Sotheby . March, 1 914 4 0

Roekingham .

Small Cadogan teapot , marked Bram eld

richly gilt on brown , and anotherwithout gilding . Sotheby . June ,1 906 1 14

Breakfast service, painted with flowers 1ncolours 58 pieces . Christie . July,1914 39 18

Dinner service, painted.

flowers m panels .1 13 pieces . Knight , Frank 85Rutley . Jan . , 1913 20 10

Loving cup with handles , p am ted with fruitand roses

,made for Da

‘

vid‘

Du nder

dale . Escritt 81 Barrett . April ,1907 3 I S

245

d .


47 . CREAM-WARE MUG w ith fine su rface granite d ecoration .

C ollection S tu art P age .

48 . RO CKIN'

GHAM TEAPOT .

V. G A . M u seu m , S . Kensington .

244


Ford Pottery,worked by John Dawson Co until itsclose '

in 1864 . We have the m arks DAWSONimpressed, FORD,

'

and Ford Pottery, SouthHylton, 1800 .

The Southwick Pottery was worked by Scott C0 .

about 1789 , a numb er of pieces being marked Scott .This m ark must not be confounded with thefactoryestablished at Portobello

,near Edinburgh , in 1770 b y

the brothers Scott , whose mark was also Scott withthe initials P .B .

” for Portobello .

The Wear Pottery,Southwick, was carried on by

Moore 8: Co . in 1803 , founded in 1789 .

Oi - the above mentioned potteries, the i two first arethe most important . All, however, more or less fol-1lowed Wedgwood ’s lines . There was also a pottery atStockton-on-Tees founded about 1800 by a Staffordshire man nam edWhalley ln

'

partnership withWilliamSm ith and William and George Skinner , of Stockton,who not only followed the Wedgwood

’s methods andimitated their wares, but adopted their name with ane added . Examples are marked Stockton ,

Wedgewood,” W. S . 8x Co

’

s Wedgewood . In1848 Messrs . Wedgwood obtained an injunctionrestraining them from using the name Wedgwood, orWedgewood, as already stated in a previous chapter.

The productions of this group of potteries cover theperiod of Europe ’s great struggle with Napoleon . Itwas, therefore , in the fitness of things that m any ofthe subj ects of the pieces should have reference to thisredoubtable personage

,and to the soldiers and sailors

who fought the great fight .The idea of the “ surprise m u g already allu d ed

'

to ,

inwhich the drinker, on emptying the vessel is suddenlybrought face to face with some m ember of the reptile

246

. POTTERIES OF I

. THE TYNE ,

'WEAR AND TEES

Ltribe, as frog, toad . newt . or what not , was . no new one ;

this piece of broad . hum our was . indulged in during‘

the Slip period, an example appearing in the BritishMuseum, D .8I , of a mug in White slip with, inside, atoad in red clay with white slip eyes .

The interest of the Newcastle and Sunderland piecesrs enhanced, however, by the various decorations whichoften

‘

b ear reference to current events , as the transferprinted and lustred toad—mug in the Will ett collection

,

Brighton, which refers to Napoleon’s invasion of

England ; The Emperor is standing facing the Channelexclaiming, Who dare stop meAnother specimen in the sam e collection is inscribedwith a toast giving expression to the effect of the longcontinued wars

Here’

s to thee m y honest friendWishing these hard tim es to m end .

An apt inscription on a toad-mug at South Kensingtonruns

Tho’

m alt and venom seem u nitedDon

’

t b reak m y p ot Nor b e affrighted .

”

We have also a mug, (not a toad-mug) with transferprinted subj ect shewing the method of obtaining the

"

human material for these wars, inscribed Beatingu p for recruits .

Another transfer-printed mug illustrates a sailorparting from his wife and children, inscribed withverses of the Sailor ’ s Farewell,

” expressing the contrast b etween ~the sweetness of the union of"two fondhearts with the bitterness and pain of separationThe subj ect of The Sailor

’s Farewell and

occasionally The Return was a common one during247

"


this period and occurs both on Newcastle , Staffordshireand Liverpool wares

,and indeed elsewhere . It was an

especial favourite with the Staffordshire potter , Pratt ,who was largely imitated both at Sunderland andHerculaneum .

A transfer-printed jug, coloured; gives the Ascentof the Aerial Balloon with the inscription May the

English Oak produce the Bark to tan the hide ofBonaparte also A west View of the Iron Bridge overthe Wear .

The Sunderland potters expressed their pride in thisbridge by constantly illustrating it in their pieces .The bridge is one of the earliest iron bridges constructedin this country, and consists of an arch of 236 ft . span

248


of the result of the trial of Queen Caroline in 1820 .

A black transfer-printed mug appears inscribedLong live Caroline .

I’

ll sing a. song of SixpenceA green b ag fu ll of liesFou r and twenty W itnesses

All p roved to b e spies .

When the b ag was openedThe Lord s b egan to stare

To see their preciou s evid ence

All vanished into air .

The Royal pa1r had been separated many years atthe time of George the Fourth’s accession . It will berem embered that the Queen

’s defenders were Mr .

Henry Brougham and Mr. Thomas DeWman, bothafterwards raised to the peerage .

The futility of carrying coals to Newcastle has becom eproverbial

,though from the verses on the m u g painted

Wi th a m an driving a coal cart and inscribed RichardNason, we infer that the year of the b attle ofthe Nile they were scarcely so plentiful as at present .

Goals b y the b u shel , Goals b y the P eck :

If you have not a horse and cart ,

You m ay carry them on you r neck .

In an informing article in the Qu een, February 12th,

1916, on the Newcastle and Sund erland p otten es, Mr .Frank Falkner gives a number of illustrations froma working plate book of Sewells Co . , in which area number of irnp ressions taken from the stock copperplates of the firm these are valuable as serving in theidentification of pieces , and include vari ous subj ectsobviously inspired by Thomas Bewick

,who was born

at Newcastle in 1758 ,and whose book The General

History of Quadrupeds appeared in 1790 .

“There arealso vignettes in stipple in the style of Bartolozzi, andan engraving of the bridge over the Wear.

250

POTTERIES OF THE TYNE ,

'

WEAR AND TEES

It will be unnecessary to multiply instances : su ffi‘

ev

cient has been said to indicate the general Characterof the produ ction of these northern potteries whichsounded no new ceramic note (although the work wasgood) but rather followed the lines already indicatedby Leeds and the Staffordshire m en . There were

,

however, sporting subj ects done- we have the transferprinted jug with a cockney sportsman shooting at abee-hive

,with masonic emblems and a Vi sit to Carlton

House on a hobby-horse . There were farming andagricultural subj ects, with the inscription , the.

husband ’s Diligence Provides Bread These werepieces in which the Agnus Dei is associated with aplough, with suitable inscription . There were Visitsto Gretna Green, and correspondent suggestion in theform of earthenware cradles . Thei e were imitationsof the Quintal flower horns in variegated lustred andother decorations : and lastly, there were certainpuzzle jugs d ri lled with holes , the liquor passingthrough the handl es which are hollowed, the drilledholes being stopped by the fingers .

PRICES .

Su nderland . 75 s . at.

Sugar basin and cover, and SIX cups andsaucers

,painted with figure subj ects

on yellow ground,marked Sewell

Nov . ,1905

Four figures of The Seasons impressedDixon , Austin 85 C0 . Sotheby .

Feb . ,191 1 5 15 0

Election jug . Painted in blue withMaj ority of 44 in the year 1796 .

John Hill for ever, etc . ,H . 83L 1n .

May, 1912 4 14 6

CHAPTER X VI


E story of Liverpool has already been partlytold in connection with its Delft wares , theonly production of which we have any

complete information, and also in its transfer-printedwares, the production of which attained enormous

p rop ortions,= thou gh a good deal was printed for other

factories .

In a list of town dues payable at the port in 1674 thefollowing items occur For every cart load of mugsshipped into foreign parts , For the same alongthe coast , 4d . For every

‘

crate of cupps or pipesshipped to forelgn parts, 2d . For the sam e along thecoast , 1 d . Thus showing that ordinary useful wareswere m ade in this district at the period when Thom asToft was m aking his slip Wares .A century later the following potteries were workingin and around LiverpoolAlderman Shaw’s pottery , in Dale Street , makingDelft wares .Sadler ’s pottery

,in Harrington Street , making , after

1752 ,transfer-printed wares .

An extensive works in Pot-house Lane , carried on byJam es Drinkwater, a Preston man making Delft wares .

252


49 . BLUE TRANSFER,PRINTED PLATE . Du ck shooting .

Im pressed H ercu laneu m .

Collection of M r . P .

50 . BLACK TRANSFER PRINTED PLATE , w ith rare m onogram

m ark .

Collection of M r . W. Bosanko .


workmen from Staffordshire, and founded the colonycalled Herculaneum .

Mayer draws an amusing picture of the setting outof the party from Burslem . After a dinner given atthe Legs of Man public house

,they embarked on

canal‘

boats, to the accompaniment of music and flagsflying inscribed Success to the Jolly Potters andwere towed away amid the Shouts of hundreds ofspectators .

The habit of travelling by canal appears to have

continued after the introduction of steam locomotion .

We have the account of Joseph Wareham, an extrem elyable painter o f flowers

,birds, etc . , in the Dresden

style,who worked in London for Mortlock, and who ,

’

upon his engagement by Herbert Minton at some datebetween 1846 and 1849 , made the j ourney from Londonto the potteries with his family and furniture in acanal boat

,and landed triumphantly at . Eb b erns

Wharf . Stoke

256


Most of the current wares Were produced at Hercu laneum , including cream ware both painted and blueprinted , black basalts, lustred wares and t erra cotta,and after 1800 , china . In 1806 the works wereenlarged, several additional partners j oining the concern . The business was continued until 1833 when theCompany was dissolved and the works sold

‘

to Messrs .

Case Mort,who carried it on for three years when the

firm became Mort 8: Simpson . In 1841 the works weredismantled and the site occupied by the Hercu laneumDock .

The earliest mark is the Word Herculaneum incaps both impressed and printed . A plate of creamware in the British Museum,

N.2 , painted in colourswith rose sprays in a radiating design with dark crimsonground

,and pierced loop pattern on the rim , is stamped

Hercu laneum,

” with an R in a square .

In 1822 it was decided to mark all the wares Hercu laneum Pottery . The word Herculaneum alsoappears with a crown, and on a garter enclosing acrown .

FrOm 1833 , the date of Case Mort’s occupation ,

the Liver bird with the liver wort in its beak, formingthe crest of the borough of Liverpool, was used as amark

,both by itself, and on a scroll . The word

Liverpool with an anchor was also used .

It will be seen from the above , that apart fromDelft wares and the very considerable trade in blue andblack printed, the productions of Liverpool were notof great im portance, and were m ainly of the moreim itative kind influenced by Staffordshire, especiallyis this so in the case of Herculaneum which was workedby a Colony of Staffordshire m en with, necessarily,Staffordshire traditions . Moreover, it is difficult to

257


locate with any d egree of certainty u nm arked p Ieces,with the possible exception of Herculaneum .

That the various Staffordshire types were im itatedat the different factories at Liverpool is . however,certain . The little figure of a Grenadier in the BritishMuseum

,G . 36 , already referred to in connection with

Astbury bears the device of a bird on the hat, andfrom this circumstance it is thought to be of Liverpoolmake

,possibly of the works of Philip Christian , who

flourished in 1769, and who it is known m ade bothAstbury

,Tortoiseshell and salt—glaze wares . A teapot

in the Sam e collection, G . 32 , of the reddish brown wareassociated with Astbury, ornamented with birdsholding sprigs in their beaks may on the same groundsbe assigned to this potter . There is also in the samecollection a salt glazed cream jug, G 91 , with scallopand floral designs

,and a similar bird below the spout .

In the Liverpool Museum is a salt-glazed teapot withvine m otif in relief and a similar bird . A note accompanying thi s specimen states that Samuel Shaw madesalt-glazed ware between 1740 and 1770 . It is probablethat both these salt-glazed examples are due to Shaw .

The pair of octagonal tortoiseshell plates in theBritish Museum

,H .25, are believed to be Christian

’

sproduction .

The various Arms jugs have already been alludedto under transfer—printed wares . Many of thesewere made by Richard Abbey as well as by the Staffordshire men

,and often come into the market .

There were also a certain proportion of figures made,as well as Toby jugs, Busts of Wesley, Admiral Duncanand other Naval and Military heroes , Rodney Maskcups and various subj ects .

258

CHAPTER XVI I

CAMBRIAN AND SALOPIAN WARES

the Cambrian Potteries that at Swansea isthe most im portant . Its establishment datesfrom 1764 , when a certain Will iam Coles

obtained a forty-one years ’ lease and erected ‘

a potteryin the Strand, Swansea, where he made earthenwareand salt glaze .

In 1783 the works were offered for sale and acquiredby George Haynes

, who named them the CambrianPotteries,

” and about 1790 invented a body“ which he

called Opaque china,as well as a cream-coloured

ware .

Haynes worked the pottery until 1801—2 , whenLewis Weston Dillwyn, who had already a share in theworks, purchased them outright, Haynes remainingas manager . This management continued until 1810when Bevington succeeded, and became part-proprietorat some period between 1810 and 1817 .

It-was probably due to Bevington’s influence that

William Billingsley and his son-in-law Samuel Walkerwere invited to Swansea from Nantgarw , and between1814 and 1817 porcelain was made .

At the latter date,however, Dillwyn sold out ,

Billingsley and Walker returned to Nantgarw, and the

260


Cambrian works were undertaken by Roby, Haynes 8:Bevington .

In 1824 Dillwyn again entered, WIth his son asmanager

,and the works were carried ou -until 1850

when they were taken over,

by Messrs . David Evans 8:Glasson until 1859 when the firm became Evans 8:Co . , Glasson . having retired . The

'

works were closedfinally in 1 870 .

The various marks areDillwyn 8: Co with a trident .Swansea

,with a trident (for porcelain) .

Swansea,with two tridents crossed .

Swansea, in Caps on a tablet, impressed .

Dillwyn 8: Co ,” in Caps on a tablet , impresse

Cambrian ,in cursive characters .

Dillwyn 8: C0 ,

” impressed .

Swansea, with a reversed C .

Dillwyn ’s Etruscan ware,on an ornamental scroll

or panel .Of the productions of the earliest period 1764—90 ,

practically nothing is known, except that salt-glazedwares were undoubtedly made and continued duringthe Haynes regime, as isolated examples enamelled inVivid colouring appear marked Cambrian Potteryand occasionally G B . 8: C0 .

Black Basaltes ware of a fairly good quality wasproduced as well as figures . An excellent little figureof a boy with basket of flowers and tree backgroundoccurs at South Kensington marked CambrianPottery .

A vase and cover of Opaque China, decorated inblue and chocolate with ornaments in white reserved

,

appears in the British Museum, P . I ,

'

stamped Swansea .

”

261


Opaque China, however, is chiefly interesting tocollectors on account of its association with the veryable bird and flower paintings of William WestonYoung, who had been employed by Dillwyn in theillustration of his works on Natural History.

262


and limit of a man’s artistic power and capability .

In Views , flowers, birds and such like , one m ay uponoccasion conceal one ’ s ignorance, but in the figure

,the

whole of the nakedness of the land,” wherever any

nakedness exists, is infallibly laid bare . Young wasill-advised when he attempted the plaque at SouthKensington with a Druid gathering mistletoe, which isbut indifferent .

Young was also connected with the china works atNantgarw ,

which from its establishment in 181 1 to1814 had but indifferent success , since in the lastnamed year the partners appealed to the Governmentfor assistance . Subsequently however, in 1819 , Youngtook over .the Nantgarw workswith the painter ThomasPardoe as manager, and carried it on until its close in

The Etruscan Ware was produced about 1845—6and made of the red clay found at the Penelergareestate, the seat of the elder Dillwyn . The manufacturelasted for about four years and was then abandonedfor lack of public support . These pieces were paintedin enamel, with classical figures and ornament , andthe printed mark above given .

In 1820 there were two potteries in Swansea, employing about 400 persons .The Glamorgan works was built in 1813—14 by Messrs .

Baker, Bevans 8: Irwin, and carried on by them until1839 with Haynes as the leading spirit .

It was at this factory that the well-known cow milkjugs and figures of milkmaids w ith

'

cows were made .

The form er were made by the thousand, many, saysTurner, exported especially to France where they weremuch in request , being bought by masters of Frenchvessels which then frequented the port . They were

264


decorated both with painting and with transfer printing, and marked in script letters Opaque China .

B B . 8: I .The Glamorgan factory was bought by Dillwyn in

1839 , but not used as a pottery by him . It wassubsequently sold to a firm of ironmasters .

In 1848 ,John Forbes Calland established the Lan

dore Pottery, about a mile from Swansea . ThIS continned until 1856 when it closed . The productionswere dinner, tea, and toilet wares , in the white .

BRISTOL

The earthenware m ade at the Bristol factory is quiteimportant , and dates from 1786, when Joseph Ringengaged Anthony Hassel of Shelton and producedearthenware on Staffordshire lines , superseding theDelft wares which had been m ade up to this date .

An excellent punch bowl at South Kensingtonprinted in blue with a View of the port of Bristol andbroad floral border is marked Bristol on a ribbonwith scrolls . The cream body was excellent . A dr um-l

shaped mug in the same collection painted with thedelicate borderings affected by Wedgwood and Elij ahMayer in blue and brown is marked Bristol . A cu pand cover in the same collection painted with classicallandscape in colours in good style is inscribed at ' thebottom made 1 796 . Enamelled 1841 . W.F .

”

Illustrated . This refers to William Fifield , a painterwhose works are much appreciated by collectors, andwas connected with the Bristol factory for a numberof years .

The piece,being decorated and fired so long after the

making,is an eloquent tribute to the quality of the ware

and glaze since there is no sign of spitting .

265


51 . D ESS ERT DI SH ,painted b y W . W . You ng .

V. <3 M u seu m , 5. Kensingtou.

52 . CU P AND COVER ,w ith c lassical land scape painted b yW illiam Fifield .

V 6 A .

'M u seu m , 5. Kensington .

266


In 1825—6 the works were occupied by Messrs .Pountney 8: Allies : in 1837 the firm was Pountney 8:Gou ldney the present style is Pountney 8: Co . , Ltd .

A ju g at South Kensington freely painted in colourswith grou ps of flowers by W . Fifiel

_d in 1851 , inscribed

in front Mary King . Born August 2 1st 1768, ismarked P ountney 8: Allies .

”

Imitation of the different classes of Greek vase

paintings were made . A ewer appearing at SouthKensington in whitish earthenware covered withbrownish buff slip is painted with a Greek figure withblack background, the details in white enamel . This,recalling Wedgwood’s encaustic decoration , thoughit must be confessed better, is marked Pountney 8:Goulding .

In the same collection also occurs an imitation of aGreek Amphora in red ware, painted in black with acharioteer fighting with two Chim eree .

JACKFIELD

The known history of the old works at Jackfield ,

Salop, is soon told, and commences in 1713 whenRichard Thu rsfield of Stoke-on—Trent came into possession and worked them until his death in 1751 , makingsalt glaze and the current wares of the period . Pottingin this district

,however

,dates from a very early period

,

“ potters from Jackfield occurring In the Stoke parishregister as early as 1560 .

The factory remained In the hands of the Thu rsfieldfamily until about 1780 when Rose of Coalport cameinto occupation, worked it for a few years and removedthe plant to Coalport .The interest in Jackfield ari ses from the circumstanceof the attribution to this factory of certain wares much

267


esteem ed by collectors , ornamented In relief and coveredwith a rich black glaze , the body itself being of red Clay.

Som e of these wares , which have already been referredto underWhield on (see Chapter VII) , are identical withmany of that distinguished potter ’3 known pieces and"

made from the same moulds . This black ware is an '

essentially English production . Solon refers to theEnglish liking for this ware which made a pleasantcontrast with the spotless tablecloth, and although

,

”

says he , it was manufactured in many places on theContinent , nowhere does it seem to have so wellsuited the public taste as in this country .

”

Jackfield has become a generic nam e for thesewares, some of which are Ornamented with a differentcoloured clay, usually yellow, but although the Thursfields, with their Staffordshire helpers, may have madethis ware to a more or less limited extent

,the finest

.

examples must be assigned to Astbury and Whield on ,

and this Is the opinion of the best authorities .The Caughley Works on the opposite bank of theSevern to Coalport were founded about 1750

—1 . Up“to the period of Thomas Turner ’s occupation of theworks in 1772 , earthenware was exclusively made, anda certain proportion, though not important , includingfigures , was made during the whole period of thefactory.

About 1799 the works were purchased by Rose ofCoalport and worked by him until 1814 . In 182 1 theywere entirely demolished .

PRICES

Swansea. 3 . d .

Dillwyn dinner service decorated withfigures, and similar tea and breakfast

268

CHAPTER XVIII

SOME MINOR POTTERIES

MONG the lesser potteries of interest to collectors is the sm all

!works established about thebeginning of the nineteenth century at

Cad b orou gh, near Ryein Sussex, and still carried onto a “lim ited extent . Ordinary wares were producedtogether with a few pieces having some claim toartistic merit , many being produced in a red bodycovered with a rich streaky yellow glaze . The favouritedecorative motif appears to have been “ impressedpatterns inlaid with yellow slip on a red ground,generally an arrangement of small stars over the wholefield of the pieces, with inscriptions produced in thesam e manner .

A typical example is the cylindrical cani ster in theBritish Museum , Q . 1 , with the inscription round thebody of the piece JANE GIBBS HER CANESTER

SEPTEMBER 6 . 1793 .

A m u g of°

sim ilar ware and decoration In the Willettcollection, Brighton, has E . C . FEBRUARY . 18 . 181 1 .

A teapot of sim ilar ware in the British Museum , Q .3 ,

ornamented with sprays of flowers, has an oval panelinscribed JAMES EMME WINTON KINGSTON .

1807”

270

SOME MINOR POTTERIES !

The vessel known as the Sussex pig, the head forminga cup, was made at this pottery and used at weddingsin the county, the bride

’s health being drunk in ahog s-head of beer .There were potteries also at Iden and Chailey nearRye , m aking Similar wares, the production beingcontinued until the middle of the nineteenth centuryas evinced by a flask In the British Museum , Q .8 , witha circular panel inscribed with the name of the potterRichard Norman, and a border of radiating leaves .Round the edge of the piece appears OF LIQUORGOOD FRIEND TAKE YOUR SHARE , ANDDRINKSUCCESS TO NORMAN ’S WARE . MAY 3 . 1842 .

On the reverse is the dial of a clock, and the inscription

This little b ottle hold s a d rop ,

That w ill o u r d rooping spirits prop,

It is strong liq u or choic e and good’

Tw ill cheer the heart and w arm the b lood .

A teapot in the same collection of similar ware to theforegoing is marked Rye (Sussex) Pottery .

”

ISLEWORTH

A small factory was established at Isleworth in 1760by Joseph

'

Shore, a Worcester m an, in partnershipwith Richard and William Goulding . In the firstinstance, porcelain as well as earthenware was made ,but the former was discontinued on the death of thesuperintendent of the works in 1787 . The works were ,about 1825, removed to Hounslow where slip and otherwares had been m ade for a/considerable time . Twoyears later, however, the Hounslow works were rem ovedto Mold in Wales .A number of pieces appear at South Kensington and

271


in other collections, as well as in the sale-rooms, somequite good, others extremely indifferent .A capital little cream j ug at South Kensington freelypainted in under-glaze blue in the Delft style is anexample of the earlier productions and 1s marked G .

”

Two other specimens appear in the Bri tish Museumcollection, sm all china bowls decorated in under-glazeblue with Chinese views .

Many of the pieces were made in a rather coarse redware with a dull glaze . A vase of this body with twoallegorical figures in relief appears in the above mentioned collection (South Kensington) marked S . 8: G .

Isleworth . There is also a similar piece in a ratherunpleasant green m arked Isleworth .

“ ,There is in the Schreiber collection a copy of thePortland vase in a cane-coloured body with the relieffigures in red, marked S . 8: G . Isleworth . Thi swas also m ade in red marked S . 8: G .

The well -known hound jugs associated withBrampton noticed in the chapter on stonewares , wereimitated at Isleworth with,

“however, certain differences .Jugs are extant decorated with dead game in highrelief, with greyhound handl es, in brown stoneware,marked S 8: G .

” The brown and buff stonewarejugs with sporting subj ects made both in Staffordshireand at Brampton were produced also at Isleworth witha conventional handle based upon the greyhound form .

LOWESBYA small factory was established about 1830 b y SirF . G . Fowke, Bart , at Lowesby, between Leicester andMarket Harborough, where a terra-cotta body wasmade from a vein of good Clay i

fou nd on the estate .Production was continued only for a period of aboutten years, when the works were closed.

272


TUREEN . Cream ~ware w ith painted fl ow ers , m arked C

G reasley .

”

C ollection'

of M r . H . S tu art P age .

54 . Two CREAM -WARE P LATES, w ith painted fl ow ers . Chu rch

G resley .

”

Collection of H . S tu art P age .


PRICES

3 . d .

Tortoiseshell basket , with two others ofstoneware and red ware , markedLowesby Sotheby . Dec . , 1908

Vase of red ware, with two others decorated in colours, marked Lowesby .

”

Sotheby . Dec 1908

276

CHAPTER X IX

THE PHILPOT FAMILY

HE list of p rIces given at the end of thischapter will serve to Show the advance madeby this popular class of ware in the estim ation

of collectors during the past few years . A first-rateToby jug m ay now be relied upon for fetching underthe hammer a matter of fifty pounds .The abnorm al price given for the specimen inscribedIt is all out , then fill him agian may be due to thefollowing reasons1 . The reputation of Mr . Falkner

’

s collection ofEnglish Pottery figures .2 . The increased interest in Ralph Wood ’s work .

3 . The fact"

that although unmarked this example isunquestionably one of Ralph Wood ’s best productions .The explanation of the manner in which this p ecu

liarly English type came to be evolved is by no meansa simple m atter . Vessels with masks in front or at thespou t have been common throughout the whole ofpottery history the mediaeval pitchers form ed ofanim d s , knights on horseback, etc . ,

are well knownand were favourite devices .Possibly the green-glazed fourteenth century jug

in the iGuildhall Museum with a somewhat serious;

277

THE EARTHENWARE“

COLLECTOR

faced mask under the lip, the hat forming the rim, willsupply . us with , the germ from which , through theBellarm Ines and Bartm ans of the Raeren andSiegen fabrique , the typical Toby of the eighteenthcentury was developed, Since , in many of

’

these Bartmans as Well as the green-glazed jug ab ove referred to ,

the limb s are shewn , though in an undeveloped stage .

Whether or no the name Tob y was adopted forSterne ’s well-known character is a question not easilyanswered . Uncle Toby must be considered asbeing em inently respectable , whereas the Philpotfamily include convicts,

’

drunken parsons , and otherundesirables Nor is it more probable that thecharacter of Uncle Toby Was derived

‘

from the j ug ,though the earlyWhield ons were probably made beforethe first appearance of Tristram Shandy in 1759 .

Perhaps the most satisfactory method of dealingwith a sub j ect which has practically no ht

‘

eratu re Willbe to describ e in m ore or less catalogue form thevarious types extant of this very interesting andamusing ware, the earliest example of which appears tobe of the tortoiseshell variety and probab ly madeby Whield on himself . The Whieldon type representsa somewhat thin-faced personage of which there areseveral variations ; some smiling, seated, holding apot on the knee , and a Short pipe in the right hand, and

r

decorated with the well-known Whield on mottlings andglazings this being the type more often imitated bythe forger, since a good example comm ands a high

p rIce .

The so- called Convict is a slight variation ofthis type , holding in his right hand a glass instead of apipe, though why Convict is not very clear

,since

he is apparently a harmless individual differing but

278


THREE RALPH WOOD TOBY JUGS , the one In the centre

b earing the inscription It is all ou t , Then fi ll him agian .


280


pot in the other drinking success to our woodenwalls

,

” the chest labelled Dollars .

” Mr . Freethhas two excellent examples .

Another personage , not however of the seafaringfraternity, sits on a barrel labelled ale and stingoand affectionately hugs a foaming pot .There is also a Mrs . Tob y, seated holding bottle andglass

,her cap extended to a shape similar to the three

cornered hat of her husband, forming the lip of thej ug . A number of these are extant , of variablequal

i

ty .

The female Toby illustrated from the collection ofMr . C . E . P arkinson , made by Davenport , is anextremely interesting example and was probably .

modell ed by a French artist .The little Tobys assume forms similar to the elderones , though many are depicted standing . In eachinstance they hold the inevitable bottle , glass , or pipe .

In som e cases they assume a more grotesque form as ina little strutting figure with hands thrust in his pocketswith curled moustachios and painted beard ; and afigure seated on the ground with jug and glass, coveredwith silver lustre .

The well-known standing Toby of the BritishMuseum, H .79 , holding a foaming pot and glass , andsupported by a tree stump with curved branch servingas handle, was modelled by John Walton, whose nameit bears . It is an excellent figure,though derived froman earlier type, shewing much spirit in its action andis found in several variations , notably two differentexamples in the Freeth collection .

This potter issued a reproduction of the Ralph Woodmodel, marked on raised ribbon Walton . Asimilar model occurs marked Neale 8: Co .

”

282

THE PHILPOT FAMILY

One of the best-known variations of the standingToby type is the Snuff Taker,

” a figure found notonly in coloured cream ware but also in the brownglazings of Rockingham, where many were made . TheAmericans claim this figure , though with small reason,as representing Benj amin Franklin, from a fanciedresemblance to that personage .

At a somewhat later date the type was varied indifferent directions and indeed applied to other vesselsthan jugs . We have, therefore, John Bull, seated soas to form a teapot , the left arm akimbo forming thehandle , the right extended to form the spout , the crownof the low flat hat forming the lid . This was madealso in stoneware , at Fulham and other places .The maj ority of these later developments

,however

,

representing Father Christmas , Mr . Punch and others ,made during the earlier decades of the nineteenthcentury have less interest fOr the collector, since thetrue Toby belongs properly to the eighteenth century

,

and is typical of the period .

The‘

most comprehensive“ collection of Toby jugs isin the possession of Captain Price of Akeley Wood

,

Buckingham,who owns upwards of 300 specimens .

It will be convenient here , although ,the subj ect has

no bearing upon Toby Philpot , to consider a class ofjugs often met with in dealers ’ sale- rooms made in afine yitreou s stoneware in imitation of j asper by SamuelAlcock at the Hill Top factory at Cob ridge between1839 and 1860 , and although the Character of thesepieces is distinctly early Victorian they neverthelesspossess some claim to artistic merit .They are all modelled in relief and produced in som eshade of body varying from lavender to buff or ivory,generally without colour save gi lding .

283


FALSTAFF JuG . Coloured glazings .

P rice .

FEMALE TOBY , m arked Davenport .

Collection of M r . C . E . P arkinson .

284

THE PHILPOT FAMILY

The subj ects vary from representations of Ariadne/seated on a leopard, to the Distin Family or Saxe Hornperformers, the five panels having portraits of themembers of the family with their instruments . Theyare generally marked Alcock 8: Co . Hill Pottery

,

Burslem ,

” “ S . Alcock 8: Co .

” or S . A . 8: Co . inblock letters .

The Minster Jug modelled by Charles Meigh,of the Old HallWorks, Hanley , has some affinity withthe above . It bears in front a group of Charity,the architectural ornamentation being of the NeoGothic character affected b y

1 Pugin . It bears theimpressed mark Registered by Charles Meigh, March17 , 1842 Hanley .

PRICES .

For prices of Toby Jugs see also Whield on,Ralph

Wood, and Swansea price lists .cl .

Toby Jug, marked Davenport . Sotheby.

Nov . , 1904Toby Jugs, four male and one female .

Grotesque types . Christie . Nov 1906 30 9Toby Jug . Usual type, attributed to R .

Wood . Sotheby . May, 1908 6 6

Seated Dr . Johnson . H . 6gin .

Pu ttick 8: Simpson . Jan1913 .

Dr . Johnson, inscribed.

GoodAle .

” H . 10 In . Pu ttick.

Feb 1913Sailor seated on a chest . H .

10 in . Christie . April, 1913 4 14


s . d .

Ralph Wood type . H . 9%in .

Christie . Jan . , 1913H . 10} in . Christie . July,1 914 . 30

H . in . Christie . July, 1916 25H . 10 in . Christie . . July, 1914 23Rare type figu re in whiteseated in corner chaIr, withbrown jug . Sotheby . Ju ly,1914 .

Inscribed It ’s all out , thenfill him agian .

” H . 972 in .

Unmarked but certainly b yRalph Wood . Pu ttick 8:

Simpson .- Feb . , 1914

Seated . Whield on mottlingsof blue and brown . H . 104

3

in . Pu ttick 8: Simpson .

Fch ,1914

Small, with pipe . Whield onglazings . H . 9ain . P u ttick

8: Simpson . Feb . ,1 914

25 4

286


One of the numerous busts of Wesley, on panelledpedestal

,is impressed on a tablet at the back :

The Rev..John Wesley

M . A .

Born at Epworth,Ju ne 1 7th 1 703D ied Mar . z u d .

179 1Aged 88 .

Underneath the tablet is impressed J . Dale . Burslem .

Ralph Hall was potting at the Swan Bank Works,Tunstall, at the latter end of the eighteenth andbeginning of the nineteenth centuries . He was oneof the numerous makers of the AmericanBlue printedware which was probably his staple production , figuresform rng but a small part of his output . A figure of agirl standing on irregular base, a pillar

”

at her side fromwhich water is flowing, tree background, is impressedat the back HALL .

Robert Garner of Lane End was somewhat earlier,and was a son of the Robert Garner of the Foley Works,Fenton, who married the daughter of Astbury .

A set of figures assigned to this potter are extant ,of Faith, Hope and Charity, standing upon squarebases with the name of the subj ect impressed in front .

Heights 8%in . , 8—5in . , and 9 in .

JOHN WALTON

Most collectors of old English Pottery are familiarwith certain figures , or figure groups, having a spreadingtree background, modelled on a convention which wasprobably derived from the tree backgrounds of

_

themore dainty rogues in the porcelain of Bow,

Chelsea, or Dresden, a convention which invariably con

288

IMAGE TOYS AND CHIMNEY ORNAMENTS

sist s Of a cluster of five leaves resembling the oak leaf,and in the centre of each cluster a flower variouslyshaped, coloured pink, dark blue , yellow or white, aconvention which, although In a certain sense is tru erart than its original prototype, nevertheless suggeststhe art of the pastrycook and was probably necessitatedby its cheapness of production . Examples of thesefigures or groups which now fetch four or five pound sand often mu ch more were probably made to be soldfor a shilling or less, to decorate the mantelshelf of theSmall farmer, labourer or artisan .

A large proportion of these groups bear the name ofWalton impressed upon a raised ribbon on the backof the piece . Who was Walton There are practicallyno details available relating either to his personalityor history his name is not even m entioned in thepages of either Simeon Shaw, or Ward

’ s history ofStoke-ou -Trent , both books having been writtenduring the period In which Walton is known to havebeen working .

The full extent of the information we have concerninghim IS contained in the followingJohn Walton comm enced b u srness in Burslem

,

about 1790 , as a maker of ordinary wares, Egyptianblack, figures , chimney ornaments and Toby jugs .His name appears in a Staffordshire directory ofpotters of 182 1 , and the manu factu ry probably ceasedabout 1840 . It will be seen , therefore , that the performances of this little m aster of pottery figureshave been unrecorded and unsung . He certainlypossessed original talent , although he obtained m anyof his decorative motifs from any source open to -hirn

,

from the produ ctions of Chelsea-Derby , or from thevarious copies or adaptations that Wedgwood caused

289 T


58 . TREE GROUP . Cow and Calf , stam ped Walton .

Collection W. Lewer ,

59 . MODEL o r POTASH FARM . (Ru sh Mu rd ers. )C ollection C . E P arkinson .

290

IMAGE ToYs AND CHIMNEY ORNAMENTS

to be made . The standing Toby jug of the BritishMuseum , already referred to in the last chapter

,is

excellently modelled, though the type was no newone

,and IS probably due In the first instance.to Ralph

Wo‘

od .

The figures with the tree backgrounds which havebecome associated with Walton

’s name from the circum stance of a number of pieces bearing his impressedmark, are doubtless in many instances somewhatcommonplace, being produced in large numbers tosuit the very cheapest market , but a certain proportionpossess a charm which is quite their own, a charmwhich 15 further enhanced by the perspective of tim e .

It must not , however, be supposed that Walton isresponsible for by any means all the examples of thistree convention he was not even the originator ofit : specimens appear with the impressed m ark ofWood 8: Caldwell, Ralph Salt and others , and thedevice was adopted

.b y a small crowd of m inor potters

who followed .

In the Willett collection at Brighton is a group ofCharles II in the oak

,unmarked and coloured in under

glaze , with green glazing ou the foliage and manganeseon the figure . If this group is indeed by Walton, andit bears many affinities to his work, it must necessarilybe one of the very earliest pieces produced by him .

The subj ect of the Boscobel Oak was a favourite onewith the potters of Staffordshire ; we find it duringthe slip period, on Thomas Toft

’s dishes .

By the tim e Walton comm enced working, all theprincipal potters

,with the exception of Felix Pratt

(who adhered to the under-gla’

ze method) , had adoptedthe enamel system of decoration -as being readier,cheaper in firing, and the brighter coloured effects

291


being more to the taste of the ou yers . So , although afew tree groups exist coloured in the older methodnearly all Walton

’ s groups are coloured in enamel .Of the m arked examples extant the followrng may

be mentioned :Pair of figures, a Boy and girl, each holding a b asketof fruit , standing on irregular bases, tree backgrounds.

Pair of figures, boy with dog, girl with lamb, stand ingon irregular bases , tree backgrounds . Height 6 in.

Figure oi a sheep andinlamb

, on rocky base, treebackground ,

Height 5%Hunter and huntress, man in top boots with gun

and ,dog , tree background . Huntress with scroll at

feet m arked Walton .

”

Sportsman In tall hat, with dog, gun and gameb ag.

Tree background,labelled on base,

“ Sportsman ,marked Walton .

Figure of a girl standing on rocky base holding adove, two other doves in tree background . Height

Si inStanding figure of a girl with watering-can, tree

background . Height 5; in .

Pair of figures, Gardener and Fishwom an, treebackgrounds .Pair of flower holders, Flight to Egypt andReturn from Egypt . Hanley Museum . The Flightinto Egypt was a favourite subj ect with the Staffordshire figure makers , and many variations exist .

_

Groups, Flight to and Return from Egypt . Theseare variations of the foregoing, with tree b ackgrounds ,marked Walton an example appears in the SouthKensington collection .

Figure of Widow, one of a pair, E11]ah with

292


well-known Chelsea-Derby groups . On the other handthe marked example of the seated Toby, holding,

on hisknee a jug of flowing ale, was derived from the RalphWood model .

RALPH SALT

Of Ralph Salt , as of Walton, nothing whatever ofhis history is known , except that he was working asmall manufactory on Miles Bank, Hanley, between1 812 and 1834 when he removed to Marsh Street .

He made ordinary wares , together with a large quantity of chimney ornaments of the cheaper sort . Hiswork may be placed in the same category as that ofWalton , but he was in no sense Walton

’s imitator;On

"

the contrary, his works are sufficient ,evidence

that he possessed a fund of broad hum our which was ,apparently, denied to Walton . He is responsible fora number of the sp otted and other dogs, and preternaturally woolly Sheep, which, until the recent revivalof interest in these things, graced the mantel shelf ofnearly every farmhouse and cottage throughout thecountry . His mark, which appears on a number ofpieces with tree backgrounds , is the word SALTimpressed, the letters appearing either by themselvesor on a raised scroll .Of the marked examples extant the following may

be mentioned :A pair of figures . Sheep and ram with a diminutive

lamb in foreground, on rocky base, tree backgrounds,scroll at back impressed Salt These do not belongto that convention which was instituted later andproduced in such large quantities

,which consisted in

the mechanical roughening up of the whole surface Ofthe clay to represent the coats of sheep and other

294

IMAGE TOYS AND CHIMNEY ORNAMENTS

animals , but. are modelled with a considerable degree oftruth to nature . The green of the tree backgroundcontrasts very pleasantly with the white sheep withtheir two spots of red, forming a very agreeable note ofcolour.Pair of figures . A girl with Watering-can, and a boy

with flower pots and spade , tree backgrounds , inscribedin front Gardeners , mark im pressed Salt .

Figure of a boy inscribed fire , scroll at backimpressed Salt .”

Obediah Sherratt was a maker of figures in Burslemabout 1822 , and produced am ong other groups one ofBull-baiting—a man hold rng staff, with both armsupraised , a dog attacking, another tossed on the top of

the bull . A number of these groups are"

extant,the

earliest being attributed to Ralph Wood .

It must be rem embered that Staffordshire , even downto the tim e that Sherratt potted

,was a centre for the

sport of bull-baiting ; the original name of Burslem

given in Erdeswick’s Antiquities being Bu lward

slene . A racy description by the French advocateMissen who hved in England during the reIgn ofWilham III will explain the intention of these groups .

Referring to the action of the dog A toss,

” says he,

generally makes him Sing to a very scurvy tune , anddraw his phiz into a pitiful grimace but unless he is


60 . FIGURE or SPORTSMAN W ITH DOG , AND PAIR OF FIGURESA g e

0 0

Collection Lewer , F .S .A

296

IMAGE"

TOYS AND CHIMNEY ORNAMENTS

totally stunned by the fall, he is sure to craw l againtoward s the b ull, come on

’t what will . To callhim away, would be in vain to give him a hundredblows wou l d be as much so . you might cut him topieces j oint by j oint before he would let him loose .What is to b e done then while some hold the bull,others thrust staves into the dog ’s m outh and open itby main forceMessrs . Frank Falkner and Dr. Sid eb otham have agroup inscribed Bull baiting and Now CaptainLad in the Willett c ollection , Brighton, there

“

areseveral .Sherratt produced a number of the Cow milk jugs to

be seen at the various dealers . During the Napoleonicwars the counterfeit presentments of the two principalprotagonists were naturally favourite subj ects . Thesewere artfully modelled so that they might serve foreither of these famous personages Figures appearw ith the short side whiskers of Wellington and thehigh turned-down collar of Napoleon, and even in thereally capital figure of Wellington by Ralph Ridgwayin

,the Hanley Museum, the c

'

ostume is a curiousmixture of the naval and military, the figure beingdescribed as Wellington or Nelson . This recalls aj oke long current in the Potteries to the effect thatSherratt formed the teats of his cows and Wellington ’snose from the same mouldIt must not be assumed that this class of production

was confined to Staffordshire many cow milk ju gs andother obj ects were produced at Swansea, where anopaque porcelain was m ade during the early yearsof the nineteenth century ; others were produced atSunderland and elsewhere

,as stated in a previous

chap ter.

297

THE EARTHENWARE COLLECTOR ‘

The firm of Edge Grocott was making figuresduring the first three decades of the century . Afigureof a b oy appears, holding a basket of flowers , on irregular base with tree background , marked EdgeGrocott . H . 57} in . There is also a

‘

b oy holding anest in the one hand and a bird in the other, treebackground , impressed on a raised tablet at the backEdge Grocott . ”

Barker,Sutton Till w ere potting in B urslem

between 1830 and 1850 . A bust of William Clowes in“

a black coat is impressed in front “ Wm . Clowes .

Primitive Method ist Preacher, marked B .S . T .

Bu rsb m .

J . Walley worked the Villa Pottery, Cob ridge, aboutthe “close of the eighteenth century . In 1800 one ofthe family of Warburton was in occupation, in 1835it was Messrs . Jones Walley . A stag and pair ofhinds reclining is marked J . Walley ’s Ware .

The murder and crime pieces form a small class inthemselves . The series begins early, with the b eautifultortoiseshell plaque of Sarah Malcolm , laundress ,executed in 1733 for the murder of her mistress and twomaids in the Temple Chambers, modelled by Whield onafter a painting by Hogarth . An example appears inthe Willett collection, Brighton ; another belongs toDr . Glaisher .We have also the well-known and excellent groupof The assassination of Marat by Charlotte Cordé,of Ca ’en in Normandy impressed LakinPoole .

”

The Red Barn murder of 1827 Is illustrated by agroup, inscribed W . Corder M . Martin,

” theform er the perpetrator of the murder and the latterthe victim . H . 8 in . There is a model also inscribed

298

advanced . Thus ~We have the grave dogs with theirgilt chains , who sat sentinel-wise at the corner ’ Ofe theshelf. There were the cottages that occupied the

point of vantage in the centre . These served variou spurposes other than merely ornamental, as , for examp le,receptacles for clocks and watches, with a circularopening for their display . These cottages form a veryextensive series, some of them being extrem ely interesting and good, many collectors confining them selvesto the acqu isition of this class of ware .

There were also the van ous and very useful spillpots, often formed of figures , singly or in groups,animals , birds , etc with suitable p row smn for theholding of spills .Spills have again been brought into use during the

recent d earth of m atches : w e are old enough to‘

rem ember the tall cylindri cal boxes containing longWax matches w ith brilliantly coloured heads standingbeside the dogs aforementioned on our grandmother’shigh mantelshelf, far away b eyond our reach even

'

with the help of a chair this being a reminiscence ofthe t ime when the country was as yet unrecoveredfrom the effects of the Crimean war, and all commod ities were , as at present , still .dear .It would be both ungenerous and unfair to .apply the

highest artistic standard to these small b y-paths ofthe potter ’s art , they were produced in the ordinaryway of trade, with no thought of posterity, by men farremoved from any great artistic centre and withlimited opportunities of acquiring artistic knowledge .

The best of them, nevertheless , will safely bear comparison with similar productions of other countries .

Moreover, the lapse of a century or so of time hasinvested them with a fresh interest : incidentally they

300

IMAGE Tovs AND CHIMNEY ORNAMENTS

furnish us with an interesting insight in possibly anew direction, of the tastes, m anners, and occupationsof our forefathers .In conclusion, it has not been possible within the

prescribed limits of these pages to do much m ore thanmerely touch the fringe of a theme which i s of vastextent , each sub division requiring a volume

'

for its

proper and complete elucidation . but if we have addedto the reader ’s knowledge in any particular, solvedfor him any knotty point , or even merely awakenedsome interest in a m ost fascinating field of enquiry,

ou r purpose has been attained .

3 01

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Agate waro.

-A ware made of slabs or bats ofdifferent coloured clays placed on top of each otherand cut transversely WIth a

"

wire . See ChaptersVI and VII .

Basalt. —A black unglazed stoneware of an extrem elyhard dense body made b y Wedgwood and hisfollowers .

Bat—A ,slab of coarse clay used for the building up of

the ware In the kiln or oven during firing .

Biscu it—There are three states Incident to the production of all glazed pottery . I . The clay state ,before the ware has been fired at all . 2 . Thebiscuit or bisque state, when the ware has beenpassed through the biscuit oven and fired once .

3 . The glazed or glost state , when the warehas been glazed and fired a second time .

Body or p asta—The clay or mixture of materials ofwhich the piece is composed .

Bone ask.

—Calcined bones were first used in the earthenware body by Enoch Wood . See Chapter IX .

Casting .

-The m ethod of making articles by means ofpouring the clay reduced by water to a slip

”

condition into plaster or other moulds . The

3 9 2


The term was and is applied to mediaeval tile s ,which are made in var

i

ous colours and , of course,burnt in . Wedgwood applied it to a method ofpainting in imitation of Greek vase painting .

Fmem e—A high-sounding French term greatly“

misused, properly applied to the French tinenamelled wares but indiscriminately used toindicate all kinds of earthenware above the rankof common crocks . Whether the term is derivedfrom the Italian pottery town of Faenza, or froma town in Provence called Faiance, or Fayence ,where pottery was made, is an open question .

Flm t -A form of silica used in the potting industry .

Flint pebbles when calcined and ground, producea white infusible powder, used for whitening thebody . Astbury is credited with the introductionof ground flint into the earthenware body about

Flu x.

—The glassy substance introduced into the colourbases to enable them to fuse at a comparativelylow temperature . The chief materials used forfluxes are felspar, borax, alkaline carbonates andpreparations of bismuth .

Frit. —This term is used to indicate any special glassused by potters in glazes .

Glaze.

-The vitreous coating applied to the ware torender it impervious to fluids . The two chiefglazes which have been employed are lead glazeand salt glaze

,

“ together with the tin-enamelledglaze peculiar to Delft wares . In the earlierpottery

,sulphide of lead (galena) was dusted on

the ware in a pulveri sed state and then fired .

Later a liquid glaze was used, the pieces beingdipped . In the case of salt-glazed wares, common

304

gGLOSSARY OF TERMS

salt was thrown into the oven when the heat was1at its highest , and deposited on the ware in minuteparticles . See Chapter VI .

Glost ooené—The chamber in which p ottery .

Is placedfor the purpose of firing the glaze . The ware isplaced in saggers or rou gh

’

fclay boxes protecting it from the flames and gases of the oven . InEngland the temperature of the glost oven rangesfrom I ooo

° to 13oo° the earthenware biscuit oven

from 12000 to 1350 the china biscuit oven from

1 300 to 1450 degrees centigrade .

I ronstone chine —A dense form of earthenware containing a large proportion of flint and slag ofironstone , largely made in Staffordshire .

j asp er—A fine hard stoneware that Wedgwood maybe said to have invented

,and made by him in

various colours with applied decorations in white .

See Chapter VIII .

Kiln—The chamber used for firing pieces decoratedin enamel colours , built with fireb rick in varioussizes . On a large manufactory it is high enoughfor a man to stand upright in . It is provided withan iron door with a little peephole at the topThe heat of the enamel kiln varies from 700

°C . to

900°C . , the former known as easy kiln fire

,

”

the latter as hard kiln fire . The two termskiln and oven are somewhat confusing to theoutsider with the trade

,however, kiln

always refers to the firing of the enamelled ware,oven to the much larger chamber used for

.

br inging the ware to the biscuit and gloststate, and called biscuit oven and glostoven .

Lu stre. A metallic or iridescent film applied to the

305


ware in its glazed state . The English lustres ofthe eighteenth century have but little iridescenceand are derived from copper, gold or platinum .

M ajollca .

—A buff porous body generally covered witha tin -enamelled glaze . The term is now used toindicate all wares made and decorated in theItalian manner, though strictly it should only beapplied to the painted and lustred Italian wares .

M arbled ware—A system of imitating the figuring ofdifferent m arbles or stones by means of combingor graining .

M ou ld s .

—These are generally made of plaster of Paris .

M uj le —A small enclosed km with the flames of thefire conveyed In flu es round the outside for firingof enamel colours or glass . Mu ffles are but littleused on large manufactories except for trialpurposes .

Overz.

-See‘

Glost Oven and Kiln .

0ver~glaze.

-Painting on the glazed surface of theware . See Under—glaze .

P ossel p ol—A vessel used to contain curdled m ilk .

Made during the slip period . See Chapter II .

Resist p atio nThe pattern is painted in a medium easily solublein water, such as sugar the whole is lustred over,and when dry the piece is washed in water .

“

Theresinous vehicle of the lustre resists the water,the painted pattern washing off in flakes, leavinga white pattern on a lustred ground .

Sogger .

—A box made of common marl to containand protect the ware during firing .

Slip —Ordinary clay reduced by water to the consistency of thick cream .

Sop ra Mem o.

—A method of decoration in which306

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adam s , William .

An Old English Potter . Edited by WilliamTurner

,F .S .S.

London : 1904B lrms , Charles .

The Story of the Potter .London : N .D .

Bu rton,William ,

F .S .S .

A History and Description of English Earthenwareand Stoneware .

London : 1904 .

Chaf ers , William .

The Ceramic Gallery .

London : 1 907 .

Chafers, William .

Marks and Monograms on Europ ean and OrientalPottery and P orcelain, revised and editedb y Frederick Litchfield .

London : 1903 .

Charoh, A . H ., F .R.S .

English Earthenware .

London : 1904 .

Chu rch, A . H . ,F .R.S .

Josiah Wedgwood, Master Potter .London : 1894 .

308

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Chu rch, A . H . ,F .Rfs .

Old English Pottery .

London : 1 893 .

Cop eland (lale Sp ode) China .

Hanl ey : N .D .

Downham ,E . A .

Blue Dash Chargers .

London : 1 918 .

Earle, M ajor Cyril, T .D .

The Earle Collection of Early Staffordshire Pottery .

London : 1915.

English P orcelain ,Earthenware, Enam els , elo.

Schreiber collection,South Kensington Museum

London : 1883 .

English P oilery and P orcelain, A Gu ide lo .

British Museum : 1910 .

Falkner , Frank, and Dr . E. S idebotham .

Catalogue of a Collection of British PotteryFigures at Peel Park Museum .

Manchester 1 906 .

Falkner, Frank.

The Wood Family of Burslem .

London : 1 912 .

Freeth,Frank M .A . , and M rs .

Old Enghsh Pottery .

London : 1896 .

Grabham , Oxley ,M .A .

Yorkshire Potteries,Pots and Potters .

York : 1916 .

Hobson ,R. L . , B A .

Catalogue of the Collection of English Po‘

ttery inthe British Museum .

London : 1903 .

309


Hodgkin , j ohn Eliot and Ed ith.

Examples of Early English Pottery .

London : 1891 .

j ewitt, Llewellyn ,F .S .A .

The Ceramic Art of Great Britain .

London : 1877 .

j ewitt, Llewellyn, F .S .A .

The Wedgwoods ;being a Life of Josiah Wedgwood.

London : 1865.

Kidson , j oseph R. and Frank.

Historical Notes of the Leeds Old Pottery .

Leeds : 1892 .

Lomax, Charles

Quaint Old English Pottery .

w Manchester :M arryat, j oseph.

A History of Pottery and Porcelain .

London : 1857 .

Mayer, j oseph, F .S .A .

On the Art of Pottery : with a Historyi of itsProgress in Liverpool .

Liverpool : 1873 .

M eteyard , Eliza .

The Life of Josiah Wedgwood .

London : 1865.

Owen, Hu gh.

Two Centuries of Ceramic Art in Bristol .London : 1873 .

P lot, Dr . Robert.

Natural History of Staffordshire .

London : 1686 .

Rhead , G . Woolliscroft and Frederiok Alfred .

Staffordshire Pots and Potters.

London : 1906 .

3 10

INDEX

ABBEY,Richard , 209 , 255, 258

Ad am s, William , of G reenfield s ,

ofBrick Hou se,

“

of Stoke , 1 72 ,

2 14of Greengates ,

Benjam in , 173 , 2 14Sons, 2 14

Agate wares, 12 7Alco ck, Sam u el

, 2 83 , 2 85Astb u ry, John , 100 , 10 1 , 102 ,

104 , 105, 107 , 109 ,

1 10 , 1 11,1 1 3 , 1 15,

1 2 2 , 129 , 1 3 7 , 268

Thom as,105

Aynsley, J. , 2 08, 209

BACON, John , 147Bad d eley, R . and J 2 1 7Basaltes , 127 , 1 36 , 14 1 , 26 1

Barnes , Zachariah, 74Barker , Su tton Till

,2 26 , 2 9 8

Bartm an ,8 1 , 2 78

Bat printing, ,2 02

, 204Battersea Enam el Works , 205Bear ju gs , 1 2 2 , 1 23Bellarm ines , 8 1 , 83 , 2 78Belle Vu e, H u ll

, 24 1

Benson, patent, I I OBinns, C . F 204

3 1 3

Birch,E . J. , 179

Blu e Dash Chargers ,“

76 , 7 7Blu e printed w are, 1 73Bosanko , W 2 24 , 254Bretb y , 2 75Bram pton, 9 1

Bristo l , 2 25, 2 65, 267Brislington , 2 2 3Broseley Clay , 24British Mu seu m ,

2 2, 28 , 3 1 ,

3 3 . 3 8 , 39 , 45, 47.

57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 65, 66 , 6 7 , 68 ,

1 14 ,1 15,

1 17 , 1 1 8, 1 19 , 1 2 1 ,

129 , 146 , 149 , 16 1 , 167 , 1 75,177 , 1 78 , 1 79 , 184 , 1 87 , 189 ,

2 10 , 2 2 3 , 2 39 , 247 , 258 , 26 1,

2 70 ,2 7 1 , 2 72 : 2 73 , 2 75, 2 79 .

2 82 , 2 9 1

Bu ilt w ares , 2 1

Bu rslem Mu seu m , 89 ,1 73 , 1 76

Bu rton , William , 9 6

Bu tterfp ots , 3 3 , 34

CADBOROUGH , 2 70 , 27 1

Cad ogan teapots, 2 3 8Cam b rian and Salopian wares

2 60—269Castleford , 2 39 , 242

Castor ware, 24Cau d le Pots, 66 , 67 , 68

Cau ghley , 2 68, 2 69Cau lifl ower w are, 127 , 1 29

INDEX

Chaffers, Richard , 253 , 255Chester Mu seu m , 45, 50

Christian,Philip, 255, 258

ChiIrch, Sir A . H . , 96, 153 , 156 ,162 ; 23 1

Chu rch, Gresley, 2 73-275

Cinerary u rns, 2 1‘

Clews , J . and R . , 2 15Cob alt, 29 , 14Cockpit Hill, 54 , 55. 2 1 7Coffee, W. T . , 2 75Copeland , 2 17 , 2 26

Crawford ,Dr . , 224

Cream ware, 1 36, 137 , 2 3 3 ,Crich, 9 1

Crim e p ieces, 2 98, 299Cottages, 300Cow m ilk ju gs, 264 , 29 7

DALE , J. , 287 , 288

Davenport, John,177, 282 , 284,

285Delft, Du tch, 62 , 63 , 64

English, 62—78Bristol , 69 , 7 1 , 7 2 , 73Lam b eth, 64, 67Stafford shire, 64 , 77 , 78

Wincanton,64 , 65

Cats, 68, 69Liverpool , 76, 206Sopra Bianco , 69Election Pieces, 70 , 7 1

Tiles, 76

Dillwyn. 2 60- 262 , 264, 268

Don pottery, 2 26, 2 39Donyat . 58. 59Du b lin Mu seu m ,

170

Dwight, John,84 , 85, 86

,87 ,

EDGE Grocott, 298Ed kins , M . , 7 1 , 73Election pieces, 251Elers, J . P . , 84, 85, 9 7 , 99 , 100 ,

10 1

David . 84. 85, 96. 97, 99 .

HACKWOOD , 145; 149‘

Hall, R . , 2 15, .288

Elers Ware, 46 , 95—103 , 104 ,

108

Encau stic ware, 14 1 , 143'

Entw istle, P . , 254Etru scan ware, 262 , 2 64

Evans, Evan; 2 63Eyre, John, 51

FALKNER, Frank, 47, 159 ,163 , 165, 250

Falkner Collection, 40 , 46 ,’

47_

50 , 52 , 132 , 16 1 , 166 ,

Faz akerly,Thom as, 74 , 75Catherine , 74 , 75

Ferryb rid ge. 155. 2 39Fell , 2 28 , 243 , 248

Fifield , W 265, 267Flaxm an,

John ,142 ,

146 , 148 ;

73Frank Richard , 7 1 73

Thom as, 7 1

Freeth Frank, 70Collection, 66 , 1 16, 1 18,

1 3 3 . I 76. 188. 2 79 .282

Fu d d ling Cu ps, 25, 56Fu lham pottery, 85—89 , -283

GALENA, 36

Garner, Rob ert , 2 88Glaisher , Dr . J

‘

. W . L

38. 73 . 96

Glaisher, Collection, 3 7. 38. 39 .

40 52 54 . 56 57.

72 , 74 ,86 , 10 7 ,

132 ,

13 3 . 2 12 . 2 34 . 2 35.Glam organ w orks , 2 64 , 265Grafliato , 55

—59

Green glaz e , 28

Gu ildhall Mu seu m ,

-22 , 27

INDEX

Riley , J .

’

and R . , ,2 15Rockingham , 2 3 1 , 2 38 , 242 , 283Rogers , J . and J. , 2 15Rosso Antico ,

1 36 , 1 3 7 , 143Rou s and Cu llen ,

Ru sh Mu rd ers , 29 9Ru ssian Service, 1 39 ,

140

Rye, 2 70 ,2 7 1

SADLER and Green, 76, 1 38,

Salt Glaz e, 79 ,80

, 108—1 2 3 , 158

Salt, Ralph ,2 2 3 , 2 26 , 29 1 , 2 94 ,

295Sam ian w are , 2 2 ,

2 3Sew ell , 2 2 1 , 2 43Schreib er , Lad y Charlotte, 85

Co llection ,88

, 10 7 ,1 18

,1 2 1 , 1 2 2 , 12 3 ,

1 2 7 1 3 2 , 181 , 209 , 2 72

Shaw Ald erm an , 252

Dr . Sim eon , 95, 9 6 , 1 08 ,

I 75. 1 76 .2 89

Shaw e ,Ralph , 1 10 ,

1 1 2

Sheld on Collection ,2 6 , 50 ,

86,

9 8 , 103 , 105, 107 , 1 1 2 , 1 16 ,

Sherratt, Ob ed iah, 295, 29 7Shorthose, 2 17Sid eb otham ,

Dr . ,104 , 105

Collection ,10 7 , 1 13 ,

1 17 , 12 2 ,1 32 ,

16 1 ,165. 29 7

Silver resist , 2 25, 2 2 6

Slip wares, 35—6 1Derb yshire, 53—55Method , 35, 36

Metropolitan , 39—43

Stafford shire , 43—53

Wrotham , 373

39 , 55Solon,

L . M . , 46 , 49 ,60 ,

6 1 , 79 ,

8 1 f 99 .2 30

Collection , 38

Sou thw ick, 2 2 7 , 2 46

Spod e. 125. I 7S. I 77 . 2 14 . 2 16 .

2 17

UPCHURCH Ware, 2 3

3 16

Stevenson, And rew , 2 14Ralph , 2 15

Sto ckton-on-Tees, 156 , 246

Stoke Mu seu m ,1 17

Stonew are , 79—94 , 1 73

Stu b b s , J 2 15Su nd erland , 198, 2 2 7 , 2 28

,2 2 9 ,

Su ssex P ig, 2 7 1

Swad lincote, 2 75Sw ansea , 2 2 7 , 2 60

—264Sw inton ,

2 3 1

TAUNTON Mu seu m , 57 , 59 , 80

Tickenhall , 55Tiles Med ieval , 2 9

—3 2

Stove , 3 3Toad m u gs , 2 46 , 2 47

Tob y ju gs , 2 77- 2 86Toft, Thom as , 43

—49, 54 , 29 1

Jam es, 47Rap h , 48

—50

Triplet vases , 25Transfer printing, 75, 76 , 1 75,

z oo 2 36 , 247 , 249 ,250 ,

~2 9 9Tu nstall Mu seu m , 175Tu rner, John ,

146 , 1 75, 176 , 19 1 ,2 14Thom as, 2 1 1 , 2 1 3 , 268

Tweedm ou th Collection ,149 ,

Twyford ,12 7

Tyne , Wear and Teeswares, 243251

V . & A . MUSEUM , 3 7 , 3 8 , 39 , 45,68

. 7 1 . 73 . 77 . 89 . 9 2 . 94 .1 9 1 .

105, 1 0 7 , 1 1 3 , 1 19 ,120 ,

130 ,

14 1 .142 .

145. 146 . I 49 .I SO .

1 68,1 74 ,

1 86 , 196 ,198 , 208 ,

209 ,2 2 1 , 2 2 2 ,

2 2 3 , 2 25, 2 26 ,

2 2 7 , 240 ,244 , 2 47 , 26 1 , 2 65,

2 66 , 267 , 2 7 1 , 2 72 , 2 73 , 275,292 . 29 3

INDEX

Variegated wares , 124—13 4, 13 7 .

143Voyez , John , 182—188 , 186, 19 1

WALLEY, J. , 298

Walton , John , 16 1 , 282 , 2 88

Wareham , Joseph, 256

Ward , John , 1 70 , 2 87 , 2 89Ward , William , 2 25Wed gw ood , Josiah , 46 , 74 , 78 ,

9 7 , 100, 10 1 , 104 ,

Aaron , Thom as and

Richard , 96 , 109 ,

1 10

Dr . Thom as, 109 ,

Ralph, 2 16 , 2 39

Wed gw ood ’

s artists , 146—154 YOUNG, W . W . , 262—2 64 , 2 66

3 1 7

Wesley , John , 167 , 20 7 , 258

2 88

White sem i-porcelain, 1 3 7 , 143Whield on ,

104 , 1 14, 1 2 2 , 124134 , 143 ,

255, 2 68 , 2 78 , 2 79 ,

Willow pattern , 2 1 1—2 13

Willett Collection , 3 3 , 50 , 104 ,

1 3 1 , 1 3 2 , 1 3 3 , 16 1 , 1 63 , 1 9 7 ,2 47 . 2 79 . 2 9 1 . 2 9 8. 2 99

Wilson , R . , 1 80—182

‘

Wood , Aaron ,1 1 3 , 1 14 , 158 , 165,

166

Wood , Enoch , 47 , 1 14 ,12 7 , 1 3 7 ,

158 , 1 64 , 1 66 , 167—1 70 ,

Co llection ,89 , 10 1

Ralph, 47 , 1 1 3 , 1 2 129 ,

158, 1 6 3 , 164 ,18 1 , 187 , 2 77 ,

2 79 . 2 8 1 , 2 86 , 29 1 , 29 3Wood , Fam ily , 158

—1 7 1Wood , Mrs . Bad d eley ,

160, 16 1

Wood and Caldw ell , 169 , 29 1 ,

Wrotham , 3 7—39

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