CHAPTER V.
Pottery in England in the eighteenth century—Delft ware—Posset pots—Billin’s patent—Redrich and Jones’s patent—Benson’s patents—Ralph Shawe’s patents—Trial of right—The Bow works—Heylyn and Frye’s patents—The Fulham works—White’s patent—The Count de Lauraguais’ patent—Staffordshire wares—The Plymouth works—William Cookworthy’s patent—Josiah Wedgwood—Crease’s, and other patents—Ralph Wedgwood’s patents—Progress of the art during the century.
Fig. 336.—Posset Pot.
Fig. 337.
At the commencement of the eighteenth century, the ceramic art in this country was beginning to expand in a remarkable degree, and many important strides for its improvement were taken. The brown-ware dishes, tygs, and other vessels for domestic use, were still made as before, and stoneware bottles, ale pots, and other articles continued to be produced; but, beyond these, some much finer kinds of earthenware were introduced, which gradually took their place. Among these were Delft ware and Crouch ware, to which I have referred, and the white ware, which has frequently, but erroneously, been called “Elizabethan ware,” which was probably introduced about this time. A good specimen of the brown ware of this period, which will be seen to be identical in character with the dishes and tygs and cradle before spoken of, is the posset pot shown on Fig. [336]. It bears the loyal motto, “GOD : SAVE : THE : QVEEN : 1711,” and is ornamented in the usual way with slip. It is of much the same character as a wassail or gossips’ bowl, bearing the name “RICHARD MEIR,” in the Liverpool Museum. It is shown on Fig. [337]. The form of Fig. [336] is somewhat different from the usual later shape of posset pots, as will be shown on engravings which will follow. As posset and posset pots are local matters, a few words concerning them will here be interesting. Posset pots have been made and regularly used in Derbyshire and the neighbouring counties from an early period until the present time. “Posset” is an excellent mixture of hot ale, milk, sugar, spices, and sippets, or, perhaps, more correctly speaking, dice, of bread or oat-cake. In these counties this beverage was formerly almost, if not quite, universal for supper on Christmas-eve; and the “posset pot” was thus used but once a year, and often became an heirloom in the family. A small silver coin and the wedding-ring of the mistress of the family were generally dropped into the posset when the guests were assembled, and those who partook of it took each a spoonful in turn as the “pot” was handed round. Whichever of the party fished up the coin was considered certain of good luck in the coming year, while an early and happy marriage was believed to be the enviable fate of the lucky individual who fished up the ring. Other posset pots will be found engraved in other parts of this volume, under the heads of Nottingham and Brampton.
It is clear that about this time the art of pot-making began to make rapid strides; for in the space of twenty-seven years—from 1722 to 1749—no less than nine separate patents were taken out, and were followed in rapid succession by others. In 1722, Richard Holt and Samuel London, gentlemen, took out a patent for “a certain new composicon or mixture (without any sort of clay) for making of white ware, which is formed and moulded in a method hitherto not known or practised, and far surpasses the finest of delf ware, or any other sort made in any part of Europe, and also by their new method of impression make the fabrick of earthenware of a more exquisite shape than the present method of turning could ever perform or arrive to, by which meanes our subjects will be able to excell all Europe, and not only employ a great many of our own poor, to the great benefit of trade and the manufactures of our kingdom, but also prevent the clandestine running of delf ware, &c., from foreign parts into Great Brittain;” granted “for the term of fourteen years.” It does not say of what materials the composition is made, except that it is without any sort of clay, nor does it describe any method of impression.
In the same year, Thomas Billin, having “by many long, laborious, and chargeable experiments found out and invented a method for making the most refined earthenware, with help of clay and other materials found within this kingdom, which ever yet appeared in this part of Europe, of a nature and composicon, not only transparent, but so perfect in its kind, and of principles so firmly vnited, as (contrary to the nature of all other earthenwares) to resist almost any degree of heat, by which qualities it is more valuable, and of greater vse and ornament than all other kinds ever yet invented or practised in this kingdom, and capable of being wrought into vessels and ornaments for any vse; and for the working of the same invention he hath invented particular and proper engines and tools.” No description is given of the mode of manufacture, or of the engines or tools mentioned in the title of the invention.
In 1724 Robert Redrich and Thomas Jones had a patent granted them for “a new art or method, as well for staining, veining, spotting, clouding, damasking, or otherwise imitating the various kinds of marble, porphyry, and other rich stones, and tortoiseshell, on wood, stone, and earthenware, and all and every such goods, wares, utensils, and things as are made, cut, or fashioned thereout, as for the making, marbling, veining, spotting, staining, clouding, and damasking any linen, silks, canvas, paper, and leather.”
In 1726, and again in 1732, patents were taken out for methods of grinding flints, &c., which were of much importance. The first of these, by Thomas Benson, is described as “an engine or new method for the more expeditious working the said flint stone, whereby all the said hazards and inconveniences attending the same will effectually be prevented.” It is stated that in the making of “white pots,” flint stone is “the chief ingredient,” and that the method hitherto used in preparing it “has been by pounding or breaking it dry, and afterwards sifting it through fine lawns, which has proved very destructive to mankind;” and this invention is to obviate it, and is as follows:—The flint stones are first wetted, then crushed as fine as sand by two large wheels, of the bigness and shape of mill-stones, of iron, and made to turn upon the edges by the power of a water-wheel. This material is afterwards conveyed into large circular iron pans, “in which there are large iron balls, which, by the power of the water-wheel above named, are swiftly driven round: in a short time the operation is concluded, and by turning a tap the material empties itself into casks.”
The next one, by the same Thomas Benson, taken out in 1732, was described as—
“A new engine, or method for grinding of flint stones, being the chief ingredient used in making of white wares, such as pots and other vessels, a manufacture carried on in our county of Stafford, and in some other parts of this our kingdom; that the common method hitherto used in preparing the same hath been by breaking and pounding the stones dry, and afterwards sifting the powder through fine lawns, which hath proved very destructive to mankind, occasioned by the dust suckled into the body, which, being of a ponderous nature, fixes so closely upon the lungs that nothing can remove it, insomuch that it is very difficult to find persons to engage in the said manufacture, to the great detriment and decay of that branch of trade, which would otherwise, from the usefulness thereof, be of great benefit and advantage to our kingdom; that by the petitioner’s invention the flint stones are sprinkled with water, so that no dust can arise, then ground as fine as sand, with two large stones made to turn upon the edges by the power of a wheel, worked either by wind, water, or horses, which is afterwards conveyed into large stone pans, made circular, wherein are placed large stone balls, which, by the power of such wheels are driven round with great velocity; that, in a short time, the flint stones so broken are reduced to an oily substance, which, by turning on a cock, empties itself into casks provided for that purpose; that by this invention all hazards and inconveniences in making the said manufacture in the common way will be effectually prevented, and in every particular tend to the manifest improvement and advantage thereof, and preserving the lives of our subjects imployed therein.”
In 1729 Samuel Bell took out a patent for fourteen years “for a new method not hitherto practiced within Great Brittain for making of a red marble stone ware with minerall earth, found within this kingdom, which being firmly vnited by fire will make it capable of receiving a gloss so beautiful as to imitate, if not to compare with rubie; that the stone ware may be formed into vessells for any necessary vse, or into ornaments for houses or gardens, such as jarrs, flower potts, &c., it being the most perfect of its kind, both in colour, nature, and form, that hath ever appeared in this part of Europe;” but no specification, to show what the mineral earth was, is given.
In 1733 (April 24th) Ralph Shawe, potter, of Burslem, who, like many other potters of the district, had long adopted the improvements of Mr. Astbury and others, took out a patent for employing “various sorts of mineral, earth, clay, and other earthy substances, which, being mixt and incorporated together, make up a fine body, of which a curious ware may be made, whose outside will be of a true chocolate colour, striped with white, and the inside white, much resembling the brown China ware, and glazed with salt.” The secret was merely washing the inside, and forming broad lines on the outside of the articles with a very thick slip of flint and pipeclay. “To keep his process more secluded and secret, he was accustomed to evaporate his mixed clays on a long trough, in a place locked up under cover, beneath which were flues, for the heat from fire applied on the outside. This also kept the clay free from any kind of dirt; and the idea is supposed to have been gained from the tile-makers’ method of drying their tiles in stoves. A pair of flower-pots, excellent specimens of this person’s manufacture, which had been received as a present from the maker by his wife’s grandfather, were in the author’s possession till very recently. Mr. Shawe became so litigious and overbearing, that many of the manufacturers were extremely uncomfortable, and prevented improving their productions. Not content with the success he experienced, and the prospect of speedily acquiring affluence, his excessive vanity and insatiable avarice incited to proceedings that terminated in his ruin. Unwilling to admit the customary practices of the business, and to brook any appearance of competition, he was constantly objecting to every trifling improvement as an infringement of his patent, and threatening his neighbours with suits in equity to protect his sole rights; till at length self-defence urged them to bear the expenses of a suit he had commenced against J. Mitchell, to try the validity of the patent, at Stafford, in 1736; and very aged persons, whose parents were present, give the general facts of the trial:—All the manufacturers being interested in the decision, those most respectable were in the court. Witnesses proved Astbury’s invention and prior usage of the practice, and a special jury of great intelligence and wealth gave a verdict against Mr. Shawe. The learned judge, after nullifying the patent, thus addressed the audience—“Go home, potters, and make whatever kinds of pots you please.” The hall re-echoed with acclamations, and the strongest ebullitions of satisfaction from the potters, to the indescribable mortification of Mr. Shawe and his family, who afterwards went to France, where he carried forward his manufactory, whence some of his family returned to Burslem about 1750.” This event is thus characteristically spoken of in native tongue, in the “Burslem Dialogue,” by Mr. Ward:—
“Terrick. Dust moind, Rafe, owt o’ th’ treyal at Staffurt o’ Johnny Mutchil for makkin Rafy Shay’s patten ware?
“Leigh. Oi just remember, bu oi wur ony a big lad at th’ teyme. It had bin mitch tawkt abaht, and when, it wur oer, they aw toud’n wat th’ judge sed to th’ mesters—‘Gooa whomm, potters, an mak wot soourts o’ pots yoa loiken.’ An when they coomn to Boslem, aw th’ bells i’ Hoositon, an Stooke, an th’ tahn, wurn ringin loike hey-go-mad, aw th’ dey.”
The kind of ware just described was sometimes known as “bitstone ware,” from “bits” of stone being used to separate the pieces in the oven. This was, of course, prior to the use of “stilts,” “triangles,” or “cockspurs.”
In 1744, Edward Heylyn, in the parish of Bow, in the county of Middlesex, merchant, and Thomas Frye, of the parish of West Ham, in the county of Essex, painter, took out a patent, and early in the following year enrolled their specification, for the making of china and porcelain ware. This specification, which is deeply interesting, is as follows:—
“Whereas His most Excellent Majesty King George the Second, by His Royal Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster, the Sixth day of December, in the eighteenth year of His reign, reciting that whereas we, the said Edward Heylyn and Thomas Frye, had, by our Petition, humbly represented unto His said Majesty that we had, at a considerable expence of time and money in trying experiments, applyed ourselves to find out a method for the improvement of the English earthenware, and had at last invented and brought to perfection “A New Method of Manufacturing a Certain Material, whereby a Ware might be made of the same Nature or Kind, and equal to, if not exceeding in goodness and beauty, China or Porcelain Ware imported from Abroad;” which Invention we, the Petitioners, apprehended would be of vast advantage to the kingdom, as it would not only save large sums of money that were yearly paid to the Chinese and Saxons, but also imploy large numbers of men, women, and children; and that as many and as great benefits would arise therefrom to this nation, as from the woolen or iron manufactories, in proportion to the numbers of people that would be employed therein, His Majesty did therefore, of His especial grace, certain knowledge, and meer motion, give and grant unto us, the said Edward Heylyn and Thomas Frye, our extors, admors, & assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole priviledge & authority, to make, use, exercise, and vend our said Invention in that part of Great Britain called England, Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, to hold to us, the said Edward Heylyn and Thomas Frye, our extors, admors, and assigns, for the term of fourteen years from the date of the said recited Letters Patent. In which said Letters Patent there is contained a provisoe, that if we, the said Edward Heylyn and Thomas Frye, should not particularly describe and ascertain the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner and of what materials the same was to be performed, by an instrument in writing, under our hands and seals, or the hand and seal of one of us, and cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty’s High Court of Chancery, within four calendar months after the date of the said recited Letters Patent; that then the said Letters Patent, and the libertys and advantages thereby granted, should cease and be void, as in and by the same Letters Patent (relation being thereunto had) may more at large appear.
“NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Edward Heylyn and Thomas Frye, in pursuance of the said provisoe, contained in the said recited Letters Patent, do hereby describe and ascertain the nature of our said Invention, and the manner and of what material the same is to be performed, as hereinafter is mentioned (that is to say):—
“The material is an earth, the produce of the Chirokee nation in America, called by the natives unaker, the propertys of which are as follows, videlicet, to be very fixed, strongly resisting fire and menstrua, is extreamly white, tenacious, and glittering with mica. The manner of manufacturing the said material is as follows:—Take unaker, and by washing seperate the sand and mica from it, which is of no use; take pott ash, fern ash, pearl ash, kelp, or any other vegetable lixiviall salt, one part of sands, flints, pebbles, or any other stones of the vitryfying kind; one other part of these two principles form a glass in the usual manner of making glass, which when formed reduce to an impalpable powder. Then mix to one part of this powder two parts of the washed unaker, let them be well worked together until intimately mixed for one sort of ware; but you may vary the proportions of the unaker and the glass; videlicet, for some parts of porcelain you may use one half unaker and the other half glass, and so in different proportions, till you come to four unaker and one glass; after which knead it well together, and throw it on the wheel, cast it into moulds, or imprint it into utensils, ornaments, &c.; those vessells, ornaments, &c., that are thrown, should be afterwards turned on a lathe and burnished, it will then be in a situation to be put into the kiln and burned with wood, care being taken not to discolour the ware, otherwise the process will be much hurt. This first burning is called biscuiting, which, if it comes out very white, is ready to be painted blue, with lapis lazuli, lapis armenis, or zapher, which must be highly calcined and ground very fine. It is then to be dipt into the following glaze:—Take unaker forty pounds, of the above glass ten pounds, mix and calcine them in a reverberatory; then reduce, and to each pound when reduced add two pounds of the above glass, which must be ground fine in water, and left of a proper thickness for the ware to take up a sufficient quantity. When the vessells, ornaments, &c., are dry, put them into the kiln in cases, burn them with a clean wood fire, and when the glaze runs true lett out the fire, and it is done, but must not be taken out of the kiln till it is thorough cold.”
In 1748 Thomas Frye took out another patent, the specification for which, enrolled March 17, 1749, is as follows:—
“WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Second, by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date the Seventeenth day of November, in the twenty-third year of His reign, did give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Frye, His especial licence that I, the said Thomas Frye, during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend my “New Method of Making a certain Ware, which is not Inferior in Beauty and Fineness, and is rather Superior in Strength, than the Earthenware that is brought from the East Indies, and is comonly known by the Name of China, Japan, or Porcelain Ware;” in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Thomas Frye, by a writing under my hand and seal, to cause a particular description of the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His Majesty’s High Court of Chancery within four kalendar months after the date of the said recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same (relation being thereunto had) may more at large appear.
“NOW KNOW YE, that in complyance with the said provisoe, I, the said Thomas Frye, do hereby declare that the said Invention is to be performed in the manner following (that is to say):—
“As there is nothing in nature but by calcination, grinding, and washing will produce a fixed indissoluble matter, distinguished by the name of virgin earth, the properties of which is strictly the same whether produced from animals, vegetables, or fossills, no other difference arising from the process but that some bodys produce it in greater quantities than others, as all animal substances, all fossils of the calcarious kind, such as chalk, limestone, &c.; take therefore any of these classes, calcine it till it smokes no more, which is an indication that all the volatile sulpherous parts are dissipated, and that the saline are sett loose; then grind and wash in many waters to discharge the salts and filth, reiterate the process twice more, when the ashes or virgin earth will be fit for use; then take of these ashes two parts, one part of flint, or white peble, or clear sand, either producing the same effect, which mix together with water and make into balls or bricks, and burn them in a feirce fire, then grind it fine, and it is ready to be mixed with one third part of its weight of pipeclay, and temper it well, when it is fit to be thrown on the wheel, which, when finished and dry, is to be burned as all other pottery ware till it is transparent and of a fine colour, then to be painted with smalt or zaffer, as it is required to be deeper or paler, and it is ready to be glazed with the following preparation:—Take saltpetre one part, red lead two parts, sand, flint, or other white stones, three parts. To make a glass, melt it well and grind it, to every twenty pounds of which add six pounds of white lead, adding a small portion of smalt to clean the colour; mix it well and glaze the ware, which is done by dipping in the vessell and setting it on to dry, when it must be put in cases and burned as above with wood, till the surface of the ware is clear and shining, and it is finished.”
In these specifications we have important materials touching the Bow china works, under which head they will again be referred to. About this time, the Chelsea, Worcester, and Derby, and, a little later, the Plymouth, porcelain works were established. The year in which this specification was enrolled, 1749, is memorable as the year when Josiah Wedgwood completed his term of apprenticeship, and when, consequently, he entered upon that course of work and life which have ever since had so brilliant and so marked an effect upon the potter’s art in this country. At this time, too, there were in Staffordshire a number of very skilful potters, who were, even before Wedgwood’s time, making rapid strides in the art. To some of these I shall refer later on in this work.
The next patent taken out was in 1762, by “William White, of Fulham, in the county of Middlesex, potter,” for making white crucibles or melting-pots of Stourbridge clay and Dorsetshire clay, calcined, mixed with Woolwich sand, and water, and trodden together, and burned. Two years later, James Williamson and Joseph Spackman patented “a new method of turning ovals in pewter, English china, and all other earthenwares,” on a lathe with movable chucks and sliding ring, of their inventing. In 1766, “the Count de Lauraguais, of London,” having, “by his petition, humbly represented unto us, that by labour, study, travelling, and expence in trying experiments, he hath found out and invented ‘a new method of making porcelain ware in all its different branches, viz.—to make the coarser species of china, the more beautiful of the Indies, and the finest of Japan, in a manner different from any that is made in our dominions, and he, having the materials tryed in Great Britain, has brought the same to so great perfection that the porcelain made therewith after his new method far excells any that has hitherto been made in Great Britain, the same not being fusible by fire, as all other china made there is,’” took out a patent for fourteen years, but no specification seems to have been enrolled.
During all this time the pottery district of Staffordshire was rapidly increasing, and important strides were being made by its manufacturers in the improvement of their art. In various parts of the country, too, old pot works continued their business in an improved state, and new ones sprang up in every direction. The history of the art, therefore, becomes that of the various works which I shall have to pass under review. The patents taken out from this period to the close of the century are some guide to this state of progress, but not much; for it is an undoubted fact, that many of the most important improvements and most reliable inventions were never patented at all, while others, which were the gradual result of daily practice, were not sufficiently “inventions” to entitle them to patent right.
In 1768 William Cookworthy, of Plymouth, took out a patent for his newly invented porcelain, which was renewed in 1775 to Richard Champion; to these reference will be made under the heads of “Plymouth” and “Bristol.”
In 1769 Josiah Wedgwood took out his only patent; it was for decorative, not manufacturing, processes, and will be spoken of more fully in the notice of Etruria.
In 1782 James Crease patented some inventions in the making of sanitary vessels; and in the two following years “Joseph Cartledge, of Blackley, in the county of York, Doctor of Physic,” enrolled his specification for “a method of glazing earthenware.” This interesting document is as follows:—
“Whereas His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster, the Fifth day of February, in the twenty-fourth year of His reign, reciting that I, the said Joseph Cartledge, had, by my Petition, humbly represented unto His said Majesty, that I had, by great study, invented “A New Method of Glazing Earthenware,” which would be of public utility and advantage, and praying His said Majesty to grant unto me, my e[~x]ors, adm̃ors], and assigns, His said Majesty’s Letters Patent for the sole exercise of my said Invention, within England and Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, for the term of fourteen years from the date of the said Letters Patent, was graciously pleased to condescend to my request; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that if I, the said Joseph Cartledge, should not particularly describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the same to be inrolled in his said Majesty’s High Court of Chancery within four calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, that then the said Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages whatsoever thereby granted, should utterly cease, determine, and become void, as in and by the said Letters Patent, relation being thereunto had, may and will more fully appear.
“NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Cartledge, in compliance with the said proviso, do hereby describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as follows, viz.:—
“First, as to the nature of the Invention, it is well known to the manufacturers of earthenware, that all the sorts of common ware now in use are now, and have been heretofore at all times, both in this and all other countries I know, glazed either by sea salt, or by lead ore, or by some preparation of lead, or of lead and tin united to ground flints or clay, or both. Now the nature of the discovery which I have made consists in this, that instead of the use of sea salt, or metallic substances, the earthenware is glazed with various kinds of earths and stones, by which there will be a great saving of expence in the glazing of the said ware, and the glaze itself, it is apprehended, will be more perfect than that which is made with salt, and more wholesome than that into which either lead, or lead and tin, enter as constituent parts.
“Secondly, with respect to the manner of applying the earth and stones:—They are to be ground into powder, and laid on the ware as potters use their own composition. With respect to the sorts of earths and stones which are adapted to the purposes they are various. The toad-stone of Derbyshire, and other places, the Scotch and Guernsey pebbles, the basaltes, and other productions generally esteemed volcanic, rag stone, slate, shale, granite, gypsum, fluor spar, mare stone, and many other kinds of earths and stones which I know not how to denominate, will all, either severally or when mixed in different proportions with each other, or with siliceous or argillaceous, micaceous, or calcareous earths or stones, or with all of them, answer the purpose. I would have it also understood, that portions of the metallic substances now used for the purpose of glazing earthenware or saline bodies (tho’ not necessary for producing the effect) may be used in conjunction with the earths and stones here mentioned. I would further remark, that the slags of furnaces, the slags of pit-coal, and the crust which forms on the bottom slip-kilns, by themselves, or in conjunction with the substances before mentioned, will glaze earthenware. But as the same effect may be produced by a great many different sorts of earths and stones, when used either separately or when combined in very different proportions, all of which it is impossible to enumerate or ascertain, I think it fit to mention the three following, which have succeeded well with me. Take of Derbyshire toad-stone five parts by weight, fluor spar one part, take thirty-three parts of clay, nineteen parts of flint, thirty-eight parts of striated gypsum, take fluor spar one, two, three or four parts, porcelain clay two parts, siliceous earth one fourth of a part, of calcareous earth one sixth of a part.”
The next patent, in 1785, was by Thomas De-la-Mayne, for “making buttons of burnt earth or porcelain;” and the next, in 1786, by John Skidmore, for ornamenting various articles and “all sorts of china and earthenware with foil stones, Bristol stones, paste, and all sorts of pinched glass, lapped glass, and every other stone, glass, and composition used in or applicable to the jewellery trade,” in ways therein described. In 1789 an improvement in the form and construction of “soup ladles, tureens, gravy spoons, ladles, and skimmers,” was patented by John Baynes; and in 1790, Johanna Hempel patented newly invented filters. In 1796, James Keeling patented improvements in decorative and glazing processes; and in the same year, in conjunction with Valentine Close, an improved mode of constructing “ovens, kilns, and firing-places, so as to make and cause a very great saving of coals and fuel in and about the firing, hardening, and baking all manner of porcelain, china ware, and all manner of earthenwares, in every state wherein firing is needful and necessary.”
In the same year, 1796, Ralph Wedgwood took out three separate patents. The first of these was for a “new discovered and invented method of making earthenware, whereby the article of earthenware may be made at a less cost than hitherto, to the great advantage of the manufacturers thereof, and of the public.” This consists “in casing over inferior compositions with compositions commonly used for making cream-coloured ware, white ware, or china.” “Thick bats or laminæ” of the inferior are covered on each side with thin bats of the superior clay, and if the edges of the ware are required to be cased, they are surrounded “with a square piece commonly called a wad.” Afterwards the “bats” are beat, pressed, or rolled out to the required dimensions, “as are proper for the wares to be made from the same.” For moulding the wares single moulds may be used, but double are preferred, of wood, or “wood cased with plaster, of metal,” or any material capable of standing much pressure. The press is such as is used for stamping buttons. The glazing is applied dry to the bats; if the edges of the ware, after moulding, are not properly covered with dry glaze, supply these parts “with wet glaze, by means of a pencil;” afterwards stove and burn the ware. The others were respectively for a new method of making glass from old earthenware, china, &c.; and for “a new-invented stove,” “calculated principally for the use of manufacturers of earthenware and china.” On the same day on which this patent was dated, one was also granted to John Pepper, for a new construction of kilns or ovens for the same purpose. In 1799 Messrs. William and John Turner patented “a new method or methods of manufacturing porcelain or earthenware, by the introduction of a material not heretofore used in the manufacturing of those articles;” the material being “Tabberner’s Mine rock,” “Little Mine rock,” and “New rock,” mixed with the growan, or Cornish stone, and flint.
This is the last patent connected with ceramics before the year 1800, and therefore brings us down to the commencement of the present century. From 1800 to 1861 no less than three hundred and twenty-two patents were taken out for improvements in the potter’s art or in matters connected with that art. These will be briefly enumerated at the close of this work, and of many of them notices will be found incorporated in its body.
In the early part of this century, with the exception of the productions of a few houses, the state of the art was still at a low ebb; and, although improvements were constantly being made, when the great world-struggle took place in 1851, we, as a nation, were found to be lamentably behind some other countries, not only in the beauty of form and decoration of our ceramic productions, but even in quality of body and glaze. Between the Exhibitions of 1851 and 1862 a marked improvement was effected, and this has gone on steadily extending itself, until now Great Britain, without exception, stands foremost of all the nations of earth in this art.
I now proceed, in succeeding chapters, to speak of the various earthenware and porcelain works and seats of pottery manufacture, of the kingdom.