FIFTH COURSE
Old Pottery
A Contrast in Prices—Bethel, Wesley, and Whitfield—Blue and White Plates—Salt Glaze—The Cobbler’s Wife Upstairs—Toby Jugs—Doubts and Uncertainties—Liverpool—The Letter “P”—Vanishing Transfer Printing—Sunderland—Don Pottery—The Useful Mark—A Tuppenny Don—Turner (Lane Ends)—The Worth of a Ladle—Wedgwood—Jasper Ware—Tortoiseshell—Evolution—Puzzle Jugs—Experiments and Remarks—Brown and Buff Stoneware—Nelson Jugs—Contrast and a Caution—Mask Jugs—Advice and an Explanation—Delft—Plates—A Candlestick “Sauce-boat”—Rockingham—The Cadogan Pot—The Snufftaker—Lustre—“All is not gold that glisters”—Dating—Wood, Enoch, and Ralph—A Bust, a Mould, a Word—Notes on the Groups-Pretty Poetry Printed on Pottery—The Willow Pattern—Solving a Problem.
Pottery opens a wide course, gives much chance of success, finds scope for research and discrimination, and has also the advantage of not taking up much room, so the collector can usually hang on to anything he may fancy. In hunting for antiques you get exercise, a certain amount of excitement, and a great deal of uncertainty. It is a fine school for cultivating patience which repays you in the long run. I have times innumerable gone out of my way to pass a certain shop, to be rewarded, quite recently, by finding half a dozen blue and white pottery plates of a pattern I have wanted for years. This was doubly consoling, for my previous purchase there was broken in my pocket. In doing my own collecting of pottery I have had many strange experiences, and several of the pieces have some interesting incident associated with their coming into my possession. As they total over 250 specimens the reminiscences make good reflections, while the finding, tracing, naming and arranging for show on shelves or whatnots to the best advantage has enabled me to pass many and many an hour pleasantly, and the result is always gratifying.
Whenever I chance to be from home I make it a part of my programme to do the old shops; sometimes the old shops do me, but not often. I recently went round the shops of a seaside town and drew a blank, but I saw a jug dated 1806 which I liked. On handling it I was informed it was an old Staffordshire farmer’s jug, with farm implements painted on. The price was £10, and they had already refused £6. I felt uneasy until I had put the jug back on the shelf. In contrast to that, in almost the last inland town I visited by road we pulled up near a second-hand place and the first thing I noticed was a quaint-shaped, very early Staffordshire jug, hand painted, with blue band and some floral decoration, and so I went in. Blowing off the dust which other collectors had failed to disturb, although the town is their hunting-ground, I was told I could have it for a shilling as it was a bit snipped at the bottom. I bought that jug, and I should have been quite ready and pleased to buy the other at a reasonable price. My plough jug cost me five shillings in 1911; it is not dated, but may possibly be prior to 1806.
Old Pottery.
Plate XXXII.
PLATE XXXII