| Duesbury (1756). | Derby-Chelsea (1770). | First in lilac, then in red. |
| Crown Derby (1780). | Sometimes D is in old English—D (1780). | Imitation of Sèvres (1798). |
| Imitation of Chinese. | Probably workman’s mark. | Sometimes in oval (about 1830). |
Lowestoft—Soft and mostly Hard Paste.—Much uncertainty, discussion, and perplexity, have prevailed concerning the porcelain made at Lowestoft, on the eastern coast of England, near Yarmouth.
About 1756, as is agreed to by both Marryat and Chaffers, a gentleman named Luson attempted a manufactory of pottery and porcelain there, which was not successful. Shortly after another was attempted, which for a time succeeded well; in this Mr. Robert Browne was the principal man. Pottery and porcelain were made here in great variety and in considerable quantities—much of it for exportation, and especially for the Turkish markets; and some of it appears to have been marked with a crescent, like that made at Worcester. But, as a rule, no marks, either of the factory or the painter, were used at Lowestoft.
Not only was pottery, or earthenware, made here, but the early porcelain was soft ware. Mr. Chaffers states that, about 1775, hard paste was made there in close imitation of Chinese. He states, also, that some of the heavier pieces, like tureens and punch-bowls, had a sort of uneven surface, as if it had been patted into shape by the hand or a tool. This patted or uneven surface is a defect; but as this is found also in heavy pieces of porcelain, which are Chinese beyond question, it ceases to be a distinguishing mark of Lowestoft work—if, indeed, it is a mark of it at all, which one may be permitted still to doubt.
Some of the work reached great perfection, and the egg-shell cups, etc., made there are said to be equal to any others made in Europe. Among the peculiar decorations were hares’ heads for handles, fruits for knobs of covers, doubled handles to mugs, braided or crossed, which are asserted to be quite distinct from Oriental designs.
“Another striking variety is the fan and feather pattern, in imitation of Capo di Monte, painted in purple, blue, and red, in the form of basins and ewers. Many of these vases are elaborately painted, with diaper-work in gold, and colors, and escutcheons of flowers, and small landscapes. Among all the flowers and exquisite floral patterns the rose predominates, and it is remarkable how easily the peculiar touch of the artist—whose name was Rose—can be detected. Another style of decoration peculiar to Lowestoft is a rococo scroll or running border of flowers, slightly raised upon the plain surface in opaque white enamel.”
In the collection of Mr. J. V. L. Pruyn, at Albany, is quite a large dinner-service with the rose-decoration, which we can easily believe to be true Lowestoft. The colors are not brilliant, nor is the glaze perfect. The paste lacks the whiteness of the best Chinese, and is lighter than any true Chinese porcelain I have seen. Some persons in this country think that many or most of the dinner and tea services ordered in the United States during the last century, and which it was supposed were made in China, really came from Lowestoft through Liverpool or Bristol; among them those sets which bore initials in a sort of shield, and were finished on the edges with a deep-blue band studded with gold stars. It seems certain that this kind of decoration was done at Lowestoft; it is equally certain that it was also done in China, from designs sent out there. I have myself some pieces so decorated, which were imported direct from China to New Haven about the end of the last century.