[29] See [page 87] for the relationship of the various potters of the Wedgwood family.
[30] The Christian name of the first Astbury was probably Robert, but see Dict. Nat. Biog. under Astbury.
[31] Shaw, op. cit., p. 130.
[32] Shaw, op. cit., p. 126.
[33] “Wedgwood’s Letters, II,” p. 368.
[34] The incident referred to, which Shaw says occurred to Astbury, and Wedgwood to Heath, was as follows:—One of them was on a business journey to London, then naturally taken on horseback; before reaching Dunstable or Banbury, his horse’s eyes became inflamed. The ostler of the Inn put a piece of flint into the fire; when it was red-hot he quenched it with water and pounded it to a fine powder, a little of which was blown into the horse’s eye, relieving the inflammation. The potter, noticing the extreme whiteness of the calcined flint, and also the ease with which it was powdered, was led to try this material to improve the whiteness of his ware, and with the most successful results.
[35] Shaw, op. cit., p. 141.
[36] “Wedgwood Letters,” III, p. 190.
[37] “Monthly Magazine,” November 1823.
[38] A family of Adams lived and potted at the Brick House in Burslem for over 200 years. In 1762 Josiah Wedgwood rented the Brick House works for seven years during the minority of the then Adams of Brick House. The family became extinct early in the nineteenth century.