In 1772, as Mr. Owen incontestably shows, the china works were in full operation in Bristol. On August 15th of that year the following advertisement appeared:—
“China. For Sale by Auction at the Taylors-Hall in Broad Street, on Tuesday the 1st of September and the following days, Useful and Ornamental China, The produce of the Bristol Manufactory, consisting of very elegant Figures, beautiful Vases, Jars, and beakers, with all kinds of useful China, blue and white and enamel’d. To be sold without Reserve. J. Stephens, auctioneer. The whole to be Viewed the Saturday and Monday preceding the Sale, from Ten in the morning till Two, and from Three till Six in the Afternoon. The Manufactory is still carried on in Castle Green, where all persons may be supplied with useful or ornamental China, Wholesale or Retail.”
In November, 1772, the following still more illustrative advertisement appeared:—
“China. At the Manufactory in Castle Green, Bristol, are sold various kinds of The True Porcelain, Both Useful and Ornamental, consisting of a new assortment. The Figures, Vases, Jars, and Beakers are very elegant, and the useful ware exceedingly good. As this Manufactory is not at present sufficiently known, it may not be improper to remark that this Porcelain is wholly free from the Imperfections in Wearing which the English China usually has, and that its Composition is equal in fineness to the East Indian, and will wear as well. The enamell’d Ware, which is rendered nearly as cheap as the English blue and white, comes very near and in some Pieces equal to Dresden, which this work more Particularly imitates. N.B. There is some of the old Stock, which will be sold very cheap.—Two or three careful Boys wanted. ☞ Also at Cadell’s Tea and China Shop, No. 20, in Wine Street, is to be sold Retail, on the same Terms as at the Manufactory, a new and elegant Assortment of the above Porcelain.”
In January, 1773, as again shown by Mr. Owen, to whom the world is much indebted for many years’ laborious searchings into every available source of knowledge, and whom I have to thank for much information, another advertisement appeared as follows:—
“The True Porcelain, both useful and ornamental, Consisting of a large and elegant assortment (Particularly some beautiful Imitations of the Dresden) on any low Terms, to induce the Public to encourage a Manufactory the first of the kind introduced into England, and now brought to Great Perfection. Its texture not to be distinguished from East India China, and will wear equally well. Some of the old Stock selling remarkably cheap.”
From these it is evident the Bristol works were carried on simultaneously with those of Plymouth in the last few years of those later works, and that, like Plymouth, “vases, jars, and beakers, very elegant,” were produced, as well as the ordinary classes of useful goods. In June, 1773, his prices are advertised as “Complete Tea Sets in the Dresden taste highly ornamented £7 0s. 0d. to £12 12s. 0d. and upwards. Tea Sets, 43 pieces, of various prices as low as £2 2s. 0d. Cups and Saucers from 3s. 6d. to 5s. 6d. per half-dozen, and all other sorts of useful Ware proportionately cheap.”
Whatever may have been the position of the manufactory at Bristol, and by whomever—whether “W. Cookworthy & Co.,” “R. Champion & Co.,” or “R. Champion” alone—it was carried on previous to that date, certain it is that (as I have stated) in 1774 Cookworthy sold his patent right, &c., to Champion, closed his Plymouth works, and from that time forth ceased to have any connection with china making.
In 1774, then, “Richard Champion, of Bristol, merchant,” became possessed of Cookworthy’s patent. The deed of assignment of the patent rights, &c., from Cookworthy to Champion, is dated May 6th, 1774, and among other “considerations” it was covenanted that whatever the amount of value of the raw material (the Cornish clay and stone which Cookworthy had discovered and brought into use) Champion used in the course of a year, an equal amount of money should be paid to Cookworthy. For example, if, in the course of a year, Champion paid £1000 for material in Cornwall, he would also have to pay another £1000 to Cookworthy for the privilege of using it, thus doubling the price of the material from that at which Cookworthy had himself worked it. Of this, however, more presently.
