Figs. 741 and 742.—Portraits of Richard Champion and Judith his wife.
Champion was, evidently, a man before his time in Bristol, enthusiastic in everything which could tend to improve that city commercially or otherwise, and ever ready to expend his energies and his money in furtherance of useful schemes and beneficial manufactures. He was, it will have been seen, just the kind of man to enter earnestly, and even enthusiastically, into the scheme of making porcelain on a principle that should employ native materials only, and which bid fair to be a great and lasting benefit, not only to his city, but to the community at large.
I have shown, then, that Richard Champion, in 1774, by deed of assignment from Cookworthy, dated May 6th in that year, became the sole proprietor of the patent right, and everything connected with the china works, for which he covenanted, among other things, to pay to Cookworthy, his heirs, executors, &c., a profit equal to the first cost of the raw material used in his manufactory. The first arrangement was that this royalty was to be perpetual, but it was afterwards restricted to ninety-nine years—the time of the lease for the raw materials. Having thus become proprietor of the concern which had at one time been carried on jointly by Cookworthy, Lord Camelford, and himself (and probably others), he, on the 22nd of the following February, 1775, presented a petition to the House of Commons, praying for the term of patent right to be enlarged for a further period of fourteen years to himself. His petition was referred to a committee, which began its sittings on the 28th of April. The following is the report of the committee of the House of Commons upon the petition:—
“To prove the Allegations of the said petition, His present Majesty’s Letters Patent, dated 17th March, 1768, granted to William Cookworthy, of Plymouth, Chymist, for the sole use and Exercise of a Discovery of Materials, of the same Nature as those of which the Asiatic and Dresden Porcelain are made, were produced to your Committee and read.
“That an Assignment of the said Letters Patent from the said William Cookworthy to the petitioner, dated 6th May, 1774, were also Produced and read; and
“Mr. John Britain being examined, said That he has great Experience in several China Manufactures, and has made several Trials upon all those which had been manufactured in England, and finds that all of them, except that of Bristol, were destroyed in the same fire which brings the same Bristol to Perfection.
“And he produced to your committee several samples of the said kinds of China, which shewd the effect upon china severally, and said that they had not been able to bring the Bristol China to a marketable commodity so as to furnish an order until within the last Six Months, but that sometimes they succeeded and at other times not; but that now they can execute any order.
“That they have lately made considerable Improvements in the said manufacture, and particularly are endeavouring to perfect the Blue, in which as yet they have not entirely succeeded, though they have now a Gentleman who has succeeded in a small way, in which they have been at a considerable expence; that the witness thinks the manufacture is capable of further improvements; that they can afford it at a price equal to Foreign China of equal goodness; and that they have made some Specimens equal to good Dresden; that he had not seen any Dresden ornamental China equal to the Vases produced to your committee, nor anything equal to the Biscuit in those Vases and other Ornaments; that the Gilding stands well; that Seve China differs from this—the Ornamental is more of a cream colour, but the glaze is so soft that it will not bear using; that he believes the Enamell of the Bristol China is as hard as the Dresden and harder than the Chinese; that they can make it of any degree of thickness required; that there is the difference between the Bristol China and the Seve and several other kinds, that when they are broke they seem as dry as a Tobacco Pipe; that this is the case of all the English China; but the Dresden, the Bristol, and the Asiatic China have when broke a moist and Lucid appearance, in proof of which he produced Fragments of the several kinds. That the Bristol China will stand hot water without splitting; that he has never known an instance of it splitting, though he has known several pieces of the Asiatic split; that the gold does not come off the Bristol; that there are some china which frequent use turns brown and cracks, which the Witness thinks arises from there not being a proper Union between the Body and the glaze; that the Manufacturers have their Glaze made into a glass previous to its being applied to the Body, but that that is not the case with the Bristol. That they can make plates, but have had great Difficulties. That they have not hitherto much attended to that object, but have applied themselves to perfecting the body as a Body and the Glaze as a glaze; that they can render this China in most Articles as cheap as the Asiatic, and much cheaper than the Dresden.
“Then the Witness produced to your committee Specimens of the Asiatic and Chinese materials, and said he found no difference except that the materials of the Asiatic shrunk in the Burning One 42d Part more than those of Bristol, and judges the Bristol materials to be better. Then,
“Mr. Samuel Hardensydes Produced to your committee several pieces of China which he had lately tried Experiments on in London; and being examined, said that he had put India, Dresden, Bristol, and other English China into the fire in the same Crucible; that the India, Dresden, and Bristol came out in the same state they were put in; the Bristol was tried three times and stood it; the Fire moved the Gilding into Grains, but had no other Effect upon it; in other respects it was rather better for the Fire.