Fig. 836.
It is a matter of extreme importance, and very noteworthy, that of the dated examples of wares known or recorded, those of 1752, 1756, 1759, and 1760, are not china but delft ware; and that those from 1762 forward to 1789 are china. The inference is that the manufacture of delft ware at Gunton or Lowestoft continued till about 1760, and that about that time the manufacture of porcelain was gradually making its way.
The proprietors of the porcelain works in 1757 are stated by Gillingwater to be Messrs. Walker, Brown, Aldred, and Rickman. Of some of these proprietors particulars will be found interwoven in my present article, but of the others very little is known. By 1770 the manufacture had advanced very considerably, so much so that in that year, as appears by the following advertisement, a warehouse for its sale was established in London:—“Clark Durnford, Lowestoft China Warehouse, No. 4, Great St. Thomas the Apostle, Queen Street, Cheapside, London, where merchants and shopkeepers may be supplied with any quantity of the said ware at the usual prices. N.B. Allowance of Twenty per cent. for Ready Money.”
The firm was carried on (as is proved by the address furnished to Mr. Duesbury, of the Derby China factory) under the style of “Robert Browne & Co.”; the address is “Mr. Robt. Browne & Co., China Manufactory, Lowestoff, Suffolk.”
Fig. 837.
One of the partners of the early firm, and the manager of the works, was Robert Browne, who died in 1771, when the management fell to his son, also Robert Browne, who, being an excellent practical chemist, made great improvements in the ware. He was constantly experimenting on “bodies,” and succeeded in bringing the art of making porcelain nearer to the Oriental original than had been at that time attained by any other individual. Of the first of these Robert Brownes an interesting relic remains in the possession of his great-grandson at the present day. It is a small inkstand, white, with blue ornaments. It is of nine-sided form, and has Chinese figures on seven of its sides, the other two being taken up with the pattern here engraved, the initials “R. B., 1762,” being those of Robert Browne just alluded to.
The manufacture of porcelain under the management of the second Robert Browne must have attained some great degree of excellence in 1775, for in that year I find that a man named David Rhodes, who was apparently employed by his master, Josiah Wedgwood, to collect together for him examples of the productions of the different manufactories of this country, enters in his account of expenses the purchase of a Lowestoft slop basin, for which he gave ninepence. The account, which is in the possession of Mr. Mayer, of Liverpool, is curious, as the following items will show:—
| 1775. | s. | d. | |
| May 10. | A Flawed Chelsea Leaf, a Plymouth Teapot, and 2 Liverpool Coffee Cups | 0 | 6 |
| May 12. | A set of Bristol China | 6 | 0 |
| „ | A ½-pint Worcester Basin and broken ware | 0 | 6 |
| „ | 2 Slop Basins, Derby and Leastoff | 1 | 6 |
| „ | 1 Quart Bristol Mug and Teapot Stand | 2 | 6 |
| „ | A Broken Quart Mug, Bristol | 0 | 6 |