Figure 16. — Lead-glazed earthenware bowl oi typical Yorktown type, 

 probably dating from the second quarter of the 18th century. Found in 

 Williamsburg. Rim diameter 18.95 centimeter s. 



oi kilns used it is impossible to determine how the 

 saggers were employed. It is obvious, however, that 

 they prevented the pots from sticking together in the 

 kiln, from being dripped upon by the fusing brickwork 

 oi the roof, and from becoming repositories for the 

 salt as it was thrown or poured into the kiln. Rut, as 

 Mr. Maloney demonstrates daily, it is perfectly 

 possible to make good stoneware without saggers, 

 though wasters will accrue from the mishaps just 

 described. If a single-level "crawl-in" or "ground- 

 hog" type kiln is used, the number of pots discarded as 

 wasters is more than offset by the space saved through 

 not using saggers. It can be argued, therefore, that 

 Rogers' kiln was of a type in which the saggers served 

 the additional function of allowing the pots to be 

 stacked one on top of the other instead of being spread 

 over ,i wide Hat area, in which case it is possible that 

 the kiln or kilns were of the beehive variety M 

 The manufacture of stoneware requires only one 



Mr Malone) is of the opinion that saggers could just .is 

 usefully have served a "groundhog" kiln where they would 

 enabled the pots to I"' stacked up to lour in height. 



firing at a temperature of about 2300° F., and it takes 

 Mr. Maloney approximately 13 hours to burn them, 

 although at Yorktown the use of saggers may have 

 necessitated prolonged "soaking" of up to 24 hours or 

 more. The salt was thrown in at the peak tempera- 

 ture and repeated at least twice at intervals of about 

 a half hour. When the fire was extinguished the kiln 

 would have been allowed to cool for up to two days 

 and two nights before it could be unloaded. Mr. 

 Maloney has stated that his stoneware kiln, which he 

 considers .small, takes approximately three hours to 

 load. Thus, if the Yorktown factory worked ,ii full 

 capacity, it probably would have been possible to fire 

 each kiln once a week. But, not knowing how many 

 workmen were engaged in the operation, we would be 

 unwise even to guess at the size of its output. The 

 listing oi stoneware and coarse earthenware included 

 in Rogers* inventory is not particularly large, although 

 £5 worth of "er.ickt" stoneware might have repre- 

 sented a considerable quantity oi "seconds" or wasters 

 when one considers that 26 dozen good quart mugs 

 were worth only 4 shillings more. 



Pint mugs are the most commonly found stoneware 



104 



BULLETIN 249: CONTRIBUTIONS FR(>\[ THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



