POTTERY 



47US 



POTTSVILLE 



Earthinuarc. This includes all tin- coal 

 grades of pottery. It is usually thick and 

 heavy and poorly glazed, or without glazing. 

 Jugs, crocks and the i r ides of ware 



used for cooking and table purposes are good 

 examples. The pottery of prehistoric times and 

 that now made by barbarous and partially 

 civilized people belong to this class of ware. 



Stt> This is a higher grade than 



earthenware and includes most of the tableware 

 in general use. It is made of good material, is 

 hard and light, well enameled and often beauti- 

 fully decorated. 



Porcelain, or China. This is the finest grade 

 of pottery and likewise the most expensive. 

 Chinaware can be easily distinguished from 

 stoneware if specimens are held up to the light . 

 The china is translucent; that is, some light 

 will pass through it, while no light will pass 

 through the stoneware (see PORCELAIN). 



History. Pottery making is one of the oldest 

 of arts, dating from prehistoric time, and dis- 

 coveries of ancient pottery have enabled anti- 

 quarians of the present to judge the stage of 

 civilization of the people by whom the articles 

 were made. The ancient Egyptians attained a 

 high degree of skill in making pottery, as did 

 the Assyrians and Babylonians. The ancient 

 Greeks claimed the invention of the potter's 

 wheel, and they produced the most remarkable 

 pottery of antiquity. The Romans obtained 

 their knowledge of the art from the Greeks and 

 the Etruscans. With the extension of the Ro- 

 man Empire the art was carried to all parts of 

 the civilized world. 



The Chinese have for many centuries ex- 

 celled in the manufacture of delicate ware, and 

 the Japanese are nearly their equals in this re- 

 gard, though much of the chinaware now on 

 the market is made in Europe and America. 

 France, Germany, Holland and England have 

 each taken a prominent part in the develop- 

 ment of modern pottery, and manufacture it 

 on a large scale. 



The manufacture of white ware was begun in 

 America in 1685, and at the close of the Revo- 

 hit ionary War there were several potteries in 

 operation. Other small works were opened 

 from time to time, but no attempt to manufac- 

 ture pottery on a large scale was made before 

 1825. In that year the Jersey Porcelain and 

 Earthenware Company was incorporated and 

 began the manufacture of pottery at Jersey 

 City, N. J., on a much larger scale than had 

 previously been attempted in America. Since 

 the establishing of these works the American 



pottery industry lias steadily increased, and the 

 value of the yearly output is about $35,000,000. 

 The largest potteries are in Cincinnati, Jei 

 Tity and on Long Island. W.F.R. 



Consult Barber's Pottery ami ]'<(< lain <>f tin 

 l~ itcd States; Solon's Ceramic Literature. 



l< Hated Subject?*. The following articles in 



these volumes should be read in connection with 

 this subject : 



China Painting Kaolin 



Clay Porcelain 



Delft Rookwood Pottery 



Faience Wedgwood Ware 



POTTS 'TOWN, PA., an important manu- 

 facturing borough of Montgomery County, 

 situated in the southeastern part of the state 

 and on the Schuylkill River, eighteen miles 

 southeast of Reading and forty miles northwest 

 of Philadelphia. Transportation is provided 

 by the Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia iV 

 Reading railways, and by electric lines. The 

 town was organized in 1752, and was called 

 Pottsgrove in honor of John Potts, the founder; 

 in 1815 it was incorporated as a borough. Its 

 present name was adopted in 1829. The popu- 

 lation increased from 15,599 in 1910 to 16,794 

 (Federal estimate) in 1916. It has an area of 

 five square miles. 



Pottstown is the commercial center for a fer- 

 tile agricultural section which also possesses 

 considerable mineral wealth. Large capital has 

 been invested in the iron and steel interests; 

 bridge works, rolling mills, furnaces, foundries, 

 boiler and machine shops are the leading indus- 

 trial establishments. Beside these, there are 

 thriving manufactories of silk, hosiery and 

 shirts. In addition to the public schools, which 

 have a good library, the borough has Hill 

 School, a nonsectarian school for boys. Three 

 miles from Pottstown are some peculiar rocks. 

 which when struck produce varying tones; they 

 cover about one acre and are known as the 

 ringing rocks. 



POTTSVILLE, PA., the county seat of 

 Schuylkill County, and an important shipping 

 point for coal, situated on the Schuylkill River 

 and on the Lehigh Valley, the Pennsylvania, 

 the People's and the Philadelphia & Reading 

 railroads and on interurban lines. It lies to- 

 ward the southeastern part of the state, ninety- 

 three miles northwest of Philadelphia and 150 

 miles west of New York City, and is pictur- 

 esquely situated on hills that rise from the 

 river. The area of the city is more than three 

 square miles. The population in 1910 was 20,- 

 236; in 1916 it was 22.372 (Federal estimate). 



