22 Josiah Wedgwood CHAP. 



throwing. The thrower is the person who sits in his 

 shed, near the potter's wheel, and forms by hand from 

 the moist clay, as it revolves, the crock, the butter- 

 pot, the porringer, and such like wares. A work- 

 man weighs a portion of clay, and hands it to the 

 thrower, who is seated at his revolving disc. The boy 

 or girl employed for the purpose turns the wheel, 

 which is attached to the disc by a band. The disc is 

 made to rotate horizontally, while the thrower, who is 

 seated, fashions the vessel by his hands and fingers, after 

 the patterns or guides before him, which have been pre- 

 pared for the purpose. Thus the throwing is the first and 

 most important operation in forming the shape of vessels. 

 There are other workmen employed in finishing the 

 ware. For instance, the Stouker, in another shed, 

 forms the handles of the vessels, and attaches them 

 while moist to the cup or porringer ; while in another 

 shed the ware is ornamented with various coloured 

 slips. Thomas, to a slight extent, improved the manu- 

 facture, as, for example, by making moulded ware, which 

 was a somewhat higher branch of his business. But it 

 was only when Josiah began to achieve distinction that 

 this part of the manufacture attracted attention. 

 Several of his early pieces were designed chiefly for the 

 tea-table and the dessert service ; they were moulded 

 very neatly in the form of pine-apples, leaves, shells, 

 and other natural productions. This talent he after- 

 wards applied in the extensive manufacture of his 

 famous Jasper models. 



