io8 Josiah Wedgwood CHAP. 



that he should reside in London, and take charge of the 

 warehouse which Wedgwood had found it necessary to 

 establish there a few years before. A house was then 

 taken for Bentley at Chelsea, near the Chelsea China 

 Works, where Wedgwood established works of his own, 

 which his new partner superintended. 



The Queen's Potter was probably the first person in 

 this country who conceived the design, already hinted 

 at, of leading the public mind to the contemplation of 

 the arts of antiquity, and of diffusing and perpetuating 

 their glorious works by multiplying copies of them, just 

 as literature has been diffused by the printing-press. 

 The correct taste and the accuracy of discrimination 

 which Wedgwood had already shown, and which had 

 been improved by his study of the ancient Greek works, 

 and the extreme perseverance of his chemical researches, 

 which enabled him to discover the black basaltes, the 

 variegated terra -cotta, the white, wax -like porcelain, 

 and other substances, and the purpose to which he 

 applied them, soon caught the public eye, and occasioned 

 a rapid demand for his productions in the artistic line. 

 Though many scientific potters may have since excelled 

 Wedgwood, having his formulas to direct and guide 

 them, he alone must be considered as the pioneer of 

 artistic pottery in England. 



He was enabled to carry his designs into effect by 

 the liberal and patriotic disposition of the nobility and 

 gentry, who opened their cabinets to his uses, and per- 

 mitted him to make copies of the fine pieces of work 



