INTRODUCTION OF " JASPER DIP." 289 



British goods on the same terms into that country. A 

 Committee of the Chamber was formed, of which it would 

 appear Josiah Wedgwood was chairman. At all events, the 

 minutes, now lying before me, of the special committee, are 

 signed by him on its behalf. 



In this year, 1785, Wedgwood, ever inventing and ever 

 improving, introduced a "jasper dip," in which the clay 

 vessels were " dipped," and so received a coating of jasper 

 instead of being formed of that body throughout. This 

 improvement, being made, was adopted for the whole, with 

 but occasional exceptions, of the jasper goods, and has 

 continued to be used to the present time. Its adoption 

 rendered an increase in the price of the finished goods 

 necessary, and the amount of that increase is seen by the 

 following extract from correspondence of 1785: "The 

 new jasper, white within, will be the only sort made in 

 future ; but as the workmanship is nearly double, the price 

 must be raised. I think it must be about 20 per cent. 

 Nov. 21, 1785." 



Collectors will, from this fact, be able to know that, as a 

 general rule, vases made of jasper body throughout were 

 made before 1785, while those white inside were of sub- 

 sequent production, down to the year 1858, when "solid 

 jasper " body again began to be used, and is still made. 



Having now brought down my history to an important 

 period the introduction of the "jasper dip " I close my 

 chapter, to resume the narrative in my next with the 

 circumstances attending the food riots at Etruria. 



