174 
Te 
THE DR. SYNTAX POEM AND THE 
SYNTAX PLATES 
7 tees ie 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
May, 1911 
SWE 
= 4 
G1 
th 
IN 
NY 
ee 
By Alexander M. Hudnut 
SUGGESTIONS TO INEXPERIENCED COLLECTORS 
ARK blue Staffordshire, sometimes called 
Historical China, is a specialty in ceramics 
which has a peculiar interest for lovers 
of Americana. The crude representa- 
tions of American scenes and_ buildings 
which appear on this ware are of consid- 
erable historic importance. Long  for- 
gotten structures which existed in the early part of the 
nineteenth century are reproduced on the various pieces 
of these old dinner sets, and in many cases are the only 
pictures we have of these buildings. This old blue china 
is scarce, and the difhculty of getting together a fairly good 
collection of it possesses a fascination for those who are 
fond of collecting rarities. 
The articles which appear from time to time in current 
periodicals on this subject give much general information. 
Fach writer treats the subject from a different point of 
view, but their pur- 
pose seems to be to 
impart information 
to people who are 
quite ignorant about 
blue china and who 
may possibly, as a 
result of reading 
the article, become 
interested enough to 
start collecting. 
Baerearmnentcrys.. 
as well as old collec- 
tors, like to hear 
something about 
the relative market 
values of different 
plates. The selling 
price gives more 
than a_ suggestion 
of the rarity of a 
piece, and, while it 
is not an infallible 
guide to values, it 
helps a collector to 
classify this old blue 
ware from the commercial standpoint. Whatever refer- 
ences I may make on this subject are based upon my expe- 
rience as a collector, and I give them to you for what they 
are worth. ‘The literature available for one’s education 
in old blue Staffordshire is descriptive and historical. It 
Showing a collection hung on a dining-room wall 
leaves one in possession of a catalogue of names and photo- 
graphs showing how pieces will look if found. What a new 
collector would like to have in addition to this is a list of 
those plates and platters which are comparatively easy to 
secure; then another list of those which are moderately 
scarce, followed by the group of rarities and concluding 
with names of unique pieces. While I cannot cover this 
ground fully within the limits of one article, I shall try to 
throw a little light on the subject, mentioning some very rare 
pieces and making a few suggestions to the young collector. 
The only course available to one starting a collection 
seems to be the beaten track of the traditional collector. If 
you are looking for old blue china there is just one way to 
do it, and that is to go out and search for it. If you see 
any plates hanging in the window of an antique dealer’s 
store my advice to you would be to take the name of the 
man and make a careful inquiry as to his reliability. If you 
find out that he has 
a reputation for 
this, then go in to 
see what he has to 
offer. If you have 
been collecting for 
a year or so you 
will become a sufh- 
ciently good judge 
of blue china not to 
be deceived by coun- 
terfeits, and then 
you could begin to 
rely a little upon 
your own judgment. 
The be ¢itiaaes, 
should only trade 
with the most rep- 
utable_ dealers. 
Anyone collecting 
historical china 
would do well to 
obtain bound copies 
of the “Old China” 
magazine, a publi- 
cation which was 
discontinued in September, 1904. They are a little difficult 
to get but I should advise a collector to persist until he 
secures these volumes. ‘They will be of great help to him. 
Another valuable work on the subject of historical blue 
ware was written by R. T. H. Halsey, and published in 
