196 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



May, 1907 



named Rose, who took, 

 this sentimental way of 

 signing his work. The de- 

 vice of the town of Lowe- 

 stoft was also a full-blown 

 rose, which fact as well 

 added to the romance 

 which surrounded this 

 ware. 



A portion of a set of 

 china decorated in blue and 

 gold is shown in Fig. 6. It 

 is more rich than you gen- 

 erally see, and shows 

 plainly that it was done to 

 order. It still belongs to 

 the descendants of the fam- 

 ily for whom it was made. 

 Commonly the blue is set 



off in a wide band and the gold laid over it. Much of this 

 pattern may be seen at the Antiquarian Rooms at Concord, 

 Massachusetts, where it looks extremely well in its appro- 

 priate settings of low-ceiled rooms and mahogany furniture. 



Some handsome specimens of this were found recently 

 in central New York State, a rather unusual place for this 

 kind of china, which is more common near the sea-coast. 

 The pieces had a crest, and very elegant it was. Two lions 

 rampant are either side of a shield with quarterings, and on 

 top is a seven-pointed coronet. The rosettes on the basket- 

 work tray are picked out with color as well as gold, and the 

 festoons of flowers are all in the gayest colors. One of the 

 most interesting pieces in this set is a little salt cellar you do 

 not often find in this country, but frequently met with in 

 England. 



But all this time, like the children with a favorite bit of 

 candy, I have kept the most rare and highly prized speci- 

 men to be found till the last. Only a little tea-caddy, to be 

 sure, but the desire of many collectors, be their particular 

 hobby what it may, for it is decorated with the "Order of 

 the Cincinnati," or a very close imitation of it, adapted to 

 the shape of the caddy. 



rhe history of this set of china with this device upon it 

 is interesting, and has long been a puzzle to collectors. 

 Many experts believe that the set was given to Gen. George 

 Washington in 1784 by officers of the French Army, to 

 commemorate their joining the Society of the Cincinnati. 

 This opinion is not shared by members of the Curtis family 

 who inherited the set, and who believed it to have been 

 given by the members of the Society to their illustrious 

 fellow-member. 



Still a third theory has been advanced with regard to its 

 origin, and this is that it was made in China under the direc- 

 tion of Captain Samuel Shaw, a resident of Boston, who, 

 with General Knox, had organized the Society of the Cin- 

 cinnati. This theory, which is due to Mr. R. T. H. Halsey, 

 of New York, seems likely to be the most correct, since 

 Captain Shaw was the trading agent for the owners of the 



8 — Tea-pot and Tea-caddy 



ship "Empress of China," which was the first vessel to sail 

 from this country directly for the only open port in China 

 — Canton. 



There is farther substantiation of this theory to be found 

 in the diary of Captain Shaw, for he records that he was 

 desirous of having the insignia of the order put upon a set 

 of china, but that he was only partially successful, since the 

 Chinese painters who were given the work, while excellent 

 copyists, were not able to combine the portions of the pat- 

 tern which was given them in separate engravings. This was 

 about the year 1784, and it is known that General Knox 

 owned some pieces of china with this device on it. It seems 

 strange that china with this insignia on it should have been 

 on sale for such as wished to buy, yet in the "Baltimore 

 American" for August 12, 1785, an announcement is made 

 that there is on sale "blue and white stone china cups and 

 saucers, painted with the arms of the Order of the Cincin- 

 natti," just arrived from Canton by the "Pallas." 



However the Father of His Country may have come into 

 possession of this china does not much signify, for that it 

 long was a part of the china treasures at Mount Vernon is 

 well known. It is mentioned in the will of Martha Wash- 

 ington, was inherited by the Curtis family, was seized by 

 the Federal forces during the Civil War, and now is stored 

 in the National Museum at Washington. The caddy here 

 shown is not at Washington, but is owned in Salem, Massa- 

 chusetts. 



The color scheme of this decoration is extremely crude 

 and ugly, and includes green, brown, purple, gold, lavender 

 and black. The figure itself blowing the trump of Fame is 

 almost grotesque, yet such is the esteem that a piece of this 

 ware is held in, that a plate was sold two years ago for the 

 enormous sum of $1,050. Anyone fortunate enough to pos- 

 sess such a piece as this caddy or a plate, has the nucleus of 

 a collection of Armorial China that includes in it an example 

 associated with one of our earliest and greatest china-lovers. 

 General Washington. There is thus a personal and histor- 

 ical association of the deepest interest. 



