House Garden 
68 
Among the Sta ffordshire plat¬ 
ters made in the igth Century 
by J. dr R. Clews was this, 
showing a White House view 
with a portrait of Washington 
WHY NOT COLLECT PORTRAIT CHINA? 
This Subject Presents an Easy and Pomantic 
Field for Lovers of the Antique and Curious 
GARDNER TEALL 
To the left is a Washington and La Fayette portrait 
plate, these two being favorite subjects; and to the right 
an example of the States pattern. Both are in blue 
Staffordshire and were made by J. dt ■ R. Clews 
Even makers of Italian 
maiolica ware pictured 
Washington on their portrait 
plates, as in this i8th Cen¬ 
tury Cantagalli 
Franklin was another favor¬ 
ite subject as his European 
visits and ambassadorship 
made Mm well known. Here 
he is in maiolica 
T hat which history can give us, said 
Goethe, is the enthusiasm which it 
raises in our hearts. The enthusiasm which 
lovers of old china show in their inde¬ 
fatigable searches for historical pieces but 
adds another proof to the fact that if we 
would seek the most interesting romance we 
should go to history for it. 
The old blue Staffordshire plates, platters 
and other pieces with decorations depicting 
historical scenes and views are dear to the 
hearts of collectors and none more so than 
those which bear portraits of heroes in the 
annals of the American nation. Perhaps of 
all the portrait “china” which has come 
down to us, plates are the favorite pieces 
with collectors. It is interesting to trace 
the story of portrait plates to its origin. 
Throughout the history of keramics por¬ 
traiture, imaginary and actual, has been 
applied by potters to the decoration of 
their wares. We have Sappho on an 
ancient Greek cylix, an effigy of Caesar on 
a Roman jar, Confucious on 
a K’ang Hsi Cowl, Ona-no- 
Komachi on a Japanese 
dish, Dante on an Italian 
Renaissance piatto, William 
of Orange on a Delft plaque, 
Voltaire in Sevres, all giving 
testimony to the use of por¬ 
traits as decoration in kera- 
mic wares long before the 
Staffordshire potters turned 
their attention to the galaxy 
of American immortals. 
When Benjamin Franklin 
wrote home to his daughter during his third 
sojourn in Europe, where he found himself 
as first American ambassador to France 
at the court of Louis X\T, he referred to the 
medallic and other portraits of himself 
.1 Washington portrait plate of Eng¬ 
lish Liverpool ware made in the 
i8th Century 
which were being so profusely issued in 
France on medals, enamels, and keramic 
wares as follows: 
“A variety of other medallions have been 
made since of various sizes; some to be set 
in the lids of snuff-boxes, and some so small 
as to be worn in rings; and the numbers sold 
are almost incredible. These, with the 
pictures and prints (of which copies upon 
copies are spread everywhere) have made 
your father’s face as well known as that of 
the moon, so that he durst not do anything 
that would oblige him to run away, as his 
phiz would discover him wherever he should 
venture to show it.” 
But this had not been the first time 
Franklin had seen his portrait on pottery. 
When in England in 1757 his visit there was 
coincident with the invention of the trans¬ 
fer printing process applied to pottery and 
introduced by the Liverpool potters. A 
portrait of Franldin soon appeared on a 
bowl, a photographic reproduction of which 
may be found in Edwin 
Atlee Barber’s “Anglo- 
American Pottery”. Frank¬ 
lin’s popularity was im- 
I mensely extended by the 
publication of his “Poor 
Richard” writings, and the 
English potters found these 
a convenient quarry of mor¬ 
al maxims suited to using 
on their “motto” plates, 
mugs, etc., which were 
thought excellent exemplars 
^Continued on page 98 ) 
