House & Garden 
had come down to them not merely from their 
ancestors in the Black Forest but from sources 
far more remote. Their household dishes 
have shown the outline of the swastika : that 
symbol of good fortune of the first Aryan 
races, and found in ancient Troy, Norway, 
Sweden and Scotland. Their drinking-cups 
bore Teutonic mottoes and their Iron Castings 
that ancient device of indistinct origin, the 
tulip springing from the cross. 
The effort to gain recognition for this ob¬ 
scure art through a local historical society did 
not meet with success. To reach without de¬ 
lay those who held the remaining knowledge 
of the old way of working, Mr. Mercer made 
rubbings of designs found here and there on 
An Iron Stove Plate and the old gift dishes, 
and took them to the rural potter David Har- 
stine. Other plates were then made on the 
wheel and the designs were scratched upon 
them through the slip. After a long time 
spent in getting enough material to fill the 
kiln the fire was applied. The result, though 
crude, was encouraging. But the knowledge 
ot the country folk was vague, and inquiry 
often brought misleading information. At 
this stage Mr. Mercer realized that progress 
was only to be made by having his own kiln 
and employing a potter to work with him. 
During the attainment of the process of burn¬ 
ing it was realized that the Pennsylvania clay 
was too soft for wares of hard usage. This 
fact had undoubtedly led to the development 
of the rival industry in New Jersey, where the 
harder unyielding raw material has given great 
scope to the modern manufacturer. The clay 
used by the Pennsylvanians had nevertheless 
qualities which that of New Jersey had not, 
and it was natural for one bent upon artistic 
results to adhere to the softer more pliable 
material and to confine himself, at first at 
least, to tiles for decorative purposes. 
The study ot colors and glazes was now 
begun and The Interior of Indian House at 
Doylestown was a busy one. The difficulty 
of obtaining the different pigments was 
only exceeded by the difficulty of controll¬ 
ing their positions during the firing. 
