138 
BLACK 
House & Garden 
WEDGWOOD 
The small illustra¬ 
tion shows the Palm 
Beach model — a 
portable shower, all 
metal. Fits any tub. 
Anyone can attach 
it in five minutes. 
Price $14. 
Sold by plumbing, 
hardware and house 
furnishing dealers. 
If your dealer can 
not supply you, and 
you want a shower 
at once, order direct 
and we will see that 
delivery is made im¬ 
mediately. Satisfac¬ 
tion guaranteed. 
De Luxe Tub Model Shoivn Above 
ALL of You — 
Especially Mother 
and the Children 
The Bath-A-Day, now universally regarded 
as a health necessity, was always a problem 
for the family, until the Shower-bath came 
into its own—the cleanest, quickest, pleasant¬ 
est, healthiest way to bathe. 
And then the Kenney Shower revolutionized 
shower bathing. Its principle of converging 
needle streams did away with the overhead 
deluge, banished the cold, clammy, unsightly, 
unsanitary curtain, put the water where it 
was wanted, on the body and within the tub, 
not on the hair or in pools on the floor. 
The built-in models of the Kenney Shower 
are ideal for the home where the last word of 
bath room equipment is desired, meeting the 
requirements of every member of the family, 
especially adapted for women and children. 
If you are building or remodeling ask your 
architect to specify and your plumber to in¬ 
stall the Kenney Shower. 
You'll enjoy reading the booklet “Your 
Bathroom and the Kenney shower” 
which we will be glad to send you on 
request—free 
The Kenney-Cutting 
Products Corporation 
507 Fifth Avenue New York City 
(Continued from page 136) 
piece,” he wrote thus in the catalogue: 
“We have reason to conclude that there 
are not any vases of Porcelain, Marble 
or Bronze, either ancient or modern, 
so highly finished and sharp in orna¬ 
ment as these black Vases.” 
About 1776 bas-reliefs in white jasper 
were applied to the black ware. Any¬ 
one who has examined the decorations 
closely must have marvelled at the in¬ 
credibly fine modeling and finish of 
every minute detail and wondered how 
such perfection was attained. Wedg¬ 
wood, in spite of his assuring Bentley 
“that we should glory in other people 
getting our pattterns and ideas,” yet 
guarded his workroom secrets jealous¬ 
ly; so only a bare outline of his way 
with bas-reliefs (or anv other process) 
can be given. From the wax model a 
mould was cast with the decoration in 
intaglio, and into the mould the work¬ 
man pressed the soft white jasper clay 
with his thumb. When every cranny 
was filled, the face of the thumb-mould, 
as it was called, was smoothed level, 
and after allowing a few minutes for 
setting, the impress was dexterously 
drawn off and applied to the vase, 
which had been damped with a little 
water. When the bas-relief was firmly 
set and moulded to the curve of the 
vase, the sculptor set to work with his 
knife to give the sharpness and model¬ 
ing that could not—in the nature of 
things—be brought about by the un¬ 
touched impress from the mould. This 
was called “under-cutting,” and is a 
highly valued mark of old Wedgwood. 
BLACK BASALTES 
The black basaltes was very suitable 
for busts, statuettes, sphinxes, and so 
forth, on account of the close re¬ 
semblance it bore to bronze in sub¬ 
stance and weight. The portrait busts 
and medallions were exceedingly popu¬ 
lar; the busts were made in all sizes 
from life or three-quarters, down; and 
these portraits or classic subjects were 
considered the correct centre-piece for 
a library bookcase. Sometimes they 
were finished with a dust of bronze- 
powder to increase still further the 
resemblance, but of this little trace is 
now left. It was a questionable inno¬ 
vation. Of the charming little statu¬ 
ettes few remain; a Cupid in black 
basaltes would be a rare find. The 
famous Chessmen, which were modeled 
by Flaxman in colors, were also made 
in black and white; stray specimens 
only survive, and these are highly 
prized by the collector. Quantities of 
candlesticks were made; pedestals, 
bough-pots, ink-pots, salt cellars, seals 
and cameos, and a great variety of other 
things were made in the black ware. 
Unfortunately, few of the portrait 
busts are signed. The rule at Etruria 
forbade signatures, and of the brilliant 
company—artists, modelers, block-cut¬ 
ters—who worked for Wedgwood, only 
here and there a signature remains. 
Flaxman’s work is so familiar that it 
amounts to a signature in itself. Keel¬ 
ing, one of Wedgwood’s finest modelers, 
is revealed now and again by a hastily 
scrawled “K.” The famous Hack- 
wood signed two or three of his por¬ 
traits, and with careful scrutiny and 
comparison the connoisseur can identi¬ 
fy the hand of others equally famous. 
The Adams brothers modeled for Wedg¬ 
wood, and Aaron and Enoch W’ood 
were employed as block-cutters, but, 
according to the Five Towns tradition, 
their blocks were buried with them. 
MODERN WEDGWOOD 
Since Wedgwood’s death in 17Q5, his 
work and tradition have been steadily 
carried on at Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, 
by his successors, Josiah Wedgwood and 
Sons. Here fine replicas of the old 
pieces are being made to-day, and 
quantities of useful ware which is well 
adapted for everyday requirements, and 
responds happily to the modern craze 
for black. A tea service, for example, 
in the black basalt needs but little or¬ 
namentation; the color, form, and 
charming texture is sufficiently decora¬ 
tive to satisfy our taste to-day. In 
the life of the late Walter Headlam, 
Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge, 
mention is made of how he used to 
keep a number of the black teapots 
for gifts to anyone who expressed 
a proper appreciation of the one he 
always used. As for the poor and 
cheap imitation stuff which masquer¬ 
ades as Wedgwood, it does not deceive 
for a moment, though it is always sad 
to see lovely form and design travestied. 
Frankly, modern Wedgwood of this 
useful kind does not attempt to re¬ 
produce what is inimitable in the old— 
any more than a modern sculptor 
would try to give the texture and 
patina of ancient marble to his work. 
Originally lustreless or “unglosssy,” 
the old black basaltes have acquired a 
soft glistening appearance that no 
mere surface treatment can hope to 
equal. The texture is smoothly silken, 
and the black has a depth and rich¬ 
ness or a peculiarity of tone that pro¬ 
claims it old. Some pieces are sooty 
black, turning to brown, some show an 
even dead-black hue, and some few 
pieces have a greyish tinge. This last 
was the result of Wedgwood’s attempt 
to reproduce the black of basaltes-ware 
before firing, and at a distance it 
might be mistaken for a modern piece 
of poor color. 
Old black Wedgwood must on no 
account be washed; this ruins the 
patina and much of the value, accord¬ 
ing to the connoisseur. Careful dusting 
and a soft silk rag for polishing—no 
more is needed to keep it in perfect 
condition. 
Finally, we cannot do better than 
to accept the great Wedgwood’s con¬ 
sidered opinion that yellow was the 
color best fitted to set off his black 
ware. His shop in Soho was hung 
with yellow silk; this showed up the 
delicate sombreness to perfection, and 
modern experiments with other colors 
have generally led back to yellow. 
CURTAINLESS 
