ttERAMIC STUDIO 
Cookworthy to Richard Champion, of Bristol, in 1768. Cham- 
pion in 1 78 1 transferred all his rights to a company of Staf- 
fordshire potters at New Hall. 
We find Spode's methods and styles in early "Copeland" 
ware, and in the factory at Stoke-upon-Trent, the plans, ideas 
and recipes of old Josiah Spode, his son and his grand-son, are 
treasured as valuable and meaningful. Porcelain was not made 
by the elder Spode, who confined himself to the perfecting of 
cream color body, but by Josiah Spode the second, about 1800. 
While a vast number of lesser influences were felt by the 
early potters, those mentioned are by far the most important, 
and have most effectually marked the productions of the time. 
Of the wares mentioned, Plymouth, Bristol and New Hall 
were of hard paste, and the others, including English or real 
Lowestoft, were of soft pocelain. Oriental Lowestoft occu- 
pies a place by itself. 
It is quite possible to unerringly detect Oriental ware ; 
there is an unmistakable quality about it that reveals itself to 
the trained eye and touch. Oriental shapes and decorations 
might have been copied in England at any of the great 
potteries, but paste and glaze could not have been made 
in England a century and more ago, that could deceive the 
expert of today, to the extent of causing him to question 
whether or not it were Oriental. 
The history of the making of hard paste porcelain in 
England is well known. Neither Bristol, Plymouth, nor any 
of the experimental pastes of English make, resemble Can- 
Worcester cup and sauci 
ton ware sufficiently to be mistaken for it. Therefore, we 
claim for all so-called Oriental Lowestoft an Oriental birth. 
Gathering together the various ideas suggested by these 
considerations, we find ourselves with a definite task when we 
attempt to form opinions as to the comparative merits of old 
English porcelain. We find that we need not feel it necessary 
to assert that our possessions are "Lowestoft" or "Spode," in 
order to claim for them as great age as we feel it their right 
to possess. We also find that perchance the forged marks 
used during the infancy of potteries which subsequently be- 
came famous, may after all add rather than detract from the 
interest of specimens, and that above all, we may learn to look 
upon every peculiarity as a means of identification. It is a 
matter of surprise to many people to learn that Josiah Wedg- 
wood never made porcelain. After his death for a few years 
in the early part of the nineteenth century, porcelain was 
made in the Wedgwood factory. Famous beyond all other 
potters, as he undoubtedly was, we cannot include Josiah 
Wedgwood among the makers of porcelain of the 18th century. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
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do not send stamped envelopes for replv. The editors can answer Questions only 
in this column. 
Ohio University.— For large dull surfaces use matt colors or bronzes, 
or for semi-dull effects, lustre over gold. In a gas kiln the hottest part is 
at the bottom, the carmines should be put in the middle of kiln, if prop- 
erly fired there, all the rest of the kiln will be properly fired. Highly 
fluxed colors like apple green, pearl grey and mixing yellow can go in the 
top of kiln, the rest go in the bottom of kiln, or as near it as possible. 
Hard enamels (aufsetzweis) should go in bottom of kiln, soft enamels near 
the top. Your questions came too late for last number. See publisher's 
notes. 
Miss S. C— Sartorius cement for mending china is very good, if the 
cement you used for mending turned black, also the enamel, we should think 
it was not fired enough or yon got some color in it. We have never had 
that trouble with the above mentioned cement or aufsetzweis. The cement 
does not need as hard a fire as aufsetzweis, use water to mix the former, 
turpentine for the latter, and use very little cement. 
Z. — " Pompadour " is Pompadour Red, it is found in the Dresden tube 
colors, the Pry and Mason powder colors, and we believe it is also put up 
in the LaCroix colors. 
Mrs. B. B. D.— For Thorn Apples use Pompadour, Yellow Red, Violet 
of Iron, Finishing Brown and Black with a thin wash of Banding Blue in 
highest lights, for background use repeater! blendings of Meissen Brown, 
Yellow Brown, Pompadour and Finishing Brown, dusting with the 
powder colors after the painted background is half dry. Yon can never 
expect as high a glaze in overglaze decoration as in uuderglaze, but if 
your glaze does not suit you, the only way is to Are harder, in which case 
you can not use the carmines or pinks. 
Mrs. S. M. W.— You say your firing is satisfactorily done except for 
the glaze. As that is the chief point in firing we should say that your 
china was always badly fired. If you use carmine or pinks it is best to do 
the rest of the decoration and fire hard, and for the last fire put on pinks 
and fire lighter. 
Flux assists in glazing: all colors except Apple Green, Pearl Grey and 
Mixing Yellow should have \ flux for painting and . f for tinting. " The 
only way to get a good glaze is to fire hard enough. There is an " Ivory 
Glaze" put up by Fry and an Azure Glaze by Mason, which assist in 
getting a uniform glaze, they may have others, you might inquire of them. 
