New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-03-26
AMERICAN POTTERY.
R1sE OF A NEW INDUSTRY.


orccKssFUI RIVALRY WITH FOREIGN hARERs-THh
Nt,xnvR AND LOCALITY OF AMERICAN PoTrsRIKs
I1tR ASPECT or THE TRADE AT HONE AND
AnRolp-ANTIcIPATED CHANGE IN PUBLIC TASTE
Tho decrease in imports this year shows
tha, home products are rapidy taking the place OF lot
eign In the American market This Is "os' aPpalen
I'm the iron industry, but 10 kowso worry efiuoht h '
of earthenwarc, which has been growing soeadny t"o
riso and progress Of this new branch OF nome manuae
go. orc therefore Mt nesent invested with special III
terest.
Potteres have been established in Trenton ever since
o.o nm, to that time attempts had been made
20 maze superior porcelain and good article was pro
uced In Philadelphia In si9 and 1880 but under such
circumstances as rendered ultimate failure inevitable
pe notteries established at Trenton N j.. and after
ward nj East Liverpool in the State Of Ohio. were less
ambitious and more successful They aimed ut man
ufacturine the kinds Of staple goods known
ordinarily ma Rockingham and yellow-ware, styles 20
cbeap that the OF conveying them long distances is
greater than actual value. When the premium on
gold advanced to high point impeding the Importation
of foreign ware, the manufacturers, all men OF
small capital be 1t understood their opportunity
and began making on large scale the c. O. ana '" u
ware the great staples OF the stafordshire poteres
There WERE however so few makers that the Market III
spite OF the gold premium and tho tariff was not en-
trey closed TO English wares for during the year 1884,
el96 packages were imported. Crockery 1t may DC
here observed Is packed in hogheads as well as IN
crates and the statistics therefore given In pack
ages the average weight being 1000 pounds avordu-
pos and the value $50 each package In 1850
tho number OF packages imported Increased 10 259'
and in 1866 to 1872 packages valued at s,OOOOOo'
.bout this time the American manufacturers who had
made large sums during the war began TO wake up,
and TO comprehend that they being pushed out OF
the market They went to work resoutey TO the
quality their wares, to investigate the nature Oh
CLAWS, both kaOlin and common, TO mako experiments
upon various methods of glazing, and, in short TO at
tempt fairly to equal the English goods In quality
These efforts were not only successful as regards the
wares ut also attracted small capitalists to the ousl-
ness and in tile interval TO 1869 there was consider
able progress made In the production anu quahIy
OF American ceramics The joObers who sold 10 inc e
rail merchants all over the country, had constrained
several OF the potters, matter OF policy 10 use tue
English arms a stamp, and the articles were no" so
excellent that no retail dealer could distinguish the
American from the En- glish. This very materially less
ened the imporations which fell of from 10j027 pack
oces In 1869 10 IS 1856 1870 Comprehending now that
their American rivals likely to turn the tables ana
close the market upon them the English makers IN
structed their agents 20 underse the American pro-
ducers This increased the sale OF BRUSH CROCK
cry to packages in 1871 but it ruined some OF inc
English small manufacturers. In 1872 there was slight
falling off in the Fan trade and some more bankruptcies
among the English, the Americans maintaining their
ground without nchng, only pottery closing ana
that small two kiln cOncern-thc National when was
burned out and did not to resume. The American
ware has now far superseded the British that IN the
Spring Of this year only 1878 packages were exported
from England to this country and the prices asked were
so high that they have been disposed of except ut
ouctlon and then at very great sacrifice. Meanwhile,
though no new firms have been established at Trenton,
which may considered the seat OF the American POt
terry business almost all the firms nave enlarged thef
capacities by building additional klns.
AZ preaont there are at Trenton twelve firms with %
kilns who manufacture the white wares, the c. c. aud
W. g. of commerce; one firm with four hns manufac-
turing Rockingham and Yellow and one firm with two
rilns making porcelain hardware trimmings. III New
York CITY C. c. ware made by one firm with four kilns
and yellow ware is made up the HUDSON not far from
the citv and at Geddes suburb OF Syracuse In Oho'
AT asst Liverpool south Of Pts0u gh there areoO KnS
owned by thirteen firms engaged in making Rockingham
and yellow In Cincinnati there two firms with IL
kilns making C. c. and white granite ware In BostoD
there i, firm with two kns making the same A. Bal!
t,oore the 70 are four kllns making white and common
wares In Jersey City there Is firm with four kl'ns
making white ware. III Pittsburgh there arestWo nrms
with eight kns making yellow. In ST. Louis there Is
pottery of four kns making white ware ana there was
also one in Chicago but It has stopped There one
however in Illinois, at PEORIA which has four kilns In
Philadelphia there are firms with eight kilns making
yellow ware Porcelain hardware trimmings are maze
at thc,J MON Porcelain Works, Greenpoint AT slcr
establishment In the locality Just started by the
foreman OF the named works. at Flushing ana AT
Morrsania All of these pottcries have every facility
for making the c. and W. g. ware which are the staples
of commerce. and only await favorable time to diver
sy their products further and contend with the En-
glsh manufacturers excellence and variety
FOREIGN RIVALRY OVERCOME.
The amount OF crockery required Tor yearly consump.
zion seems TO 10000 crates or white ware ana
40 e,o of Rockingham and yellow In order to conduct
lime oil al tu-O al
hiscuit-as the first firing calleilnd two for glazing,
The cost of each kiln is $1,000 aud the Goa! FOR
pottery costs from 1000 to $4,000 per annum The raw
material consisting OF clay, fut aud fedspar for pot
terry OF four kilns about double the expeneiof the
coal consumed for white aud about the same for
common kinds. The main outlay is for labor. 1t is
obvious from this that the cost OF making the poorer
is exactly the same as that OF the whlie granite
ne Of fine firms making yellow ware has at some time or
other made attempt produce the finer goods, hut
desisted being alarmed by the opposition OF English
manufacturers whose agents posted mere IN NewYOrk
have resorted unwaranted measures 10 create preju
dice against American ware They succeeded 80 com
petey that five years back Western retailers used TO
have pacards IN their ,ors We DO not keep Trenton
that the obDn drove the manufacturers 10 the
doubtful expedlent of stamping the English arms on
English ware o. would turn mp the plate show the lion
M ,rehane English shos made IN Tenton the
leading pottery-men are now ashamed OF this subter-
fuge and stamps OF their own having become proud
OF their wares aud not being the least afraid Of
parisOn with the British. There time when our
crockery crazed that is TO say the glazing cracked
| ike the varnsh Of an old picture but il does no
longer the makers having found out the cause OF the
evil which lay IN slack firing. There must always be
percentage ware IN every kiln which Will craze be-
Is utterly impossible that every single seggar
should get the same amount OF heat but the percentage
has been brought 10 minimum ana this Is actually less
than the English, because our coal Is superior. The
difficulties of production and those OF prejudice having
then there IL no reason why all the kns
In the United States should be used Tor prOduc
ton OF c. c. white granite articles. The 80 kns of
Trenton produce now at the rate OF 5000 crates per
annum and hreelfths Of the white uflct
| in America is made there They are now making the