Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-03-30
MAKING A TEA SET.
POTTERY NOT MADE so RAPIDLY
AS REPORTED.

Explanation of . Big Story That Has
Been Circulating in the English News
papers-A Good Many Finishing Touches
Needed-The Cost.
A paragraph has been going the rounds
of the English press, purporting 10 be
veracious statement of the remarkable
feat Of ''young English potter astonish
ing the United States by an exhibition Of
his proves" in making an entire set OF
forty four pieces in the short time OF eight
minutes. The astonishnent does not seem
TO have spread to any perceptible extent
among American potters. Indeed, they
do not appear 70 be aware of any, for the
excellent reason that the alleged feat is
simply an impossibility. No matter how
young that potter may be, he might be
even younger, and, although English, still
he couldn't do it.
Mr.. Theodore Haviland, whose author
ity as an expert nobody will question,
upon reading the paragraph said: 1T is
impossible. What the man made was
simply the camise, or shirt, Of the several
articles in the tea set. That is nothing
more than a sheet Of the dough like clay,
more or less accurate in thickness aud
form, that must be put on a mold, and
when 1t dries to a certain point must have
attached to 1t the other parts required TO
complete the article for which 1t Is in
tended. That forty-four thin pieces OF
clay may be spun upon wheel in eight
minutes, or even less, is not at all surpris-
ing, but when that is done see how far
they are from being finished.
TO BE DONE AFTERwARD.
'Turn up your plate or cup or saucer,
and YOU Will see that ii has foot, as IL
is technically termed, which is Il circlet of
clay attached to the camise when it is
sufficiently dry and is nodded. In like
manner, notice that other articles, the
teapot and sugar bowl, have collars at
their tops, which are also put on in the
same way. Then the lids have knobs and
what is termed the 'bridle'-the part that
sets down in the collar-added to them.
Then the teapot at least must have
spout. and both it and the cream jug at
least handles And all those things have
to be nodded and stuck on the camise. 1t
is preposterous to suppose even that a
man could do all this in the time speci-
fed. Even If he possessed the manual
dexterity To work with lightning like
rapidity, the clay would not dry sufil-
GENTLY in so few minutes to enable him TO
complete the pieces"
Similar expressions of disbelief were
uttered by two other experts. They both
said that while it is true that great ma
jority Of the pottery workers in the United
States are English, the employers are
Americans and have introduced in their
establishments such expediting and labor
saving processes as are ahead of every
thing of the kind in England A factory
in, spnl-ap pf nc of the
most progressive. Ii is often visited by
English pottery manufacturers when they
come to this country, and they seldom fail
to find new points for their own advantage
at home At the same time not even
American ingenuity has ever yet found a
way to turn out complete set of forty
four pieces in eight minutes, and the
Young Englishman who could do it would
indeed astOuish them very much and open
up such prospect of reduction in cost OF
production as would make even a protec-
tive tariff seem of minor importance
THE QUESTION OF COST.
Touching upon that question Of cost,
Mr. Haviland said: There Is very little
difference in the cost of production of the
actual white material, whether it is for
the very finest class of goods that are sub
seuuently to receive the highest artistic
decoration. or for the common articles
that pass without decoration to the con
sumer's hands. That is, of course, with
the understanding that wide difference
exists between the cost of the white ma
terial of porcelain, which is composed of
kaolin and that of china that is made
from clay The cost of workmanship on
the white material is about the same, and
there is little difference in the time re-
qilired for production, as the processes
are, to great extent, identical, though it
is worthy of remark that We do do not
find, as rule, that the workman who is
skilled in handling one substance, the
clay, for instance, can with equal ability
work the other. There is difference in
the manipulation that is difficult to de-
fine.
mo man, es the making of pottery is
now carried on, mates all of an article.
one makes the camiSe by rolling it out, as
n cook would his pie crust, or by spinning
it on "A wheel according to the use for
which it is intended Another fits the
clay to the mold and trims it. Others
attach to if the several parts required for
its completion, others decorate it, and so
it passes from hand to hand until it
reaches the kiln. 1t is in the decoration
that the great cost is added. white por-
celan set of forty-four pieces, that may
not he worth more than from $40 to SIS,
can be decorated 81 that each piece may
be made an almost priceless treasure of
art. In practice we do not make, for ord-
nary commercial demand sets of that size
costing more than so, but we have made
and can make them worth $500 very
easily. Decoration that would increase
that value would have to be by some
great artist ranking in the world of art
far above the profess ional porcelain decor
ators, the best of whom in France do not
| get over 1000 francs year, say 81, 900.
The man who is paid at that rate will
spend day or perhaps two days some
times, in painting single plate. That
being taken into consideration. together
with the high duties, it is wonderful that
the exquisite porcelain imported is sold