The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1889-02-02
Making a Tea Set.
New York Sun

New York sun
a paragraph has been going the rounds
of the English press, purporting to be a
veraeious statement of the remarkable feat
of a ''young English potter astonishing the
United States by an exhibitor OF his
proves" in making an entire set of forty
four pieces In the short time of eight
minutes The establishment does not seem
to have spread to any perceptible extent
among American potters. Indeed, they
do not appear to 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 authori-
ty as an expert nobody will question, upon
reading the paragraph said ''It is impos-
sible. 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 and form, that must
be put on mold, and when it dries 10 a
certain point must have attached to 1t the
other parts required to complete the article |
for which it is intended That forty-four
thin pieces of clay may be spun upon a wheel
in eight minutes, or even less, Is not at all
surprising, 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 viii see that it has foot, as 1t
is technically termed, which is cirelet of
clay attached to the camise when it is sut
ficiently dry and is nodded. In like man
ner, 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 a spout, and
both it and the cream jug at least handles.
Aud all those things have to be nodded
and stuck on the camise II is preposter
Gus to suppose even that man could do
all this in the time specified. Even if he
possessed the manual dexterity to work
with lightning like rapidity, the clay would
not dry sufficiently in So few minutes to
enable him to complete the pieces"
Similar expressions Of disbelief were ut
tered by two other experts. They both
said that while it is true that a 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 everything
of the kind in England i factory in
Trenton was spoken Of as one Of the most
progressive It is often visited by English
pottery manufacturers when they come to
this country, and they seldom fail to fnd
new points for their own advantage a;
home. At the same time not even Ameri-
can ingenuity has ever yet found way to
turn out complete set Of forty four pieces
in eight minutes, and the young English
man who could dc it would indeed astouish
them very much and open up such a
prospect Of reduction IN cost Of production
a would make even a protective tariff seem
Of minor importance.
THE QUESTION or COST.
Touching upon that question Of cost,
Mr.. Hayiland 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 sahse-
auently to receive the highest artistic de-
coration, OF for the common articles that
pass without decoration to the consumers
hands That Is, Of course, with the under.
standing that a wide difference exists be-
tween the cost Of the white material 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, aud there is little diff
ference in the time required for produe-
tion, as the processes are, 10 great ex
tent, identical. though il i worthy Of re-
mark that We do nos end. as a 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 define
NO man, as the making Of pottery Is
+ now carried on, makes all Of an article
/ One makes the camise hy rolling il out, a.
a cook would his pie crust, or by spinning
/ it on a wheel, according 10 the use for which
! It Is intended. Anothe. fits the clay to the
mold and trims il. Others attach 10 il the
several parts required for ats completion,
Others decorate il, and so 1t passes FROM
hand 10 hand until it reaches the kiln Il
I is in the decoration that the great cost IS
added. A white porcelaiA SET Of forty-four
pieces, that may not be worth more than
/ from sl0 to SIS, can be decorated so that
each piece may be made an almost priceless
treasure Of art. In practice We do not
make, for ordinary commercial demand
sets Of that size costing more than SIS, but
We have made and can make them worth
$500 very easily. Decoration that would
increase that value would have 10 be by
some great artist, ranking in the world of
art far above the professional porcelain
decorators, the best If whom in France do
not get over 5000 francs year, say
81 ,000 The man who is paid al 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, ii is wonderful that
the exquisite porcelain imported is sold