The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1892-05-13
QUEENS WARE" "
HOW THIS FAMOUS POTTERY oe.
TANNED ITS NAME.

arc Aiso invented tne Egyptian and
Other WELL known Wares.
1t was in 1870 that Josiah Wedgwood
was born, in the little English town of
Burslem. He was the youngest of thir-
teen children, and came of family that
had been potters for generations.
Burslem was noted at an early date for
the variety, in kind and in quantity, of
the clay beds that spread round about
the town in every direction. And nat
urally the little hamlet became the CEN
ter of the trade and won the name of
Mother of Potteries in England.
When little Josiah was old enough to
stumble along the rough paved streets,
the Wedgwoods were among the leading
potters in the kingdom. We may bo
sure that clay was the earliest plaything
in his chubby little hands, and that the
vicinity of the works became his earliest
playground.
| In due time Josiah was apprenticed to
his brother Thomas in the old Church.
yard Works, that for generations had
been in the possession of the Wedgwood
family. In due time, also, Josiah be-
one, as after results proved true. In that
good old time man was in honor bound
to master his trade, to begin at the bot
tom rung of the ladder and mount step
by step. We may be very sure that
young Josiah did not indulge in any
leaps OF skips or scrambles, but reached
the top by patient climbing. Had he
displayed any such erratic haste his only
oequest to posterity would have been one
OF the many rough stones in the little
Burslem churchyard.
The will is not lacking to follow Wedg-
woods course in all its varied details,
but, alas, the days are not so long now as
in the happy vanished Past. and we are
breathlessly carried to the date of his
first great discovery OF invention. This
occurred in 1862. AT this date at the
Bell Works in Burslem, Wedgwood, af-
ter many experiments, produced a new
ware that was faI.superior to any then
manufactured. 1t was of fine cream
color, thin and delicate, having a high
glaze, and was decorated with flowers
in high relief and painted in natural
colors.
Overjoyed at the beauty of this new
production, and knowing the full value
of royal recognition, Wedgwood immedi-
ately ordered breakfast or caudle ser.
vice to be made with the utmost care,
which, after being decorated by such ar
lists as Thomas Daniel and Daniel Steele,
was presented to Queen Charlotte, and
by her was graciously received"
Indeed, so charmed was her majesty
with this production of the potter's
wheel, which advanced far beyond all
others in the kingdom, that she was
pleased to order an entire table service.
This was no mean triumph for Wedg-
wood, for he was now permitted to style
himself Her Majesty's Potter"
The patterns of this set were submit
ted to the queen and were approved,
with the exception of the plates, which
were of the common barley corn pat
terms then making by all salt glaze man
ufacturers. Her majesty objected to the
roughness of the barley corn work, as it
is called, and therefore this part was
made plain, on the edge was left only
the bands marking the compartments;
and being approved by her majesty the
pattern was called Queens ware.'"
Such was the origin of the famous
Queens ware, with which we each have
at least a bowing acquaintance, if we are
not upon terms of kettledrum intimacy.
Wedgwood's inventions did not cease
with the production of this beautiful
cream ware, far as that was in advance
of all competitors. Four years later he
produced his famous basalts, possessing
the properties of resisting hard fire and
acids, and of receiving high polish.
From its black hue it was called Egypt.
ian ware The same year he removed
to the town of Shelton and established
his new works, which he called "Etruria.
The first pieces made here were three
vases, "thrown" by the great Josiah him.
self, and formed after Etruscan models.
They were decorated in that style with
figures of Hercules and his companions
in the garden of Hesperides.
Many other inventions followed rapidly
in the train of the basalts, but the series
is crowded by the production of the
world famous Jaspers, whose exquisite
beauty delights even the unframed eve,
This ware was white porcelain, pos.
sessing all the properties of the basalts,
and also the remarkable one of receiving
into its body the same coloring matters
that were communicated to glass or enamel
in fusion. This rendered it particularly
fit for portraits, canoes and bas-yelefs,
as the ground could be one color and
the figure pure white.
The greatest triumph of Wedgwood'a
life was the production of perfect copy
of the celebrated Barberini OF Portland
vase in black jasper, with the figures in
proper tone, cut by gem and seal en-.
gravers of acknowledged reputation.
Fifty copies were made under the SUI.
pervision of Wedgwood, and on each the
canoes were cut with the highest pos.
sible degree of sharpness and finish. AL.
though these vases were sold for fifty
guineas, the price did not pay for the cos,
of manufacture, The mold still exists
and vases are occasionally made, with
black, or dark or light blue ground.
One of these marvellously beauti.
full examples of the potter's art marks
the memorial tablet in the little church
in whose graveyard Wedgwood Lies
buried
One of the most singular anomalies OF
our religious life is that we are at tho
same time sending professors in our theo,
logical seminaries to Germany to study,