The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1901-07-26
BITS OF OLD CHINA.
IT MAY BE THAT YOU SHELTER A
RARE PRIZE IN YOUR CUPBOARD.

RARE PRIZE IN YOUR CUPBOARD.
Early Specimens of Dresden Ware
I Are of Immense Value, and Old
Chelsea China Is Today Worth
More Than Its Weight In Gold.
Old china has a value far beyond its
intrinsic worth. Sometimes its possessors
are ignorant Of what their treasured bits
are really worth. The story of how Dres-
den ware was made first in Europe is in
teresting. Eggshells and seashells ground
up and buried for a hundred years was
the recipe the Chinese gave two centuries
ago for making porcelain. 1t was trade
secret which the Chinese were clever
enough to keep to themselves for thou
sand years. and IL it had not been for an
enterprising young German named Bott-
cher it would probably be sealed yet.
Bottcher was an apothecary's appren-
tice in a small Prussian town. His am-
bilious experiments with chemicals caus-
ed his townspeople to declare him a wiz
ard, SO he ran away to Dresden. where
the king set him to work to try to make
gold. Soon afterward u rich Dresden
ironmuster named Schnoor in riding
across his land was begged In q bed Of
soft white clay. Thinking it might do
for hair powder, he took some Of the stuff
home and dried 1t and sent it to the king.
The king handed 1t over to his new
chemist, who burned some and then
found, to his arnazement, that the stuff
was real kaolin. or china clay.
When the king saw the value of the
discovery. he shut up Bottcher in the
fortress Of konigstein to continue his ex-
periments. The clay was carried to him
in barrels under the royal seal. the work.
men sworn to secrecy and a notice hung
in every room. BE secret unto death"
Four years later, in 1T19. a workman
named StohZel escaped to Vienna and
started china factory there, and from
that town the secret was carried to Eng
land.
Early specimens of this Dresden china
are of immense value. A little clock,
dated 1921. was bought by one Of the
ROthschilds some years ago for 5000 and
Is worth today $3.50. A pair Of candle
sticks were sold at the keme time to the
Marquis Of Bath for q, 155. Genuine
Dresden work can easily be told by the
hail mark" It bears of q couple of cross
ed electoral swords.
The prices mentioned are nothing COM
pared with those paid for good English
porcelain, made at Chelsea. A set Of
seven vases sold for $4,000. A dessert
service specially made for the Duke of
Mecklenburg in 1853 cost $4,000 at the
factory. II any of It Is still in existence,
1t will be cheap at 81 600 plate. There
Is a good deal Of old Chelsea china in
private hands. Owing to the fact that
the making of 1t ceased in 1765, it il
worth more than its weight in gold. 1t
is deep blue-often a little wavy-claret
red. canary yellow or sea green. and the
gliding IL specially heavy. Each piece
bears underneath the regular Chelsea
mark an anchor in red or gold.
Stratford. England. once had famous
china factory. Bow china. as it is called.
Is second only to Chelsea in value. There
Is q painted bowl of Bow china in the
British museum worth over $1,000. A
single triangle. or sometimes two tri-
angles In a circle. Is the usual mark OF
Bow china. But some specimens have no
marks underneath. but have instead bee
modelled or painted on some part Of the
upper surface. These are specially val
liable. Another way of telling both
Chelsea and Bow china Is by it's ex-
Quisite Wilderness.
The letter D crossed by an anchor OH
any old cup or saucer is the mark ON the
ware turned out by another long extinct
factory. the Chelsea Derby. DR.. John
son says of the china produced in lT77
that ut was beautiful and dear as solid
silver" 1t would be gold today.
The most important china works in
England today are those in Worcester.
Specimens of its early output are as
valuable rs almost any old china in ex-
istence.
Early Worcester china. made by DR..
Wall. who founded the works. Is. most
of it. blue and white. like Chinese ware.
1t can easily be identified by the heavy.
irregular black crescent at the bottom OF
each piece. All the saucers have this
mark. but the cups have sometimes only
a tiny letter "b." Worcester of a few
years later has an oddly shaped Wv"
upon 1t.
Bits Of Worcester china of 1TS0 and n
little later may be told by a mazelike
square. This Is always valuable. din
ner service. even though Imperfect. fetch
ed $1,000 recently. The mark Is always
In blue or red.
Flight, Barr & Barr were the next
owners of the Worcester works. Their
name sometimes appears In full on the
bottom of their exquisite plates and
saucers. but more often simply the ini-
tials IF. B. & B." The painting on this
china Is some of the fnest in existence.
Two plates noticed by a cyclist In q cot
tage near Pershore. In Worcestershire,
realized for their owner, who was I'M
aware Of their value. $45 apiece.
A shield with "K. B." on the top
means that the piece of china which
bears 1t was made by Kerr & Binns. who
owned the Worcester works in the middle
of the last century. They were specially
commissioned once to make dinner serv-
ice for Queen Victoria.
II the crown. with crossed swords IN
derneath and the letter ID" below them,
Is marked in violet on the bottom Of any
plate. It is real Grown Derby. of which
there Is still good deal in existence.
Early specimens are very valuable. some
fetching more than four times their
weight in gold.-Tnndon STANDARD.