The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-02-13
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN REAL
AND IMITATION DELFT

New YORK Mail ana EN-lTeG,.J
The .'bIueness of delft" is just now
the all prevailing topic for discussion
among the delft china devotees of this
city. Delft that is not delft is i'm
ported TO the United States in large
quantities every year. But there is no
diminution in the amount Of the real
delft that has been coming to this city
since the days of the knickerbOckers-
To distinguish between the real
and the imitation is the peculiar prov
ince of the collector. If delft were all
"SimonpUre, and could be bought by
anybody in ordinary CrOckeTy stores,
there would be no joy in the searching.
The ze5t of the pursuit lies in the
possibility of discovering a prize.
Color is the most important con-
sideTation in deciding whether or not
alleged delft is genuine. Blue delft
must not be too blue to be real. The
natural color of the ware is pure
white. It's texture is Of hardness
greatly resembling porcelain. The only
thing in delft that is legitimately blue
is the design or figures These are OF
a deep indigo tint the production OF
which is one Of the secrets of Holland.
For more than two centuries potters
all over the world have striven to lml-
tate delft. and have failed. The latest
attempts have been made in Bonn,
U
from the Bonn product as silk is from
sat.n.
/ In the first place, Bonn delft ware is
I soft and not unlike majOlica. A slight
I chip in the glaze reveals its claylike
/ texture. Then, too, the ware itself is
blue. which is an objectionable fault
/ The coloring Of the design seems to
/ have spread over its entire surface.
In an uptown shop a all and Elk
1 press reporter saw two cases of delft
ware standing side by side. One was
filled with recent imDOrtauons of
real" the contents of the other came
FROM Bonn.
The attempt to introduce Bonn delft
| into this country" the dealer explained,
) has only increased the demand for
real. We are importing it in larger
quantities than ever before. Real deIIJ
is easier to obtain now than IL was IN
the days of the Dutch occupation. No
] reputa BILE dealer would think of selling
a piece of Bonn delft for the real.
In fact, now that the imitation is
on the market, we are always careful
/ to inform a prospective customer OF
/ the difference in the two kinds of ware
for the difference between them is just
as clearly marked as between Sevres
and Kioto."
From the real show case the re-
/ porter took up delft plate, On the
! back was the name of the Dutch firm
} which made it and the peculiar trade
/ hierOglyph by which its wares nave
! been known since the days of Hendrlch
/ Hudson. 1t consists Of an odd-shaped
letter L over the letter F. II is doubt
ful If outside of Holland a man can be
found who can tell the origin and his
tory Of the strange trademark
The back and body of the plate were
pure white. To strike it with your
! knuckle was to convince you that i
rings true as only porcelain can. or
the other side Of the plate was pic
ture Of the head of a woman past mid
die life. The firm, heavy mouth anC
prominent cheek bones were undoubtet
Dutch characteristics.
Next to it in the case was anothei
plate on which was the same portrait
but even the most cursory glanc'
showed differences between them. Th'
lines in the face We're not the same
Shadow existed in one portrait whel
there was only light in the other. The!
were evidently the work of two diff
feren from the same copy.
II ergencies are one OF tn
dist ling marks of real DELFT
is ali tainted by hand. No machin
ever comes in contact with it. Bon
delft is in "A striking contrast Abso
lutte uniformity is obtained by the US
of stencils and machine-made outline:
Contrary to the belief of some col
| lectors there is no intrinsic merit in oil
delft The kind that comes from tn
potteries today is quite as fine an
more beautiful in design than its pre-
decessor.
Delft is made in vast variety
forms. Clocks, vases, candlestlck
: plates and saucers can all be obtaine
in the real" quite as easily in Ne
York as in Delft Haven