The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-01-18
MY PLEASURABLE HOBBIES.
SIR RICHARD TANG

! The late Sir Andrew Clark once said TO
NE, what no doubt he has said to many
others. that the great mistake busy men
/ make when they retire from the active
| pursuit OF their business careers, is to think
that doing nothing is to secure the rest
that they have always looked forward TO
| before yielding up their account Men en-
gagged i'm commercial or political life are
too apt to think that the pursuit of d hob
by the earnest study of any subject
| apart from what they feel TO be the bust
ness of their lives, is so much energy lost
| AS matter of fact there is abundant evil
dence to show that the exact converse Is
| the case, and that all the faculties, the
possession of which tend to command sue
cess in such careers, are quickened and
stimulated by such outside pursuits. Nu-
merous instances might be adduced in sup
port of this view, a notable one being that
of the late AR. Gladstone. The many
| sidedness" of this great statesman was the
result of the keen interest he took in num-
| berless subjects that lay outside the range
of politics. Mr.. Gladstone has often been
| known to remark that his mental and
physical health were always benefited by
these diversions from the strenuous pur-
| suits of political life
| / have had more than forty years of hard
work. and few so-called workingmen have
| worked so many hours per day as 1 have.
| My favorite methods of relaxation have
been reading and travelling. L have visited
the land of the Pharoahs, and Travelled in
many European countries. besides making
several voyages to Australia, and some
what extensive journeys in America and
South Africa, usually combining business
with pleasure.
COLLECTING OF OLD WEDGWOOD.
/ have also had my hobbies" among
which are the collecting Of Old Wedgwood.
of rare books, of MSS. engravings. and
books relating to Oliver Cromwell and the
| Commonwealth period. The search after
rare specimens of pottery may easily be-
come craze unless there is definite OBJ
ject in view in collecting it. and had such
an object Joseph Wedgwood. Epglands
| greatest potter, was closely associated with
Birmingham by his connection with Mathew
Boulton, of the great Soho works. where
| numberless specimens of his friends ex-
| quisite productions were mounted in gold
and other metals. Flaxman's genius was
employed in designing subjects for the shoe
buckles buttons bracelets, brooches. ETC.,
all of which were completed at Soho and
are to-day among the choicest examples of
art manufacture.
There was collection of Old Wecgwood
In Birmingham, and my purpose in taking
up this hobby to provide that an
adequate representation Of one of the most
important manufactures of the Midlands
should appear in the New Art Gallery, in
the founding of which l was much inter-
ested.
Wedgwood had the happy art of drawing
men of genius and able artisans around
him from all sides-a true mark of the mas
ter mind. In his manufacture he would
not permit any inferior work to leave his
place, carefully examining it in every stage,
and however much labor may have been
expended on any particular piece, if it did
not please him. he would lift his crutch and
smash it, remarking as he did it, THAT
won't do for JOSIAH And long before l
had begun to take interest in "Old
Wedgwood" my brother would, quite un-
consciously follow "Josiahs" example by
rejecting defective work i'm our own factory.
Wedgwood, like all masters of their crafts,
knew full well that it was only by such
drastic methods that excellence could be
attained. He knew, too, that it was the
surest way of training expert artist-work-
men,
Wedgwood was unceasng in his efforts
to obtain finer qualities of clay, the ma
terials then in use not lending themselves
to the artistic designs he had set his mind
upon introducing. Curiously enough some
of the finest that he ever experimental
upon came from far-off Australia. His
friend Mr.. afterwards Sir) Joseph Banks,
who accompanied Captain Cook as natural
list, on his first voyage to Botany bay, !"
discovered a bed of clay of extraordinarily
fine quality in that interesting locality. and
brought samples of it home to his potter
friend. 1t is known that Wedgwood pro-
duced some beautiful objects in this ma
terial, but in all my researches have only
been able to find single specimen. 1t is a
small medallion of a beautiful purplish
black, having on its face four figures, rep
resenting-
Hope welcoming Peace, Art and Labor,
and dated Etruria. 1852
On the reverse. MADE by Josiah Wedg-
wood, of clay from Sydney Cove"
The figures on the front are sharply cut
and look like the finest bronze. / had this
medallion beautifully mounted, and took
it with one OF my voyages to Austria
liza intending to present 1t to the museum
at Sydney. L hoped too. to interest some
of the public men of that city in an en-
deavor to find this valuable bed of clay in
the interests of the colony, but no,
successful. Calling at the museum, saw
the curator. rough old Scotchman who
q seeing me with a parcel in my hand
jumped to the conclusion that 1 was want
ing to sell something, and before 1 could
open ii, told me they were constantly hav.
ing things offered them by newcomers: evI-
IDENTIFY he thought I was one of the hard.
ups" 1 showed him the medallion, telling
him 1 had proposed giving it to the mu.
scum. "Oh. that's different matter" the
old Scot replied. cycling the specimen with
admiration. Yes / said, lit is, and nov
propose taking it back to England
which / did, and still retain it, "a thing
of beauty
MY OLIVER CROMWELL RELICS.
AS / have already stated another of m,
hobbies has been the collecting of MSS.
books, ETC., relating TO Oliver Cromwell ant
his times, and / believe my collection i:
one of the largest in existence. 1t may b,
of interest TO know what first led me
more than twenty years ago, to take al
interest in the history and doings of tn,
| Great Protector.
NJ