Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1906-05-10
THE MAKING AND
BREAKING OF DISHES
Old Methods Of Hand Work
Too Slow for Twentieth
Century Needs.
82EAKAGE is ENORMOUS
MICH Hand Painted" China Decorated
By Means of Pictures Which
Are Deity Trans
ferred.
82EAKAGE is ENORMOUS

run Inc Kansas tltN star.
NfNIY married couples ANA reckless
ky 'irr maids, supplemented by
'nHNSe~ IN the styles and decorations
:" plates and cups and SaliccrS. are
wfrSi'ri sibie for the present increasing
ti"iiNlti"S of our great American potter
JOS Enough table ware is broken c,-
cry year III the United States 10 keep
several large factories hus,ling tn re
p!e' ish. a restaurant waiter stubs his
zoe against Il patrons Nalise or his ell
30" comes in contact with his neigh
Dor =. ana there's 4: crash that echoes in
IN" pottery districts OF the United
states. The carly pottcrs who did all
the.r work by hand. were we dependent
Oh them today. could not keep up with
inc twentieth century demand for
dishes.
cups. without doubt. date farther
BACK IN HE worlds history than either
plates or saucers. Historic man NIGH,
r't With his fingers. but he couldn't
drink thai way. Necessity then. MS to
DAY, vas the mother of invention.
an! so. almost with the advent of man
kh'd. there was Invented II drinking
Ncsse! ANA from this the general term
"t pottery has come. In Latin it
Is iotu1n and in French potcric. and
IN al! cases pottery means IL drinking
vessel.
Our cups. plates and sauccrs of to-
day are very beautiful. indeed. but
'' NV WI ~ IIOiIIeIlI
chat the beauty and quality of modern
table ware belongs To this age. When
the ruins OF Egypt %evealed their Sc
crets to the explorer, porcelain made
from "a fine sand in colors of blue.
green. purple and yellow and with won
deriui beauty and delicacy was found.
oxide OF copper being used to produce
the tihts. This porcelain was made
not less than 1900 years II. &. -Four
hundred years prior to the making OF
nus ware 4Assyrta was manufacturing
pottery which bore the names OF the
n,onarchs Of thai period. and In bah
on N Assyria both men and build
ing were formed in works of clay.
The Greek. too. WAS an important fac
tor IN the early history of pottery, to
say nothing OF the just claims OF the
much nnliYned Chlnaman that he is
the originator of fine porcelain.
The chief difference between present
DAY pottery making over that OF all the
ancients referred to is found in the fact
mat molds and jiggers enter very
largely into the making of such articles
of every day use ms cups, sauccrs and
plates. The outside OF IA cup. for cx-
ample. bearing it's different designs in
raised work. Ia shaped I'm "a mold and
the inside Is simultaneously followed
out INTO shape by a steel tool which is
Operated mechanically as the mold be-
meath 1t revolves.
SCCT0x 0V k0Sy4eY.
True, h old time potter used n
wheel. but the real shaping was. new
ertheless. done by hand. The Greeks
introduced the potter's wheel. Homer.
refers to 1t In his writings. Further
down the pages OF time, LOngfcllOw i'm
mortalized II in his writings when he
compared 1t to the flying world in the
following words:
Turn. turn my wheel. turn round and
round.
Without pause. without "a sound;
So spins the flying world away.
ms clay. VOL mixed with mari and sand.
Eollows the motion OF my hand.
For some must follow, and some COM
Though all are made of clay.
And the pottery is II noisclcss place
eYen at present. when machinery is
used. With the. exception of the sort
ms and racklng departments there IL
littlc of the din 80 typical of other
great American institutions.
Inc real secret In pottery making is
IN the mixing of the raw materials.
This secret is known only to the menu
bcrs of the firm and perhaps one or
TWO trusted employees. Even the hands
who weigh and mix the ingredients arc
AS Ignorant of the recipe as the man
upon the streets. Secret scales. pr0n-
erly act aud locked. are used. A great
part OF the clay for table ware liz i'm
ported froursforeigp countries. Much of
it conics from England. Ground flint. IL
another Ingredient. 1t has been known
to the potteIs since 1920. Plaster of
Paris Is used in large quantities fo,
making the molds.
The various ingredients which enter
INTO the composition OF pottery are
brought to their respective bins aud nut
into mills to be ground. They are
mixed with water and this process con
sinues for three or four hours. after
nvht,1, ihn N(s.t,p SA- - -
tatCr-anOther mill that keeps Il re-
vOiNirg aud thoroughly stirred up. Next
1t passes through silk lawn of $50 mesh
which, as you may imagine, in 80 fine
that you can scarcely sec through II.
Later 1t is forced through i've steam
pumps into presses at a pressure Of
eighty-Nve pounds. When II IN tak,n
and left to age. which results in It's be-
ing ready for the pug mill where II IL
ground thoroughly and left On "a
bench rcad:' for use.
Beginning to Take Shape.
The clay for cups. bowls. plates and.
In fact. nearly all fiat ware and common
hollow ware. goes at once to the ma
chimes. The molds are also brought
here from the moldinE departments.
n tho metal, tools from the pattern
maker In the Molding room. the first
mold ~ made from q design or model.
and ia called the mother mold. BY pour
ing plaster of paris into the mother
mold. the design Ia reversed. and this
in called the case. Then by pouring the
plaster Of paris into the case the real
mold is obtained. The plaster of paris
Is poured into the m0lds from II huge
metal pitcher. 1t requires but n few
Moments for his to harden and :hus to
take C.: ror:n.
Earh man who operates n machine
has 10 n,olds OF euch article he In to
make Tho clay for a desired article is
first filttenec by striking It with u
heavy weight. and 1t is placed over the
mold OF. say n cup. ard then. as here
tofo-e stated. the jigEer n put In mo-
ton. On all flat ware. such NJ plates.
I. the mold makes the inside. and the
steel tonl forms the Outside-just the
reverse OF tho operation in making cups.
As fast az mn article is completed. to-
se;her With the mold. It is placed In a
steam heated cupboard at tho rear Of
tie workman where It remains for four
Or Nv hOurs. during which time the
plaster Of paris abs0rbs the water In
! tte clay. The fact that each mold and
= h clay It contains must thu xtan
for h0nrs accounts for the necessity Of
- i,tas,y n,o;ds Of the s1mc pattern.