Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1913-06-27
CHINA INDUSTRY OF LIMOGES
Three Generations of WOrkfngmen
Have Given to the Product Its
Excellence

81
Limoge has worldwide reputation
for its china. The industry has been
carried on in this city for owe a CEN
tury. The excellence of it's ware, it's
hardness, fneness of texture, perfect
vitrification, and traslucency, make it
unsurpassed in the estimation of con-
noisseurs. Other factors that have
contributed to establish this reputation
are the artistic attainments of the
Limoges workingmen, of whom there
are three generations who have been
trained to this particular labor; nor
should the efforts of the Limoges man.
ufacturers to introduce their product
in all civilized countries be overlooked.
The china industry occupies first place
among the varied industries of Linn
oges, both from the standpoint of the
number of workingmen employed and
the value of the production of the fac
tories.
Kaolin is the most important raw
| product entering into the manufac-
, ture of hard china. The kaolin de-
posits are situated at Coussac-Bon
neval Tin the consulard district of
Limoges) and have probably the pur-
est clay in the world; the most i'm
portant of these kaolin deposits ex-
tend over $500 acres. They are found
in irregular strata, at various distanc-
es from the surface. The methods
employed in mining are most print
tive and crude; the deposits are open,
and, the extracted clay is taken from
the pits in small wooden baskets
which are carried by women and girls
on their heads to the washing shed,
where the kaolin is sorted and wash
| ed. The national factory at Serves, as
well as manufactures in other Europ-
can countries, use this clay to GER
tain extent.
The decoration of china has been
reduced to an art in Limoges. The
process Of lithographing and decal-
comania have replaced all hand paint
ing, except for rich decorations and
special orders. Another process is
that of applying soft underglaze col
ors so as to produce fine effects, and it
is probable that very soon the leading
Istyles of the best classes of goods will
be decorated in this manner. The large
manufacturers make their own decal-
comania sheets, work out their de.
signs, and control their decorations.
They employ girls to apply the decal-
comania Autographs on the china. At
ter the paper has been removed there
from the articles are fired in the
"mouf1es" to set the colors. The con-
ltinuOus moufes are adopted in every
large factory here; these are a great
saving of time, labor, and fuel over
the old-fashioned method of firing dec
orations. The work is performed much
quicker, and the temperature of the
moufies may be regulated to a nicely.
There are in Limoges ISL moufles, of
which 113 are still fired with wood and
SO with coal There are also 81 old
fashioned ones (the shape of very
small one-story kim still in opera
ton. The decoration of china in
creases the value of the white by
about 100000 francs (S1,15S.OOO),
which brings the annual output of
white and decorated china to about
I2O,0OO,00O francs ($3,S60,OOO). In 1908
there were Al decorating shops in
Limoges that did not manufacture
their own white china, in addition TO
the "a manufacturers of white china
who do their own decorating. The
lowest salary in decorating shop is
2 francs ($.9s6) for women and the
highest for men, 10 francs ($193) per
day.