A METHOD FOR MAKING THE MOST REFINED EARTHENWARE WITH HELP OF CLAY AND OTHER MATERIALS FOUND WITHIN THIS KINGDOM WHICH EVER YET APPEARED IN THIS PART OF EUROPE, OF A NATURE AND COMPOSICON NOT ONLY TRANSPARENT BUT SO PERFECT IN ITS KIND AND OF PRINCIPLES SO FIRMLY VNITED AB (CONTRARY TO THE NATURE OF ALL OTHER EARTHENWARES) TO RESIST ALMOST ANY DEGREE OF HEAT, BY WHICH QUALITIES IT IS MORE VALUABLE AND OF GREATER VEE AND ORNAMENT THAN ALL OTHER KINDS EVER YET INVENTED OR PRACTISED IN THIS KINGDOM, AND CAPABLE OF BEING WROUGHT INTO VESSELLS AND ORNAMENTS FOR ANY VSE; AND FOR THE WORKING OF THE SAME INVENTION HE HATH INVENTED PARTICULAR AND PROPER ENGINS AND TOOLS
Year: 1722

page_text: come, greeting.
WHEREAS our trusty and welbeloved THOMAS BILLIN hath by his peticon
humbly represented vnto vs that he hath, by many long, laborious, and charge-
able experiment, found out and invented "A METHOD FOR MAKING THE MOST
REFINED EARTHENWARE WITH HELP OF CLAY AND OTHER MATERIALS FOUND WITHIN
THIS KINGDOM WHICH EVER YET APPEARED IN THIS PART OF EUROPE, OF A NATURE
AND COMPOSICON NOT ONLY TRANSPARENT BUT SO PERFECT IN ITS KIND AND OF
PRINCIPLES SO FIRMLY VNITED AB (CONTRARY TO THE NATURE OF ALL OTHER
EARTHENWARES) TO RESIST ALMOST ANY DEGREE OF HEAT, BY WHICH QUALITIES
IT IS MORE VALUABLE AND OF GREATER VEE AND ORNAMENT THAN ALL OTHER KINDS
EVER YET INVENTED OR PRACTISED IN THIS KINGDOM, AND CAPABLE OF BEING
WROUGHT INTO VESSELLS AND ORNAMENTS FOR ANY VSE; AND FOR THE WORKING
OF THE SAME INVENTION HE HATH INVENTED PARTICULAR AND PROPER ENGINS
AND TOOLS;" and having humbly prayed vs to grant vnto him our Royal
Letters Patent for the sole vse and benefit of such his Invenčon within
England and Wales and town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, for the term of
fourteen years, according to the statute in such case made and provided,
wee, being willing to give encouragement to all arts and invenĉons which
may be for the publick vse and benefit, are gratiously pleased to gratify him in
his request.
KNOW YEE THEREFORE, that wee, of our especial grace, certain know-
ledge, and meer močon, have given and granted, and by these presents, for vs,
our heires and successors, do give and grant, vnto the said Thomas Billin, his

page_text: executors, administrators, and assignes, especial lycence, full power, sole
priviledge and authority, that he, the said Thomas Billin, his executors,
administrators, and assignes, and every of them, by himselfe or themselves,
or by his or their deputy and deputies, servants or agents, or such others as he,
the said Thomas Billin, his executors, administrators, or assignes, shall at any
time
agree with, and no others, from time to time during the term herein
expressed, shall and lawfully may make, vse, exercise, and vend the said
earthenware of such his new Invenčon, as above described, within that part
of our kingdom of Great Britain called England, our dominion of Wales,
and town of Berwick-vpon-Tweed, in such manner as to him, the said Thomas
Billin, his executors, administrators, and assignes, or any of them, shall
in their discrecons seem meet, and that he, the said Thomas Billin, his
executors, administrators, and assignes, shall and lawfully may have and
enioy the whole profit, benefit, comodity, and advantage from time to time
coming, growing, accrewing, and ariseing by reason of the said Invenčon for
and during the term of years herein menconed, to have, hold, exercise, and
enioy the said lycence, powers, priviledges, and advantages herein-before
granted or menconed to be granted vnto the said Thomas Billin, his executors,
administrators, and assignes, for and during and vnto the full end and
term of fourteen years from the date of these presente next and immediately
ensueing, and fully to be compleat and ended, according to the statute in such
case made and provided; and to the end that the said Thomas Billin, his
executors, administrators, and assignes, and every of them, may have and enioy
the full benefit and the sole vse and exercise of the said Invention according to
our gratious intenčon herein-before declared, wee do by these presente, for vs,
our heires and successors, require and strictly comand all and every person and
persons, bodies politick and corporate, and all other our subiecte whatsoever,
of what estate, quality, or degree, name or condičon soever they be, within that
said part of our kingdom of Great Britain called England, our dominion of
Wales, and town of Berwick-vpon-Tweed aforesaid, that neither they or any
of them at any time during the continuance of the said term of fourteen
yeares hereby granted, either directly or indirectly do make, vse, or put in
practice the said Invenčon or any part of the same so attained vnto by the
said Thomas Billin, as aforesaid, nor in anywise counterfeit, imitate, or
resemble the same, nor shall make or cause to be made any addition there-
unto or substracčon from the same, whereby to pretend himselfe or themselves
the inventor or inventors, devisor or devisors thereof, without the lycence,
consent, or agreement of the said Thomas Billin, his executors, administrators,
or assignes, in writing vnder his or their hande and scals first had and

page_text: obtained in that behalfe, vpon such pains and penalties as can or may be iustly
inflicted on such offices for their contempt of this our royal comand, and
further to be answerable to the said Thomas Billin, his executors, adminis-
trators, and assignes, according to law for his and their damages thereby
occasioned; and moreover wee do by these presente, for vs, our heires and
successors, will and command all and singular the iustices of the peace,
mayors, sheriffes, bayliffs, constables, headboroughs, and all other officers and
ministers whatsoever of vs, our heires and successors, for the time being, that
they or any of them do not nor shall at any time hereafter during the said term
hereby hereby granted, in anywise molest, trouble, or hinder the said Thomas
Billin, his executors, administrators, or assignes, or any of them, or his or their
deputies, servante, or agents, in or about the due, and lawfull vse or exercise of
the aforesaid Invenčon or anything relating thereto; provided always, and these
eur Letters Patente are and shall be vpon this condičon, that if at any time
during the said term hereby granted it shall be made appear to vs, our heires
or successors, or any six or more of our or their Privy Council, that this our
grant is contrary to law or preiudicial or inconvenient to our subiecte in
generall, or that the said Invenčon is not a new invention as to the publick
vse and exercise thereof in that said part of our kingdom of Great Britain
called England, our dominion of Wales, or town of Berwick-vpon-Tweed,
or not invented and found out by the said Thomas Billin, as aforesaid, then
vpon significacon and declaračon thereof, to be made by vs, our heires or
successors, vnder our or their signet or privy seal, or by the lorde and others
of our or their Privy Council, or any six or more of them, vnder their
hande, these our Letters Patente shall forthwith cease, determine, and be
vtterly void to all intente and purposes, anything herein-before contained
to the contrary in anywise notwithstanding; provided also, that these our
Letters Patent or anything herein contained shall not extend or be construed
to extend to give priviledge vnto the said Thomas Billin, his executors,
administrators, or assignes, or any of them, to vse or imitate any invenčon or
work whatsoever which hath heretofore been found out or invented by any
other of our subject whatsoever, and publickly vsed or exercised in. that said
part of our kingdom of Great Britain called England, our dominion of Wales,
or town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, vnto whom like Letters Patents or privi-
ledges have been already granted for the sole vse, exercise, and benefit
thereof, it being our will and pleasure that the said Thomas Billin, his
executors, administrators, and assignes, and all and every other person and
persons to whom like Letters Patent or priviledges have been already
granted, as aforesaid, shall distincly vse and practice their severall inventions

page_text: by them invented and found out, according to the true intent and meaning of
the same respective Letters Patente and of these presente; provided likewise,
nevertheless, and these our Letters Patente are vpon this condičon, that if
the said Thomas Billin, his executors or administrators, or any person or
persons which shall or may at any time or times hereafter during the
continuance of this grant have or claim any right, title, or interest in law
or equity of, in, or to the power, priviledge, and authority of the sole vse
and benefit of the said Invention hereby granted, shall make any transferr
or assignement, or any pretended transferr or assignement, of the said
liberty and priviledge, or any share or shares of the benefit or profit
thereof, or shall declare any trust thereof to or for any number of persons
exceeding the number of five, or shall open or cause to be opened any
book or books for publick subscriptions to be made by any number of
persons exceeding the number of five, in order to the raising any sume
or sumes of money vnder pretence of carrying on the said liberty or priviledge
hereby granted, or shall by him or themselves, or his or their agent or
servante, receive any sume or sumes of money whatsoever of any number
of persons exceeding in the whole the number of five, for such or the like
intents or purposes, as shall presume to act as a corporate body, or shall
divide the benefit of these our Letters Patents, or the liberty and priviledges
hereby by vs granted, into any number of shares exceeding the number of five,
or shall cōmitt or do or procure to be comitted or done any act, matter, or
thing whatsoever during such time as such person shall have any right or title
either in law or equity in or to the said premisses which will be contrary to
the true intent and meaning of a certain Act of Parliament made in the
sixth year of our reign, intituled (an Act for the better securing certain
powers and priviledges intend to be granted by His Maiestie by two charters
for assurance of ships and merchandizes at sea, and for lending money
vpon bottomry, and for restraining severall extravagant and vnwarrantable
practices therein menconed), if these our Letters Patent had not been
granted; or in case the said power, priviledge, or authority shall at any time
hereafter become vested in or trust for more than the number of five persons
or their representatives at any one time (reckoning executors or administrators
as and for the single person whom they represent as to such interest as they
are or shall be intitled to in right of such their testator or intestate), that
then and in any of the said cases, these our Letters Patente, and all liberties,
priviledges, and advantages whatsoever hereby granted, shall vtterly cease,
determine, and become void, anything herein-before contained to the contrary
thereof in anywise notwithstanding; and, lastly, wee do by these presents, for

page_text: vs, our heires and successors, grant vnto the said Thomas Billin, his executors,
administrators, and assignes, that these our Letters Patente, or the inrollment
or exemplificaton thereof, shall be in and by all things good, firm, valid,
sufficient and effectual in the law, acccording to the true intent and meaning
thereof, and shall be taken, construed, and adiudged in the most favourable and
beneficial sense for the best advantage of the said Thomas Billin, his executors,
administrators, and assignes, as well in all courts of record as elsewhere, and
by all and singular the officers and ministers whatsoever of vs, our heires and
successors, in that part of our said kingdom of Great Britain called England,
our dominion of Wales, and town of Berwick-vpon-Tweed, and amongst all
and every the subiect of vs, our heires and successors, whatsoever and'
wheresoever, notwithstanding the not fall and certain describing the nature or
quality of the said Invenčon or of the materialls thereto conducing and
belonging.