Llewellynn Frederick William Jewitt

“ That the present firm can produce work equal in excellence and beauty to that of their gifted ancestor is amply evidenced by a Portland vase, which in 1877 they made—regardless of trouble or cost—in exact imitation, both in colour and material, of the first fifty. This was polished and cut by a lapidary, and forms a priceless treasure of Art, and one that will bear the closest comparison with the great Josiah’s greatest work. The firm still produce “jasper,” “basaltes,” “red,” “cream-coloured,” and indeed all the other wares for which the works in the olden times were so famous. ”

“ The softness of touch, the purity and delicacy of feeling, and the sunny mellowness of tone, as well as the chasteness of design and correctness of drawing, produced on the best pieces of his productions, show him to be a thorough artist, and place him high above most others in this difficult art, while his intimate knowledge of all the phases and intricacies of Art, and of all the processes of the manufacture, render him peculiarly fitted for the post to which he has been called. ”

“ It would, perhaps, scarcely be expected that in such a busy, bustling, and gigantic place of enterprise and commercial activity as Liverpool—in the midst of shipping of every description, and surrounded by the most enormous and busy undertakings of one kind or other—we should successfully look for the full and perfect accomplishment of so quiet, so unostentatious, so peaceful, and so delicate an art as that of the potter. ”

“ The dento-ceramic art is, naturally, of recent origin, but it has already almost reached perfection; the artificial teeth so closely resembling the natural, that the false are undistinguishable from the real. In durability nature is by this manufacture excelled; since the porcelain tooth lasts much longer than bone or ivory. Surprising, however, as we find the exact imitation of nature, it is, perhaps, still more surprising to learn that it is only obtained by a variety of at least 100 different shades and tints of colour, and of about 1,000 different shapes and sizes of teeth. ”

“ Harvey Adams & Co. in every style, from the simple white and gold (one variety of which, with a beaded edge, is peculiarly simple and pretty) to the most richly, even gorgeously painted, gilt, enamelled, and jewelled varieties; in each of these their productions take rank with those of any other house. In some services, both tea and dessert, what may be called an ormolu decoration has been introduced with as good effect by this firm as by any other. It gives a richness and a solidity to the patterns which could not otherwise be easily obtained. ”

“ Davenport at the present time is of remarkably fine and good quality, both in body, in glaze, and in make, and in all these particulars ranks among the best produced in the district. Their tea and dessert ware is of extreme excellence, and many of the patterns are unsurpassed for richness of colouring and gilding by any other house. Among these specialities, their adaptations of the fine old Indian patterns, and such designs as gave so important a character to the productions of the old Derby works in their palmiest days, are especially good. ”

“ One of the specialities of these works are majolica and coloured tiles. These are of the highest possible class of beauty and excellence, and the richness of the colours and their harmonious combinations cannot be surpassed: they are perfect works of Art, and are a great and marked advance upon any which have preceded them. Some have the ornament in relief—sometimes approaching even to alto-relievo—and exquisitely modelled: the ornament consisting of arabesques, foliage, flowers, birds, &c., in endless variety. ”

“ The progressive improvements in the manufacture of Porcelain and Earthenware, during the last thirty years, have raised this art to an eminence which it never reached before in the British Empire; and, perhaps, in no department of art has scientific research and experiment been so productive of wealth and fame as in this, and it is no undue encomium on the industry of the manufacturer to state, that the consumption at home and the demands from abroad have kept pace with the improvements which have increased both. ”

“ A white gallon cask, with gold edged hoops, adorned with four trophies of music emblems of love, in chiaro-oscuro, surmounted by a young coloured Bacchus, sitting on the bung tasting a grape, of which he holds a basket full between his legs, and a cup in his left hand, the barrel is made to turn round on a pivot fixed in an ormolu pediment, a satyr’s mask holds an ormolu cock in his mouth, which opens and shuts by a spring. ”

“ No man could have been more highly respected, both by his workmen and by all who knew or had dealings with him at home and abroad, than was this second William Duesbury, and under his care the works continued to grow in importance with an astonishing rapidity, and soon became by far the most prosperous and most successful in the kingdom. ”

“ The iridescent effect produced is somewhat similar to that of the ruby lustre of the famous Gubbio Majolica; that Italian enamelled ware which commands such fabulous prices, and of which an unrivalled collection is to be seen at the South Kensington Museum. Lustres were introduced many years ago for English pottery by Hancock, by Gardner, and by Stennys; and in the booths of our country fairs, rude inartistic forms, glowing with a gold or a silver lustre, are often to be seen. ”

“ The geometric or tesselated pavements are of every conceivable variety; the tiles composing them being made of different forms and of all shades of colour, but all produced with the utmost mechanical nicety so as to “fit” in ever-changing variety. A notable feature in the tiles of this firm is the richness, the clearness, and the purity of the colours and the excellence of the glaze; these features, added to faultless quality of body, to high-class artistic treatment of patterns, and to excellence of mechanical workmanship, place them high in estimation. ”

“ One service which has particularly struck us as beyond average in excellence is the “Stork.” Those examples in which the pattern is in relief, and heightened in gold, are peculiarly rich and good. The shape of the tureens and vegetable-dishes are of great elegance and beauty. The ivory body is one of the greatest achievements of the period. ”

“ In earthenware—toilet and all the usual table services and numberless useful articles of the best designs and highest finish are made. In stoneware—jugs, tea-pots, and other articles are produced; in these many excellent shapes and designs have been introduced. In china—tea, breakfast, dinner, dessert, trinket, toilet, and other services; jugs of various kinds; vases, and an endless variety of ornamental and highly decorated goods, are made. The quality of the china is remarkably fine and good, and the glaze of more than average excellence. ”

“ Beautiful forms and compositions are not made by chance, nor can they ever, in any material, be made at small expense. A competition for cheapness, and not for excellence of workmanship, is the most frequent and certain cause of the rapid decay and entire destruction of arts and manufactures.’ This quotation, beautifully and ornamentally lithographed, has emanated from Philadelphia, and nearly every dentist in the United States has a copy of it displayed in his operating room. ”

“ Wedgwood did not patent his inventions and improvements, and thus every manufacturer was stimulated, and a host of Queen’s or cream-ware makers soon, sprang up. When he “discovered the art of making Queen’s ware,” wrote Wedgwood himself, “which employs ten times more people than all the china works in the kingdom, he did not ask for a patent for this important discovery. A patent would greatly have limited its public utility. ”

“ One superb and elegant vase with therms, beautifully enamel’d with figures, the Three Graces on one side and a landscape on the other, in compartments, enriched with chased and burnished gold, and 2 ewer-shape vases to match, figure of Virtue on one side and Prudence on the other. ”

“ Another has the rim formed of rays of pellets with a pleasing and novel effect; the tripod stands of the comports being, like the plates, exquisitely modelled and richly painted and gilt. Other patterns, notably one with a rich maroon ground and white bead edge, are, besides being exquisitely painted and gilt, enriched with jewelling. Vases of pure and severe taste in form, and displaying great skill and judgment in decoration, are also produced, as are likewise jugs of faultless excellence. ”

“ It has been said, the man who causes one ear of corn to grow where one never grew before, deserves the thanks of his country; but what does that man merit who, by indefatigable industry, contributes [253] materially to the advancement of the interests of his country, in the improvement of its manufactures? It was in this class that the late Mr. Thomas Lakin held a situation much above mediocrity, for, in Staffordshire, it is well known that few men have contributed more to the improvement of an art so useful and so much admired. ”

“ Josiah Wedgwood, always alive to everything which could tend to improve or render more commercial the productions of his manufactory, although at first opposed to the introduction of this invention, as being, in his opinion, an unsatisfactory and unprofitable substitute for painting, eventually determined to adopt the new style of ornamentation, and arranged with the inventors to decorate such of his Queen’s ware as it would be applicable to, by their process. ”

“ Six elegant ice cream cups, enamel’d with festoons of red husks, and fine blue and gold.
Two pair of large boys riding on dolphin and fawn, in biscuit.
One of these sale catalogues, at the risk of occupying much space, I here reprint entire, because I conceive nothing could more completely show the character of the goods, ornamental as well as useful, which at that time were the staple productions of the Derby works. It cannot, I opine, but be of immense use to collectors in assisting them to correctly appropriate and date their [78] examples. ”

“ A camel teapot—the Arab tying on the bale forming an excellent handle, and the neck and head of the camel an admirable spout—is a well-conceived design, and is powerfully and cleverly modelled. For table decoration, the firm produces many good designs. Notably among these is a group of three well-modelled Cupids (two of whom are carrying the third) , the upper one of which bears a turquoise shell, massively gilt inside. It is of very artistic design, and is well executed. The Persian turquoise glaze made by the firm is remarkably clear and brilliant in colour and not surpassed by other houses. ”

“ Robinson and Leadbeater have succeeded in so improving it both in fineness and purity of body and in tone of colour, as to render their productions of far higher than average merit. They have studied excellence of body, originality of design, and cleverness of workmanship, as before that of marketable cheapness, and in this they have done wisely. In material, they rank with the best productions of many competing firms, while in fineness of surface and careful manipulation they are scarcely excelled. ”

“ Powell & Bishop are the sole workers of, and possess the exclusive right to and in, a patented process of printing in gold and colours, originally purchased by their firm from some Austrians, by whom it was invented. This important process has been vastly improved by the present firm and brought to bear in a variety of ways upon their manufactures. By this invention a background of dead gold is produced of surpassing beauty and loveliness, and of such solidity and evenness as is perfectly impossible to be obtained by hand-gilding even by the most skilled artist. ”

“ Copeland, who, acting on his idea, prepared a series of designs which, while adhering faithfully to the classic laws of Art, were, both in subject and in treatment, strictly characteristic of the present day. The general design is a terra-cotta dado of full Indian red tone of colour, walls of pale celadon tint, and a frieze painted in monochrome, in continuous subjects apposite to the uses of the various rooms, which are thus covered with tiles, in one grand design, from floor to ceiling. ”

“ Jugs are another speciality of this firm, and they are produced in almost endless variety; many of the arabesque patterns are of great richness and beauty, and are characterized by graceful finish in the enamelling. The same remark will apply to the table flower-pots, which are all that can be desired in form, pattern, and arrangement of colours. Tea and dessert services in great variety are also made in the finest earthenware, and of considerable variety in design. A speciality in tea ware is a charming little teapot, modelled from the one used by the poet Addison. ”