CHAPTER XVII

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POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.

The First Porcelain made here.--Bonnin and Morris.--Franklin Institute.--William Ellis Tucker.--Tucker and Hemphill.--Thomas Tucker.--General Tyndale.--Porcelain of T. C. Smith and Sons.--Early Advertisements.--Josiah Wedgwood.--Lord Sheffield's Report.--Alexander Hamilton's Report.--History of Norwich.--Samuel Dennis, New Haven.--Isaac Hanford, Hartford.--Gallatin's Report.--The "Washington Pitchers."--Lyman and Fenton, Vermont.--Rouse and Turner, New Jersey.--Potteries at Trenton.--In Ohio.--The Centennial Exhibition.

Doubts have been expressed whether PORCELAIN was made in the United States as early as 1770; though there was no question as to the existence of the true china-clays, and that Wedgwood and other potters in England knew of them and had used them. More, they were fearful that they would be put to use in this country, to the injury of their trade.

The investigations of Charles Henry Hart, Esq., of Philadelphia, seem to remove the doubt as to the making of porcelain in that city as early as 1769 or 1770. Looking over the newspapers, he finds, under date of December 29, 1769, an advertisement as follows:

"NEW CHINA-WARE.--Notwithstanding the various difficulties and disadvantages which usually attend the introduction of any important manufacture into a new country, the proprietors of the china-works now erecting in Southwark have the pleasure to acquaint the public that they have proved to a certainty that the clays of America are productive of as good PORCELAIN as any heretofore manufactured at the famous factory in Bow, near London," etc.

Subsequently other advertisements appeared for apprentices, etc., signed by G. Bonnin and G. A. Morris. This would seem conclusive. Mr. Hart also states that some specimens of the work then made are deposited in the Franklin Institute of his city.

It is not likely that the work reached a commercial success, or that it was long continued.

Subsequently porcelain was made and decorated in that city by Messrs. Tucker and Hemphill, as will clearly appear from the following communications.

Mr. Thomas Tucker prepared for the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, in 1868, this brief statement:

"William Ellis Tucker, my brother, was the first to make porcelain in the United States. My father, Benjamin Tucker, had a china-store in Market Street, in the city of Philadelphia, in the year 1816. He built a kiln for William in the yard back of the store, where he painted in the white china, and burnt it on in the kiln, which gave him a taste for that kind of work.

"After that he commenced experimenting with the different kinds of clays, to see if he could not make the ware. He succeeded in making a very good opaque ware, called 'queen's-ware.' He then commenced experimenting with feldspar and kaolin to make porcelain, and, after much labor, he succeeded in making a few small articles of very good porcelain. He then obtained the old water-works at the northwest corner of Schuylkill Front and Chestnut Streets, where he erected a large glazing-kiln, enameling-kiln, mills, etc.

"He burnt kiln after kiln, with very poor success. The glazing would crack and the body would blister; and, besides, we discovered that we had a man who placed the ware in the kiln, who was employed by some interested parties in England to impede our success.

"Most of the handles were found in the bottom of the seggars[17] after the kiln was burnt. We could not account for it until a deaf-and-dumb man in our employment detected him running his knife around each handle as he placed them in the kiln.

"At another time every piece of china had to be broken before it could be taken out of the seggar. We always washed the round O's--the article in which the china was placed in the kiln--with silex, but this man had washed them with feldspar, which, of course, melted, and fastened every article to the bottom; but William discharged him, and we got over that difficulty.

"In the year 1827 my brother received a silver medal from the Franklin Institute of Pennsylvania, and in 1831 received one from the Institute in New York. In 1828 I commenced to learn the different branches of the business.

"On the 22d of August, 1832, my brother William died. Some time before, he connected himself with the late Judge Hemphill. They purchased the property at the southwest corner of Schuylkill Sixth and Chestnut Streets, where they built a large store-house and factory, which they filled with porcelain. After the death of my brother, Judge Hemphill and myself continued the working of porcelain for some years, until he sold out his interest to a company of Eastern gentlemen; but, being unfortunate in their other operations, they were not able to give the porcelain attention. In the year 1837 I undertook to carry it on alone, and did so for about one year, making a large quantity of very fine porcelain, many pieces of which I still have.

"The gilding and painting are now as perfect as when first done."

Mr. Tucker presented at this time a piece of the work, which is now in the collection at Philadelphia.

In addition to this I give a communication from General Hector Tyndale, which adds confirmation to the above:

"About the years 1760 to 1770 potteries were established in the United States--notably at Philadelphia--of which few records now remain. But they attracted the attention of the English potters, as may be seen by a letter from Josiah Wedgwood (page 367, Meteyard's 'Life of Wedgwood,' London, 1865), wherein he expressed apprehension of the effect of these upon British 'trade and prosperity.'

"Porcelain-works, to which Mr. Elliott alludes, were established in Philadelphia (corner of Schuylkill Sixth and Chestnut Streets) about the year 1830, Judge Hemphill being among the most prominent of the founders of them. The wares made were of very good, and, in some respects, of excellent qualities. The products were white and decorated table and tea services, and decorative wares. The 'body' was very good, being hard, dense, tough, and translucent, quite vitreous, with sharp and clear ring, and withstanding great and rapid changes of temperature. In appearance it somewhat resembled the French (Limoges) porcelain of that day, and, in durability and use, that of Berlin, and quite equal to either. The glaze was good, and well adapted to receive colors. The forms were copies of the French and English of the time, and these were almost always bad. The ornamentation was generally poorly copied from the English or French, or, if original, was decidedly worse. English, French, and German artisans were imported, but whatever skill these may have had was soon lost, owing perhaps to the want of comparative and competitive productions, and also to the want of taste among the general buyers and the public. So far as ornament was concerned, and a knowledge of æsthetic rules or a prevailing _sense_ of beauty and fitness were involved, this attempt at manufacture was premature. These works continued, with a diminishing success, for several years; and the founders, who lost much money in the establishment, deserve much credit for their serious and wellnigh successful effort.

"At present there are porcelain-works near New York--at Greenpoint, and perhaps elsewhere--making very good and enduring wares, of excellent 'body' and glaze, but of coarse and inartistic form and ornament."

The porcelain-factory last spoken of is that of T. C. Smith and Sons, which, at the Centennial Exhibition, made a creditable display.

Through the courtesy of Mr. Prime, editor of the "Hand-Book of the New York Museum of Art," I am able to give some extracts essential to this brief history:

"When Delft pottery began to be used for table and household purposes in England, it is probable that small quantities found their way to this country, but neither crockery nor porcelain took the place of pewter and wood on American tables, and the importations increased but slowly with the increase of population and wealth. Wooden trenchers, pewter dishes, mugs, water-pitchers, etc., continued in general use until the present century. By an examination of early newspapers we are enabled to learn much of the character of the table-furniture which dealers advertised for sale, and these were probably alike in all parts of the country. We find pewter always prominent. In the _New Haven Gazette_ of September 30, 1784, a druggist advertises Wedgwood mortars and pestles. In the same paper, October 21st, a dealer advertises 'blue and white stone-ware, consisting of butter-pots, jars, and cans;' also 'quart, pint, and half-pint water-flasks; matted ditto; spaw ditto; Bristol ditto.' In the same paper, November 25th, a dealer advertises 'queen's-ware in small crates, well assorted,' which had been imported direct to New Haven; and, December 2d, he advertises 'English china cups and saucers.' On November 4, 1784, the same dealer advertised 'a large assortment of coarse stone-ware in crates, large round bottles holding nearly two quarts, in small, convenient hampers, and quart, pint, and half-pint flasks,' with a discount to those who buy large quantities. This last advertisement may refer to wares made in America. In 1785 we find advertised 'Nottingham, queen's, china, and glass ware.' 'Nottingham ware' had long been a popular name in England for brown potteries, originally made at Nottingham, and the name continued in use here until a very recent date.

"Bricks and ruder forms of pottery were made in New England in the eighteenth, and possibly in the seventeenth, century. Investigations in progress may elicit information now wanting on this subject. Josiah Wedgwood, in a letter written in 1765, speaks of a pottery then projected in the Carolinas of whose work he had great apprehensions, and seems to desire some government interference to prevent the colonies from making their own pottery and thus injuring the home business. Before the end of the eighteenth century many potteries were established in various parts of the country, but, so far as is now known, no articles were produced except the ordinary coarser kinds of household utensils.

"'A Brief Examination of Lord Sheffield's Observations on the Commerce of the United States,' by Matthew Carey, was printed in successive numbers of the _American Museum_, in 1791, and was collected in a volume, printed the same year at Philadelphia, with a supplementary note on 'The Present State of American Manufactures,' etc. On pages 126 and 127 he has the following observations: 'Manufactures of glass, of earthen-ware, and of stone, mixed with clay, are all in an infant state. From the quantity and variety of the materials which must have been deposited by Nature in so extensive a region as the United States, from the abundance of fuel which they contain, from the expense of importation, and loss by fracture, which falls on glass and earthen wares, from the simplicity of many of these manufactures, and from the great consumption of them, impressions of surprise at this state of them, and a firm persuasion that they will receive the early attention of foreign or American capitalists, are at one produced. Coarse tiles, and bricks of an excellent quality, potter's wares, all in quantities beyond the home consumption, a few ordinary vessels and utensils of stone mixed with clay, some mustard and snuff bottles, a few flasks or flagons, a small quantity of sheet-glass and of vessels for family use, generally of the inferior kinds, are all that are now made.'

"Hamilton's return of exports of the United States from August, 1789, to September, 1790, printed in the appendix to Carey's book, gives, for earthen and glass ware, nineteen hundred and ninety dollars.

"In Miss Caulkins's 'History of Norwich,'