Catalogue of the Collection of English Porcelain in the Department of British and Mediaeval Antiquities and Ethnography of the British Museum (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1905 edition. Excerpt: ... to ' Bogh' and 'Chellsea' productions. It is, indeed, possible that these figures were of earthenware and not porcelain, but on the other hand figures seem to have been a specialty of the Derby works from the first. As early as December, 1756, a sale was held in London 'by order of the Proprietors of the Derby Porcelain Manufactory' of 'A Curious Collection of fine Figures, Jars, Sauceboats, Services for Deserts and a great variety of other useful and ornamental Porcelain, after the finest Dresden models, ' and in May, 1757, a similar sale notice informs us that 'the Quality and Gentry' in London ' admired at the great Perfection the Derby Figures in particular, are arrived to, that many good Judges could not distinguish them from the real Dresden V Making all allowance for the exaggeration of an advertisement, it is difficult to imagine that such a considerable position had been attained by a factory of less than a year's standing, working on entirely new materials. Where then was the nursery of Derby porcelain? Two solutions to the problem have been suggested. An extensive pot-works had been for some time4 established on the Cockpit Hill. There is little doubt that porcelain was made there at one time, for at the sale of the works in 1780 the advertisements speak of a 'large quantity of earthen and china ware from the Pot works on Cock-pit Hill, in Derby, being the stock-in-trade of Messrs. John and Christopher Heath, of Derby, Bankrupts.' John Heath was partner with Duesbury in the Derby Porcelain works after 1756, and it is just possible that the manufacture of porcelain may have originated in experiments at the Cockpit Hill pottery, and, when sufficiently mature, may have been removed to a separate factory under the guidance of...