Chats on OldEarthenware
BY
ARTHUR HAYDEN
AUTHOR OF"CHATS ON OLD CHINA," "CHATS ON OLD PRINTS," ETC.
WITH A COLOURED FRONTISPIECE
AND 150 ILLUSTRATIONS, AND TABLES
OF OVER 200 ILLUSTRATED MARKS
NEW YORK
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
1909
(All rights reserved.)
TO
MY OLD FRIEND
WALTER EASSIE
WHOSE FINE ENTHUSIASM HAS BEEN
A STIMULANT, AND WHOSE EVER-READY
HELP HAS ADDED MANY ARTISTIC
TOUCHES TO THIS
VOLUME.
PREFACE
Five years have now elapsed since the publicationof my volume, "Chats on English China," and in theinterval a great number of readers have written tome suggesting that I should write a companionvolume dealing with old English earthenware. Itis my hope that this complementary volume willprove of equal value to that large class of collectorswho desire to know more about their hobby but arefearful to pursue the subject further without specialguidance.
It is a matter for congratulation in these days,when so many books have only a short life for oneseason, to know that, owing to the enterprise of mypublisher in making the "Chats" Series for collectorsso widely known, the volume dealing with oldEnglish China still retains its vitality, and holds itsplace as a popular guide to collecting with profit.
As far as is possible in the limits of this volume,the subject of old English earthenware has beendealt with in order to show how peculiarly nationalthe productions of the potter have been. The collectionof old English earthenware, in the main, is still[10]within the reach of those who have slender purses.English china during the last decade has reachedprohibitive prices, and there is every likelihood thatold English earthenware will in the near futurebecome of unprecedented value.
I have carefully refrained from confining mytreatment of the subject to rare museum exampleswhich are unlikely to come under the hand of theaverage collector. It is necessary to have the idealin view, but it must be borne in mind that suchspecimens must always be ideal to the larger numberof collectors. I have, therefore, without belittlingthe old potters' art, given considerable attention tothe golden mean in the realm of old earthenwareto be collected.
The two volumes—"Chats on English China,"which mainly consists of an outline history ofEnglish china, with hints as to its collection, andthe present volume, "Chats on English Earthenware,"with a faithful résumé of the work of theold English potters—together form a record ofwhat has been done by the potter in England, andare intended to be practical working handbooks forthe collector of old English china and Englishearthenware.
The illustrations in this volume have been carefullychosen to illustrate the letterpress, and toenable readers to identify specimens that may comeunder th