GLOSSARY

Ashworth, Taylor:

When C.J. Mason went bankrupt, the Staffordshire potter Francis Morley acquired the right to his patterns, etc. Morley's partnership with Taylor Ashworth eventually brought this material to George L. Ashworth & Brothers in about 1861. Ashworth's continued many of the patterns for years.

Belleek:

Just when Belleek's distinctive eggshell-thin porcelain was first produced in Ireland's County Fermanagh is uncertain; it was probably in the early 1860s. Under various changes of ownership, the pottery has continued to the present day.

Bodley & Son, E.F.:

Staffordshire potter Edward F. Bodley died in 1881, but his firm continued as E.F. Bodley & Son until 1898. It had begun as E.F. Bodley & Co. in the 1860s.

Ceramic:

A term used to describe any ware made of clay.

Ceramic Wares:

A general term for the products of the potter.

China:

Strictly speaking, china means porcelain, but it is often used in a wider sense. A Canadian "china merchant," for example, dealt in all kinds of ceramic goods. A "china cupboard" is a place to keep ceramic wares.

Clementson Brothers:

The Clementson brothers were the sons of Staffordshire potter Joseph Clementson (1794-1871). Joseph retired in the 1860s and, from about 1865 to 1916, the firm continued as Clementson Bros.

Copeland:

William Taylor Copeland (1797-1868) took a partner (Thomas Garrett) in 1833 and acquired the Spode Works. The partnership was dissolved in 1847, and from then until 1970 the business operated under the Copeland name. In 1970 it became Spode Limited.

Creamware:

Earthenware of a cream colour.

Davenport:

John Davenport (1765-1848) was potting on his own account in Staffordshire by 1794. He retired in the 1830s and sons carried on. The Davenport business closed in 1887.

Dion:

The Dion family had long been established in the L'Ancienne-Lorette area when one member of the family became a potter in the 1850s. From then until about 1915, there were Dions potting in the area.

Earthenware:

A clay body, opaque when fired and porous before glazing.

Farrar:

The Farrars, long-experienced Vermont potters, brought their knowledge and skills to St. Johns, Quebec before mid-nineteenth century. The last member of the family to carry on potting there died in 1927.

Flight, Barr and Barr:

In 1817, when John Neilson purchased his Worcester porcelain, the manufactory, which dated back to mid-eighteenth century, was operated by Joseph Flight, Martin Barr Jr. and George Barr. It was known as Flight, Barr and Barr from 1813 to 1840.

Glaze:

A glass-like coating used on ceramic wares.

Herculaneum pottery:

Earthenware from the Herculaneum Pottery (1796-1840) was described in Canadian advertisements as "much admired." It was offered in dinner, tea, supper, breakfast and toilet sets. The firm also made porcelain.

Ironstone China:

High-fired, strong earthenware, known also by other names, such as stone china, opaque china, etc.

Limoges:

The porcelain industry of Limoges expanded dramatically in the nineteenth century. Important in it was David Haviland (1814-1879), an American, who settled in Limoges in 1842. Other members of the Haviland family were also in the porcelain business.

Mason, Charles James:

Though Charles James Mason (1791-1856) took out the patent for Ironstone China, his father — Staffordshire potter Miles Mason — was almost certainly involved with the experiments for it. When C.J. Mason went bankrupt in 1848, others acquired the right to use the famous name and patterns.

Minton, Thomas:

In the 1790s new names were coming to the fore in Staffordshire. Thomas Minton (1766-1836) was one of them. He founded a firm that became a continuing and prominent part of the ceramic world. Wares produced under his successors were particularly admired in Victorian Canada.

Painted Decoration:

Done by hand, blue was underglaze, but most colours were overglaze and were known as enamel colours.

Parian:

A porcelain imitating marble in appearance.

Pearlware:

An earthenware whiter in appearance than creamware.

Porcelain:

A clay body that, when fired, is usually hard, white, non-porous and translucent.

Pottery:

Any ware of baked clay could be called pottery, but the term is usually reserved for the various types of earthenware.

Saint-Fond, Barthélémy Faujas de:

De Saint-Fond (1741-1819), a geologist, was the first to prove conclusively the volcanic origin of basalt, in a work published in 1778. He was an early balloonist and wrote a treatise on the science of operating lighter-than-air aircraft (1783). He visited Great Britain and in 1797 published Voyage en Angleterre, en Écosse et aux Îles Hébrides. This was a series of records of scientific subjects mingled with notices of British manufactures, etc. An English, two-volume translation followed in 1799.

Salt-glazed Stoneware:

As made by Canadian potters, this was a clay body fired to the point of vitrification and glazed by throwing common salt into the kiln at maximum temperature. The chemical effect of the decomposing salt, acting on surface compounds in the stoneware, resulted in a thin coating of glaze.

Spode:

The exact date when Josiah Spode II (1755-1827) introduced his Stone China is in question. By 1817, however, it had attracted the attention of Queen Charlotte, who visited the Staffordshire firm's London showrooms and gave an order for it.

Sponged Ware:

Earthenware with decoration effected originally by means of designs cut from the roots of sponges and stamped on before glazing. Sometimes there was no formal design, the colour being merely dabbed on.

Transfer Printing:

A semi-mechanical method of decoration by which a design was "transferred" from an engraved copperplate to an already fired ceramic article by means of a flexible material, such as specially prepared paper tissues.

Victorian:

Relating to the Victorian Period; Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901.

Walley, Edward:

Walley was another Staffordshire potter who filled special orders from Canada. In business under his own name alone from about mid-century until 1865 (not 1856 as is sometimes given), he produced wares printed with a French-Canadian nationalist slogan.

Wedgwood, Josiah:

Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) came from a long line of Staffordshire potters. His most famous product was jasper, a stoneware body which, under certain circumstances, could become translucent like porcelain. But it was his perfected creamware that was his most influential contribution to ceramic technology. His varied skills (as a potter, a designer, an organizer of factory management) set him apart from many of his contemporaries and brought him to the front rank of world potters. After his death, his sons continued the business.

It was while Josiah Wedgwood II was in charge that a Wedgwood cousin, Joseph Wedgwood II, set up as a china, glass and earthenware importer in Montreal (in 1816). He was not an agent of the pottery but documents show he was being supplied, for some part of his stock, by Josiah II. Joseph Wedgwood was not a business success in Canada and after only a few years he returned to England.

Wood, Enoch:

Wood (1759-1840) produced many North American scenes on his Staffordshire earthenware, his sales target for them being the United States. He also produced many other printed views. A Montreal agent promoted their sale in Canada.

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