Chapter III: Part 3

Half a century ago Winchester Cathedral in the winter was decidedly cold, and on occasions some of those small choir boys, who found little warmth and comfort from their white linen surplices, now and then collapsed during the services. Candles may have answered the purpose of providing all the illumination required, but they were hardly a flaming success for heating purposes. In the records of the deliberation of the Dean and Chapter at that time there would be a resolution to pay Mr. Edward Sheppard, of the Bishop’s Palace, a certain sum to provide each of the youthful songsters entrusted to his care with a pot of porter each day with their dinners. Which denotes there was no Pussyfoot in that Chapter. Mr. Sheppard, whose name I use with all respect, was most particular as to his pupils’ cleanliness, and every morning held a hand and neck inspection in the long hall by the entrance door. To illustrate that he had a mind for the internal as well as the external frames which filed past him he once a week, being provided with a bowl of brimstone and treacle, administered a tablespoonful to each boy. If Mr. Sheppard had given the same scrutiny to the big can in which the porter was drawn from the barrel there would have been no heel taps in our pewter pots, but as the can was rarely washed out, and the porter left from one day was frothed up when being filled the next, the result, so far as benefit to the boys was concerned, must have been flat, stale, and unprofitable.

No writer refers oftener to the pewter pot than does Charles Dickens, and he might have said of me, as he did of Master Micawber, “He was brought up to the Church.”

In the book of the chronicles of Pickwick the reader can easily find the text suitable for my discourse. That great and good man with his host of friends used the pewter pot with such effect that it would be a national scandal to allow it to be relegated to the lumber shop. Old Pickwick and old pewter are synonymous, and so let us keep his memory alive by preserving the main medium of his hospitable and generous nature. Time is changing everything so ruthlessly that unless some of us have a care the passing of the pewter pot will become an absolute fact. To guard against such a calamity, and to preserve models of a commodity which played so important a part in the episodes that made life in England all the brighter for its presence in past centuries, I have gathered together a representative array of old pewter pots, many bearing quaint inscriptions, which, if they could speak for themselves, would enable me to treat you to a chapter replete with true stories of adventure, love, crime, deeds of chivalry, and scenes of woe which no imagination could evolve.

What of the “70th Regiment” cup? What stirring episodes has that been through?--among others, probably the Afghan War of 1840. I do know that the “Shipwrights’ Arms’, Limehouse Hole,” pint took part in, and survived, the Indian Mutiny bivouacs and battlefields, as it was given by the then landlord to a soldier just before leaving home. I specially prize this; it has written on the front before the address the name, “D. Saul,” alongside which is the toper’s big initial, “K,” and the number of his peg or hook on which it hung, “55,” on the bottom. This number would be seen when looked up at from the floor.

If Pickwick has us in hand, we shun the battle and resort to the bottle, so let us look in at the “Windmill, Dartford,” and see what manner of men were there. Surely not smugglers on the banks of the Thames? Of about the same period, what was the “Wellington, Shepherd’s Bush,” like? Rather a swagger inn, probably, judging by the beaded pattern of the mug, which was supplied or made by “W. R. Loftus, 146, Oxford Street,” who has been, and will be, a long time dead. At the “Feathers” at Chiswick, and “Hope,” Islington, they must have had quite high-class callers, or why the lip on the tankards unless it were to pour the contents into beakers? The customers at all inns were so diversified in character that I see no reason why the same measure should not have done for the post-boy on his frequent calls, for the parish priest on duty bent, or later by the highwayman in a hurry, if they held it in the left hand and turned the lip of the pot skywards.

From London to the “Blackburn Arms,” Hale, situated on the Mersey, an old-time village, and home of the Ireland Blackburne family, was a long journey by road in those days, and the pewter pot would be in great request. I warrant this particular one was handed back many a time with a determination to “Have another, and dom the expense.”

When I came across the pint inscribed “Post Office Hotel, Church Street, Soho,” I wrote to a Fleet Street friend asking him to find out a likely date for it, and after making enquiries he reported he could find neither the hotel nor Church Street, and that the oldest man he had seen in Soho (a sexton, I think) could tell him nothing about either. The same friend was here one night, and I left him looking at these pewter pots. I heard a Fleet Street exclamation of surprise, and when I enquired the reason he held up the “Baker’s Arms’, Waltham Abbey,” pint, saying, “Why, I was born close to the Baker’s Arms.”

The “Post Office Hotel” brings the post-boy of old to my mind, and I turn to the oldest book I possess, given to me by my father, in which he wrote my name in 1861. “The Sporting Scrap Book,” by Henry Alken, containing fifty plates, designed and engraved by himself, published by Thomas McLean, 26, Haymarket, 1824. I have always treasured this book, and the coloured prints are as good to-day as ever. I was wondering how often the pewter pot appeared in Alken’s drawings, and I find twice. The first is entitled “The Post-Boy,” who with a pair of harnessed horses has just called for drinks for himself and his horses, and no sooner has he got his than he has the pot to his lips. The shape is similar to the “Post Office Hotel” pint, but probably the “Post-Boy” needed a quart, for the pewter pot is as tall as his pot hat. In the second picture Alken shows a pewter pot with almost as much “frill” on the top as there is round the cap of the woman who holds it, and this one is also the same shape, which confirms my impression that the “Post Office Hotel” pint pot is about 100 years old.

I now turn my attention from the handy pints to the capacious quart pots, just the things to wash down a breakfast with; pause and conjecture what “lovely” thirsts they must have had! It was quite the custom to put the landlord’s monogram on the front, and the name of the tavern on the bottom of the mugs; there again is a theme for reflection. As a reason, I think we may assume there were kleptomaniacs, souvenir hunters, and sneak thieves in the far gone times, just as there are to-day, and by marking in this way it would limit the loss to the latter class, who would sell the things for old metal. These big mugs would well set off a table on which were pewter plates anything from nine to twenty inches in diameter. Although I have studied all the books written on old pewter, I have failed to find that it was always a case of “One man, one quart,” and am forced to the conclusion that there may have been odd occasions when more than one shared.

To get back to the pots illustrated, does any living man know where the “Baptist Head,” High Holborn, stood? It is perhaps typical of the country that the largest and heaviest quart comes from Ireland, and from the battered condition it was in when I got it, I surmised it had often been used to add weight to an argument.

My eye now wanders to the fine old loving cup made by John Edwards about 1750. This has a glass bottom to prove to all users how clear were its contents, and I wonder to what extent it has been used at family gatherings for weddings, christenings, and buryings, and the very important part it has played in making them all enjoyable. Glance at that copious lidded jug, and mulled ale at once suggests itself; can you not hear the horn that gives warning of the stage coach, the bustle at the “Queen’s Hotel” (called after Mary, Elizabeth, or Anne, probably), or imagine the anxiety of the passengers to test the brew, and how quickly the jug would be emptied on a cold journey, while on warmer days the flat-bottomed jug, full to the brim with foaming beer, would be equally welcome? Some of the pots are fitted with a strainer at the lip, and this would be most useful in the period of poor lighting and typical practical joking by keeping hops, flies, wasps, cockroaches, or perhaps an odd mouse, out of the mouth of the customer using the mug. It would also be requisite to use the funnel when filling passengers’ flasks, most travellers were no doubt provided with the latter of no mean size. The funnel shown is dated 1698, while a particular flask I illustrate is a fine specimen; probably its original owner was a man of grit, for roughly engraved on one end is “PRO DAOS ET REGE,” a fitting toast when the custom was “The Passing of the Pewter Pot.”

PLATE XXIV.]

PLATE XXV.]

You will, I hope, be interested in a study of the variety of shapes and handles on the photographs, but you need to handle these old things to realise their fascination; even if they bear no inscription or maker’s mark, some of the early Excise marks, “G.R.” or “W.R.” with various town crests, are worth looking at. Could you examine the bottoms you would find red cut glass, plain glass (Waterford possibly), wood and pewter, double and single pewter bottoms, some with holes in their bottoms through age and ill usage, while one has no bottom at all, so you can’t knock the bottoms out of that. One of the quart measures bears the initials and touch mark of George Bagshaw, who was enrolled on the list of the Freemen of the Pewterers Company in 1826; it is boldly stamped with a crown, and the words “Imperial Standard” with a small stamp “Crown W.R.” with “W.W.” under. I am not sure what “W.W.” stands for, but believe it will be the initials of the Excise Inspector, and that this measure would be the Imperial standard whereby the quart measures in a certain locality were tested. The list of inscriptions given should not fail to entertain; some are quaint and there may be one or two that a reader will recall, but I imagine that most of the addresses have ceased to exist.

This remark does not apply to the Old Whyte Harte Hotel at Wisbeach (now spelt Wisbech), for that is the present day Izaac Walton Association House. My set of measures was made by Grimes, of London, for J. Hill, the landlord in 1880.

INSCRIPTIONS.

Quart T. B., Crown.
Lidded Jug W. T. S., Queen’s Hotel.
Quart, Lipped G. Bamden. Wenlock Brewery Tap.
Pint ” Sportsman.
Beaker H. Mattock, Malt Shovel, Dartford.
Pint E. H. Bakers’ Arms, Waltham Abbey.
” W. Bullin, Bears Paw Inn.
Quart A. Johnston, Baptist Head, High Holborn.
Pint G. C. Collier, Catherine Wheel, near Brentford.
” D. Saul, Shipwrights Arms, Limehouse Hole.
Lipped Pint Hope, Islington.
Pint Canteen, 70th Regt.
” J. E. B., The Feathers, Chiswick.
Quart, Lipped G. Thompson, Tipperary.
” J. C. D., Montague Arms, Peckham.
Pint C. M.--C. Mannerson, Windmill, Dartford.
” Lipped J. T. R., Duke’s Head, Leman St., Southwark.
Pint Post Office Hotel, Church St., Soho.
” Blackburn Arms.
” G. M. Wellington, Shepherds Bush.
” G. A. Y., King’s Arms, Woolwich.
” John Machin, Bimm. Tavern.
” A. B., Black Lion, Kingston.
” W. E., Flying Scud, Sutton St., Comml. Rd.
” Nichols, Court Sampson, Thomas St.
” Robt. Moor, Cockermouth in Cumberland.
” T. Forman, 35, Brompton Rd.
Quart, Lipped Courtenay Arms, Starcross.
Pint Barclay Perkins & Co. J. Nolan.
Quart J. Hill, White Hart Hotel Wisbeach.

The collection continues to increase, and I have recently acquired a quart, mark “S.C.” inscribed “Longden White, Ewell, 1820.” Another, which belonged to W. James, Welney, marked four lions--a lipped quart by Geradin & Watson, stamped “G.R.” 1826, and lastly a quart pot-bellied measure by W. Nettleford, early 19th century, being the only measure of this shape which I have seen fitted with a lip. I must now end this potty discourse, and on pondering for a fitting quotation wherewith to conclude, I can think of none more suitable than one which I trow good King Hal is not likely to have used when ruminating on his bunch of wives--“Let ’em all come.”

THE MYSTERY PIECE (_See_ Plate XXVII, facing p. 75).

I have given this title to the photograph I recently had taken for various reasons which I will now particularise. Most books contain a mystery of some kind and the creation in many instances must cause the author much anxious thought, but in my case the mystery is real up to the time of writing; possibly soon after this appears in print the mystery will be explained by some kind correspondent who possesses a similar piece. In the first place, I know not its proper name, so must call it for the time being “the piece.” Where I obtained it will remain a mystery to the reader, but how I happened to become its possessor I will readily relate, and in doing so I confirm my previous statement that you never know your luck when collecting.

In the early part of 1919 business called me to London on several occasions, and as many readers will have had unpleasant experiences of the hotel accommodation there at that time they will not be surprised to hear that I made arrangements with friends who live in a fine old town umpteen miles from the City to take me in. On a visit in June I was walking to the station to catch the morning train to take me to London when I passed a broker’s shop and of course stopped. Among a lot of furniture and odds and ends I noticed “the piece,” and I thought at first it was a brass water bottle from India, but on further consideration I felt sure it was pewter, so I essayed to walk in, but locks, bolts and bars defied resistance, while no one took heed of the noise I was making. In the end I had to rush for the train. Business over I returned and was met at the station by a lady friend. I am afraid I hurried her along to the shop where I saw “the piece” still perched. I tried the door again, but it was still fastened, so I started knocking. My friend then informed me it was no use as it was the half holiday, but I was determined to get in if I rattled all night. At length I was admitted, found “the piece” was real old pewter, was informed they had had it a fortnight, and that it was a ROSE VASE, but they didn’t know where it came from. There are antique shops in that town, and this was just the sort of thing they could have done with, so my picking it up when on a flying visit was most fortunate.

Bed Pan which has been converted into the Faked “Alms-Dish.”

PLATE XXVI.]

PLATE XXVII.]

On returning to my real home “the piece” was much admired for its antique appearance and I was told I should spoil it if I had anything done to it, so I had it photographed in the state I found it. It bore no maker’s marks and the shape was quite unknown to me, so I wrote to three pewter connoisseurs sending them each a photograph giving dimensions and weight and asking them to give me its name and age. These are the opinions I received:

No. 1:

“Your VESSEL seems to be a VASE and latish. I
have never seen one like it.” And later he kindly
wrote: “The more I think of your pewter JAR the more
convinced I am that it dates about 1750.”

No. 2 said:

“I thank you for the photograph of the interesting VASE or BOTTLE, for those are the only possible names one can give to the piece.”

No. 3. wrote:

“I have seen two or three of the pieces your photograph shows but have never found out their purpose. I have heard them described as 1. LAVERS for the water in Baptism. 2. WATER BOTTLE used in Tavern parlours, and I think the latter is more probable.”

So you see I had then six names for it, and lately when my Irish friend was here I asked him his opinion and he said, “It reminds me of ‘Rebecca at the Well.’” This set me longing to see what it looked like when Rebecca used it, so I got a painter to remove the corrosion with caustic and lime, as I had no bath mixture on tap, then I took it to my tinsmith and spent some time quaking--you understand me--for fear he should hole it or do something awful, but he straightened it, tapped out the dinges, and soon got it into its original shape. Strange to say it is the only piece of pewter in my collection which I prefer to see looking dull, the reason why is another mystery, but I have stopped having it polished up brightly like the rest. I really believe it is the oldest specimen in my collection, certainly it is the most antique in shape. It is nine inches high and its weight (2½ lbs.) denotes it was made when thick metal was worked with, and that is a sure sign of old times. It will not go with any pewter I possess, it makes it all appear comparatively modern, and so we have to allot it a position by itself on an old oak chest, and here I will leave “The Mystery Piece,” with this poser--is it early Georgian or ogygian?

_THIRD COURSE_

Old Brass and Copper

Modern Antique--The Turling Pin--The Duck Carver--Scotch Measures--When Matches were Scarce--Wexford in Wales--Snuff-boxes and Other Things.

I have only small collections of brass and copper to exhibit, and my reasons for buying these you see were mainly that often I had been poking about for pewter, and finding none, rather than waste the shopkeeper’s time for nothing I would purchase a bit of old brass or copper, if I happened to notice any piece I judged worth having. It is often difficult to identify old brass, and the quantity of “antique” that was manufactured in Birmingham alone, some years before the war, must have been very extensive. I found it nearly everywhere I went, and still see much of it about.

To instance the worth of my statement I remember, when in Scotland, I mentioned to a collector friend that I should like to have a turling pin, which is a combined knocker and latch, for I had seen such a thing spoken of in a book I had just been reading. Not long afterwards I received a parcel containing a turling pin, which I found at once was new brass that had been in an acid bath for discoloration, and to give it the necessary old appearance. My friend wrote that he had been fortunate in getting this for 16s. and the antique dealer had assured him it had come out of an old house at, I think, Inverness. I returned the find, with thanks, and I do not know my Scotsman if he failed to get his money back. I am still without a turling pin, though I have one genuine old knocker from Ripon, which is on a door where it ought to be, so you will not find it on the photograph.

In the summer of 1911 I had a fine specimen of a corn which I carried in my boot, and while in an antique shop I knocked it against something black that had been put on the floor to keep a door open. I looked down to see what had caused the pain and my regrettable exclamation, and was informed, “it was a lead ink-stand, and did it hurt?” I knew it was decidedly hard metal from my experience, so I gave half-a-crown for it, with the idea of having my revenge by cleaning the clumsy brute, for he had no right to be carving a duck in the beastly black state he was in. This class of ink-stand was made in Birmingham about eighty years ago.

Brass and copper as antiques have much to recommend them, as no matter what state they may be in when found, they can very soon be made presentable by a good rubbing with metal polish. These metals preserve themselves remarkably well for centuries, hence it is that occasionally rare old specimens can be found by anyone with their eyes skinned. The fine 12 in. brass pot, with lion head ring handles and claw feet, I saw in a second-hand shop at Buxton, and bought for seven shillings, but I had to get a hamper to bring it home in. I have other large things, such as warming-pans, chestnut roaster, churchwarden pipe rack, gong, etc., but the inclusion of these would have spoiled the effect of the photograph, and the mortars get a “Course” on their own. You will notice some Scotch thistle-shaped measures; for these I am indebted to a young friend who travelled a good deal, and often came back from Scotland with pewter, brass, or copper. The measures are stamped “Four gills,” “Pint,” “Gill,” “Half-Gill.”

PLATE XXVIII.]

PLATE XXIX.]

Among the brass I hope you will be able to distinguish two uncommon snuff-boxes. One is called “the Horn of Plenty,” and is very old, while the other is hexagonal in shape, is made of cherry wood and brass, and was originally owned and used by Sir Ernest Shackleton’s grandfather. The brass lamp with two snake handles must have special mention. Inside, fitted on a thin wooden circle, there are ten small metal cells, each fitted with a match-head, also a piece of wick and tallow; by pressing the handles together the disc makes a slight turn, striking the match against a jagged fitting, and stopping under the hole, through which the light would (I suppose) burn, until the cell was empty. This was patented about eighty years ago when matches were first invented, but I do not anticipate many were sold, as when all the lights had been burnt a fresh fitment would have to replace the one exhausted, a rather expensive affair.

Tacking brass and copper on to the many other specialities I have gone in for may cause the remark that had I confined myself to a more limited sphere I might have had a finer result in fewer classes, but that would have curtailed the pleasurable excitement of my rambles. Then again, when once you get the collecting fever you are not likely to get the better of it; it is far more likely to get the better of you, and I am of opinion it is better so, provided you do not let it obtain an undue hold on your pocket. It is undoubtedly hard at times to say “No,” but it is more difficult to get rid of a bad bargain. It is a singular trait of character, not altogether limited to collectors, which impels the individual to tell everyone when he secures anything cheap but constrains him to be as close as an oyster when he is done with a “dud,” yet the best tales usually most enjoyed by the hearers are those which tell against the teller.

As regards the copper I am rather afraid of giving a wrong designation to the lipped pan with wood handle. It may have been a posset pot, or a beer-warmer, possibly it was used for both purposes, though not at the same time. The conical shaped warmer would put the pot to bed, as it would heat the mulled ale much quicker by being pushed down to the bottom of the fire, and, what was of more consequence in those days, it held more. The straight measure with a slot cut out at the top bears the inscription “Standard I Pint of the Corporation of Wexford Anno 1810” and is twice stamped “G.R. III.” When I bought it I was assured by the broker that he could swear it was genuine as he knew the man who fetched it out of Wales. I bought this “eneuch measure,” as a French visitor once called it to me, on January 1, 1910, and I remember wondering if this find augured well for the New Year from the collecting point of view, and it turned out quite a prosperous one.

There is a peculiar pewter half-pint Glasgow measure with copper top fitted with an overflow pipe, so that not a drop of the precious liquor would be lost. The two-handled measure is stamped “One-Pint,” so also is the pedestal-shaped one next to it. I do not know the trade name for the four measures with bell mouthpieces or pouring spouts, but I found them and the fine jug at one shop Bolton way. The small funnel is provided with a strainer. There are two powder-flasks on the top and two snuff-boxes on the bottom shelf. What sort of spectacles ever fitted into that heavy spectacle case? But one may conjecture everlastingly with these queer old relics of bygone days and ways.

_FOURTH COURSE_

Old Mortars

I shall only indulge in a short preliminary canter on this course as there are few competitors, and the chances of gaining a prize in this field are rather remote. I was not long before I had bought several bronze mortars, all plain, as I did not know fancy ones existed.

No. 1.--When I found this and bought it, I sent a photograph to the editor of the _Chemist and Druggist_, telling him it had been dredged up from the Liverpool Docks. He submitted the photograph to an expert, and reproduced the photograph in his paper in 1908 with the following remarks:

“Here we have the new Prime Minister, Mr. Asquith in effigy, on a two or three century old mortar. The left projecting wing shows a profile very like that of Mr. Asquith. The firmly sealed lips probably represent the receptive condition of his mind when the suggestions of subjects for new taxation fall upon his ear, and the features between the profile may, perhaps, bear some resemblance to the horrified expression worn by brewery directors, and those interested in the ‘Trade’ generally, on the morning following the introduction of the Licensing Bill. The type is Portuguese or Spanish, and probably of the sixteenth or seventeenth century. The projections, which so resemble a human profile are a feature of this type of Mortar.”

Size 5 in. diameter, 3½ in. high, weight 4 lbs.

This was encouraging, but put me out of conceit with the plain ones with which I had stocked myself.

The Mortars illustrated are mostly of very uncommon types, and as such specimens are seldom met with I hope their inclusion will be found of interest to the reader whose fancies may run in other directions. For after all, rareness and scarcity are great factors to collectors.

No. 2.--Bronze. I had great difficulty in deciphering the lettering and figures on this owing to wear. They are in two lines, and read “W. aged 69. 74 years Mary and Thomas.” No doubt husband and wife, “W” being the initial letter of their surname. 4½ in. across the top, 4½ in. high, weight 4 lbs.

No. 3.--Bronze. This has upon it a fleur-de-lis, and mitre ornament and would no doubt be seventeenth century. 5½ in. across the top, 4½ in. high, weight 3 lbs.

No. 4.--Bronze. Is a very unusual type in that it has only one handle, while the ornament is artistic. I noticed, soon after I bought this, that an old one-handled metal mortar had been fished up from the Spanish Armada wreck, in Tobermory Bay. 5 in. across top, height 4 in., weight 3 lbs. 2 oz.

No. 5 is made of bright yellow metal. It is 5 in. in diameter, 4 in. high, weighs 3 lb., and has been well finished. Its decoration consists of “C.R.” repeated four times, crowned Tudor-rose, thistle, trefoil, and crowned heart, each divided by a small fleur-de-lis. It was no doubt made by a loyal workman at the restoration of Charles II., and is, I hope, unique. I had trouble when negotiating the purchase, as through a side-slip I divulged that the initials of Charles Rex were the same as my own. Further, the holder was convinced that this mortar had belonged to “the Royal Culinary Department, and was almost worth its weight in gold.” In the end he was converted and evidently satisfied, for he foraged around and gave me an old pestle _after_ I had paid the money.

No. 6 is bronze, 5¼ in. in diameter at the top, 4 in. high, and weighs 4½ lb. When roaming about Kendal on an Easter Sunday I found this standing among “Roman” antiquities in a shop. I bought it on Easter Monday, and am still wondering how old it really is, and how many centuries the antiquary was out in his reckoning. Its appearance in every way indicates great age.

No. 7 is a bronze mortar 6 in. in diameter, 4½ in. high, H weighs 6¼ lb., bears the letters W S also 1735, and is the only dated mortar I possess. It belonged to an old Lancashire family named Hartley. W and S “rang off” some time since, and their Christian names were not ascertained.

No. 8 is the largest and heaviest bronze mortar I have. It is 7 in. in diameter, 5½ in. high, and weighs 13 lb. The decoration is very crude, and I was puzzled as to the meaning until I turned it upside down, when a ram’s head and a shell were evident. In this position the shape takes the form of a bell, and indicates that the makers would use the same mould for bells as for mortars at the period about 1650. I found this just across the Welsh border in Flintshire and had a hard time.

PLATE XXX.]

PLATE XXXI.]

No. 9.--This “Goblet” is a most unusual shape for a brass mortar, and the metal is quite yellow. I was pleased when I found it, and more so when the owner gladly gave it me in exchange for three plain ones of the usual pattern. 4½ in. across top, 5 in. high, weight 4 lbs. 4 ozs.

No. 10. is 7 in. in diameter by 4¼ in. high. After acquiring this I ascertained that the difference between alabaster and marble is that the former is of a softer nature, which accounts for the head of the old pestle being worn to 1½ in. One of the four lugs is grooved for convenience when pouring out fluid mixtures--no doubt the innovation of an up-to-date cash chemist of that go-ahead period.

I have another of an exactly similar character, but 12 inches in diameter, while it has no groove, and an old Waterford glass pestle is with it. The pestles belonging to the metal mortars are all of different patterns.

_FIFTH COURSE_

Old Pottery

A Contrast in Prices--Bethel, Wesley, and Whitfield--Blue and White Plates--Salt Glaze--The Cobbler’s Wife Upstairs--Toby Jugs--Doubts and Uncertainties--Liverpool--The Letter “P”--Vanishing Transfer Printing--Sunderland--Don Pottery--The Useful Mark--A Tuppenny Don--Turner (Lane Ends)--The Worth of a Ladle--Wedgwood--Jasper Ware--Tortoiseshell--Evolution--Puzzle Jugs--Experiments and Remarks--Brown and Buff Stoneware--Nelson Jugs--Contrast and a Caution--Mask Jugs--Advice and an Explanation--Delft--Plates--A Candlestick “Sauce-boat”--Rockingham--The Cadogan Pot--The Snufftaker--Lustre--“All is not gold that glisters”--Dating--Wood, Enoch, and Ralph--A Bust, a Mould, a Word--Notes on the Groups-Pretty Poetry Printed on Pottery--The Willow Pattern--Solving a Problem.

Pottery opens a wide course, gives much chance of success, finds scope for research and discrimination, and has also the advantage of not taking up much room, so the collector can usually hang on to anything he may fancy. In hunting for antiques you get exercise, a certain amount of excitement, and a great deal of uncertainty. It is a fine school for cultivating patience which repays you in the long run. I have times innumerable gone out of my way to pass a certain shop, to be rewarded, quite recently, by finding half a dozen blue and white pottery plates of a pattern I have wanted for years. This was doubly consoling, for my previous purchase there was broken in my pocket. In doing my own collecting of pottery I have had many strange experiences, and several of the pieces have some interesting incident associated with their coming into my possession. As they total over 250 specimens the reminiscences make good reflections, while the finding, tracing, naming and arranging for show on shelves or whatnots to the best advantage has enabled me to pass many and many an hour pleasantly, and the result is always gratifying.

Whenever I chance to be from home I make it a part of my programme to do the old shops; sometimes the old shops do me, but not often. I recently went round the shops of a seaside town and drew a blank, but I saw a jug dated 1806 which I liked. On handling it I was informed it was an old Staffordshire farmer’s jug, with farm implements painted on. The price was £10, and they had already refused £6. I felt uneasy until I had put the jug back on the shelf. In contrast to that, in almost the last inland town I visited by road we pulled up near a second-hand place and the first thing I noticed was a quaint-shaped, very early Staffordshire jug, hand painted, with blue band and some floral decoration, and so I went in. Blowing off the dust which other collectors had failed to disturb, although the town is their hunting-ground, I was told I could have it for a shilling as it was a bit snipped at the bottom. I bought that jug, and I should have been quite ready and pleased to buy the other at a reasonable price. My plough jug cost me five shillings in 1911; it is not dated, but may possibly be prior to 1806.

PLATE XXXII.]

PLATE XXXII

DESCRIBING THE POTTERY

_Shelf 6._ Wesley. Whitfield by Enoch Wood, Loving Cup.

_Shelf 5._ Light blue enamelled Jug by Ralph Wood in centre, other four Jugs early Staffordshire.

_Shelf 4._ See notes on Wedgwood (page 103).

_Shelf 3._ Wood “Ivory” plate. Two Nelson Jugs (see page 106). Two blue printed Staffordshire.

_Shelf 2._ Railway Mug, Sunderland Frog Mug, Loving Cup, Staffordshire Tam-o’-Shanter Frog Mug, Cock-fighting Mug.

_Shelf 1._ Black printed “Prodigal Son” Mug, Milk Bowl, Jugs: George IV., Grace Darling, Disraeli and Earl of Derby, Gladstone and John Bright. Princess Royal Mug.

PLATE XXXIII.]

PLATE XXXIII

DESCRIBING THE POTTERY

_Shelf 5._ Toby (Davenport). The Brewer. The Cobbler’s Wife. The Squire. Hearty Good Fellow (see page 95).

_Shelf 4._ Toby Pepper Pots. Judy Jug. Toby (Davenport). Uncle Toby (early). Brewer. Tobacco Jar. Toby and Clown Pepper Pots.

_Shelf 3._ Brown Glazed Rockingham. Cottage Pastille Burner. Cadogan Pot. Snuff Taker. Lizard Mug. Boot Bottle (see page 107). Harvester’s Bottle (Davenport). Plates--Brameld, Rockingham. Mason’s Ironstone China.

_Shelf 2._ Lustre (see notes on page 107).

_Shelf 1._ Lustre (see notes). Plates: Wedgwood, Queen’s Ware, Lug and Feather border (1790), Minton (early), Minton (_circa_ 1810) (see page 132). Parian Ware (green).

Soon after I set up in the pottery line I espied an old two-handled Wesleyan loving cup, with “BETHEL” painted on the sides in black. While I was examining the mug an elderly gentleman came in from the back room and the following enlightening conversation ensued:

_Moderato_: Good afternoon.
Eh?
_Crescendo_: How much for the mug?
Thruppence.
_Forte_: Where did it come from?
Thruppence.
_Fortissimo_: How old do you consider it?
Thruppence.
_Piano_: Oh, help!

I saw the figure of “Wesley over the Clock” in a small grocery window, and on asking if it was for sale was told “Yes! We are sick to death of seeing him on the mantel”--and then bang went saxpence.

After these reckless purchases it is consoling to remember that the bust of Whitfield by Enoch Wood was given me by a neighbour who fished it out of his lumber room. (_See_ Plate XXXII).

I purchased several pieces at odd times from a man who spoke Yiddish to his wife and broken English to me, and no matter whether the article was Wheildon, Wedgwood, or Worcester, he invariably assured me “It was a fine bit of old Zwanzee.”

On the shelves round two of my rooms I have some quite uncommon dark blue printed plates and dishes, some unmarked, others by Rogers, Challenor, Adams, Spode, Davenport, Turner, also part set of a dinner service with fine illustrations of Pera, Mosque in Latachia, Triumphal Arch, Latachia, Pillar of Absalom. I also have the tureen, which illustrates Eski-Estamboul. One of the dishes is marked “B” and they can with safety be attributed to the Burtons of Hanley, 1820.

A dish in rich blue, illustrating Little Boy Blue blowing his horn for the cows in the meadow and the sheep in the corn; I fail to identify the cow and surmise that on this particular farm these animals must have been very much alike. I espied the rim of this dish nearly hidden on the shelf of a broker and I enquired, “Is that a blue and white dish?” and was answered, “Yes, but it’s more than you’ll pay, we are saving that for a swell who comes in a motor-car.” After this, of course I had to see it, and ascertaining the price paid up at once. I left my name and address and they promised to let me know if they got anything more like it. A few weeks later I received a postcard and caught the earliest train in great expectancy, to find on my arrival a few Willow Pattern dishes. I left these to swell the swell motorist’s collection.

Never mind the absence of marks on the back, for if you desire to decorate you want good illustrations, and these are the main consideration. When a visitor, after contemplating these plates for a time, remarks, “I like your Willow Pattern” when there is no Willow Pattern on view, I usually change the subject and switch on to domestics, as I find so many people are on the look out for these, and I gather from the conversation that in collecting them they have the greatest difficulty in finding good specimens to add lustre and charm to the home.

PLATE XXXIV.]

PLATE XXXIV

DESCRIBING THE POTTERY

_Shelf 6._ Puzzle Jugs, Staffordshire. Pantomime and Harlequin. Leeds black-printed. White, apprentice “G. B.” (see page 105).

_Shelf 5._ Fulham. Doulton Jubilee. Two Brownstone Ware Puzzle Jugs. Copeland Jug. Briddon Salt (see page 108).

_Shelf 4._ Staffordshire: Mask Spout. Barrel Jug. Harlequin. Early Mason. Swansea Mask Spout. Bacchus Mask Jug. Black face Mask Jug.

_Shelf 3._ Early Staffordshire: Wellington and Hill. Whieldon Cottage. Nelson and Hardy. Relief pattern two Jugs.

_Shelf 2._ Staffordshire. “Sportive Innocence.” “Freemason’s Arms.” Blue decoration in the centre. Two Coloured Jug. Wood and Cauldwell.

_Shelf 1._ Sunderland. Wear Bridge, pink. Ship, yellow. Staffordshire. Lodge of Orangemen Jug. “Jovial Boatman.” Queen Caroline Jug.

PLATE XXXV.]

PLATE XXXV

DESCRIBING THE POTTERY

_Shelf 6._ Liverpool (see page 99).

_Shelf 5._ Early hand-painted Mug. Charity. Washington Cup and Saucer. Herculaneum. Pennington. Stage Coach. Early Painted (see page 99).

_Shelf 4._ Leeds Plate in Delft colours. Staffordshire Jug. Yellow Enamelled Jug. Salt glaze: Delft Dish. Castor Oil Spoon. Whieldon (?) Jug. Small lustre painted Jug. (see page 94). Early Spode. Aynsley’s Stone China. Don Pottery Bowl and Plate (see page 102).

_Shelf 3._ Three Delft Plates, one semi-porcelain (see page 107). Jackfield Sugar Bowl. Castleford Teapot. Plough Jug. French Candlestick. Mazarine Blue Jug “S.”

_Shelf 2._ St. Peter. Lustre painted Jug. Blue printed. Mason blue printed. Leeds Mug. Fox-head Cup. Plate: “Poor Richard’s Maxims.” Leeds Spill-holder. Davenport Jug. Bristol blue (marked) Jug. Swansea Rabbit. Bristol Toy Teapot. Rat Catcher’s Daughter. Medicine Measure, double-ended, “Two tablespoonsful” and “One tablespoonful.” The two end figures are translucent.

_Shelf 1._ Wedgwood Centenary, Early Mason. Oddfellow’s Jug. T. Clare (1805). Davenport Presentation Jug. Davenport chocolate and black.

SALT GLAZE

Readers who are familiar with salt glaze will not be surprised when I say that the four pieces shown on Plate XXXV are all that I have fit to be trotted out, and they will probably not be taken aback when I confess to having been absolutely bewildered for some time in distinguishing this class of pottery. I read of £50 being given at, I think, the Bemrose Sale for a little ugly group, and I felt a desire to find something of this sort, though at a somewhat less fancy price. I poked in many a dusty cupboard, and messed myself up continuously for a time, until one day in an auctioneer’s stock-room I dug out a white coffee pot with a pewter lid which I felt sure was salt glaze. When the auctioneer told me I could have it for two shillings if it was any good to me, I thought how little he knew of his business. It takes two to make a bargain, and he was not the fool. I found the coffee pot was salt glaze, but only about fifty years old, so it is again hidden away in a cupboard. I had looked at bits of salt glaze in glass cases under lock and key, so I think of presenting this piece to some museum where, owing to its comparatively small value, visitors may be allowed to touch and examine it under a magnifying glass, but I should first have it labelled, “Caution to Collectors--this is the class of salt glaze to avoid.” This dud purchase turned out to be rather fortunate than otherwise, as after winking at it for a week I went carefully through my collection and found three salt glaze pieces which had remained unidentified for two years past. They are, a jug painted and gilded over the glaze, and which I had bought in my ignorance in Wakefield; a little crudely painted lustre Staffordshire jug, which I caught busy catching the drips from a paraffin tap and secured for a trifle; and a blue painted castor-oil spoon.

Later I added a salt glaze delft dish with mark showing it was made by Petit of Lille, about 1788, which proves that the statement made in more than one book on old pottery that no delft was salt glazed is incorrect. This particular dish came from Sir J. D. Forest’s collection.

Anyone with a Castleford teapot will be struck with its likeness to salt glaze. I happened on one in a town where the manufacture of heavy chemicals is very evident in the atmosphere, and the brokeress said she had been told that the teapot was “salt-_cake_.” The same good old lady was once kind enough to invite me to step up to her bedroom, and a very nice room it was, its cleanliness, contents and comfort being greatly at variance with the shop and store-room below. Among the ornaments of which she offered me the choice was a fine “Cobbler’s Wife,” 12 inches high, probably Rockingham, which she had bought at a sale, and was pleased to part with at a profit. I have searched for years for the “Cobbler,” but have failed to trace him. If anyone knows his present address, and will communicate with the author, they will be suitably rewarded.

TOBY JUGS (_See_ Plate XXXIII)

None of these Toby jugs have any maker’s names on them, but I believe the large and small of the same design are by Davenport. “The Squire” appears to be the oldest, but whether it or the “Hearty Good Fellow” is the most valuable from a collector’s point of view I cannot say, and I will tell you why. My first impression of “The Squire,” which I obtained through a window, was “What a beauty!” I had seen a letter in the _Connoisseur_ just before giving a photograph of one like it, so I was on the alert at once. Enquiry elicited the information that the dealer thought it was really old, that he bought it off a man who looked through the shop door, then went away and came back when the dealer was disengaged. “I didn’t know the man; apparently he was hard up--wouldn’t give any name, but he wanted a sovereign, so I gave it him, and you can have the jug for twenty-five shillings.”

I have heard of a dog having a bad name, though Toby isn’t a bad name for a dog, but I soon came up against a Toby with a bad name. On mentioning to my late friend the collector-dealer my purchase of “The Squire,” what I had given for it, and where I bought it, he said he was sorry to hear it. He had seen that Toby and would not touch it, as he had been warned against it by another dealer, and if I wished for another like it he could give me an address in the Potteries where I might get one for 3s. 11d. The next time he was at my house he was hard to convince that he was mistaken; but when I told him I had shown it to a practical potter, who cautioned me that if I filled it with water I must not carry it by the handle, as it was partly perished with age, he gave in. Not long after I chanced to meet near home a well-known dealer who had just come from Harrogate to attend a sale of antiques in our neighbourhood and who enquired of me the way. I asked him to have lunch with us and offered to drive him to the sale later. I am afraid this was rather diluted hospitality, for I was desirous of having his opinion of, among other things, “The Squire.” After careful examination he pronounced it genuine, but he seemed to fancy the “Hearty Good Fellow” more.

When I first saw the “Hearty Good Fellow” it was in a window mainly given up to the display of modern ironmongery, and on enquiring the price was disappointed to hear it was sold and that a man was calling for it later. Then I said, “Ask him what he will take for his bargain, and don’t you part with it.” I am not sure how much I slept that night, but I know I called on my way to business, and I spent a bright and happy morning with the “Hearty Good Fellow” on my desk.

I had an amusing experience when purchasing “Uncle Toby,” for when the dealer asked me 25s. I was able to say (having had a look at the bottom of the jug) that it was marked in ink 15s. When I showed him this he let himself go, and if the female assistant--who was not about at the time--had heard one tithe of the forcible expressions of opinion in which he held her business acumen, she would have gone into service straight away, for among her qualifications he considered she was more fit for cooking potatoes in their jackets. I refer to this gentleman elsewhere as having some temper, but on this occasion I waited patiently until he had come down to nearly normal, bought some other things, and got “Uncle Toby” at the price (15s.) on which he still sits.

PLATE XXXVI.]

PLATE XXXVI

DESCRIBING THE POTTERY

_Shelf 5._ Bowl (Staffs.). Bristol Delft Dish. Bowl, Early Transfer (Staffs.). Willow Sauce-boats.

_Shelf 4._ Dish (Rogers). Tureen (Turner, Lane Ends). Dish, “Mosque in Latachia.”

_Shelf 3._ Dish, “Little Boy Blue.” Dish, purple (Challenor). Early Mustard Pots.

_Shelf 2._ Fruit-server. Vegetable Dish, “Pillar of Absalom” and Sauce-boat (Burton). Early Sauce-boat and Stand in one piece, transfer printed over the glaze. Turner Pickle-holder. Plates: “The Whatlands.” “Pera.”

_Shelf 1._ Plates. Davenport. W. Adams. Sauce-boat Stands “B” and “Arundel Castle.” Willow Leaf Dishes and Early Pickle-holder.

PLATE XXXVII.]

Toby teapots must be scarce. I have seen none other, except in 1915, when I noticed two in a shop window on the Pantiles at Tunbridge Wells. I obtained mine through the death of an old lady who lived in our locality.

LIVERPOOL POTTERY (_See_ Plate XXXV)

To identify all the Liverpool pottery one may come across as being made in Liverpool is wellnigh impossible; the various factories seem each to have had some special features, while many of the jugs are very like those made by old Staffordshire firms. I say this partly by way of apology, as it is more than likely I have put under this group some jugs made elsewhere, and the same remark may apply to odd jugs in the Staffordshire group; but as I am not out to sell the things I cannot see that I lay myself out to any serious charge of misrepresentation. If you are of a different opinion, then I must plead that I have no fraudulent intent.

Away back in the days beyond recall an authority on this subject very kindly came out here and named my specimens as far as he could, but I notice among the labels I had then affixed the word “probably” sometimes appears before the name given. I was somewhat disappointed with the result of his visit, for he pronounced some of the jugs which I had hoped were Liverpool as not coming within that family, so I have decided to be my own judge in future, as by that means I may in time have one of the largest collections of “Old Liverpool” in the country. As those I include will be so near in appearance to some of the varieties made, I am hoping no collector will have reason to dispute my classification. Only one jug is marked, and that has a letter “P,” which denotes Pennington, and I spotted this mark without a suspicious dealer--to whose astuteness I refer later on--being aware of the fact, and so I got it for 3s., which is not an excessive price considering it is hand painted with line decoration, an uncommon design, and bears a very rare mark.

Collectors should be careful how they clean Old Liverpool which has been printed over the glaze, for I remember on one occasion I gave a sovereign for a jug with pictures done in brown which had a smudgy look. The dealer was a straight man, and said if I was not satisfied he would give me my money back. When I got home and filled the bathroom hand-basin with hot water and soda and began cleaning, I thought what a dirty condition the jug must be in, for the water soon began to look like brown ink. I thought it was time to probe deeper, and to my alarm found the picture still blurred, but not so dark in colour, and then I thought I was “done in brown”! I saw the dealer and told him all about it. When he asked was I not satisfied, I admitted I was not altogether enamoured with the running thing, and that it was the pictures by the Old Master I placed such value on, so he laughingly returned the money.

A collector from the south came along soon after and gave the dealer more than the even sovereign. My only wonder is how many times that jug has been washed since, and how much of the pictures remain.

A jug 8½ inches high shows “King William, Prince of Orange,” on horseback, and on the reverse side a print of Britannia and Erin throttling a snake coiled round a broken pillar, also the words “Great Britain and Ireland United MDCCC.” One 7-inch jug has an heraldic illustration headed “The Cooper’s Arms,” and on the reverse side a lion and anchor surmounted by “Great Britain and Ireland United 1800.” A specially fine specimen of Herculaneum pottery is the 7½-inch jug of uncommon pattern which gives the “Duke of York” and “Prince Coburg” in relief, and this jug is painted in the old delft colours, brown, yellow, orange and blue. The cups and saucers bear portraits of Washington and Lafayette; they must have missed the American boat over a hundred years ago, or I should not have found them in Wigan, and they were undoubtedly made for the American market.

SUNDERLAND (_See_ Plate XXXIV)