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 Hri.
 
 BKITISH 
 MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.
 
 BKITISH 
 MANUFACTUBING INDUSTEIES. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 G. PHILLIPS BEVAN, F.G.S. 
 
 POTTERY, 
 
 BY L. ARNODX, Art Director and Superintendent of Minion's Factory. 
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES, 
 Br PBOFESSOK BARFF, M^.; 
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK, 
 
 BY J. H. POLLEN, M.A., South Kensington Museum. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 LONDON : 
 EDWAKD STANFORD, 55, CHAEING CROSS. 
 
 1877.
 
 TS 
 57 
 
 in? 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE object of this series is to bring into one focus the 
 leading features and present position of the most im- 
 portant industries of the kingdom, so as to enable the 
 general reader to comprehend the enormous develop- 
 ment that has taken place within the last twenty or 
 thirty years. It is evident that the great increase in 
 education throughout the country has tended largely 
 to foster a simultaneous interest in technical know- 
 ledge, as evinced by the spread of Art and Science 
 Schools, Trade Museums, International Exhibitions, 
 &c. ; and this fact is borne out by a perusal of the 
 daily papers, in which the prominence given to every 
 improvement in trade or machinery attests the desire 
 of the reading public to know more about these 
 matters. Here, however, the difficulty commences, for 
 the only means of acquiring this information are from 
 handbooks to the various manufactures (which are 
 usually too minute in detail for general instruction), 
 from trade journals and the reports of scientific 
 societies; and to obtain and systematize these scattered 
 details is a labour and a tax upon time and patience 
 
 105C662
 
 VI PREFACE, 
 
 which comparatively few persons care to surmount. 
 In these volumes all these facts are gathered together 
 and presented in as readable a form as is compatible 
 with accuracy and a freedom from superficiality; and 
 though they do not lay claim to being a technical 
 guide to each industry, the names of the contributors 
 are a sufficient guarantee that they are a reliable and 
 standard work of reference. Great stress is laid on 
 the progressive developments of the manufactures, and 
 the various applications to them of the collateral arts 
 and sciences ; the history of each is truly given, while 
 present processes and recent inventions are succinctly 
 described.
 
 BRITISH 
 MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 POTTEET. 
 
 BY L. ARNOUX, Art Director and Superintendent or 
 Minton's Factory. 
 
 WITHOUT entering into an elaborate dissertation on 
 the antiquity of the Art of Pottery, which would be 
 out of place in so short an article as this, I will 
 briefly state that the practice of making vessels from 
 plastic clays, for holding liquids and provisions, first 
 resulted from the exertions made by man to emerge 
 from his primary condition. It is a well-known fact 
 that vessels of clay, only partially baked, have been 
 found, together with stone implements belonging to 
 prehistoric times, and that those vessels, unfinished 
 as they were, had peculiar characteristics. But sup- 
 posing that this was not so, it must strike everybody 
 that, after providing himself with those rude instru- 
 ments wherewith to obtain his food and protect his 
 life, man must have taken advantage of his power 
 of observation to notice the property of plastic clay 
 to retain water, and to find out to what useful purpose 
 it might be brought for making vessels better suited 
 to his wants, than the skins of animals or pieces of 
 
 B
 
 2 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 wood roughly hollowed out. If not probable, it is 
 however not impossible, that the first man, taking 
 in his hand a lump of soft clay, should have tried 
 to give it a defined shape, in which case the art of 
 pottery would be as ancient as the human race. It 
 may have been anterior to the use of fire, for a sound 
 and useful pottery may be made with clay hardened 
 in the sun, as still practised in Egypt and India. At 
 all events, it existed previous to the working of the 
 first metal, as one can hardly understand how bronze 
 could have been melted, without the assistance of 
 vessels made of fired clay carefully selected. Con- 
 sequently it is admitted by everybody, that this is 
 one of the earliest of human inventions, and that the 
 material has proved most durable. This durability, 
 secured by the application of heat, is a very remark- 
 able phenomenon ; for while many other materials, 
 apparently very hard, have been found unable to stand 
 the atmospheric changes or the continuous contact 
 with a damp soil, it was sufficient to submit this one 
 to a very moderate heat, to be enabled to resist these 
 various agencies for several thousands of years. This 
 is particularly noticeable in the black Greek pottery, 
 which, while possessing all its former appearance, 
 can, however, be scratched by the nail or broken by 
 a gentle pressure between the fingers. It is thus that 
 we are indebted to the art of pottery for innumerable 
 works of art, many of which have proved most useful 
 in elucidating historical facts, and making us acquainted 
 with the habits, dresses, and ceremonies of ancient 
 peoples.
 
 POTTERY. 3 
 
 One can understand how difficult it is to decide 
 who were the earliest potters. It is a question that 
 archaeologists have often tried to answer, but which 
 is not likely to be ever solved. Pottery was created 
 to meet a special want of the human race, and we 
 find early pottery existing in almost every part of the 
 world, in unknown America, as well as in Europe or 
 Asia. It is, however, easier to decide which people 
 first excelled in it, and in this respect we must give 
 equal credit to the Egyptians and the Chinese. It is 
 mentioned in sacred history that more than 2000 
 years B.C. the Egyptian potters were celebrated for 
 their skill, and if we can believe Chinese tradition, 
 the manufacturers in China were at this same time 
 under the control of a superintendent appointed by the 
 government. Unfortunately, we have very little infor- 
 mation respecting the history of the art in China, 
 previous to the sixteenth century ; and although we 
 have a notion of what they did and how they did it, 
 it is wiser, with our imperfect knowledge, to abstain 
 from speculating as to when the different sorts of 
 Chinese ware were produced. But as regards the 
 Egyptians, there is no uncertainty ; some of their 
 ceramic relics bear their own inscriptions, and others 
 have been found associated with objects or monuments 
 whose dates have been carefully ascertained. We may 
 well believe in their skill, when we know that they 
 were acquainted with the most difficult processes for 
 making the bodies and glazes, and that they used the 
 same metallic oxides for colouring their ornaments 
 that we are now using, though often, let us acknow- 
 
 B 2
 
 4 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 ledge, with less success. During a period of at least 
 eleven hundred years, from the eighteenth to the 
 twenty-fourth dynasty, they displayed considerable 
 ingenuity in the production of small figures, jewellery 
 ornaments, and hieroglyphic tablets, in which several 
 sorts of pottery mixtures and differently coloured 
 glazes were most cleverly associated. It is from 
 Egypt that sound principles of pottery making seem 
 to have spread to the different nations ; first to the 
 Phoenicians, who in their turn became famous for 
 their knowledge in the art of vitrifying mineral sub- 
 stances ; and then to the Assyrians, who seem to have 
 applied pottery more specially to the ornamentation of 
 their buildings. 
 
 Greece, who shortly after received her first notions 
 of art from the two former nations, did not devote her 
 energies so much to improvement of material and rich- 
 ness of colour, as to the refined beauty of the shape 
 and the excellence of the painting. 
 
 In pottery, the material is of little value, and it is 
 only by the art displayed in shaping and decorating it, 
 that its price can be increased. In this respect the 
 Greeks proved to what enormous value it could be 
 raised, by making it the groundwork of their art, 
 since sums equivalent to several thousand pounds of 
 our money were readily paid by Eoman patricians for 
 a single Corinthian vase. In this, as in the other 
 branches of art, the recognized taste of the Greeks 
 will never be surpassed ; and if at the present time 
 little attention is paid by collectors to their ceramic 
 productions, it is probably owing as much to the
 
 POTTERY. 5 
 
 versatility of our tastes and fancies, as to our inability 
 of showing the articles to their advantage. 
 
 The Greeks seem to have monopolized the ceramic 
 production of these fine works for seven or eight 
 centuries at the least ; for although vessels of the 
 same description were largely produced in Italy, it 
 was invariably by the Greeks, following closely the tra- 
 ditions and mode of decorations of their own country. 
 It was only about a century B.C. that the Eomans 
 began to create a pottery on which they impressed 
 their stamp, a pottery really their own ; I mean that 
 which is so improperly called Samian, and so easily 
 known by its reddish colour and the embossed orna- 
 ments by which it is profusely covered. It is, 
 however, genuine and characteristic, neatly executed, 
 and possessing some standing qualities which did not 
 belong to the Greek. On the other hand, the refine- 
 ment is deficient ; the forms are derived from the 
 circle instead of the ellipse ; the plain surfaces are 
 replaced by embossments, and the painting is absent. 
 For four centuries, the Eomans seem to have made 
 this class of pottery in several of their European 
 settlements, chiefly in Italy and in the provinces 
 adjoining the Khine. In the operation they seem to 
 have required some special material, which imparted 
 to its bright red surface a semi-shining lustre or glaze, 
 and which has proved remarkably durable. After 
 this, the art of pottery experienced a time of darkness, 
 when all the refined processes seem to have been 
 neglected, and primitive vessels, like those produced 
 by the Saxons, Gauls, and Celts, ranked amongst the
 
 6 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 best examples. The decorations, if any, are rudi- 
 mentary ; not only is the painting reduced in a few 
 instances to some lines or spots made of a different 
 clay, but even the embossed ornaments are replaced by 
 lumps of clay or impressed lines in a kind of geo- 
 metrical disposition. Art was not quite dead, but it 
 scarcely breathed. However, these specimens are not 
 altogether uninteresting, for they were the first efforts 
 of our forefathers, and there is always a certain plea- 
 sure in witnessing the feeblest attempts made in the 
 research of art. 
 
 But the time came when pottery was to accomplish 
 another revolution, no less remarkable than the first. 
 Strangely enough, it was again from the East, in 
 nearly the same province in which it originally took 
 its rise, that it was revived, and it is not unlikely that 
 some faint tradition of the old processes was the 
 source whence sprung the new ceramic era, which was 
 to extend to our own time. 
 
 The precise date of this revival is not positively 
 ascertained ; but it was probably contemporary with 
 the establishment of Islamism amongst the Arabs. 
 The energy displayed by this people in improving and 
 adapting the different fabrics to the requirements of 
 their new religion, was no doubt beneficial to the art 
 of pottery, and with their' fanaticism and spirit of 
 proselytism, they carried their new ideas to every 
 country which they conquered. Syria became a great 
 industrial centre, and some of its towns, such as 
 Damascus, were soon famous for the perfection of 
 their wares. To reach Europe, however, this new
 
 POTTERY. 1 
 
 movement did not take its course through Greece and 
 Italy, as in the first instance ; it was through Egypt 
 and the North of Africa that, at the beginning of the 
 eighth century, it made its way to Spain, where it 
 became firmly established. As regards pottery, 
 nowhere were better specimens produced than in the 
 towns of Malaga, Grenada, Cordova, and others, going 
 northwards as far as Valencia and Toledo. The 
 newest feature of the Arabian or Saracenic pottery 
 (called Hispano-Moresco ware, when made in Spain) 
 was the introduction of the oxide of tin in the glaze, 
 to render it opaque. Previous to this innovation, 
 when white was required for a design executed on a 
 clay which did not take that colour in firing, these 
 parts had to be covered with a silicious mixture, 
 and subsequently coated over with a transparent 
 glaze. This was the Assyrian and Persian process. 
 To find a white opaque enamel, which could be ap- 
 plied direct on a coloured clay and adhere firmly to it, 
 was a great discovery. 
 
 Everyone now knows how successfully these people 
 used pottery for the ornamentation of their buildings, 
 and how ingeniously they mixed transparent and 
 opaque enamels to obtain an unprecedented harmony of 
 effect. Not only did they use this tin enamel in parts, 
 but also all over the ware, making it more or less 
 opaque as they wished ; and this was the origin of the 
 pottery called majolica, which, according to tradition, 
 was imported from Majorca to Italy, at the beginning 
 of the fifteenth century, and for the introduction of 
 which credit is given to Lucca Delia Kobia. Terra
 
 8 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 in-vitriata was the first name given by this sculptor to 
 his works, when they were coated with this opaque 
 mixture. There was at that time such an earnest 
 desire to find suitable materials for art decorations, 
 that the new enamels soon ceased to be exclusively 
 applied to architectural purposes. Under the bene- 
 ficial influence of the revival of taste for ancient art, 
 and the encouragements with which it met from the 
 princes at that time ruling the Italian Republics, 
 majolica attained its beauty, though its external ap- 
 pearance reminded us but little of its Spanish or 
 Oriental origin. During the course of the fifteenth 
 and sixteenth centuries, the most famous in the history 
 of modern art, the influence of the great painters of 
 that period was soon felt by those whom we may call 
 the artists of pottery, for the name of potters could 
 hardly do them justice ; and several of them applied 
 their talents to the reproduction, on that ware, of their 
 most celebrated paintings. It was reported that 
 Perugino, Michael Angelo, Raphael, and many others 
 painted majolica ware, probably on account of their 
 cartoons being often reproduced ; and it is sufficient to 
 say that such talented men as Francisco Xanto da 
 Rovigo, Orazia Fontana, and Gorgio Andreoli, devoted 
 their energies to the improvement of this branch of 
 art. Most of the Italian towns had their manufactory, 
 each of them possessing a style of its own. Beginning 
 at Caffagiolo and Deruta, they extended rapidly to 
 Gubbio, Ferrara, and Ravenna, to be continued to 
 Casteldurante, Rimini, Urbino, Florence, Venice, and 
 many other places.
 
 POTTERY. 9 
 
 After the sixteenth century, majolica soon dege- 
 nerated in appearance and quality, the producers 
 being more anxious to supply the market, than to 
 devote to their ware the care and attention bestowed 
 on it by their predecessors. In increasing the quantity 
 of tin in their enamel, to make it look more like 
 porcelain, they impoverished their colours, and this 
 alteration, however prejudicial to majolica, assisted 
 greatly in the new transformation which it was subse- 
 quently to undergo. It was under the name of faience 
 that it continued to be known, and France and Holland 
 became the principal centres of its manufacture. At 
 Nevers, it still resembled slightly the Italian ware, 
 though at Delft, in Holland, it was principally made 
 to imitate the blue and white ware of the Chinese, in 
 which attempt the makers were often remarkably suc- 
 cessful. At Rouen, the blue ornamentation was relieved 
 with touches of red, green, and yellow ; at Moustiers, 
 the monochrome designs were light and uncommonly 
 elegant ; at Paris, Marseilles, and many other places, 
 the flower Decoration of the old Sevres and Dresden 
 ware was imitated with a freedom of touch and a fresh- 
 ness of colour which is really charming. This pottery, 
 which was a great favourite in the seventeenth and 
 eighteenth centuries, declined rapidly soon after our 
 present earthenware made its appearance; the chief 
 inducement for the change, on the part of the manu- 
 facturers, being the excessive price of tin, which is the 
 principal ingredient of enamel. 
 
 Except in the provinces contiguous to France, Ger- 
 many was never a producer of majolica. It created,
 
 10 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 however, a pottery entirely of its own, full of originality 
 in its general appearance, and which, by the peculiarity 
 of the process, was really a very distinct type. I am 
 alluding to the Flemish and German stoneware. 
 There is a tradition, that the first pieces were made in 
 Holland at the very beginning of the fifteenth century. 
 The principal centre of its production was, however, 
 in Germany, at Nuremberg, Ratisbon, Bayreuth, Mans- 
 feld, and other places ; but the best were made in the 
 neighbourhood of the Lower Ehine, where the clays 
 most fitted for that class of pottery were easily to 
 be found. Here we find, for the first time in Europe, 
 the body of the ware partly vitrified by the high 
 temperature to which it was submitted, and also the 
 remarkable peculiarity, that it was glazed by the vola- 
 tilization of common salt, thrown into the oven when 
 the temperature had reached its climax. The com- 
 bination of these two processes had never been effected 
 before, and it would be difficult on that account to find 
 any connection between stoneware and some of the 
 Egyptian potteries. This stoneware varied in colour : 
 some were almost white, some brown, others of a light 
 grey, the last being the most valuable when the effect 
 was increased by blue or purple grounds, harmonizing 
 admirably with the foundation colour of the ware. The 
 shapes are generally elaborate, with a great many 
 mouldings, enriched with embossed ornaments in good 
 taste, some of which were designed by no less an artist 
 than T. Hopfer. The decline of this stoneware began 
 with the seventeenth century, and from that time to 
 the present, this material was only used for wares of
 
 POTTERY. 11 
 
 the commonest kind. It is only very lately, that it 
 was revived successfully by Messrs. Doulton and Co., 
 of Lambeth. 
 
 France, which had not as yet any ideas about the 
 process for imitating the Italian majolica, created 
 towards the same time two new sorts of pottery, one 
 of which is the Palissy ware, the other the faience 
 d'Oiron. Palissy, a very inquisitive and intelligent 
 man, is said to have been possessed by a strong desire 
 to reproduce some Italian ware, which he had the 
 opportunity of seeing; whether it was a piece of 
 majolica or of graffito, is not known. Left to his own 
 resources for there was nobody to instruct him he 
 succeeded by perseverance and industry in finding out 
 the process for making the different coloured glazes 
 that the Moors had used long before him. There was 
 no discovery in this, but the talent which he displayed 
 in the mixing and blending of these vitreous colours, 
 combined with the incontestable originality of his com- 
 positions, have made this ware very difficult to imitate. 
 
 The time of its production was limited to the life of 
 Palissy, for there is not really a single good piece 
 which can be traced to his successors. In the faience 
 d'Oiron, incorrectly called Henri Deux ware, we find a 
 real cream-coloured earthenware taking precedence of 
 two hundred years over our own. It was made between 
 the years 1524 and 1567, and we have now every proof 
 that three persons co-operated in this invention : Helene 
 de Hangest, who had been formerly entrusted by 
 Francois I. with the education of his son, afterwards 
 Henry II. ; her potter at Oiron, named Francois
 
 12 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Charpentier ; and her secretary Jehan Bernart. The 
 charming pieces resulting from the combination of 
 these three intellects were few, and only intended to be 
 offered as presents to the friends of the noble lady at 
 court. This sufficiently explains the monograms and 
 devices, which are found associated with the elaborate 
 ornaments profusely spread over their surface. No 
 ware was ever made before or after this, which required 
 more care and delicate manipulation, and this explains 
 why the highest prices paid in our generation for an 
 article of pottery have been freely given for several of 
 these curiosities. Their principal feature consists in 
 inlaying differently coloured clays one into the other, 
 a process not quite new, as it had been extensively used 
 in mediaeval times for making encaustic tiles for the 
 flooring of our churches, but they were so minutely 
 and neatly executed, and the designs so well dis- 
 tributed, that they are justly considered as marvels of 
 workmanship. In speaking of these faiences d'Oiron, 
 we can hardly admire sufficiently the variety in the 
 productions of this period of the Renaissance ; and if 
 we select four of these specimens, such as a piece of 
 Faenza ware, one of stoneware, one of Palissy, and 
 another of Oiron, they may fairly stand as good 
 illustrations of the ingenuity of man. 
 
 The progress realized in these times seems to have 
 undergone a sort of lull, and if we accept the French 
 and Delft faiences, which were a transformation of 
 majolica, we find that the greatest portion of the seven- 
 teenth century was not marked by any new discovery 
 or decided improvement. Towards its close, however,
 
 POTTERY. 13 
 
 we begin to notice in Germany and the western 
 countries of Europe several attempts at making a ware, 
 possessing the three standard qualities of whiteness, 
 hardness, and transparency of the Chinese, and these 
 were the precursors of the great movement which oc- 
 cupied the whole of the eighteenth century. As might 
 be expected, inquiries made in different countries by 
 persons unacquainted with each other, brought different 
 results ; and if they failed in so much, that a porcelain 
 identical to the Oriental was not reproduced, all of them 
 succeeded in making a white ware of their own, adapted 
 to the materials which they had at their disposal. 
 And thus arose in each country the source of a pros- 
 perous trade. 
 
 It is only at that period, that England began to take 
 her position amongst the producers of pottery, at least 
 in a manner deserving of that name. Up to that time, 
 if we were to judge by the quality of her work, she 
 did not seem fitted for it, no more than for any sort of 
 manufacture which required taste or a certain know- 
 ledge of the arts of design. In fact, it is easy to 
 notice in looking at our collections of art manu- 
 factures, that the English samples are deficient in 
 many respects ; they may be gaudy without harmony 
 of colour, or elaborate without refinement, exhibiting a 
 certain amount of roughness in execution, when placed 
 side by side with Italian, French, or German speci- 
 mens of the same class. It is likely, with certain 
 exceptions, that the Anglo-Saxon race did not feel 
 much the want of all those niceties, and did not make 
 great exertion to excel in the practice of those arts, for
 
 14 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 the appreciation of which its mind was not yet suffi- 
 ciently cultivated. It has been remarked, that as the 
 progress of art was constantly from East to West, the 
 geographical position of England might a'ccount in 
 some respects for her backwardness. However, like 
 children of slow growth whose understanding does not 
 seem quick or acute, but who afterwards derive the 
 benefit of their reserved strength, England, coming 
 almost the last in the production of pottery, seems as 
 though she did so for maturing her capabilities. In 
 this, as in the practice of other arts, she is slow, and 
 her first steps are clumsy. Experimenting for some 
 time, with mixed or indifferent success, she seems to 
 hesitate, till she begins to feel that she holds the thing 
 in her grasp, and then the day soon comes when she 
 teaches the world what she can make of it. We can 
 scarcely give her credit in the preceding review for 
 some Staffordshire pottery made with the yellow or 
 red marl, thickly glazed with the galena extracted 
 from the Derbyshire mines, the decoration of these 
 pieces being effected by pouring the light clay on the 
 dark one in a symmetrical manner. This pottery was 
 in use from the time of Queen Elizabeth down to the 
 year 1775, the date of the latest specimen that I have 
 seen. Some pieces preserved in the British Museum, 
 in the Museum of Geology, and in M. Solon's collec- 
 tion, are to be noticed for their quaintness. 
 
 Up to the eighteenth century, no other clays than 
 those extracted from the coal measures seem to have 
 been used in Staffordshire ; and the advantages derived 
 from an abundant supply of both clay and fuel must
 
 POTTERY. 15 
 
 have powerfully contributed to the settlement of this 
 industry in that county. In Shaw's ' History of the 
 Staffordshire Potteries,' which with Plot's ' History of 
 Staffordshire,' are the only books to afford information 
 on the then state of this trade, and whose most inter- 
 esting extracts have been given by Sir Henry de la 
 Beche in his excellent catalogue of the pottery ex- 
 hibited in the Museum of Practical Geology, we gather 
 this fact, that so far back as 1661, an Act of Parlia- 
 ment regulated the dimensions and quality of earthen 
 vessels manufactured at Burslem, for holding the 
 butter brought to the markets. 
 
 Towards 1680, a radical change seems to have taken 
 place in the way of making the ware, by substituting 
 common salt for the galena in the glazing process. 
 This new production was called crouch ware, and there 
 is every probability that the substitution was first 
 made by a person acquainted with the manufacture 
 of the German and Flemish stoneware, which at a 
 former period had been tried in England. At that 
 time Burslem possessed twenty-two ovens, and Shaw 
 says, that when these were at work, the vapours 
 emanating from the salt were such as to produce a 
 dense fog in the town. These assertions leave no 
 doubt as to the date of the commencement of this 
 manufacture in Staffordshire, and that Burslem was 
 its first seat. 
 
 Two German brothers, of the name of Elers, who 
 settled near this town in 1688, seem to have been the 
 first to try to produce pottery of a better class than 
 the crouch ware. Their first attempt resulted in the
 
 1 6 BRITISH MANUFA C TURING IND US TRIES, 
 
 production of a well finished red stoneware, which 
 probably resembled the red ware made in Saxony 
 by Bottger at the same time. Those who have left 
 any written information about it, say that for general 
 appearance and careful execution, it was quite equal to 
 any similar article made by the Chinese ; but I must 
 confess, that the specimens that I had the oppor- 
 tunity of seeing are rather porous and far from being 
 highly baked. These foreigners paid also great 
 attention to the inprovement of the white ware, and 
 they were the first to employ the plastic clay from 
 Dorsetshire for the purpose of whitening the cane 
 marl of the locality. Their ware was generally light 
 and well shaped, and though the plaster moulds 
 were wholly unknown at the time, and were only 
 introduced fifty years later, the impressions taken 
 from metal moulds are neat, and show the ornaments 
 standing sharply out from the surface. This, com- 
 bined with the peculiar appearance given to the 
 surface by the sublimation of the salt, and its light 
 colour, are the principal feature of the Burslem ware, 
 which continued in existence till 1780, although before 
 that date more perfected articles had found their way 
 to the market. The brothers Elers used to make a 
 great secret of their mixtures, and left the district as 
 soon as the other manufacturers became acquainted 
 with them. Astbury, who had been instrumental in 
 robbing them of their processes, was one of the most 
 intelligent amongst these potters, and it was he who, 
 in 1720, introduced the flint, calcined and ground, for 
 whitening the body of the ware, one of the greatest
 
 POTTERY: 17 
 
 improvements in the making of earthenware. He 
 seems to have been a thoughtful and persevering man, 
 and it is said that the idea of this new material was 
 suggested to him, by seeing a shoeing smith calcining 
 a flint, for the purpose of blowing the dust into the 
 eyes of his horse, suddenly afflicted with a kind of 
 blindness. This is probably only a fiction, as the 
 idea must have originated from witnessing the change 
 undergone by flint when brought to a red heat. 
 
 As the pottery trade was taking root in the district, 
 it is no wonder that we find many intelligent manu- 
 facturers doing their best to improve it and make 
 it profitable. Eminent amongst them was Josiah 
 Wedgwood, whose name as a potter is never likely to 
 perish. For particulars concerning his private life, 
 trade, and manufacture, there are two excellent books, 
 by Miss Meteyard and Mr. Llewellyn Jewitt, in which 
 every matter of interest about him has been carefully 
 entered. Born at Burslem, in 1730, of a family of 
 potters, he began by serving his apprenticeship as a 
 thrower under his brother, and must have settled in 
 business very early, as he had had already two 
 partners when he set up on his own account, in 1759, 
 being then only twenty-nine years of age. His first 
 attempts seem to have been directed to making a 
 green ware, that is, a white ware covered with a glaze 
 of that colour, which he succeeded in getting par- 
 ticularly bright ; and also to the tortoise-shell, which 
 had its surface mottled with glazes differently stained, 
 and which, by their blending when they are fused in the 
 oven, present some analogy with the works of Palissy. 
 
 c
 
 18 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 One of Wedgwood's decided successes was, perfecting 
 the white cream-colour ware, which was so superior to 
 anything done before, that it commanded at once a 
 great sale at home and abroad. Queen Charlotte 
 admired it much, and, in consequence of her patronage, 
 it took the name of Queen's ware, under which it was 
 known for a long time. It is light, of a pleasing 
 colour, elegantly shaped, and in the hands of artists 
 has proved an admirable material to paint upon. 
 
 It would take too long to enumerate all the improve- 
 ments which Wedgwood effected in his trade in the 
 second half of the last century, but I must mention 
 as prominent amongst his works, the black Egyptian 
 and jasper wares, in making which he had no assistance 
 whatever, and which constitute two new and perfect 
 types in pottery. From Wedgwood's origin and early 
 labours, it is easy to guess that his instruction must 
 have been limited ; but he was a clear-minded and 
 inquiring man, possessing that sort of intuition by 
 which he could easily understand things, which in 
 other people would have required preliminary studies ; 
 besides, he had a natural taste for art and a systematic 
 way of going through his experiments, which were 
 sure to bring them to a successful issue. It was his 
 good fortune to be assisted by two men of superior in- 
 telligence, viz. Flaxinan, the sculptor, who designed 
 many of his shapes, and modelled for him an almost 
 innumerable number of subjects for slabs and cameos ; 
 and Thomas Bentley, a distinguished scholar, with 
 whom he was commercially connected, and whose 
 knowledge of art he found of great utility.
 
 POTTERY. 19 
 
 When Wedgwood died, in 1795, the ceramic manu- 
 facture had extensively developed, and had extended 
 from Burslem to the small towns in the neighbourhood. 
 From all this it must appear that, although Wedgwood 
 was the most brilliant type amongst the English 
 potters of that period, the trade was already well 
 established when he entered the business, and there 
 was every probability, that it would become one of 
 the staple industries of this country. To give all 
 the credit to him would be an injustice to several 
 men, who, like the two Josiah Spodes, effected great 
 improvements, or brought into play new and useful 
 materials. 
 
 When I speak of the china manufacture, it will be 
 seen that, besides the Staffordshire potters, several very 
 clever men at Bow, Chelsea, Plymouth, Worcester, 
 Derby, and other places, were at work to establish the 
 manufacture of the soft and hard porcelain, proving 
 beyond a doubt, that -most energetic efforts were 
 being made to raise the pottery trade of England 
 to the same level as that of France or Germany. If 
 we did not then succeed in making soft china like 
 that of Sevres, or hard porcelain as good as the 
 Dresden, we soon became the masters of the market as 
 regards earthenware a position that we are not likely 
 to lose for many years to come. Amongst the circum- 
 stances which combine to make our position particu- 
 larly strong, it is enough to mention our independence 
 as regards the supply of the raw materials, and the 
 abundance of our clays and fuel, of a better quality 
 than those at the disposal of our competitors. Besides, 
 
 c 2
 
 20 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 the localization of this manufacture in Staffordshire 
 has caused the concentration in this spot of an intelli- 
 gent population, acquainted with the traditions, from 
 which the different branches of the trade can be easily 
 fed. 
 
 The soil of Staffordshire produces a variety of clays 
 which are used for common ware ; but the most im- 
 portant is the one called marl, which is fire-clay from 
 the beds of the coal measures, used for making the 
 " saggers," or clay boxes, in which the ware is placed 
 before it is sent to the ovens. The quantity required 
 for this purpose is very large, and it was of the utmost 
 importance that such material should be good, cheap, 
 and easily procured. 
 
 At present, however, the clays necessary to make 
 china or earthenware are not found in Staffordshire, 
 but are sent from the counties of Dorset, Devon, and 
 the Duchy of Cornwall, where they constitute an im- 
 portant branch of commerce. ' It is a common occur- 
 rence to hear people, visiting Staffordshire for the first 
 time, wonder at the apparently abnormal fact of an 
 industry settling in a district where none of the 
 requisite materials are to be found. I have mentioned 
 in the preceding pages how it happened that the trade 
 first settled in Burslem ; and a short explanation 
 will show that, although more perfect clays from 
 distant counties had to be used, there was no need to 
 change. 
 
 For baking pottery, the quantity of fuel required 
 is comparatively large. When, independently of the 
 ovens and kilns, we take into account what is absorbed
 
 POTTERY. 21 
 
 by the steam engines, preparation of materials, and 
 warming of the shops, we find that for every ton of 
 manufactured goods, at least three tons of coals are 
 wanted, and that for decorated goods, it will take 
 twice that quantity, and even more. As the districts 
 from which the clays are sent have no coals, the 
 advantage of paying the carriage on the smallest 
 number of tons to be brought to the works becomes 
 evident. 
 
 The potter's clay derives its origin from several 
 felspathic rocks, which under various influences have 
 been decomposed, and the finest portion washed away, 
 to be collected in natural depressions of the soil, where 
 it has formed beds of various thickness. Chemically 
 speaking, it is a silicate of alumina in combination 
 with water, with the addition, in small quantities, of 
 different materials, such as potash, soda, lime, or iron, 
 acting as fluxes on the silicate, which otherwise would 
 give no signs of vitrification. The iron, which may 
 exist in different states, has a colouring effect injurious 
 to the clay, which, to be useful, must be almost free 
 from it. When this condition occurs, the excellence of 
 the clay is determined by the quantity of alumina that 
 it contains. Pure silica, in the form of quartz, flint, or 
 sand, is a very easy material to procure when wanted, 
 but as no geological formation yields alumina in the 
 pure state, no other can be got, besides that which 
 already exists in the clays. It is a common error to 
 say, that it is the silica which renders them refrac- 
 tory. It is true that pure silica can stand any amount 
 of heat without fusing, but its readiness to combine
 
 22 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 with alkaline matter, and to form vitreous compounds, 
 renders its use objectionable when heated with me- 
 tallic oxides. An excess makes the wares brittle and 
 unable to resist sudden changes of temperature, while 
 alumina, on the contrary, gives these qualities, and 
 with them the plasticity required for the working of 
 the ware. From it the clays derive the property of 
 absorbing and retaining a large quantity of water, and 
 such is its affinity for it, that sometimes a red heat will 
 hardly suffice to expel it completely. Alumina is a 
 light material silica a heavy one ; and a potter ought 
 to know approximatively in testing the density of a 
 sample, whether it is rich or poor in either of the two. 
 The reason why the clay deposits are richer in 
 alumina than the rocks from which they originated, is 
 explained by the lightness of this element, which, 
 being kept in suspension in water for a longer time, 
 was consequently carried farther, leaving the silicious 
 refuse to settle on its way. 
 
 For earthenware or china, the English potters use 
 only two sorts of clays : the ball clay, also called blue 
 clay, and the kaolin. For porcelain the last only is 
 used ; for earthenware, both. The ball clay, exported 
 from Teignmouth and Poole, comes from the lower 
 tertiary clays of Devon and Dorset, and is remark- 
 ably good and plastic, the quantity of iron being com- 
 paratively very small. The ball clay from Poole is 
 dug in the neighbourhood of Wareham, by Mr. Pike. 
 It is of a very superior kind, and more than 70,000 
 tons are sent from that harbour alone to the potteries, 
 besides smaller quantities to the Continent. As it
 
 POTTERY. 23 
 
 possesses a little more alumina than those from Teign- 
 mouth, which are dug at Teigngrace and Whiteway, 
 near Bovey Heathfield, they ought to have a little 
 superiority over these, although in practice the differ- 
 ence is not always perceptible. 
 
 Kaolin is the Chinese word given to the clay from 
 which hard porcelain is made, though here it is gene- 
 rally called China or Cornish clay. This material is 
 found in some granitic rocks in an advanced state of 
 decomposition ; the felspar, their most important 
 element, having under external influence lost the 
 greatest portion of its alkali, and become converted 
 into a kind of earth. By agitation in a large quantity 
 of water it dissolves readily ; the refuse, composed of 
 quartz, mica, schorl, and undecomposed felspar, sinks 
 by its own weight to the bottom of the tank where the 
 liquid mixture is to run ; and the finest part, which is 
 the kaolin, is carried farther to large receptacles, 
 where it accumulates. When these are full, the clay 
 is removed and dried for export. In that state it is 
 very white, and although not so plastic as the ball 
 clay, contains a little more alumina and less iron, 
 which accounts for its resisting much better the action 
 of fire. It is principally obtained at St. Stephens and 
 St. Austell, in Cornwall ; Lee Moor, near Dart- 
 moor, in Devon, and a few other places ; the whole 
 of them sending to the potteries about 130,000 tons 
 annually. 
 
 From the same districts comes another granite, in 
 a less advanced state of decomposition, called Cornish 
 stone, which is used fresh from the mine without
 
 24 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 further preparation. In it the felspar retains its 
 alkaline element, so that it can be easily melted, 
 and is found a useful and cheap flux for the vitri- 
 fication of the different mixtures. The composition 
 of these rocks varies considerably, so that it requires 
 constant experiments to determine in what propor- 
 tion the quartz and the fusible parts stand to each 
 other. 
 
 Flints are also largely used in the manufacture of 
 earthenware. They are found abundantly in the chalk 
 districts, the brown sort being considered the best. 
 Under a moderate red heat they become white and 
 opaque, and may be easily crushed between iron rollers. 
 In that state they are placed in pans of water and 
 ground by large stones of chert, till they become 
 sufficiently divided to remain in suspension in the 
 liquid without sinking and hardening at the bottom 
 of the tanks, which, by the way, are called "arks." 
 Flints are comparatively a cheap material, and their 
 carriage to Staffordshire represents a large portion of 
 their cost. 
 
 Such are the four materials essential for making 
 earthenware. The respective quantities in which they 
 are used vary in each manufactory, but the principle 
 is always the same : the ball clay being the founda- 
 tion, and flint the whitening material ; but as an 
 excess of this would make the body difficult to work, 
 Cornish clay assists in making it whiter and less 
 liable to break under a heavy weight or sudden 
 changes of temperature. The Cornish stone is used 
 in a small quantity as a flux, to render the ware
 
 POTTERY. 25 
 
 more compact and of a closer texture. When the 
 mixture of these materials is completed, the colour 
 taken by earthenware when fired would not be a per- 
 fect white ; the quantity of oxide of iron existing in 
 the clays, however small, would be still sufficient to 
 impart a yellowish tint, particularly after the glazing 
 of the ware. This is counteracted by the addition 
 of a small quantity of oxide of cobalt, the power of 
 which over the iron, as a staining material, is such 
 as to neutralize it completely; the result, in fact, 
 being the same as that obtained by washerwomen, who 
 use blue to the linen with the object of making it look 
 white. 
 
 From the moment that the materials are extracted, 
 to the time when the goods are perfected, the number 
 of distinct operations to perform is so great, that I 
 can only give a summary description of the most 
 important. The grinding of those materials which 
 are not already in a fine state of division is one of 
 the most essential, for upon it depends the soundness 
 of the ware, and without it the difficulties of work- 
 manship would be greatly increased. It must be so 
 perfect, that when the different components are put 
 together in the slip state, they should mix readily and 
 form a homogeneous compound. The grinding for 
 the use of potters is a trade of itself ; but good quality 
 is of such importance, that the manufacturers who 
 can afford it prefer having mills of their own. In 
 these, the different materials are ground in water in 
 separate pans, till they can pass freely through fine 
 silk lawn, and are afterwards stored in distinct re-
 
 26 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 servoirs, and the excess of water removed, so that a 
 quart measure of each should weigh a determined 
 number of ounces. As the potter knows beforehand 
 the proportion of solid matter contained in each liquid 
 measure, it only remains for him to count the number 
 of quarts or gallons which must be introduced into 
 the body of the ware. This being done, the liquid 
 mass must be deprived of its superabundance of water. 
 Till lately it was the custom to effect this by running 
 the slip 10 or v 12 inches thick over the surface of 
 long kilns, paved with bricks and provided with flues 
 underneath. The heat which was maintained in these, 
 assisted by the porous nature of the bricks, was suffi- 
 cient to bring it to the proper state of toughness ; but 
 the kilns could not be filled more than once a day, 
 and required besides a large quantity of fuel, much 
 of which was wasted in the form of dense smoke. 
 Now, thanks to the new apparatus of Messrs. Need- 
 ham and Kyte, the same result is obtained with great 
 saving in space, time, and fuel. 
 
 The process is simple, and easy to manage. As 
 soon as the final mixture is sifted, the slip is directed 
 to a well, whence it is raised by an hydraulic pump 
 and sent to the presses, which are composed of a 
 variable number of large wooden frames. These are 
 closely ribbed on both faces, and, when placed side 
 by side in a vertical position, they leave in the 
 middle an interval of about three-quarters of an inch 
 in thickness. Each of these hollow compartments is 
 lined with a sheet of strong cotton stuff, folded in 
 such a way as to form a bag, in the middle of which
 
 POTTERY. 27 
 
 a small metal fitting passes through the upper part 
 of the frames, and forms the spring by which the 
 slip can be admitted into the interior. When the 
 bags are tied together, the slip is admitted into their 
 interior and submitted to such pressure from the 
 pump, that the water filters through the interstices 
 of the stuff, and escapes by the small intervals left 
 between the ribs of thfe frames. After allowing a 
 sufficient time for the action of the pump, the presses 
 are dismounted, and the solid clay is found in the 
 middle of the bags, ready for use in the various 
 departments. 
 
 The processes for shaping the different articles are 
 many. For the more expeditious preparation of the 
 wares, it was necessary that each workman should 
 devote the whole of his time to a special branch of 
 his art. For this reason we have several classes of 
 potters, called according to their avocation : throwers, 
 turners, handlers, hollow and flat ware pressers, figure 
 and ornament makers, tile makers, modellers, mould 
 and sagger makers, besides those who are employed in 
 the decoration of the goods. Of all these various 
 branches, the most attractive for those who are wit- 
 nessing it for the first time, is the throwing ; and it is 
 a source of amazement for them to see how quickly, in 
 the hands of the potter, the same lump of clay can be 
 transformed in a variety of ways. 
 
 The potter's wheel is of great antiquity. In some 
 Egyptian hieroglyphics from the tombs of Beni-Hassan, 
 known to have been made during the twelfth dynasty, 
 the different occupations of the potter are painted with
 
 28 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 great distinctness. In one of these, two potters are 
 using the wheel for making their vessels implying 
 that this contrivance has been in use for something 
 like four thousand years. The forms and proportions 
 of the wheels may be varied without altering the 
 principle. A spindle, finished at its lower end in th'e 
 form of a pointed pivot, is placed on a hard substance 
 on which it can easily revolve. The upper end is 
 furnished with a wooden head or small platform, on 
 which the lump of clay is to be placed, and between 
 this head and pivot is fixed an horizontal wooden disc 
 of large diameter, which acts as a fly-wheel and keeps 
 the spindle in motion for a certain length of time. 
 The motion may be given by the hand, the foot, or 
 mechanical power, which causes the spindle to revolve 
 with great velocity. A good thrower requires a great 
 deal of practice, as he is expected to throw several 
 hundred pieces a day, although the art is far from 
 being what it was in the olden times. In consequence 
 of the new plan of pressing all large pieces in plaster 
 moulds, the thrower has but small or moderate size 
 pieces to work, and these he finishes only in the inside, 
 leaving the outside to be done by the turner, when the 
 pieces are in a more advanced state of dryness. This 
 division of work, brought about by the exigencies of 
 the trade, is very much to be regretted, for the old 
 thrower was really an artist, who could impress his 
 feeling on the work which was entrusted to him from 
 beginning to end. He has not now the same oppor- 
 tunity of showing his skill, and cannot take in his 
 work the pride and interest which he would have felt,
 
 POTTERY. 29 
 
 if circumstances had not been altered. The same may- 
 be said of the turner, who finishes the outside on a 
 lathe like that used for turning wood. The thrower 
 prepares the pieces of a thicker bulk than is required, 
 and it is the turner's business to bring them to a 
 proper thickness, by removing the excess of material 
 and giving to the exterior a smooth and highly finished 
 surface. If the handles are ornamented, they are 
 pressed in plaster moulds ; if plain, they are squeezed 
 from a brass cylinder, filled with clay, with a small 
 aperture at the bottom, from which it escapes under the 
 pressure in long ribbons. These are placed side by 
 side on a board, cut across at the required length, and 
 bent in the form of handles when they get sufficiently 
 hard. They are afterwards fitted, and made to adhere 
 to the pieces by means of a little water or slip dropped 
 from the point of a brush. 
 
 Flat pieces, such as plates, dishes, saucers, and the 
 like, are made in plaster moulds, on which a bat of 
 soft clay is tightly compressed by a hand tool, called 
 a polisher. The process is very expeditious, although 
 the presser is obliged to repeat the operation, to give 
 more pressure and finish. For this kind of ware, the 
 potter's wheel called a jigger, is simplified so far, that 
 the iron spindle resting on its point and fixed to a 
 bench, is provided only with a round plaster head on 
 which the moulds are placed. The presser keeps this 
 in motion with his left hand, whilst with the right he 
 guides the polisher. 
 
 In those manufactories which have adopted the 
 latest improvements, the jiggers are worked by steam
 
 30 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 power, and the stoves in which the pieces are sent to 
 dry are heated by steam pipes. These are constructed 
 on a new principle, consisting of a number of shelves 
 which revolve round a central spindle, so that by a 
 gentle push of the hand, each section is. successively 
 brought in front of the door, giving the opportunity of 
 removing or putting in the moulds. This simple 
 contrivance does away with the necessity for the 
 assistant boy entering the stove, and feeling the bad 
 effects of the heat. 
 
 When the pieces are not exactly round, and cannot 
 be thrown or pressed on jiggers, it is the custom to 
 have them made in plaster moulds, which have been 
 cast on models prepared for the purpose. As long as 
 the clay keeps soft, it takes the shape of any hard 
 substance against which it is pressed, and for that 
 reason, plaster, which has the property of absorbing 
 moisture readily, is preferred. The use of plaster for 
 moulds is comparatively recent, and although its pro- 
 perties were known in early times, there is no evidence 
 that it was ever employed for that object. Greeks, 
 Etruscans, and Romans, had their moulds made of 
 fired clay ; the Chinese, in raw clay thoroughly dried. 
 In Staffordshire, before the use of plaster, they were* 
 made of fired clay or metal ; but plaster is more 
 economical than any of these, although moulds made 
 of this material do not last long, and require constant 
 renewing. 
 
 The making of moulds, well adapted for pressing the 
 various shapes, is a very important part of the potter's 
 business. They must allow of a certain amount of
 
 POTTERY. 31 
 
 contraction, and, at the same time, must easily dislocate 
 without pulling away any part of the piece, which is 
 still sufficiently 'soft to be distorted by careless handling. 
 Some pieces will require moulds made in one or two 
 parts ; others, a large quantity of them, the various 
 fragments being in that case pressed separately, and 
 carefully put together afterwards. The pressing is 
 done in this way : the potter begins to flatten a lump 
 of clay in the form of a bat, and transfers it to the 
 inside of the mould ; then, by the repeated blows 
 of a sponge in his right hand, he compels the soft 
 material to take the exact form of the mould, and, of 
 course, of any ornamentation which may be on its 
 inner surface. A good presser ought to be systematic 
 in his work, and not to apply more pressure to one 
 part than to another, otherwise the different portions 
 of the pieces would not contract alike, and would be 
 liable to show an irregular surface, or even crack in 
 the drying or firing processes. 
 
 For several reasons, there are pieces which cannot be 
 pressed : they may be required very thin, or their shape 
 is such, that the potter cannot reach all the parts to 
 take the impression conveniently. In this case he must 
 adopt the following plan. The mould is tied up, and 
 filled with liquid clay through an opening left in the 
 top. The plaster rapidly absorbs the water, and a de- 
 posit of solid clay adheres to the surface. This soon 
 increases in thickness ; and when the potter thinks it 
 is sufficient, he pours out the slip which is in excess. 
 The piece soon hardens, and when it begins to con- 
 tract, it is then time to remove it from the mould.
 
 32 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 This process has the advantage of giving a uniform 
 thickness, and as there is no other pressure than that 
 caused by the absorption of the plaster surface, there 
 is a better chance for the piece to contract equally, and 
 on this account this method (called casting) is preferred 
 for articles which require a neat execution. In some 
 cases it is cheaper than ordinary pressing ; but the 
 drawback is, the excessive contraction or diminution of 
 bulk to which the ware thus made is subjected. An 
 irregular contraction is the source of most of the 
 defects attending the ceramic manufacture, and it is 
 worth explaining the causes, of which there are three. 
 I have already mentioned that natural clays, which 
 have remained in a damp soil for ages, contain 
 materials in a hydrous state, i. e. combined with water, 
 which sometimes increases their bulk considerably. 
 These are unstable compounds, and may be destroyed 
 by thoroughly drying them. Some other materials 
 used in pottery may be artificially combined with 
 water, as would be the case, if ground in it for an 
 unnecessary length of time. The second reason is, the 
 interposition of the uncombined water between the 
 solid particles of the clay, and as this cannot be 
 worked without it, this cause of shrinking cannot be 
 avoided. It will be easily understood, that when the 
 water in the mixture evaporates, the solid particles, 
 under atmospheric pressure, will move to take its 
 place, and this effect will continue as long as they 
 find enough moisture to assist in their free motion. 
 The consequence is, that the mass shrinks more and 
 more, till the contraction is stopped by the inability
 
 POTTERY. 33 
 
 of the particles to move farther; and this happens 
 before the pieces are completely dry. From that 
 state to complete dryness, the evaporation of the 
 remaining water will leave small holes, which will 
 make the texture of the ware porous, and prone to 
 absorb any liquid with which it may come in contact. 
 
 The shrinkage in the raw state then is mechanical, 
 and distinct from that which takes place in the oven 
 under the influence of heat. Under this agency the 
 particles enter into combination, and if the process is 
 carried far enough, the ware may become partially 
 vitrified and acquire a certain amount of transparency. 
 The more perfect the vitrification, the closer will be 
 the contact of the particles, and consequently the 
 greater the diminution of bulk. From these causes, the 
 total contraction may vary from one-sixteenth to one- 
 fifth of the original model. The least will belong to 
 ware pressed with stiff clay gently fired ; the greatest, 
 to that cast with liquid slip and brought to the vitrified 
 state. In these last, the shrinkage is greater in height 
 than in width, a fact explained by the weight of the 
 upper portions acting vertically to assist the closer 
 contact of the particles in the under-structure, when 
 the same opposes their free action in an horizontal 
 direction. In making the models, care should be 
 taken to bring the contraction to a common centre, or 
 if there are several, to strengthen sufficiently the 
 connecting parts. 
 
 After the drying of the ware, the next operation 
 consists in placing it in saggers, which, as I have 
 said, are made of common fire-clay, and of a form and 
 
 D
 
 34 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 size to suit the different articles which they are 
 intended to hold. A certain thickness of flint or sand 
 is placed at their bottom for the purpose of giving 
 them a firm bed, and as it is the interest of the 
 manufacturer to make the same firing answer for the 
 greatest quantity of goods, care is taken to fill the 
 saggers as far as is safe. The placing of the ware is 
 done at the outside of the ovens, and when these are 
 to be filled, the saggers are quickly arranged one 
 over the other in columns, called " bungs," each sagger 
 forming the cover for the one immediately under- 
 neath. A small roll of soft clay placed between makes 
 them stand better, and at the same time prevents 
 the ashes carried by tLe draught from finding their 
 way into the interior, and damaging the contents. 
 
 In ancient times, the ovens, intended to hold few 
 pieces, were very small; but as the potters became 
 more experienced, the sizes were gradually increased, 
 and now-a-days some of them are not less than 19 feet 
 in diameter. The quality of fuel had, of course, a 
 great deal to do with their mode of construction. 
 Now, however, that coals are acknowledged to contain 
 more heat, and to be cheaper than wood, the ovens 
 are generally built in a cylindrical form, with several 
 mouths or feeders disposed at equal distances on the 
 outer circumference, the upper part being covered by 
 a semi-spherical dome or vault, to keep the heat 
 inside and reverberate it downwards. This construc- 
 tion is very simple, the only complication being in the 
 arrangement of flues under the bottom of the oven, so 
 as to throw into that part a portion of the heat,
 
 POTTERY. 35 
 
 which otherwise would be liable to accumulate towards 
 the top. 
 
 The firing must be conducted very slowly at first, 
 to prevent a too sudden evaporation of the damp, 
 which would cause the splitting of the goods. This 
 being done, the heat is raised gradually, care being 
 taken to feed the mouths with fuel as quickly as it is 
 consumed. It requires an experienced fireman, to see 
 that one part of the oven does not get in advance of 
 the other. He manages this by throwing in a certain 
 quantity of air through small openings in the brick- 
 work, which are shut or left open according to circum- 
 stances. Whatever may be the construction of the 
 oven, the quantity of air mixed with the gas produced 
 by the combustion of fuel causes the atmosphere to be 
 reductive of oxidizing ; which means that the different 
 materials submitted to the heat would, in consequence 
 of an abundance of carbon, have a tendency to be 
 deprived of their oxygen and return to a metallic 
 state, or that by firing in presence of an excess of air 
 or carbonic acid, they would be kept in a high state of 
 oxidation. It is fortunate that all classes of English 
 pottery, without exception, require, or are not injured 
 by, an oxidizing fire, which is the most economical 
 way of firing, since by it all the gases are completely 
 burnt inside the oven without any waste of fuel. By 
 a better application of this principle, Messrs. Minton 
 have introduced a new oven, in which the fuel is so 
 completely utilized, that it requires only one-half of 
 the usual quantity of coals, besides doing away with 
 the dense smoke, which is the annoyance of the district. 
 
 D 2
 
 36 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 By the first fire to which it is exposed, the ware is 
 converted into what is termed, from the French, biscuit 
 an incorrect name, as it seems to imply that it has 
 already been fired twice, when, in fact, it has been 
 only fired once. Some classes of pottery do not 
 require more than a single firing, as, for instance, the 
 common terra cotta and stoneware. However, for all 
 our English ware it is necessary to have two fires, for 
 the following reasons': First, the necessity for getting 
 a denser texture of the ware by submitting it to a 
 strong heat, lest the glazes which are to be melted on 
 their surface, and which thereby become very dense 
 and most contractible, should not agree with the more 
 open texture of the body, and should crack or craze 
 when exposed to changes of temperature. Secondly, 
 that for coating the ware with the glaze, it is ne- 
 cessary to dip the article in the vitreous mixture finely 
 ground, and kept in suspension in water; conse- 
 quently, if it were in the raw state when this was 
 done, the adhesion of the particles would be so small, 
 that they would readily dissolve in the liquid. It is 
 customary, therefore, to expose the goods first to a 
 hard fire, which, according to the size of the ovens 
 and the quality of the ware, may last from forty to 
 fifty hours. 
 
 From the biscuit oven, the goods, if they are to be 
 left white, may be sent to be glazed ; but if they are 
 to be decorated with a printed pattern, they must be 
 forwarded to the printing department. Printing on 
 pottery is comparatively a modern invention, its chief 
 advantage being the cheap rate of production. Up to
 
 POTTERY. 37 
 
 the last century, the goods were always painted by 
 hand : a slow, but it must be confessed, a more 
 artistic process, as the work executed in this way, 
 even of an inferior kind, will exhibit a freedom of 
 touch and facility of execution, which will make it 
 attractive and preferable to the formality of a printed 
 pattei-n, however rich or complicated it may be. This 
 superiority is sufficiently illustrated by comparing 
 monochrome patterns of Italian majolica, Delft, and 
 Chinese, with the modern printed ware of the same 
 colour. 
 
 Public taste has so wonderfully improved lately, 
 that, for my part, I have no doubt that we shall soon 
 have a special class of artists trained to execute, by 
 hand, cheap and simple decorations for those purchasers 
 who are not satisfied with printed decoration. 
 
 To what extent the introduction of printing on 
 pottery has hindered the progress of art education in 
 Staffordshire, is a question on which people may enter- 
 tain different opinions; but we might ask, what amount 
 of artistic work we might not do, if at the present time 
 we had some hundreds of artisans trained from their 
 early years to that style of painting ? However that 
 may be, the process of transferring printed patterns to 
 biscuit ware was considered a great step, and one 
 which contributed largely to the extension of the 
 earthenware trade. 
 
 Liverpool and Worcester claim the priority for this 
 invention, towards the year 1752. It is a fact that 
 shortly after that date, Staffordshire potters used to 
 send their wares to Messrs. Sadler and Guy-Green, of
 
 38 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Liverpool, to be printed ; and there is also every 
 reason to believe that about the same time it was 
 introduced at the Worcester works, then under the 
 management of Dr. Wall, by an engraver named 
 Hancock. 
 
 The process of printing on pottery does not differ 
 very materially from that used for transferring to paper 
 a design from an ordinary copper-plate. There are, 
 however, these differences, that a metallic colour is used 
 instead of lampblack, and that a fine tissue paper is 
 specially made for that purpose. When that paper, 
 with the pattern printed upon it, is laid on the ware, 
 face downwards, the colours adhere strongly to the 
 biscuit, which, being porous and aluminous, has a great 
 affinity for the oil with which they have been mixed. 
 After rubbing the back of the print with a roll of 
 flannel, to secure the adhesion of every portion of the 
 pattern, the biscuit piece is plunged in water, and the 
 paper comes off quite freely, the whole of the colour 
 sticking fast to the ware. 
 
 Previous to glazing, the printed ware must be brought 
 to a red heat, for the sole object of burning the oil 
 mixed with the colour. This is done in kilns, called 
 hardening-on Tcilns. 
 
 The colours in use for printing under the glaze are 
 not many ; as few only of the preparations made with 
 metallic oxides can, when brought to a red heat, stand 
 the action of the glazes under which they are laid. 
 Most of them in this case will be dissolved and con- 
 siderably weakened, if they do not even completely 
 disappear. Cobalt, and the preparations made from
 
 POTTERY. 39 
 
 chromates, are the most resisting, and, when well pre- 
 pared, the glaze in melting over them will bring out 
 the colour with increased beauty. 
 
 The necessity for covering the biscuit with glaze to 
 stop the absorption of liquids or greasy substances, 
 which would find their way into its interior and would 
 stain it, is so obvious, that I do not think it necessary 
 to dwell on the importance of this operation. I have 
 stated already that it was used by the Egyptians and 
 Assyrians, who knew most of the saline mixtures by 
 which white and coloured glazes could be obtained; 
 but these, which for the greatest part were alkaline 
 silicates, could not have resisted the action of time as 
 they have done, if a certain amount of silicate of lead 
 had not made them permanent. They found this 
 material in the sulphide of lead, which by the silica 
 it contains, or that which it meets on the body of the 
 ware, gives a glaze, which stands exposure to damp 
 better than any other. That this mineral was used 
 in remote antiquity, proofs are numerous. I recol- 
 lect, amongst others, some small shalti, or sepulchral 
 figures, made in Egypt more than two thousand years 
 ago, of which the red parts, such as the faces and hands, 
 have been glazed in this way. My opinion is, that it 
 was used by the Greeks, in connection with the black 
 oxide of iron, to produce the black colour used in the 
 decoration of their vases, and it might some day prove 
 that it was an indispensable material in the prepara- 
 tion of the red smear, which is the characteristic 
 feature of the Samian ware. At all events it is with 
 this single material, stained with metallic oxides, that
 
 40 BRITISH MAN UFACTUEING IND US TRIES. ' 
 
 the Arabs glazed their rich-looking pottery, and the 
 same was used afterwards for our encaustic tiles and 
 our common pottery, from the time of Elizabeth down 
 to the middle of the last century. Lately, however, 
 the science of making glazes has considerably im- 
 proved, and a variety of new substances have been 
 introduced. To prepare a glaze is one of the most 
 delicate operations possible, and failures are attended 
 with most serious consequences. The conditions to 
 be fulfilled are many. It must not be too fusible nor 
 too hard, either of which conditions would make it 
 dull or apt to craze; and it must be transparent, 
 otherwise the colours underneath would not be clear. 
 It may happen that a glaze which apparently seems 
 good when it comes out from the oven, will craze 
 when a few months, or perhaps years, have elapsed. 
 Generally, the less alumina that there is in the biscuit, 
 the easier is the adaptation of the glaze, and this 
 accounts for the soft porcelains being easier to manage 
 in this respect than ordinary earthenwares. 
 
 The materials used for the foundation of glazes are 
 in principle the same as those for the body, viz. silica, 
 in the form of flint, or sand and felspar, pure or mixed 
 with other components in the granitic rocks, called 
 Cornish stone. These are the hard materials to be 
 vitrified by the fluxes, which are carbonate or oxide of 
 lead, boracic acid or borax, potash or soda, carbonate 
 of lime or barytes. There is no definite receipt for 
 mixing, and they may be combined in a variety of 
 ways. Every manufacturer has receipts of his own, 
 and I must say that some make their glazes a great
 
 POTTERY. 41 
 
 deal better than others. They are rather expensive, 
 chiefly owing to the increased price of borax, a material 
 of comparatively modern use, which, being apt to 
 promote the brilliancy of the wares and the beauty of 
 the various colours, is now extensively used. When 
 the components of the glazes are not soluble in water, 
 it may be sufficient to have them finely ground in 
 water. But if any soluble salt, such as borax, nitre, 
 or soda, is employed, it is necessary to render them 
 insoluble, by vitrifying them together with other sub- 
 stances. This may be effected in crucibles, or, still 
 better, in reverberatory furnaces, where a large quantity 
 may be melted more conveniently. In this case, when 
 the mass is well liquefied by the intensity of the 
 heat, it is run into cold water, which, cooling it sud- 
 denly, causes it to break into small fragments. This 
 is called a fritt ; and when it is sent to the mill, any 
 other insoluble material may be added to it if necessary. 
 To lay a thin coat of glaze on the surface of earthen- 
 ware, is a most expeditious process. Advantage is 
 taken of the porous nature of the biscuit, which, being 
 dipped in the liquid slip, rapidly absorbs the water, 
 while the solid particles of the glaze, which, however 
 fine, could not follow the water to its interior, are 
 found coating the surface. As the pieces are removed 
 from this bath before the pores of the clay are satu- 
 rated with water, they are seen to dry almost directly. 
 After this, the last operation consists in firing the 
 pieces a second time, to give them that neat and 
 finished look which belongs to glazed substances. The 
 saggers, ovens, and the mode of conducting the fire do
 
 42 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 not differ in this case from those used for making 
 biscuit. The ovens are, however, smaller, and the 
 saggers cannot be packed so closely with the different 
 articles, as every piece has to be isolated, otherwise 
 the glaze in melting would cause them to stick together. 
 To provide against this, small implements made of clay 
 cut in different forms are used, and, not to disfigure the 
 ware, are contrived in such a way that the points of 
 contact between them and the pieces should be as 
 small as possible. This second firing does not take 
 more than fifteen or eighteen hours, and this completes 
 the series of operations, by which ordinary earthenware 
 sold in the white or printed state may be produced. 
 The reader must understand that the majority of these 
 processes are also applicable to the manufacture of 
 china, or any other glazed pottery, with some modifica- 
 tions which I shall take the opportunity of noticing, 
 when speaking of these varieties. 
 
 Pottery may be decorated in a great number of ways, 
 and the operations are so varied that I cannot de- 
 scribe them all intelligibly, should I attempt to do 
 so in my limited space. I shall consequently speak 
 only of the paintings executed on the surface. This 
 necessitates the use of colours specially prepared and 
 made from two distinct materials ; the bases and the 
 fluxes. The bases are generally metallic oxides or 
 highly oxidized compounds ; the fluxes are vitreous 
 substances, similar to the glazes, but softer, whose 
 function is, to fix the colours permanently on the ware. 
 When both, after being intimately ground together, are 
 fired at a moderate heat on the article, the fluxes will
 
 POTTERY. 43 
 
 cause the colour of the bases to look more vigorous and 
 brighter, the effect being rather similar to that of an oil 
 or transparent varnish on ordinary body colour. For 
 this object, they must have very little chemical action, 
 and be sufficiently soft to act in a moderate quantity. 
 If, by carelessness or accident, the temperature is 
 raised to a degree higher than the one exactly re- 
 quired, new compounds are formed, and the alteration 
 of the colour is the consequence. There are some 
 instances in which no fluxes are required ; this is the 
 case, when the ware has been coated with a glaze suf- 
 ficiently fusible to allow the bases to sink in it, as soon 
 as it begins to soften under the influence of heat. By 
 this process more force and effect are obtained. It is, 
 however, seldom used, for this reason, that from the 
 care and attention which it requires in the superintend- 
 ence of the firing, the manufacturer would run greater 
 risks, and, being unable to use large ovens, would not 
 turn out the same quantity of ware. Altogether it 
 is a very expensive process. 
 
 Modern chemistry has placed at the disposal of 
 colour makers new compounds which have made the 
 preparation of fluxes comparatively easy. At the 
 present time two classes are required : those in which 
 the oxides of lead predominate, and those chiefly made 
 with borax, which on account of its great purity is 
 used in almost every flux, and is of great service for 
 those colours which, like the pinks and purples, would 
 suffer from the presence of lead. 
 
 The preparation of painting colours is a little more 
 complicated, and each requires a different treatment.
 
 44 BRITISH MANUFACTURING, IND US TRIES. 
 
 The number of those found in the trade is rather large, 
 and each artist has his favourite maker. In this, as in 
 any other kind of painting, beginners are apt to think 
 that they will be assisted by the use of a great variety 
 of tints, when they will learn by more experience, that 
 a very limited number is sufficient. I cannot under- 
 take to give any receipts for those who might wish to 
 prepare these themselves ; I only mention the name 
 of the substances necessary to secure each of the 
 essential colours. 
 
 White is not a colour, but when wanted on a coloured 
 body, it is procured by an enamel prepared with the 
 oxide of tin. Light yellow requires the oxides of lead 
 and antimony. Orange will require the same, with an 
 addition of deutoxide of iron. The hydrate of peroxide 
 of the same metal will give a golden buff. The sub- 
 chromate of lead gives a very bright red, but it is very 
 unsafe and mixes badly ; the reds made by calcining 
 the common sulphate of iron are preferred. From 
 this, according to the degree of fire, all shades of red 
 may be got, from an orange red to a deep purple brown. 
 The pinks, purples, and crimsons are made from the 
 precipitate of cassius ; this is obtained by pouring a 
 weak solution of tin in the chloride of gold. The dark 
 blue is a triple silicate of cobalt, which, by the admixture 
 of the white oxide of zinc, may be converted into a 
 brighter blue. The green oxide of chrome is the base 
 of all greens, the tint of which is modified by cobalt 
 for the blue greens, and antimony for the yellow 
 greens. The chromate of iron, a mineral coming in 
 large quantities from South America, is the base of all
 
 POTTERT. 45 
 
 browns. The black may be got from the mixture of 
 various oxides, but the best is that made from the 
 oxide of iridium. Besides the above, there is another 
 class of colours in which the oxides are thoroughly 
 combined with the fluxes, such as the greens made 
 from copper and the transparent blues, which are 
 ground colours, and must be classified with the glazes. 
 When painting colours are fired with their respective 
 fluxes, they are very permanent, and will not only resist 
 ordinary atmospheric influences, but also the action of 
 every gas or mineral acid (the fluoric excepted). This 
 seems an advantage in favour of painting on pottery, 
 and one which ought to give them an additional value ; 
 in reality, however, artistic merit ranks above all other 
 considerations, and unless the work is original, connois- 
 seurs in pottery will hardly take this into account. 
 
 Several oils possessing drying properties, such as 
 those of lavender, aniseed, or turpentine, are mixed 
 with the colours, which, from the fact of containing 
 vitreous substances, would work badly ; even with their 
 assistance, it requires a certain amount of skill to 
 master the process. We must not make too much, 
 however, of this difficulty, generally exaggerated by the 
 ignorance of apprentices in what constitutes the very 
 principles of their profession. When parents, in per- 
 fect ignorance of the abilities of their son, have decided, 
 after putting their heads together, that he shall be a 
 painter, sometimes for no other consideration than 
 that they can get him admission into a porcelain manu- 
 factory, or that this is the nearest to their home, the 
 boy has not the least notion of what is before him, and
 
 4:6 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 hardly knows that he will have to learn that very diffi- 
 cult thing, drawing. No wonder then, if his deficiency 
 in this will not allow him to produce, we will not 
 say good, but saleable paintings, unless he has spent 
 a dozen years on his trial. On the contrary, to one 
 well prepared by the study of art one who, before he 
 sets to his work, has a clear conception of the effect 
 which he wishes to produce the process will not stand 
 in the way, and he will master it in the course of a 
 few weeks. 
 
 To induce talented men to devote their time to the 
 decoration of pottery, is perhaps the greatest difficulty 
 met with by our leading manufacturers. As long as 
 the making of the ware only was concerned, they had to 
 call for the assistance of practical men, such as potters, 
 chemists, or engineers, the number of whom is fortu- 
 nately great in England, and whose services can be 
 secured by money. The same thing is not so easy in 
 the matter of art. Up to a recent date, painting on 
 pottery was not considered as the high road to fortune, 
 and artists preferred to try their chance in oil or water- 
 colour painting, fully aware that they would have to 
 fight against an army of competitors, and to be satisfied 
 with very small incomes, unless, by their, then pro- 
 blematic, genius, they could cut their way to the front. 
 Since, however, the rage (there is no other word for it) 
 for well decorated pottery has spread in almost every 
 class of society, the prices paid for good work are more 
 remunerative, and artists like Solon, Mussill, and Cole- 
 man, can make artistic pottery their special business. 
 
 Koyal Academicians like Poynter and Marks have
 
 POTTERY. 47 
 
 thought it not beneath them to prepare cartoons 
 for Minton, and it is probable that others would 
 follow in the same path if, with the assistance of our 
 chief potters, they could be initiated into some of the 
 mysteries of the craft. No doubt they would find the 
 study attractive, and there is no fear that, having once 
 begun, they would not keep faithfully to it. For myself, 
 I know of no such example. 
 
 In addition to the painting colours, there are a few 
 metals which are used to enrich pottery ; unfortu- 
 nately, the number of those which can undergo ex- 
 posure to a red heat without oxidizing is very limited. 
 There are only three, viz. gold, silver, and platinum, 
 which can stand it, and, among these, silver is of 
 little use, on account of its proneness to tarnish under 
 the action of sulphurous gases. Gold, on the contrary, 
 affords to the decorator one of his greatest resources. 
 We cannot say when the Chinese began to use it ; we 
 only know that in Europe it was thought a great dis- 
 covery, when, in the sixteenth century, it was used in 
 the Italian majolica. From that time to the introduc- 
 tion of hard and soft porcelain in Europe, it was 
 rarely and sparingly used ; and it was at Meysten, 
 soon followed by the other continental and English 
 manufactories, that they began to use it extensively. 
 At the present time, its annual consumption by our 
 Staffordshire potters alone represents a very large sum 
 of money. There are several ways of preparing gold 
 for pottery purposes ; the oldest consists in grinding 
 gold leaves on a slab, adding to it gum-water, honey, 
 or any other mucilaginous liquid. This laborious
 
 48 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 process surpasses all others ; it has a very artistic effect 
 when used thin, in the Chinese fashion, and, when laid 
 thick, as we find it in the Old Sevres ware, it answers 
 beautifully for chasing ; the only drawback is the 
 expense. The most usual way is to have it amalga- 
 mated with mercury, and afterwards ground in tur- 
 pentine ; it has then the appearance of a blackish 
 substance, which will regain its colour, as soon as the 
 mercury is volatilized by the application of a gentle 
 heat. When it comes out of the kiln, the gold is dull, 
 and requires to be burnished with agate and blood- 
 stone tools, to be in possession of all its brightness. 
 
 There is another decorated pottery, called lustre 
 ware, now out of fashion, but most successfully 
 executed at one time by the Moors, the Persians, and 
 the Italians on their respective majolicas ; the glaze of 
 this ware being more favourable than any other for 
 the display of the process. It simply consisted in 
 painting over the fired ware with the protoxide of 
 some metal, such as that of copper, taking care that 
 from the moment the kiln began to get to the red heat, 
 a constant supply of thick smoke should be kept up. 
 The partial reduction of the metal which adheres to 
 the surface has a very pleasing effect, as may be 
 noticed in the large Hispano-moresco dishes, con- 
 sidered the finest specimens of this class. Those pro- 
 duced in Italy by Georgio Andreoli fetch, however, 
 a higher price, on account of the redness of their 
 colour ; the process is fully described in the celebrated 
 manuscript of Piccolo Passo, now in the library of the 
 South Kensington Museum. Lessore, the French
 
 POTTERY. 49 
 
 painter, lately dead, and M. de Morgan, in London, 
 have succeeded in producing very fair specimens of 
 that kind. Some of our Staffordshire potters can 
 make another lustre by mixing chloride of gold with 
 lavender oil, sulphur, resin, and other carburated 
 ingredients, and laying this mixture very thinly on 
 the surface of the glazed ware ; the iridescent pinkish 
 colour which it takes when it is fired in an ordinary 
 kiln is rather peculiar. This has no connection with 
 the old process, and is only used for the commonest 
 kind of goods. 
 
 The kilns in use for firing the painted or gilt ware, 
 are called muffles or enamelling kilns ; they are in the 
 form of a D, laid on its straight side, and of a length 
 proportionate to the size and number of pieces which 
 they are to hold. The fireplaces are arranged on one 
 of the sides, and the flues contrived in such a manner, 
 that the flame should travel round the whole of the 
 outer surface, great care being taken that it should 
 not have access to the interior through any cracks or 
 joints which might exist in the brickwork. For 
 ordinary goods one firing may suffice ; for those 
 highly decorated, as many as five or six may be 
 
 Let me now say a few words respecting the various 
 wares produced by our English potters. 
 
 The first earthenware made after the time of Wedg- 
 wood and Josiah Spode was far from being so good as 
 that made at present, and several attempts were made 
 to bring out a pottery which should be intermediate 
 between earthenware and porcelain. The most suc- 
 
 E
 
 50 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 cessful was that made by Mr. Mason, of Fenton, who, in 
 1813, took out a patent for an ironstone china, the body 
 of which was fluxed by the scoriae of ironstone and the 
 ordinary Cornish stone. But eventually this last was 
 found sufficient for that purpose. The name of iron- 
 stone remained to that class of pottery which is strong 
 and resistive. Since then, however, earthenware has 
 so much improved, that ironstone has gone out of 
 fashion ; the nearest to it is the ware called white 
 granite, made for the American market, which is richly 
 glazed, and made thick to compete with the French 
 hard porcelain, which is also exported to the United 
 States for the same class of customers. About fifty 
 manufactories are specially engaged in producing this 
 ware ; and those in the occupation of Messrs. Meakin, 
 Shaw, Bishop and Powell, and G. Jones, may be con- 
 sidered the largest. The best earthenware is made for 
 the home market, some of which is so perfect that, if it 
 were not opaque, it might be mistaken for porcelain. 
 When it is richly decorated and gilt, like that made 
 by Messrs. Minton, Wedgwood, Furnival, Copeland, 
 Brown -Westhead, Brownfields, and several other 
 leaders of the trade, very high prices are obtained 
 for it. 
 
 Some of these makers do not devote all their atten- 
 tion to earthenware, but produce other classes of 
 pottery. Amongst the sorts which are most connected 
 with earthenware are majolica, Palissy, Persian ware, 
 and flooring and wall tiles. I have given the name of 
 majolica to that class of ornament, whose surface is 
 covered with opaque enamels of a great variety of
 
 POTTERY. 51 
 
 colours. It is only connected with the Italian or 
 Moorish in this respect, that the opacity of the 
 enamels is produced by the oxide of tin ; but as we 
 have not in England the calcareous clay for making 
 the real article, we have been obliged to adapt, as well 
 as we could, the old processes to the materials at our 
 
 At present, English majolica is very popular, and 
 without a rival for garden decoration, as it stands 
 exposure to the weather better than ordinary earthen- 
 ware, besides the impossibility of the latter receiving 
 the opaque enamels without crazing or chipping. 
 
 Majolica was produced for the first time by Messrs. 
 Minton, in 1850, and they have been for many years 
 the only producers of this article. It is only five or 
 six years ago that Messrs. Maw, of Broseley, in Shrop- 
 shire (and very lately the Worcester manufactory), 
 have made a pottery of the same kind. The name of 
 majolica is now applied indiscriminately to all fancy 
 articles of coloured pottery. When, however, it is 
 decorated by means of coloured glazes, if these are 
 transparent, it ought to be called Palissy ware, from 
 the name of the great artist who used these for his 
 beautiful works. Messrs. Wedgwood, George Jones, 
 and a few other makers of less importance, are repro- 
 ducing it more or less successfully. To Messrs. 
 Minton, however, we owe the revival of the ware, 
 which, in connection with their majolica, created such 
 a sensation in the French International Exhibition of 
 1855 ; and credit must be given to those gentlemen, 
 for being on that occasion the promoters of that 
 
 E 2
 
 52 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 demand for artistic pottery, which has so largely 
 developed of late. It is to satisfy this craving for 
 novelties, that they have undertaken the imitation 
 of the faience d'Oiron, better known by the name 
 of Henri Deux ware, a rare and costly one, which 
 can only be produced in small quantities; and also 
 their most recent improvement, the reproduction of the 
 Persian wares. 
 
 In the old Persian pottery we find a real earthen- 
 ware taking a precedence of several centuries over our 
 own. There is little doubt that it can be connected 
 with the early Arabian, Assyrian, and Egyptian, by 
 the similitude of the processes common to all. I 
 have no room to explain how it is that, being an 
 earthenware, it is so much richer in colour than the 
 modern ware made on this side of Europe. I can only 
 mention that the body of the Persian ware may be 
 converted into a transparent porcelain by firing it 
 hard, which shows that the sandy clays from which 
 these are made are sufficiently saline to become 
 vitreous. To this they owe the property of receiv- 
 ing, without crazing, glazes of the softest kind, 
 and consequently of exhibiting those colours which 
 can only stand at a low temperature, such as the 
 Persian red, the turquoise, and that purple or violet 
 which makes so valuable the specimens on which it is 
 laid. If we had in England sandy clays like those 
 which abound in Persia, the reproduction of Persian 
 ware would have been an easy undertaking ; but in 
 trying to reconstitute it by synthesis, there were 
 several obstacles. Within the last three years, how-
 
 POTTERY. 53 
 
 ever, Messrs. Minton have sold a great many spe- 
 cimens of the ware, some of them of very large size. 
 They may be recognized by the depth of the turquoise, 
 which is sometimes as rich as Sevres pieces of the 
 best period. Their only competitors for this class 
 of pottery are the manufactories of Worcester and of 
 Messrs. Maw and Co. 
 
 I cannot leave earthenware without mentioning the 
 plain and encaustic tiles, articles of comparatively 
 recent manufacture in England, but whose consumption 
 is increasing so fast, that it may be expected in time 
 to afford a most valuable compensation, should circum- 
 stances restrict the production of some other branch of 
 the trade. There is no need to dwell on the advan- 
 tages offered by the use of tiles. They are clean, 
 invaluable in a sanitary point of view, free from 
 further deterioration and expense for maintenance, 
 and susceptible of a variety of treatment which makes 
 them admirably fitted for decorative purposes. To 
 the Eastern nations we owe the idea of using orna- 
 mental tiles, and it is likely that it is from the 
 numerous buildings existing in Western Asia and the 
 north of Africa, at the time of the Crusades, that our 
 forefathers took the notion of introducing in Europe 
 the encaustic tiles ; their ceramic knowledge being 
 too limited to undertake the making of painted or 
 enamelled tiles, an essentially Saracenic and Moorish 
 production, whose specimens nearest to us are those 
 to be seen in the Alhambra, or in the Alcazar at 
 Seville. An inspection of those made afterwards in 
 Spain, in the time of Charles V., or in Italy for the
 
 54 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Vatican, and some of the palaces in Genoa, would 
 prove that they were made exactly in the same way. 
 From the contrast between the opaque and trans- 
 parent enamels, these tiles have a very forcible and 
 harmonious effect, not to be met in others (the Persian 
 excepted, though these, exclusively decorated on a cool 
 scale of colours, cannot answer so well the requirements 
 of modern architecture). The majolica and Delft tiles, 
 chiefly the last, have been almost exclusively used 
 during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and 
 it is only within the last forty years, that we began to 
 make them in earthenware. With the revival of this 
 manufacture, and of almost any other sort of tiles, the 
 name of Herbert Minton is closely associated. It 
 was during his time, and with the assistance of Mr. 
 Michael Daintry Hollins, that this great undertaking 
 was carried out with such success, that hardly a new 
 church or public building is erected where these tiles 
 are not introduced. The making of plain tiles is 
 new and peculiar. They are made from dry clay 
 reduced to dust, which, being submitted in metallic 
 moulds to a pressure of several hundred pounds to the 
 inch, becomes so compact, that further contraction is 
 almost suppressed, and they can be handled without 
 risk of breaking. Encaustic tiles are made from plas- 
 tic clay, in which the different portions of the design 
 are sunk below the surface, so as to form recesses, in 
 which slips of different colours are poured according 
 to a set pattern. When these become as hard as the 
 body of the tiles, the surface is made smooth and level 
 with a steel scraper, which removes all the superfluous
 
 POTTERY. 55 
 
 material, till the colours are shown standing neatly 
 side by side with the greatest precision. It is a pretty 
 process and interesting to witness. Besides the floor- 
 ing tiles, there are many other sorts made for lining 
 walls and fireplaces, varying considerably in style 
 and material. There are two very extensive and 
 perfected tile works at Stoke, viz. those belonging to Mr. 
 Hollins and the Campbell Brick and Tile Company, 
 in both of which all sorts of flooring and wall tiles 
 are made. In the second, recently built, Mr. Colin 
 Minton Campbell, the proprietor, has introduced new 
 arrangements and contrivances in almost every de- 
 partment ; all operations being performed on the ground 
 floor, and in such manner that the goods shall travel 
 the shortest possible distance from the moment they 
 are begun to that of their completion. He has been 
 the first to use Maw's patent steam presses for plain 
 tiles, each of which can make twelve thousand tiles 
 weekly, requiring only the assistance of a single 
 person, to remove the tiles as they come out from the 
 mould. It is by the intelligent use of these me- 
 chanical processes, that we may expect a reduction in 
 the price of such a useful article. The firm of 
 Mintons still continue to make their plain white 
 printed and artistic tiles, along with their patent 
 process for painting on mosaics. The Broseley Works, 
 in Shropshire, belonging to Messrs. Maw and Co., have 
 also a great name, and carry on an extensive business 
 in tile making. Next are those of Messrs. Edge and 
 Malkin, of Burslem. Messrs. Simpson, of London, 
 are well known for their wall decorations in tiles
 
 56 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 painted by hand, and Messrs. Copeland, of Stoke, for 
 their painted slabs. 
 
 The various porcelain biscuits known under the 
 name of Parian or statuary biscuits, are specially used 
 for statuettes, busts, and other articles for which it is 
 desirable to get the appearance of white marble. This 
 is a kind of hard porcelain made from a mixture of 
 kaolin and felspar, in which the degree of hardness or 
 fusibility is regulated by the proportion of one ma- 
 terial towards the other. Of course, similar biscuits 
 may be made by more complicated receipts, but the 
 principle is always the same, viz. the taking advantage 
 of the fusibility of felspar or Cornish stone, to secure 
 the required amount of transparency. The light being 
 allowed to penetrate to some depth below the surface, 
 imparts to these biscuits a softness which is wanting 
 in the similar productions of Sevres, Germany, and 
 Denmark. 
 
 In noticing the bluish-white colour of the foreign 
 article as compared with the cream tint of our own, I 
 must explain that this difference lies in the manage- 
 ment of the fire, since in none of them is stain or 
 colour introduced to procure any such result. As my 
 readers must now understand, there is in all clays, 
 pure as they may be, a certain amount of oxide of 
 iron, which, during the firing process, forms silicate of 
 protoxide or peroxide, according to the chemical com- 
 position of the atmosphere of the oven in which they 
 stand. On the Continent, to make hard porcelain suc- 
 cessfully, the fire must be reductive; while here, on the 
 contrary, it is oxidizing ; and it is to the formation of
 
 POTTERY. 57 
 
 a small quantity of silicate of peroxide of iron dissemi- 
 nated in the mass, that the creamy colour of our Parian 
 is due. Since this new material was introduced by 
 Messrs. Copeland and Messrs. Minton, about twenty- 
 eight years ago, a large quantity of figures, busts, and 
 groups have been sold, and the talent of our most 
 eminent sculptors has been put to contribution to get 
 models adapted for this kind of ware. Parian is gene- 
 rally cast, which accounts for the great contraction it 
 undergoes when fired, and much care is required for 
 propping or supporting the various articles, as neglect 
 or miscalculation in this respect would inevitably 
 ruin them. Otherwise, as this biscuit is made from few 
 materials and takes but one single firing, the simplicity 
 of the manufacture has induced many small makers to 
 undertake it a fact that we should regret, if we were 
 to take a purely artistic view of this subject. Parian, 
 which was originally sold in biscuit state, has since 
 been glazed, for the purpose of making pieces of deco- 
 ration. The manufactory at Worcester, several years 
 ago, made a great many coloured and gilt ornaments 
 in the Cinque-cento style, to which it has lately added 
 a highly artistic imitation of the Japanese lacquered 
 ivories, for which great credit is due to the present 
 director, Mr. Binns. 
 
 The Belleek manufactory, in Ireland, has obtained 
 a name for coating its glazed Parian with an iridescent 
 lustre, in imitation of a similar article invented by a 
 Frenchman, M. Bianchon. 
 
 For richly decorated ornaments, the body of the 
 Parian has been stained with success in many rich
 
 58 BEITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 colours "by Messrs. Minton, their last production in 
 this class being a Parian combining the red colour of 
 the terra cotta, with the advantages of a vitrified 
 porcelain. Their most artistic ware is, however, their 
 pate sur pate, in the production of which they have 
 been assisted by M. Solon, an eminent artist, who left 
 the Sevres works to establish this branch of fine art in 
 their manufactory. To carry on this process, advan- 
 tage is taken of the transparency of the Parian body 
 with which the figures or ornaments introduced in the 
 composition are painted, or rather modelled. As they 
 are laid on a ground of a dark colour, the softness of 
 the shades in the thinner parts gives to the finished 
 pieces a particularly beautiful cameo appearance. The 
 effect may be compared to that of the Limoges enamels, 
 when confined to the white colour. This process has 
 a certain connection with that of Wedgwood for 
 making his jasper ware ; but there is this difference, 
 that in the jasper, the figures and ornaments are taken 
 from clay moulds, and may be repeated to any extent, 
 the talent of the artisan consisting in pressing neatly 
 and transferring on the vases the various fragments of 
 decoration, without destroying the sharpness of the 
 impression, while in the pate sur pdte original works 
 can only be produced by the artist, who must combine 
 the qualifications of designer and modeller. What I 
 say here is not in disparagement of jasper, which, 
 considering the time of its introduction, was far in 
 advance of anything that could be expected. In its 
 production the Wedgwoods never had a rival, and the 
 models of the celebrated Josiah Wedgwood are still
 
 POTTERY. 59 
 
 worked at their manufactory at Etruria, with the same 
 success. The sulphate and carbonate of barytes were 
 the fluxes originally used to vitrify the body of the 
 jasper ware, and on this account it ought to be classi- 
 fied with the stoneware. Parian, which may be made 
 from purely granitic materials, has a nearer connection 
 with porcelain. 
 
 There are three different sorts of porcelain : 1. The 
 Chinese and Japanese, with which may be assimilated 
 the German and French, all of them made of kaolin 
 and felspar, sometimes with an addition of quartz. 
 The principal seat of this manufacture is now in 
 France, with Limoges for its centre. 2. The soft 
 porcelain, of which the most perfect type is the old 
 Sevres, includes those of Chelsea, Bow, Worcester, 
 and Derby. In all these the transparency, which is 
 the distinctive feature of porcelain, is secured by the 
 introduction of fritt, a mixture of sand and alkaline 
 materials thoroughly vitrified, ground and made work- 
 able by an addition of plastic clay. The calcareous 
 marl used at Sevres gave to the French works a supe- 
 riority over the English, who could only use the clays 
 from our southern counties. The manufacture of the 
 soft porcelain, on account of its difficulties, is almost 
 abandoned. 3. The English porcelain, the body of 
 which is made, like the hard, from kaolin and Cornish 
 stone, but differing from it by the addition of a large 
 proportion of calcined bones. This kind is exclusively 
 English. For the hard porcelain, the glaze is made 
 from felspar containing a variable quantity of quartz, 
 or, as in Germany, from quartz vitrified by an addi-
 
 60 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 tion of gypsum, the melting of which in both cases 
 requires a very high temperature. For the glazing of 
 the two other classes of porcelain, a soft, vitreous 
 mixture containing silicate of lead and borates is used, 
 the temperature necessary to melt these being much 
 inferior to that required for firing the biscuit. 
 
 The most ancient porcelain is, as everyone knows, 
 the Chinese, which, relying on the few authorities that 
 have written on this subject, may have been in ex- 
 istence for two thousand years, and is said to have 
 reached its greatest perfection towards the eleventh 
 century of our era. The Portuguese have the credit 
 of having been the first to introduce it in Europe, in 
 1520; but it is not improbable that, before they 
 doubled the Cape of Good Hope, some specimens were 
 brought to Europe through India and Persia. This 
 may be inferred from the mention by ancient historians 
 of some extraordinary white vessels, which could 
 hardly correspond to any other kind of ware. The 
 Portuguese and the Dutch, who were the first to 
 explore the Chinese seas, seem to have derived a good 
 trade from the importation of the porcelain into 
 Europe, and, since then, the reproduction of that refined 
 pottery was the ambition of many alchemists, who 
 pursued their experiments in that direction with an 
 eagerness almost equal to that wasted in the search for 
 the philosopher's stone. For a long time, in conse- 
 quence of the imperfection of their chemical know- 
 ledge, their efforts ended in failure. The only 
 successful attempt was that of Francis II., one of the 
 Medicis, who produced a few pieces of soft porcelain
 
 POTTEET. 61 
 
 recognizable by their mark, representing the dome of 
 Florence. 
 
 At the death of this prince, his secret was lost, and 
 it was a long time afterwards, at the end of the seven- 
 teenth century, that John Dwight, a potter, of Fulhani, 
 in Middlesex, took a patent for what is curiously 
 reported by Dr. Plot as " the mystery of transparent 
 earthenware commonly Tcnowne by the name of porcelaine 
 and Persian ware" Made from English materials, it 
 is probable that this was nothing better than a kind of 
 white stoneware, possessing little of those qualities 
 which would entitle it to the name of porcelain. Next 
 to that in date would be the soft porcelain made at the 
 manufactory of St. Cloud, which was said to produce, 
 in 1698, pieces of ware considered very good imitations 
 of the Oriental. This was the origin of the French 
 soft porcelain, which was carried on afterwards with 
 varied success at Chantilly, Vincennes, and other 
 places, till it was definitely settled, in 1756, by King 
 Louis XV. in the royal establishment of Sevres. At a 
 corresponding period, on this side of the Channel, the 
 efforts of our potters were varied and numerous. If 
 we are to believe Dr. Martyn Lister, a manufactory of 
 porcelain existed at Chelsea as far back as 1698, a 
 fact which would establish for England a claim equal 
 to that of France for the discovery of the soft 
 porcelain. This is not altogether improbable, con- 
 sidering that there was a glass manufactory in that 
 locality before that, and that many people had a notion 
 that porcelain was nothing else than a glass hardened 
 and made opaque. The managers of these glass works
 
 62 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 may have experimented on that supposition, and the 
 conjecture is strengthened by the fact, that pounded 
 glass was always used at Chelsea to give the desired 
 transparency. Good specimens are not, however, 
 recorded before 1745, and it is probable that many of 
 the improvements at Chelsea were realized by the 
 Staffordshire potters, who, two years later, went there 
 to apply their industry. The priority in making 
 practically good ware belongs to the works established 
 in 1730 at Stratford-le-Bow, from which the Bow 
 porcelain took its name. It was not perfected there, 
 however, before 1744, when a china, softer than that 
 made at Chelsea, and nearer to that made at Vincennes, 
 was manufactured by a potter named Frye, originally 
 a painter, who seems to have been the promoter and 
 manager of these works, which at one time did not 
 employ less than three hundred people. 
 
 Bow was celebrated for its statuettes, and it is said 
 that several of them were modelled by Bacon, the 
 sculptor. The successes of Bow and Chelsea were 
 great but of short duration, for both had ceased to 
 exist in 1775, when their utensils and moulds were 
 sold to Mr. William Dwesbury, and carried to Derby, 
 where this enterprising gentleman had started a manu- 
 factory as far back as 1751. 
 
 Three generations of Dwesbury continued here the 
 traditions of Chelsea, after which time the works be- 
 came the property of Eobert Bloor, the last owner of 
 repute. I am happy to say that after ceasing to 
 exist for a great many years, this celebrated manufac- 
 tory is going to be revived under the leadership of Mr.
 
 POTTERY. 63 
 
 E. Phillips, formerly one of the directors of the Wor- 
 cester works. In that same year (1761), a man who 
 for his inquiring turn of mind and artistic knowledge 
 seems to have a great likeness to Josiah Wedgwood 
 John Wall, a doctor and a chemist, began also to make 
 porcelain at Worcester; and if Mr. Binns' assertions 
 are correct as regards the preparation of the fritt used 
 in it, he must have had some knowledge of the Vin- 
 cennes receipts. The Worcester works have now been 
 celebrated for more than a century, and with them 
 must be associated the names of the various owners, 
 Flight, Barr, and Chamberlain. At Caughley, in 
 Shropshire, a manufactory of soft porcelain was in 
 existence in 1756, and it was employed at one time by 
 the proprietors of the Worcester works to assist in 
 making ware, which was sent back to them to be 
 decorated. The Caughley works were bought by 
 John Eose, a pupil of Turner, the first director, and 
 transferred to Coalport, with which the works of 
 Nantgarw, in South Wales, were also amalgamated. 
 These works have been in the family of John Hose 
 until lately, when they came into the possession of M. 
 Pew, the present owner. For softness and resistance of 
 body, brightness of glaze, and clearness of colour, the 
 Coalport ware is held in great esteem by those who 
 know anything about china. At Swinton, in Yorkshire, 
 soft porcelain was manufactured on the property of 
 the Marquis of Eockingham. Manufactories also 
 existed at other places, so that the reader may here 
 remark, that all exertions to establish the manufacture 
 of china were made outside Staffordshire ; and if he
 
 64 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 has noticed the dates, he will also perceive that all 
 these works were founded, when Wedgwood was too 
 young to render any assistance. This we must say 
 in justice to Dr. Wall, Frye, Dwesbury, and Cook- 
 worthy whose name must not be forgotten as the 
 discoverer of the Cornish clay, which so greatly pro- 
 moted the ceramic trade of this country. William 
 Cookworthy was a chemist and druggist, at Plymouth, 
 a member of the Society of Friends, and a man of 
 great respectability. Having had the opportunity of 
 seeing some kaolin and felspar from Virginia, that an 
 American friend had shown to him as the very 
 material from which the Chinese porcelain was made, 
 he recognized, several years afterwards, the same in 
 Cornwall, and setting resolutely to work, he began to 
 make his first trials at St. Stephens, on the property 
 of Lord Camelford, and afterwards at Plymouth, where 
 he remained till 1774, when Champion, a merchant of 
 Bristol, bought his patent, and removed the works to 
 the latter place. I must here explain that Cook- 
 worthy's ideas of the making of porcelain were correct, 
 inasmuch as he wished to closely imitate the Chinese ; 
 consequently he had to work on different principles 
 from those then in favour at Chelsea and other places. 
 He wanted to produce a porcelain without fritt and 
 with a felspathic glaze, and, in succeeding in his 
 attempt, this energetic man is entitled to a great deal 
 of credit, when we consider that, although the pro- 
 cesses discovered by Bottger, in 1710, at Meyssen, for 
 making hard porcelain, were also put in practice at 
 Vienna, St. Petersburg, and Berlin, they were kept
 
 POTTERY. 65 
 
 very secret, and it is most probable that he had no 
 information whatever from those quarters. It would 
 be to rob Cookworthy to admit that the hard porcelain 
 pieces, known by the name of Lowestoft, were made 
 in that locality. I am indeed sorry to differ in this 
 from an eminent critic, who has taken great trouble to 
 collect documents in support of this opinion; but 
 those who are in favour of it know very little about 
 the difficulties attending the organization of such 
 manufacture, and the quality of the materials that it 
 requires. Besides the absence of any information 
 respecting the place whence these materials were taken, 
 the vast quantity of pieces which are met with is such, 
 that it precludes the idea that they have been made in 
 the precincts of such a small establishment. They have 
 every feature of Chinese porcelain, and of one made 
 in large quantities. It is most probable that, after 
 making, or trying to make, soft porcelain for a time, 
 the proprietors of the Lowestoft works found it more 
 profitable to paint and decorate the foreign article, 
 which they could easily get from Holland in the white 
 state. 
 
 Most pieces of Cookworthy manufacture were copied 
 from the Chinese, and are still well known by the 
 name of Plymouth porcelain. At Bristol, Champion 
 used the same clay to produce a softer kind of ware, 
 and his materials began to be employed at Bow and 
 other places. The Staffordshire potters soon became 
 anxious to take advantage of the discovery, and in 
 1777 a company was formed by Jacob Warburton to 
 obtain a licence for their use. This was granted by 
 
 F
 
 66 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Champion, but with this singular restriction that, 
 although they were allowed to use a certain quantity 
 of china clay and china stone, they were not to make 
 porcelain. This restriction, however, did not last 
 long, and Champion himself came for a short time to 
 Shelton to superintend some works. Amongst the 
 names of Warburton's associates, we notice some well 
 known in Staffordshire, such as S. Hollins, of Shelton ; 
 Antony Keeling, of Tunstall ; Turner, of Lane End, 
 and a few others. To these gentlemen we must give 
 credit for the earliest attempts to introduce the manu- 
 facture of china into the Potteries. However, their 
 porcelain was inferior to that made at Worcester and 
 Derby, and it is doubtful whether they would have 
 persisted, if the matter had not been settled by Josiah 
 Spode, the second of that name, who, by adding 
 calcined bones to the body of the ware, made a new 
 kind of porcelain, distinct from the hard or the soft 
 previously made. On that account Spode deserves to 
 be considered as the creator of the English porcelain. 
 There is this peculiarity in the use of bones, that the 
 phosphate of lime which enters into their composition 
 is not decomposed by the silicates with which it is 
 mixed, and, as it is infusible, its admixture in the 
 body allows the ware to stand without injury the 
 temperature at which the felspar is vitrified. This 
 hardening of the bones does not exclude a certain 
 amount of transparency, and they possess, besides, a 
 very great advantage in preventing the oxides of iron 
 which exist in the clays, producing that brownish or 
 imperfect transparency, noticeable in the old Derby or
 
 POTTERY. 67 
 
 Worcester ware. I have already said that the adapta- 
 tion of the glaze for each kind of pottery is one of the 
 greatest difficulties that the maker has to overcome; 
 in this case, however, there was very little, and the 
 glazing of English porcelain may be considered as 
 exceptionally easy. Most of the glazes which had 
 been used for the soft porcelain could be adapted to 
 this one, a property which was of great service when 
 the pieces had to be decorated. I have already 
 explained, that when paintings executed on the surface 
 of the ware are submitted to a moderate red heat, if 
 the glaze is soft enough to undergo an incipient fusion, 
 the vitreous colours with which they are executed will 
 sink into it and attain, by their incorporation, an 
 amount of glossiness and brilliancy which cannot be 
 got on the surface of hard glazes. This is particu- 
 larly illustrated by the old Sevres ware, which 
 possesses this quality in the highest degree. English 
 porcelain, well made, has almost all the advantages of 
 the old soft, and its making is not attended with the 
 difficulties experienced in working a body made from 
 fritted substances. For regular use, it is not much 
 inferior to the hard porcelain. When this last began 
 to be made on the Continent, people were so much pre- 
 judiced in its favour, on account of the capability of its 
 glaze to resist the scratching of the knife, that this 
 was thought to more than compensate for its inability 
 to combine with the colours. The advantage was, in 
 fact, more apparent than real, for when hard porcelain 
 has been long in use, it becomes as badly scratched as 
 the English. Some people question whether it would 
 
 F 2
 
 68 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 not be desirable to revive in England the manufacture 
 of the hard. There are many reasons against this, the 
 principal being, that in case we succeeded, we should 
 have to compete with the French and Germans, who 
 get their labour cheaper, and have a long experience 
 of processes altogether different from ours ; and by the 
 change we should lose the advantage of our traditions, 
 and depend, at least for a- time, on foreign labour to 
 give a new training to our workmen. Out of the trade, 
 few people seem to know that the price of hard 
 porcelain is generally lower than that given for the 
 English ; and, if the experiment were made, it would 
 be soon found that with greater risks we should pro- 
 duce an article of less value, and consequently less 
 remunerative. It is true that the exports of our best 
 china are very small, on account of its price ; but with 
 the improvement going on in the public taste, it is 
 likely to increase, and there are signs that eventually 
 our richest articles may find purchasers on the other 
 side of the Atlantic. 
 
 In Europe, where the value of the various ceramic 
 productions has been more investigated than in the 
 other parts of the world, there is hardly an amateur 
 who does not recognize the superiority of a soft porce- 
 lain for decorated articles, and if the English china 
 is not, properly speaking, as soft as the old Sevres, 
 it is certainly nearer to it than any other porcelain. 
 This superiority is proved by the test that the various 
 porcelains are undergoing at the present time, and 
 which is rather decisive. We understand by this, the 
 manner in which they have stood the dangerous compe-
 
 POTTERY. 69 
 
 tition arising from the introduction of artistic faiences 
 or painted majolica. While, in consequence of this, the 
 French manufacturers have seen the production of 
 ornamental articles in hard porcelain collapse to an 
 incredible extent, the quantity of those made in 
 England for similar purposes is fast increasing. 
 
 Messrs. Copeland, whose father, the late alderman, 
 was for some time in partnership with Spode, occupy, 
 in Stoke-upon-Trent, the same establishment in which 
 that great potter carried out his improvements. Since 
 then, these makers have kept their rank among the 
 principal leaders of the trade, and maintain their repu- 
 tation for the excellence of their decoration and the 
 beauty of their gilding. It was so far fortunate for 
 Stoke that, although one of the smallest towns in the 
 Potteries, it became the seat of the most important 
 manufactories of china. It was in 1788 that Thomas 
 Minton, who had been brought up as an engraver at 
 the Caughley works, in Shropshire, and who in that 
 capacity had been several years in the employment of 
 Spode, founded in that town the establishment which 
 subsequently became the property of his son, Herbert 
 Minton. The father does not seem to have possessed 
 these qualities which, as potter, should entitle him to 
 a special notice; but the same cannot be said of the 
 son, who soon after his father's death began to work 
 in earnest to raise his manufactory to its present 
 degree of eminence. The unceasing activity of his 
 mind in carrying out improvements in all the branches 
 of his trade, may be attested by one who for many 
 years had the honour of working with him. On every
 
 70 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 matter connected with art his ideas were sound, and 
 his natural tact rarely failed in finding out that which 
 was most suited to the taste of his customers. His 
 reputation, as the most advanced potter of his time, is 
 so well established, that I am not astonished to find 
 others claiming a share in it, asserting that it was at 
 their suggestion, or with their assistance, that he left 
 the old path to open the way to progress. Suggestions 
 and advices are always freely given to a man of soci- 
 able disposition as was Herbert Minton, but he used 
 his own judgment and discretion to test their practi- 
 cability. In applying higher class of art to his produc- 
 tions, he had only to follow his own inclinations, 
 guided by that care and prudence which are insepa- 
 rable from good administration. He knew how to 
 select his assistants, and was particularly fortunate in 
 his partners, his two nephews : Michael Hollins, who, 
 since he left the firm of Minton, is the owner of a large 
 tile manufactory at Stoke ; and Colin Minton Camp- 
 bell, his pupil and heir, who, after taking an active 
 part in all his labours, has so successfully followed 
 the example set by his uncle, that Minton's manu- 
 factory is now the largest in existence, and turns out 
 the greatest variety of ware. With Minton and 
 Copeland must be associated the names of Messrs. 
 Brown- Westhead, of Caulden Place ; and outside 
 Staffordshire, the Coalport works and the Royal manu- 
 factory at Worcester. These are the principal pro- 
 ducers of richly decorated china, for which the 
 demand has greatly increased during the last few 
 years. The greatest bulk of that ware is, however,
 
 POTTERY. 71 
 
 made at Longton, one of the pottery towns which has a 
 reputation for the cheapness of its goods ; but of late a 
 decided tendency to improve their quality and prices 
 must be noticed among the generality of its manufac- 
 turers. Several of them, like Messrs. Ainsley, Moore, 
 Barlow, and others, are trying to raise their goods to 
 the same level as those of Stoke. There are about 
 thirty-five firms in the Potteries making china, most 
 of them for the home trade, and over five times that 
 number making earthenware. These two hundred and 
 thirty manufactories are spread over an area of ten 
 square miles, comprising the towns of Hanley, Burslem, 
 Tunstall, Longton, Fenton, Shelton, and Stoke-upon- 
 Trent, from which the electoral borough takes its name. 
 These, which in a few years are likely to be amal- 
 gamated in a single town, form the district called the 
 Potteries, containing already a population of 170,000 
 inhabitants engaged in the ceramic and iron trade. 
 It has been remarked that since the foundation of 
 Burslem, the mother town of the Potteries, the popu- 
 lation of the district has doubled every twenty-five 
 years, and it is easy to foresee the time when Stoke- 
 upon-Trent will rank in importance with our largest 
 commercial cities. 
 
 The export of porcelain is not large ; but that of 
 earthenware reaches one and a half million of pounds. 
 This does not appear large compared with the enor- 
 mous amount exported by the iron or the cotton trades, 
 but it is satisfactory, if taken in combination with the 
 quantity absorbed by the home trade, which represents 
 quite as much. Our colonial trade with Australia,
 
 72 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 India, and British America is decidedly on the increase, 
 and the same may be said as regards South America. 
 On the contrary, our transactions with the Continent 
 of Europe have a tendency to decrease, and to fluctuate 
 in the case of the United States, a very important 
 market, which, in time of prosperity, would take as 
 much as 800,OOOZ. of granite ware. 
 
 To meet the competition of France and Germany, 
 on one side, and the Americans on the other, great 
 changes have taken place in the management of our 
 works. Several processes have been improved or sim- 
 plified, and large manufactories have been built on 
 better principles. These steps were not taken too 
 soon ; for if competition scarcely existed for our goods 
 twenty years ago, that state of things has been much 
 altered, and it will require a great deal of application 
 and energy on our part, if we intend to maintain our 
 position as the largest and best producers of pottery in 
 the world. 
 
 It is a fact that America, which had not a single 
 manufactory worth the name at the time of the New 
 York Exhibition, produces now, with the assistance 
 of British workmen, granite ware of tolerably good 
 quality ; and I have been told by an eye-witness, that 
 no less than seventy ovens are now at work at Tren- 
 ton, in New Jersey. The clays and coals used by 
 these potters are good, and if the salaries are higher 
 than they are in England, they find a compensation in 
 the heavy duties which, since the war of Secession, 
 are levied on our wares. 
 
 Our commercial intercourse with France has not
 
 POTTEKY. 73 
 
 much altered, and the quantity of our goods sent across 
 the Channel may be considered small compared with 
 the importance of this market. The French are the 
 largest producers of hard porcelain, and they make 
 their common earthenware quite as cheap, if not 
 cheaper, than ours. However, if they are strong at 
 home, they have never affected our trade abroad, 
 except in the United States, where they send their 
 porcelain in competition with English granite. 
 
 At the present time, the rivalry from which we 
 have suffered most in Germany, the North of Europe, 
 and as far as Italy, comes from a group of establish- 
 ments situated in the Ehenish provinces and that 
 neighbourhood : at Sarreguemines, Sarrelouis, Vaudre- 
 vange, Mettlach, Maestricht, and a few other places. 
 Built in the centre of a populous district, where labour 
 is still very cheap, their intelligent and wealthy pro- 
 prietors share in each other's business, and conse- 
 quently have no inducement for lowering their prices. 
 They seem to have given a considerable portion of 
 their time to the study of the various processes, and 
 they have so far succeeded, that they are a great deal 
 more independent with regard to their men than we 
 are. Possessing these advantages, we cannot wonder, 
 if we have not been able to keep our hold on those 
 markets which were the nearest to them. Besides, it 
 is plain, that the important rise which has taken place 
 in the price of wages and fuel, and the consequent 
 increase in the price of our wares, has acted as an 
 encouragement to foreign production ; and perhaps it 
 may be good policy, in future, to resist any further
 
 74 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 opportunity which might offer to increase the price of 
 our goods. It would, however, be singular if, in the 
 course of time, England did not derive some benefit 
 from this competition ; she is used to close contest, 
 and, everything considered, her position is an enviable 
 one. Our home trade is excellent ; and if the amount 
 of our exports does not progress so fast as we could 
 desire, we know that we have in our commercial fleet 
 more facilities that any other nation for sending our 
 goods to those numerous countries where the trade of 
 pottery is hardly established, and we rely on our 
 honest and straightforward way of dealing, for securing 
 new customers for English manufacture.
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 
 
 Br PROFESSOR FREDK. S. BARFF, M.A. 
 
 THE very brilliant and useful substance, which forms 
 the subject of this article, is said to have been dis- 
 covered by the Phoenicians. The story goes that 
 some Phoenician merchants, while cooking their food 
 on the sands near the seashore, noticed that the ashes 
 of the plant, with which they made their fire, caused 
 some of the sand to melt and form a vitreous sub- 
 stance ; but whether this tale be true or not, it is well 
 known that for a long time these people made glass 
 from the materials which were abundant on their sea 
 and river coasts. 
 
 Glass, however, was produced long before this by 
 the Egyptians for the beads and ornaments used in 
 adorning their mummies, and many specimens of these 
 are in the British Museum. It is certain also that 
 they well knew how to make certain substances 
 impart colour to glass for the manufacture of most of 
 these beads. The Romans made rich goblets of ruby 
 glass, some of which are to be seen in collections in 
 this country, as well as urns to receive the ashes of 
 their dead, four of which, of a green colour, are 
 also in the British Museum. The manufacture of 
 these vessels proves that this nation was well skilled
 
 76 BEITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTETES. 
 
 in the arts of blowing and modelling glass ; and their 
 designs, which we are now reproducing, show that 
 they were at least not inferior in artistic skill to 
 those who have formed their taste in this highly civi- 
 lized age. We have no record of glass being used for 
 glazing purposes in ancient times. The Venerable 
 Bede introduced it into this country about 674 A.D., 
 and employed it in the adornment of church windows. 
 Ordinary window glass was made at the works in 
 Crutched Friars in 1557, and plate glass at the large 
 works of the Eavenhead Plate Glass Company, near 
 St. Helen's in Lancashire. About 1776, flint glass 
 vessels were blown at the establishment in the Savoy 
 House ; and the second Duke of Buckingham brought 
 over Venetian artists, at that time the most skilled, 
 to make glass for mirrors, carriage windows, and 
 other useful purposes. Their workshop was in Lam- 
 beth, and the date of their arrival in this country was 
 1673. The French were before us in the art of casting 
 glass plates ; and in 1688, Stewart commenced this 
 branch of manufacture, which led to the establishment 
 of the very famous works of St. Gobain. England has 
 now large plate glass factories in different parts of the 
 country, and these together yield as their weekly pro- 
 duction at least 140,000 superficial feet of the best 
 polished plate, or seven and a quarter millions of feet 
 yearly. The value of plate glass made in England 
 annually, including the rough kinds used for glazing 
 roofs, &c., is estimated at 1,OQO,OOOZ. France still 
 stands very high, and her plates are extremely perfect 
 in manufacture. St. Marie d'Oignies, in Belgium, also
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 77 
 
 sends a considerable quantity of plate glass into the 
 market. This branch of manufacture has not yet 
 extended to America, which therefore is a large 
 customer of Europe. Formerly, glass making was 
 very heavily taxed in this country, and in 1812 an 
 additional duty was placed on the manufacture of the 
 raw material, which so greatly depressed it, that the 
 income which the State received fell from 328,OOOZ. 
 to 183,OOOZ. per annum. Moreover, large quantities 
 of foreign glass were imported, and this too hindered 
 the development of the industry amongst us. On the 
 repeal of the duty, however, the trade began to in- 
 crease, and has now reached very large dimensions. 
 
 Glass appears to be a mixture of silicates, the nature 
 and chemical composition of which will be explained 
 in a later part of this article. 
 
 The materials used are principally sand, with an 
 alkaline substance, either a salt of soda or potash 
 and lime, though in some kinds of glass, oxide of lead 
 takes the place of lime. Other materials are generally 
 employed to correct impurities which may occur in the 
 sand, and which, if present, always impart an objec- 
 tionable colour to the glass. 
 
 There are two kinds of glass in ordinary use : 
 common window glass, which may be divided into 
 sheet, crown, and plate ; and flint glass, which is used 
 for decanters, wine-glasses, and tumblers ; and, in some 
 special forms, for ornamental stones in imitation of 
 jewels, and also for lenses of telescopes and micro- 
 scopes. The materials for making these different 
 kinds vary somewhat, although the principal consti-
 
 78 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 tuents are the same, viz. sand with some salt of soda 
 or potash. 
 
 The scientific name for sand, or more properly for 
 its principal constituent, is silica. This compound 
 silica, or oxide of silicon, also called silicic acid, 
 possesses properties similar to those which belong to 
 other acids, namely, it is able, when brought into 
 contact with bodies of an opposite character under 
 suitable conditions, to unite with them and to form 
 salts. Everybody knows, that if tartaric acid be added 
 to carbonate of soda, an effervescence takes place ; 
 carbonic acid passes off in the gaseous state, and the 
 residue is composed of a portion of the tartaric acid, 
 which unites with the soda, a double decomposition 
 taking place. If silicic acid be mixed with carbonate 
 of soda, and if the mixture be heated to a high tem- 
 perature, that is, to a white heat, for some length 
 of time, the same kind of action occurs : carbonic 
 acid goes off, the silica or silicic acid uniting with 
 the soda ; and inasmuch as the soda salt was ori- 
 ginally called carbonate of soda, after this action, in 
 which carbonic acid is replaced by silicic acid, it is 
 called silicate of soda. Silicic acid at the ordinary 
 temperature of the air and in the dry state, has no 
 action whatever upon carbonate of soda, but when 
 heated sufficiently, the action becomes vigorous. A 
 very interesting experiment may be performed in illus- 
 tration of this fact in the following manner : if a 
 mixture of carbonate of soda and carbonate of potash 
 be heated in an ordinary fire-clay crucible, and if, 
 when the mixture is melted, some perfectly dry sand
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 79 
 
 be poured into it, effervescence will take place, owing 
 to the expulsion of carbonic acid from the carbonate 
 of soda and potash by means of the silicic acid. If 
 the operation be performed in such a vessel that 
 the carbonic- acid can be collected, its presence is 
 readily indicated by the usual tests. This experiment 
 can be easily made by anyone who has ordinary 
 chemical apparatus at his command. If the mixture 
 of carbonate of potash and carbonate of soda be melted 
 in a small platinum crucible ; and if, when melted, it 
 be removed quickly while very hot into a tall beaker- 
 glass, and sand be then poured into it, the escaping 
 carbonic acid will, on account of its being heavier 
 than air, be retained in the glass, and its presence 
 can be recognized by its turning lime-water milky 
 (which is, in fact, a solution of lime in water), owing 
 to the formation of carbonate of lime produced by 
 the carbonic acid evolved uniting with the lime dis- 
 solved in the water. A mixture of carbonate of soda 
 and carbonate of potash is here used, because either 
 of these salts requires a very high temperature to 
 melt it; but when the two are heated together, the 
 fusibility of both is increased. When sand is heated 
 with oxide of lead (common litharge) they unite, 
 forming a compound similar to that produced by the 
 silica uniting with the soda, as described in the last 
 paragraph. In the first case, a soda glass is formed ; 
 in the second, a lead glass is the result. If these 
 two glasses be mixed together and melted in a cru- 
 cible, and if the proportions in which they are mixed 
 be properly adjusted, and the materials used be pure,
 
 80 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 a colourless and transparent glass will be formed, 
 similar in appearance to that which is employed in 
 the manufacture of decanters and tumblers. The 
 same kind of glass may be produced by mixing all 
 the materials in due proportions and heating them 
 together. If, instead of oxide of lead, lime be mixed 
 with carbonate of soda and sand, and the mixture 
 be heated to a high temperature, a glass will be 
 formed, in many respects similar to that of which 
 oxide of lead is a constituent, but differing from 
 it in several important particulars. First of all, the 
 lead glass is highly lustrous, and has a great power 
 of refracting light, so that, when it is cut, it presents 
 a brilliant appearance, and by refraction readily pro- 
 duces the prismatic colours. This property does not 
 belong to the glass containing lime, to anything like 
 the same extent. Lead glass, too, is much heavier 
 than lime glass, and is therefore unsuited to many 
 of the purposes for which the latter is generally 
 used, the principal of which is for the glazing of 
 windows. 
 
 If, instead of oxide of lead, which is a chemical 
 compound of lead and oxygen gas, or lime, which 
 likewise is one of the metal calcium with oxygen, 
 carbonate of lead or of lime be used, the silicic acid 
 will expel the carbonic acid from these substances 
 at a high temperature, just as it does the carbonic 
 acid from the carbonate of soda and carbonate of 
 potash. It is necessary, for a proper understanding 
 of the scientific part of our subject, that this fact 
 should be borne in mind, and that the acid properties
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 81 
 
 of silica should be thoroughly recognized. For- 
 merly, carbonate of soda was used in the manufacture 
 of ordinary window glass, but now it is found more 
 economical to employ sulphate of soda, which is a 
 much earlier product in the manufacture of soda from 
 common salt than the carbonate, and is therefore 
 less expensive. Carbonic acid is what chemists call 
 a weak acid, by which is meant, that its compounds 
 are not so firm and stable, as those which are formed 
 by other acids with the same substances. Sulphuric 
 acid is a strong and powerful acid, uniting very 
 readily with the oxides of certain metals to form 
 very stable compounds. But although this acid is 
 chemically so powerful in its compounds, yet at a 
 high temperature it is expelled by silicic acid, show- 
 ing that this substance, so inert in its natural state 
 and at the ordinary temperature of the air, becomes 
 exceedingly active in expelling other acids and in 
 forming compounds, when put under favourable con- 
 ditions. 
 
 If a mixture of common sand and carbonate of soda, 
 the carbonate of soda being in excess, be heated, a 
 glass will be obtained which is slowly soluble in cold, 
 readily soluble in hot water. To these compounds 
 the name of silicate is given, so that we speak of the 
 soda compound as silicate of soda, of the lead compound 
 as silicate of lead, and the lime compound as silicate 
 of lime. Silicate of soda and silicate of potash, when 
 the alkali, that is to say, the soda or potash, is in excess, 
 are both soluble. If a solution of one of these silicates 
 be taken, and if carbonic acid be passed slowly through
 
 82 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 it, after a time a gelatinous, white, flocculent substance 
 will be formed in the liquid, and eventually preci- 
 pitated. This white flocculent substance is silicic 
 acid combined with the elements of water, and is 
 therefore called by chemists hydrate of silica. Now 
 this hydrate of silica is soluble in water and in 
 hydrochloric acid ; and the method by which it can 
 be brought into solution in water will be explained, 
 when treating fully of what are called soluble silicates 
 and their applications. 
 
 Soluble silicates are mentioned here, in order that a 
 more perfect understanding of the nature of silicious 
 compounds may be obtained, by those who do not 
 possess a scientific knowledge of chemistry. The 
 silicic acid in the silicate of soda is precipitated or 
 separated out by carbonic acid, and hence it appears, 
 that an action, exactly the reverse of that which takes 
 place at a high temperature, occurs, when the silicic 
 acid is removed from those conditions in which it has 
 been seen to be (chemically) so active. 
 
 Suppose that to a solution of silicate of soda or of 
 potash a soluble salt of calcium be added the chloride, 
 for example, which is a compound of the metal calcium 
 with chlorine a double decomposition will take place; 
 the calcium will unite with oxygen in the silicate of 
 soda, forming lime ; and this will again unite with the 
 silicic acid, forming silicate of lime; while the chlorine 
 will unite with the sodium, forming chloride of sodium, 
 or common salt. 
 
 Here then, silicate of lime is obtained by a process 
 very different from that which has already been de-
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 83 
 
 scribed, namely, by the heating of lime with silica at a 
 high temperature. The body formed in the latter case 
 is chemically the same as that produced in the former, 
 there being present the same weight of calcium, the 
 same weight of oxygen, and the same weight of silicic 
 acid in each. Again, if to a solution of silicate of soda, 
 one containing a soluble lead salt, such as the nitrate, 
 be added, the silicic acid will unite with the oxide of 
 lead in the nitrate of lead, and the acid constituent of 
 that body will unite with the oxide of sodium or soda, 
 forming nitrate of soda. It is apparent, therefore, from 
 these remarks, that in whatever way the substances be 
 made to unite, the effects produced as regards chemical 
 composition are the same. If some of the silicate of 
 lime or silicate of lead made by precipitation be dried 
 and heated to a high temperature in a crucible, it will 
 melt or fuse, and form a vitreous substance. In these 
 last cases, as in many others which will have to be 
 alluded to, the silicates formed are not soluble in 
 water, although silicate of lime may be partially dis- 
 solved when heated in water under extreme pressure, 
 by which the temperature is considerably increased, and 
 even slightly in cold water. 
 
 To ensure the production of definite silicates by the 
 agency of heat, the materials must be mixed together in 
 proper combining proportions ; for if more of the me- 
 tallic oxide is introduced than can combine chemically 
 with the sand, it will be melted in the mass, but the 
 excess will not form a definite compound ; whereas by 
 precipitation, the silicates formed always have, when 
 thoroughly washed, a definite composition. This sub- 
 
 .0 2
 
 84 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 ject will be again referred to, when the manufacture 
 of commercial glass is described. 
 
 It has been noticed that the glass found in the win- 
 dows of old churches and in other places where it has 
 been exposed to the prolonged action of the air and of 
 moisture, has gradually become rough on its surface, 
 and has lost to a considerable extent its transparency. 
 This, which would be a defect in glass for the glazing 
 of ordinary windows, where transparency is desired, is 
 rightly regarded as a beauty in glass which is to be 
 used for the ornamentation of windows. Many reasons 
 have been offered in explanation of this apparently 
 peculiar property of ancient glass ; and that which 
 appears to be correct is, that glass is a mechanical 
 mixture of different silicates, some of which may be 
 soluble in water, and others insoluble. The old 
 window glass, whose manufacture will be more fully 
 described by-and-by, was made in a less perfect 
 manner than modern appliances enable glass manufac- 
 turers now to produce the same article, so that the 
 silicates composing the old glass were not as intimately 
 mixed as those used in modern glass. By the slow 
 action of air and moisture, portions of the soluble 
 silicates have been dissolved out, and hence we fre- 
 quently find a sort of honeycomb appearance on the 
 surface of ancient glass, as well as a thin film, which, 
 by refraction of light, causes an opalescence when 
 viewed by reflected light. Efforts have of late been 
 made to produce a similar effect by employing different 
 methods in the process of manufacture, but without 
 complete success. The fact, however, that such changes
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 85 
 
 have taken place in this less perfectly fused glass, 
 tends to show, that if one silicate can be dissolved 
 out, there cannot be chemical union between all the 
 silicates. If a piece of modern window glass be 
 heated in water under pressure in a closed vessel, it 
 will present somewhat the appearance of ancient glass, 
 for a considerable quantity of soluble silicate will be 
 dissolved out from it. The object in dwelling on this 
 matter here, is to induce makers to attend more to the 
 chemical composition of their glass, for, doubtless, 
 much more satisfactory results would be obtained both 
 as to the quality of the material and the cost of its 
 production, if thoroughly scientific investigations were 
 conducted by a competent chemist. 
 
 MANUFACTURE OF GLASS. 
 
 The first object in glass making is to obtain suitable 
 materials. The sand which is employed for window 
 glass differs from that which is required for flint glass, 
 in that the latter should be as pure as possible. The 
 maker can correct the impurities in the window-glass 
 sand, provided they be not present in too great quan- 
 tities ; but it is far more difficult, in the case of flint 
 glass, to chemically counteract the influence of those 
 substances which might impair its tint. So that the 
 manufacturer would rather pay large prices for his 
 sand, than trust to expedients which in their applica- 
 tion might fail, and thus cause a greater loss. 
 
 One of the principal and most troublesome impu- 
 rities met with in sand, is iron in the form of oxide.
 
 86 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 There are two oxides of iron : one, the protoxide, which 
 imparts a green colour to glass; and the other the 
 peroxide, whose staining property is yellow. A very 
 small quantity of the former will give an appreciably 
 green tint, whereas it requires a large quantity of the 
 peroxide to produce even a delicate yellow. In all 
 glass making, it is found necessary to use something 
 which will counteract the colouring properties of 
 these two oxides. The material employed was black 
 oxide of manganese. This is still used in certain glass- 
 works, but from its injurious action on the fire-clay 
 pots, arsenious acid or common white arsenic is em- 
 ployed to effect the same object. The chemical action 
 in the two cases is different : the black oxide of man- 
 ganese is what is termed an oxidizing agent, and gives 
 up, at a high temperature, a portion of its oxygen to 
 the protoxide of iron, thereby converting it into the 
 peroxide. It thus becomes comparatively harmless, by 
 converting a quantity of that oxide, which gives a 
 green colour, into the other oxide, which has little or 
 no power of colouring, except it be present in large 
 quantities. The difficulty in using black oxide of man- 
 ganese is, the exact proportioning of it to the quantity 
 of iron present in the sand, a quantity which cannot 
 be easily determined. If the black oxide of manganese 
 be used in excess, some of the oxide of manganese 
 remains unreduced, and, when this is the case, it gives 
 a purple colour to glass. If used in exact proportions? 
 it is reduced to an oxide which does not impart colour 
 to glass. This may be seen in many of the old plate- 
 glass windows which were employed for glazing pur-
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 87 
 
 poses some sixty or seventy years ago, the colour of 
 the panes being generally purple. 
 
 Since this article was written, I have been con- 
 sulted by a glass firm of eminence, as to the use of 
 pure black oxide of manganese in the manufacture of 
 flint glass, instead of that ordinarily supplied in com- 
 merce. The black oxide of manganese usually sold 
 contains many other constituents besides black oxide 
 of manganese ; amongst these are iron, copper, cobalt, 
 and alumina. 
 
 The iron, as will be seen from what has before been 
 stated, is a decidedly objectionable ingredient to use 
 along with the manganese. 
 
 Copper and cobalt both stain glass, the former of a 
 bluish-green colour, while the latter makes it blue ; and 
 a small quantity of the latter has great staining power. 
 I have thought it advisable to give analyses of the 
 black oxides of manganese, and they are as follows : 
 
 Binoxide of manganese (Molecule, Mn. 2 ), is found 
 native as pyrolusite or polyanite. Appended are two 
 analyses of pyrolusite containing sesquioxide of iron. 
 
 Ked oxide of Manganese .. 87 '0 72-5 
 
 Oxygen 11-6 9'8 
 
 Sesquioxide of Iron .. .. 1-3 4 '2 
 
 Alumina 0'3 
 
 Baryta 1-2 
 
 Lime 3 
 
 Silica 0-8 1-4 
 
 Water 5-8 1'6 
 
 108-3 99-5 
 The native binoxide often contains both copper and
 
 88 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 cobalt in addition to iron ; frequently to the amount 
 of as much as 1 per cent, of copper and about 54 per 
 cent, of cobalt. 
 
 Wad, a native binoxide of manganese, sometimes 
 contains 54 34 per cent, of iron, while nearly all the 
 manganese ores contain more or less alumina, varying 
 from 5 per cent, to as much as 20 per cent. 
 
 From the composition of ordinary commercial 
 black oxide of manganese, as shown by these analyses, 
 it is evident that it is better to use the pure 
 article, and this has been found to be the case by 
 the firm who have adopted it in lieu of commercial 
 black oxide of manganese. I therefore strongly re- 
 commend all glass makers to try and experiment with 
 it, for the results obtained will largely counterbalance 
 the extra cost of the pure material ; and I also much 
 doubt whether the same injurious effects will be pro- 
 duced on the pots, as is the case where commercial 
 manganese is employed. 
 
 Arsenious acid also acts as an oxidizing agent, in 
 that it gives up its oxygen to the protoxide of iron, con- 
 verting it into the peroxide ; but the arsenic itself, which 
 has lost its oxygen, is reduced to the metallic state, and 
 being volatile, does not remain with the glass, but passes 
 off by the flues of the furnace. If too much arsenic is 
 used, it sometimes renders the glass milky or cloudy. 
 
 Before describing in detail the method of mixing 
 and founding glass, it will be necessary to mention the 
 composition of the vessels in which the glass is made. 
 They are called glass-pots, and differ in shape accord- 
 ing to the different kinds of glass to be made in them.
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 89 
 
 Glass-pots are made of fire-clay (generally the best 
 Stourbridge), which is a silicate of alumina, and here 
 great care is taken to select that which contains least 
 lime or iron. It is ground, then moistened and well 
 kneaded together, and left to ripen, while a certain 
 quantity of old glass-pot is ground fine and mixed 
 with the fresh fire-clay. Masses about the size of two 
 hands are kneaded separately, the object being to ex- 
 clude all air bubbles, and to obtain a perfectly homo- 
 geneous lump. The bottom of the glass-pot is then 
 laid, the masses of fire-clay being pressed in with the 
 greatest care, so as to avoid all cracks or places where 
 air might enter during the slow process of drying. 
 
 The modern shape is round ; though formerly certain 
 glass-pots, called cuvettes, used in the purifying of plate 
 glass, were square. Pots used in the manufacture 
 of common crown and sheet window glass, generally 
 speaking, are larger at the top than at the bottom ; but 
 whatever may be the shape of the pot, the method of 
 its building is the same. The sides are carefully made 
 of fire-clay, each piece being laid on by itself and 
 kneaded like the bottom of the pot, so that it is slowly 
 built up until it reaches the desired height. It is then 
 dried very gradually, and the process is finished in 
 artificially warmed chambers. Before putting it in its 
 place in the glass-furnace, it is allowed to remain for 
 some time in what is called a pot-arch, that is, an arch- 
 way built of fire-clay bricks, along the side of which is 
 a fireplace, by means of which the arch is brought up 
 to a red heat ; and after it has been heated sufficiently, 
 is removed while red-hot and put into the furnace.
 
 90 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Glass-pots are never allowed to cool, and with care 
 they may last for several months. From this descrip- 
 tion of their manufacture, it will be clear that it is 
 attended with considerable cost, varying from 5Z- 
 to 10Z. 
 
 There are three different kinds of ordinary pots 
 for crown, plate, and flint glass; and of these the 
 last is decidedly the most expensive, as its top is 
 covered over, and presents the appearance of a dome 
 with an opening in front, through which the materials 
 can be introduced when the pot is charged, and from 
 which, when made, the glass may be drawn, in order to 
 be blown into shape by the workman. In glass-fur- 
 naces the pots are sometimes arranged in a circle, with 
 their mouths opening into the glass-house ; but now a 
 different construction is sometimes employed, since 
 other methods of heating the furnaces have been intro- 
 duced. It is hardly within the scope of this article to 
 enter into a description of glass-furnaces ; suffice it to 
 state, that they should be of such a construction as 
 to yield the greatest amount of well-regulated heat for 
 the smallest consumption of fuel, and this object seems 
 to be best effected by the adoption of Mr. Siemens' ex- 
 cellent principle of heating furnaces. For some years 
 his process has been in use at the Thames Plate Glass 
 Company's Works, where the saving of fuel has been 
 very considerable, and the glass greatly improved, 
 owing to the fact that impurities from the fuel em- 
 ployed cannot possibly find such easy entrance into the 
 glass-pot. In any case, the construction of the furnace 
 is such, as to be best adapted to the convenience of
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 91 
 
 the workmen, according to the kinds of glass which 
 they have to make. Differently arranged furnaces are 
 used for bottles from those employed for crown and 
 sheet glass. 
 
 It has lately come to my knowledge that flint 
 glass, that is to say, the glass used for tumblers, 
 decanters, and such like, is occasionally injured by the 
 appearance in it of little opaque white spots. Some 
 portions of glass of this character have been analyzed 
 by me, when I found that these white spots were owing 
 to the presence of a glass containing alumina. Now 
 alumina raises the melting point of any glass of which it 
 is a constituent. So, then, these white spots were due 
 to the presence in the flint glass, which was perfectly 
 clear, of a much less fusible glass which was only 
 partly made when the flint glass was ready for 
 working. On investigating the matter, it was found 
 that the alumina came from the glass-pots, for when 
 by my advice the faulty pot was withdrawn from the 
 furnace and carefully examined, although it had been 
 in work only six weeks, the bottom was honey-combed 
 to a very considerable extent, showing that portions of 
 the pot had been dissolved ; and inasmuch as the fire- 
 clay, of which the pots are made, contains a large 
 quantity of alumina, it was not difficult to trace the 
 source of these white spots which had rendered useless 
 much very valuable glass. On inquiry it was found 
 that the pots had been made entirely of new clay, and 
 on reference to the book of workings, which was kept in 
 the glass-house, it was also found that for some time, the 
 glass pots used in that establishment had been made
 
 92 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 of new clay, and that on a previous occasion a similar 
 calamity had before happened. 
 
 In the records kept where pots were made, as has 
 already been described, with a portion of old pot as 
 well as new clay, no white spots had ever appeared in 
 the glass. It is therefore manifest, that it is much 
 safer to use a portion of old pot than to trust to pots 
 made entirely of new clay. 
 
 Having considered briefly the manufacture of glass- 
 pots, I shall proceed to the treatment of the materials 
 to be employed. In making common window glass, 
 ordinary sand, which does not contain any very large 
 quantity of iron, may be used, the alkali employed 
 being sulphate of soda, while the purifying material is 
 either arsenic or black oxide of manganese. A small 
 quantity of anthracite coal is added to the mixture, in 
 order to assist in the reduction of the sulphate of soda, 
 together with some lime. The materials are carefully 
 mixed and placed in the furnace, where they are heated 
 for some time, a process which is called "fritting." 
 Its object is to perfectly dry the materials, so as to 
 expel carbonic acid gas, which would otherwise cause 
 swelling in the glass; but no combination must take 
 place, to allow of silicates being formed, otherwise the 
 alkali would melt first and attack the substance of the 
 glass-pots, and part of it would be volatilized and lost. 
 When this operation is completed, the fritt is put into 
 the hot glass-pot, and submitted to the action of the 
 heat of the furnace, until the glass is made, or 
 " founded," as it is technically termed. In the case 
 of sheet and crown glass, this process lasts from six- 
 teen to seventeen hours, for it will be remembered that
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 93 
 
 the top of the pot is open to the furnace, so that the 
 flames pass over the surface of its contents. In this 
 way the materials get heated more rapidly than when 
 a covered glass-pot is used. 
 
 M. Gehlen gives as a good mixture for window glass : 
 
 Sand 100 parts. 
 
 Dry sulphate of soda .. .. 50 ., 
 
 Quicklime 20 
 
 Carbon, as charcoal . . . . 4 
 
 Different makers have different mixtures. This by 
 M. Gehlen is given as about the proportions of the 
 several constituents employed. 
 
 The charging of the pots is conducted in this 
 manner: they are filled with lumps of fritt, and the 
 heat of the furnace is raised as rapidly as possible, 
 until, in about eight or nine hours the fritt has run 
 down or melted into glass. More fritt is then added, 
 which also melts, and from time to time this is repeated, 
 till the pot contains a sufficient quantity. After about 
 sixteen hours the whole has become converted into 
 glass, and the surface of the molten mass is covered 
 with liquid salt and sulphate of soda. This scum is 
 called glass-gall or sandiver, and is carefully removed 
 with iron ladles. Some broken glass, or cullet, is now 
 thrown into the glass-pot, a little at a time, the object 
 being to cause any salt which may remain in the pot 
 to rise to the surface, which is then removed, and so 
 the glass is in this manner purified, after it has been 
 further heated for some hours, to expel gases. 
 
 When the glass is made, and its temperature so 
 reduced that it is in a doughy or pasty state, it is then
 
 94 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 worked off by the blowers into either sheets or tables, 
 as is desired. The blowing of sheet and crown glass 
 is a work of considerable difficulty and labour, and 
 one which cannot be successfully performed, except by 
 a workman who has been brought up from boyhood in 
 a glass-house. A quantity of the soft glass is col- 
 lected or gathered on the end of a blowpipe, and the 
 workman then blows into it, and distends it into a 
 globular form. Now it is necessary, in making sheet 
 glass, that that globular form should be elongated ; 
 the workman therefore holds his blowpipe, which is 
 about five feet long, in a vertical direction, and the 
 softened globe becomes pear-shaped. By dexterously 
 swinging the blowpipe from side to side, which he 
 does while standing on a plank placed over a sort of 
 pit, and by causing it to rise on either side, he 
 converts the pear-shape into a true cylinder, having 
 rounded ends. When the cylinder has assumed the 
 exact shape desired, he places his thumb on the end 
 of the blowpipe, and holds the opposite end of the 
 cylinder in the mouth of the furnace. The glass 
 softens at the heated end, and the expanding air causes 
 it to burst the opening. It is then shaped with a 
 suitable tool, so that it is of the diameter of the 
 cylinder. When the latter is cooled, a piece of hot 
 glass is applied to its shoulder with a pontee, and is 
 drawn out into a thread around it. This makes the 
 glass hot. The thread of glass is removed, a cold 
 instrument is applied rapidly, and the shoulder of the 
 blowing is cut off. The glass is next detached from 
 the blowpipe, and its ends removed, and it is then an- 
 nealed for a short time, and cut down lengthways
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 95 
 
 internally by a diamond. It is afterwards placed, 
 with the long cut uppermost, in what is called a 
 flattening kiln, that is, in a sort of oven or furnace 
 heated to a high temperature and having a perfectly 
 smooth stone floor; after a short exposure the glass 
 softens, and a workman, with suitable wooden tools, 
 opens it out where it was cut by the diamond, and 
 causes it to lie flat upon the stone. It is then rubbed 
 by a wooden tool, and in this way is flattened, removed 
 from the flattening stone kiln, and placed in a hot 
 chamber, in which it is allowed to cool slowly, for the 
 purpose of " annealing." 
 
 Sheet glass, formerly called broad glass, was origin- 
 ally made on the Continent ; but its manufacture, first 
 established in this country by the introduction of foreign 
 workmen, has extended to very large dimensions, and 
 the quality of English sheet is now quite equal, if not 
 superior, to anything that is produced abroad. The 
 advantage which it possesses over crown glass is, that 
 much larger sheets can be made, and this is very 
 easily noticed if we examine the larger dimensions of 
 common window panes compared with those which were 
 formerly made. Even now the workmen employed in 
 this class of manufacture are generally Belgians. A 
 sheet-glass blower must be very strong, and have great 
 skill in handling his blowpipe, for the cylinders 
 which he blows are frequently sixty inches long, and 
 their weight is very considerable. Glass shades are 
 blown by sheet blowers. These sometimes are very 
 large, and require great skill. When their shape is to 
 be that of a cylinder with a dome top, they are made 
 as in the ordinary course of blowing a cylinder of sheet
 
 96 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 glass, but instead of one end being burst as described, 
 they are simply detached from the blowpipe. When 
 they have to be oval or square at their bases, they are 
 blown into wooden moulds of the required form, which 
 have their insides charred. The gathered mass of 
 glass is placed inside such a mould, and is then blown 
 into until it touches the sides. This is an operation 
 requiring great strength and delicacy ; strength to 
 blow with sufficient force to bring the softened glass 
 to touch the mould in all its parts, and delicacy to 
 prevent the pressure from being so great as to cause 
 the outside of the glass shade to receive marks on its 
 surface from the mould. 
 
 The shaping of the molten glass into tables of crown 
 is different in detail. The globular mass formed by the 
 first blowings is held by a workman vertically over his 
 head. An assistant gathers a small quantity of soft 
 glass from the furnace on the end of a pointed iron 
 rod, and causes it to adhere to the flattened surface, at 
 a point opposite to that to which the blowpipe is 
 attached. The glass near the blowpipe, while hot, is 
 touched with a cold instrument, and immediately 
 cracks around its neck, detaching the blowpipe from 
 the mass. The pointel is taken by the blower, and 
 the opening formed by the removal of the blowpipe is 
 placed opposite to what is called a " flashing " furnace, 
 that is, a furnace with a large circular opening in its 
 front, and which is heated to such an intense degree, 
 that it is impossible for a person unaccustomed to it to 
 approach within several feet of the furnace-mouth. 
 The workman generally wears a shield or screen to
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 97 
 
 protect the upper part of his body and face. The 
 glass becomes softened by the heat, and the workman 
 gives his pointel a rotary motion, somewhat similar 
 to that which a housemaid gives to a mop when she 
 trundles it ; and as the glass softens, the opening gets 
 larger and larger, until at last the softened mass instan- 
 taneously flashes out into a circular sheet, an opera- 
 tion which produces a very startling effect upon the 
 eyes of anyone beholding it for the first time. The 
 circular crown table thus made is detached from the 
 pointel, and the mass of glass which caused it to 
 adhere forms what is known by the name of the bull's 
 eye. The table thus made is, like the sheet, placed in 
 an annealing furnace, and there left for a proper 
 length of time. 
 
 The manufacture of plate glass is altogether different 
 from that of crown and sheet. First of all, much 
 greater care is taken in the selection of the materials, 
 the sand used being of a yurer kind than that employed 
 in the manufacture of common window glass ; the alkali 
 is of a better quality ; and more caution is taken in all 
 the manipulative processes prior to the melting of the 
 mixture. Arsenious acid is more frequently used than 
 manganese for the correction of the iron impurity. It 
 has been noticed that in the plate glass-pots, there are 
 grooves placed around their sides, and these are in- 
 tended to receive metal claspers, by means of which 
 the pot can be removed bodily from the furnace. In 
 former times the glass was made in large pots, and 
 then ladled out into smaller ones, of a square form 
 called cuvettes, and in these it was left exposed to
 
 98 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 the heat of the furnace for a length of time, in order 
 that it might be refined, by the rising of impurities to 
 the surface and by the escape of air bubbles. The 
 use of these cuvettes is now discontinued, and the pot 
 in which the glass is founded is removed from the 
 furnace and its contents poured upon the tables on 
 which the plate is formed, by the action of rollers. A 
 plate-glass table is made of iron ; its surface is smooth 
 and of the size required to make a large plate, and it 
 is placed upon wheels and run upon a tramway from 
 one part of the glass-house to another, so as to be 
 opposite to the mouth of the furnace from which the 
 glass-pot has to be removed. Along the sides of this 
 table, taken lengthways, moveable strips of iron are 
 placed, rising above it to a sufficient height to secure 
 the desired thickness for the glass plate, and on these 
 strips runs a roller, so adapted that it can be made to 
 pass pretty readily from one end of the table to the 
 other. The contents of the glass-pot, when placed 
 over the table by means of a crane and tilted up, fall 
 out somewhat as a lump of dough would fall from a 
 kneading trough if it were inverted, for it must be 
 borne in mind that the glass in this process is not in 
 a very fluid state. The roller is made to pass rapidly 
 over the softened glass, and in this way spreads it over 
 the table, until it comes in contact with the strips 
 placed along the edge, which serve as gauges for 
 determining the thickness of the plate. After the 
 plate is formed, it immediately sets, and is removed 
 while hot into an annealing furnace, which is always so 
 placed that the glass can be transferred to it from the
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 99 
 
 table with the least possible delay. In this furnace 
 several plates of fresh-made glass are deposited, and 
 are allowed to cool extremely slowly, in order that 
 the glass may be properly annealed. When this pro- 
 cess is completed, the plates are removed, the edges 
 are trimmed off with a diamond, and one plate, bedded 
 in plaster of Paris, is placed upon a flat stone recep- 
 tacle ; another plate, also coated on one of its sides 
 with plaster of Paris, is made to adhere to a piece of 
 machinery placed directly above the other plate, and 
 is so situated, with respect to this latter, that the two 
 surfaces are perfectly parallel one to to the other. 
 
 It should be here mentioned, that the side of the 
 plate which touches the table is always rough, and has 
 no polish, while that over which the roller is passed 
 is slightly undulating, and has a bright polish similar 
 to that of a sheet of blown glass, and which is techni- 
 cally known as " fire " polish. The machine to which 
 the upper plate is attached is so arranged that, when 
 set in motion, it causes it to move in just the same 
 direction that a plate would do if moved by the human 
 arm ; this is therefore called an elbow motion. Boys 
 stand' by the sides of the two plates, and throw fine 
 sand and water on the lower one, so that the opposed 
 surfaces mutually grind one another, and when this 
 process is completed on one side, they are reversed, 
 and the same operation is performed on the other side. 
 The plates have now the appearance of ground glass, 
 and the surfaces are further ground by fine emery 
 powder, which causes them to be much smoother and 
 more ready for the final polishing. Formerly this was 
 
 H 2
 
 100 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 entirely done by hand, women generally being the 
 operators, and oxide of iron, called crocus, mixed 
 with water, the material employed for polishing. 
 Now, however, a more rapid and perfect method is 
 adopted by the use of machinery. A table is prepared 
 which moves from side to side, giving to the plate a 
 lateral motion ; and above is a beam, in which holes 
 are drilled at intervals, through which short iron rods, 
 nearly an inch in diameter, pass. On these are padded 
 iron buffers, covered on their under surface with 
 leather; while, pressing doAvn these rods, and there- 
 fore the buffers, are springs, which act with con- 
 siderable force, but which are able to yield to pressure 
 caused by any inequality over which the buffers may 
 pass. The glass plate is fixed upon this table, and its 
 upper surface is exposed to the action of the buffers, 
 while oxide of iron, in a very fine state of division 
 and mixed with water, is allowed to come upon its 
 surface. The glass travelling from side to side is 
 rubbed by the buffers in a lateral direction, and has 
 also a longitudinal motion, so that every portion of 
 it is rubbed equally. If any inequalities occur on the 
 glass, the springs which press down the buffers give 
 way and allow them to rise over it, and this process is 
 continued for some time, until at last the plate receives 
 the polish so characteristic of plate glass. It is then 
 removed from the table and examined by skilled 
 persons, and whatever defects can be removed by hand, 
 are remedied. 
 
 Another kind of plate glass, called " patent rolled 
 plate," is made by ladling out from a pot molten
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 101 
 
 glass in the proper state of consistence. The ladle is 
 brought over a small glass table, and a similar opera- 
 tion is performed to that already described. This 
 patent rolled plate is sometimes made with grooves 
 on one of its surfaces, or with patterns in imitation of 
 diamond quarry glazing, and, in fact, with any designs, 
 according to the taste of the manufacturer. These de- 
 signs are all engraved upon the table, and communicate 
 their patterns to the soft glass ; but the smooth surface 
 of such glass which comes in contact with the roller is 
 slightly undulating, though polished. This method 
 of glass making was invented and patented by Mr. 
 Hartley, the noted manufacturer, of Sunderland. 
 
 A lighter kind of plate glass, which is principally 
 used for glazing the better class of pictures and en- 
 gravings, and called "patent" plate, is simply sheet 
 glass polished after the manner of plate glass. Crown 
 glass, which only admits of being cut into small 
 squares, is also used for picture glazing, but is more 
 carefully prepared, and is called by the name of 
 " flatted crown." 
 
 Looking Glasses. Plate glass is employed for making 
 looking glasses, and two processes are now in use for sil- 
 vering them, the first of which consists in applying a 
 sheet of tinfoil saturated with quicksilver to one side 
 of the glass. The operation is conducted as follows : 
 on a perfectly smooth table a sheet of stout tinfoil is 
 laid, and on it is poured quicksilver, which is distributed 
 evenly over the surface with a hare's foot. When the 
 whole sheet is amalgamated with the quicksilver, more 
 of that substance is poured over it, until it flows quite
 
 102 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 freely. The glass plate to be silvered, having been made 
 perfectly clean, is floated upon the surface of the quick- 
 silver, an operation requiring care, and is then covered 
 all over with weights, by which means the excess of 
 quicksilver is pressed out, and the glass comes in contact 
 with the amalgamated sheet of tinfoil, to which it 
 adheres entirely. This ancient method of silvering 
 glass has some advantages over the one next to be de- 
 scribed. The colour of the plate is, according to artistic 
 taste, better, and with care the plate will not lose 
 its brilliancy for years. I have in my possession some 
 old glasses, the silvering of which is very beautiful, 
 except where it has suffered from mechanical injuries. 
 Silver can be precipitated from a solution of nitrate of 
 silver in several ways, and in some of these specimens 
 was like a bright film. If a crystal of nitrate of 
 silver be put into a test-tube with some bitartrate 
 of lime, and the mixture be rendered ammoniacal and 
 gently warmed (it being kept in motion during the 
 experiment), its sides will be covered with a very bril- 
 liant deposit of metallic silver. Oil of cloves and 
 grape sugar have also the power of reducing metallic 
 silver from ammoniacal solutions of the nitrate, when 
 gently warmed ; but the mixtures must not be made 
 too hot. In silvering plates of glass, they are first well 
 cleaned, then placed in a perfectly level position, and 
 the silvering liquid is poured over the surface, the 
 room in which the operation is performed being kept 
 sufficiently warm to assist the deposition. When 
 enough silver has been deposited on the glass, the 
 liquid is poured off and the plate dried, while the
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 103 
 
 silver film is protected by being coated with a suitable 
 hard varnish. The composition of the mixtures used 
 by different persons is generally kept secret, though 
 the chemical principle of the reduction of the silver 
 salt is the same. Glasses silvered by this process 
 sometimes lose their brilliancy, by becoming covered 
 on their silvered side with small spots. It is however 
 stated that this results either from a bad system of 
 deposition, or from the film of silver not being suffi- 
 ciently thick and solid. 
 
 Flint Glass, although called by this name, is not 
 made from flint, but from the best sand, of pure and 
 dazzling whiteness, obtained from Alum Bay, in the 
 Isle of Wight, and from Fontainebleau, in France. 
 The cost per ton is from ll. to II. 15s., whereas the price 
 of the sand used for making plate glass is about 
 one-eighth of that amount. The alkali employed is 
 generally extremely good carbonate of potash, whereas 
 soda is used in the manufacture of the other kinds of 
 glass which have been described. The addition of a 
 small quantity of black oxide of manganese is some- 
 times necessary to correct the slight tint imparted by 
 iron, which seems to be always present in minute 
 quantities, even in the purest samples of sand. Oxide 
 of lead in the form of red lead, in this sort of glass, 
 takes the place of lime. The advantages derived 
 from using the oxide are, that it makes the mixture 
 more fusible, and also imparts that particular brilliancy 
 and lustre so peculiarly characteristic of well-made 
 flint glass. In different works, various mixtures are 
 made for the composition of the glass ; but to give an
 
 104 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 idea of the proportions in which the materials are 
 mixed, it will be well to quote the statement of 
 M. Payen, who says that of the finest crystal flint 
 glass, the following is the composition : sand, 3 ; red 
 lead 2 to 2 ; carbonate of potash, 1 to If. A little 
 nitre or saltpetre is used as an oxidizing agent. The 
 glass-pots employed in this branch of the manu- 
 facture are covered, so that the flames of the furnace 
 do not come in contact with the materials, the object in 
 thus isolating them from direct contact with the flame 
 being to prevent the entrance of impurities, by which 
 the colour might be injured. On account of the pots 
 being covered, the materials take a much longer time to 
 get hot, and require quite double the time in founding 
 that sheet or plate glass does ; the presence of oxide of 
 lead materially assisting the rapidity of the fusion. 
 When flint glass is ready for working, the time required 
 to work off a pot of it is much longer than that 
 which is required for a pot of crown or sheet ; and it is 
 a matter of considerable importance, that the furnace- 
 man should so manage his fires as to keep the glass 
 in a proper working condition, that is, he should not 
 let it get too cold (therefore too solid) nor too fluid. 
 Flint glass is worked off by the blower into wine- 
 glasses, tumblers, decanters, and other suitable vessels. 
 Let us take a wine-glass as an illustration of the 
 method of working. A small quantity of glass is 
 gathered on the blowpipe, which is much smaller 
 than that used in making sheet, and is blown into a 
 bulb, which may be slightly elongated or globular, 
 the forms being given to it by the motion which the
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 105 
 
 workman imparts to his blowpipe while he is blowing, 
 or after he has blown, into the mass. In the case of 
 a wine-glass, an assistant boy gathers a small quantity 
 of glass on the end of a small pointel, or solid iron 
 rod. This is placed on the side of the globe opposite 
 that which is in connection with the blowpipe, which 
 is then detached by touching the glass nearest it with 
 a piece of iron, wetted with cold water : this causes 
 a crack, and a gentle tap causes separation. The 
 workman then moulds the opening made by detach- 
 ing the blowpipe, in order to do which, he has to 
 apply the glass often to the mouth of the furnace, 
 to soften it. He then opens out the globe into the 
 shape of a cup with a pair of small iron tongs, with 
 legs uniform in shape, slightly tapering and smooth, 
 and he uses a peculiar kind of scissors for trimming 
 the edges. The other parts of the glass are moulded 
 with the tongs, accuracy of size being obtained by 
 means of measuring compasses and a scale. The 
 workman sits during this operation in a seat with arms, 
 laying the pontee on them, and turning it, so as to 
 make it move backwards and forwards with his left 
 hand, while with the tongs in his right he gives the 
 glass the desired form. 
 
 Before passing on to a description of the manu- 
 facture and composition of coloured glasses, it is 
 necessary that I should make a few remarks on the dif- 
 ficulties under which our English glass-makers labour, 
 owing to not paying sufficient attention to the scientific 
 treatment of their mixtures. It has already been 
 stated that glass is composed of a mixture of silicates,
 
 106 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 which are definite chemical compounds. Some are 
 much more dense than others, and are therefore liable 
 to sink, so that the glass taken from one part of the 
 pot will be very different in composition from that 
 taken from another part; besides this, it is found 
 on examination, that other portions of the materials 
 employed are present in such proportions, that they 
 cannot possibly exist in the form of true silicates. 
 M. Dumas, the distinguished French chemist, asserts, 
 and with truth, that glass ought to be a true chemical 
 compound. This, however, does not seem to be the 
 opinion here ; and sufficient attention is not paid by 
 English manufacturers to mixing their materials, so 
 as to form definite silicates, the result being that 
 glass is produced with a striated effect. This is easy 
 to be seen in the common kinds, as in bottle glass ; 
 but owing to the more careful and prolonged fusion 
 of the finer varieties, such as plate glass, this defect 
 is to a considerable extent remedied, though not alto- 
 gether overcome. In the French manufacture of plate 
 glass, more attention has been paid to the chemical 
 composition of the various silicates which enter into 
 it. At St. Gobin, a plate glass, is produced which, 
 on analysis, is found to contain definite silicates, and 
 without any excess of material which does not enter 
 into chemical combination ; and the consequence is, 
 that this glass is more perfect and homogeneous than 
 that made in this country. No doubt this superior 
 quality is owing to the fact, that the famous chemist, 
 Gay-Lussac, devoted much of his time to assisting in 
 the manufacture carried on at these works. We cannot
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 107 
 
 over-estimate the importance of a scientific superin- 
 tendence, not only of glass-works, but of all other 
 manufactures in which chemical reactions take place ; 
 for although experience may lead a cautious observer 
 to produce substances of nearly correct composition, 
 yet the assistance of a scientific observer is of the 
 greatest importance, because, what under other cir- 
 cumstances must be simply empirical, is under his 
 guidance carried on according to definite and fixed 
 laws. 
 
 Mention has already been made of how, in the case 
 of mixing carbonates of soda and potash, the one 
 assists the fusibility of the other, and this is more 
 particularly true in the mixture of silicates in the 
 composition of the ordinary glass. Silicates of soda 
 and potash are separately much more infusible than 
 a mixture of the two, and the addition of other sili- 
 cates to them renders them more fusible still ; silicate 
 of lead, as has already been mentioned, causing the 
 glass into whose composition it enters to fuse at a 
 much lower temperature than it would do if that 
 silicate were absent. Again, if the silicate of lead 
 be present in too large proportions, and if great care 
 be not taken in the manufacture of lead glass, the 
 silicate of lead, from its greater density, will sink 
 lower among the molten silicates, and will therefore 
 cause a larger proportion of lead to be in the glass 
 at the bottom of the pot than there is at the top. 
 We often notice in tumblers and decanters of the 
 cheaper kind, that there are very distinct strise run- 
 ning through the whole substance in some particular
 
 108 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 portion of the glass. Now this is owing to the greater 
 density of the lead silicate, which sinks lower down 
 in the collected mass of glass, and therefore imparts 
 to it this peculiar effect. When a pot of flint glass 
 is worked off, that which remains at the bottom usually 
 contains more lead than that which is worked off in 
 the earlier part of the day. 
 
 Coloured Glasses. It has been before shown that 
 silica unites with metallic oxides ; in fact, glass is 
 nothing but a compound brought about by the union. 
 With certain metallic oxides, silica forms coloured 
 silicates or glasses; and these, when fused with colour- 
 less glasses, impart to them the colour of the silicate. 
 Oxide of iron colours glass either green or yellow, 
 according to the nature of the oxide ; the silicate of 
 the protoxide of iron being green, and that of the per- 
 oxide, yellow of a slightly brownish tint. Copper 
 forms two oxides, the suboxide and the protoxide ; the 
 suboxide colours glass red, while the protoxide renders 
 it green. Black oxide of manganese colours glass 
 purple ; but if large quantities be used, it makes it 
 perfectly black. Sesquioxide of chromium imparts a 
 beautiful green colour to glass, while oxide of uranium 
 produces an opalescent effect of yellow with a tinge 
 of green. This latter, by the way, has the power 
 of reducing the ultra-violet rays of the spectrum to 
 luminous rays, and, when held in the rays of a spec- 
 trum obtained by the electric light, produces an ex- 
 tremely beautiful effect, which is called fluorescence. 
 A small quantity of the oxide of gold tints glass pink, 
 but the colour becomes extremely rich and ruby-like,
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 109 
 
 when a larger quantity of the oxide is employed. 
 Oxide of cobalt in very small quantities yields, with 
 silicic acid, an intensely blue silicate. This sub- 
 stance, carefully prepared in a special manner and 
 ground to a fine powder, forms the well-known water- 
 colour pigment called smalt. Oxide of silver stains 
 glass from a delicate lemon tint to a deep orange, in 
 proportion to the quantity of the oxide employed. 
 
 With the exception of qhe last-named colouring 
 material, the above mentioned are mixed together with 
 the substances which form the glass, and are melted 
 in the usual way in glass-pots, except that they are 
 treated with considerably more care, in order that their 
 tints may be true. Oxide of silver, however, is never 
 mixed with the materials of which the glass is made, 
 but is applied to the surface in the following manner : 
 a solution of nitrate of silver mixed with some sub- 
 stance, such, for instance, as chalk, may be painted 
 upon the parts of the glass which it is desired to 
 stain, and these are heated to a dull red heat, in 
 what is called a " muffle." Wherever the oxide of 
 silver, which is reduced from the nitrate by heat, 
 comes in contact with the glass, the latter is stained 
 more or less intensely, according to the quantity of 
 silver present. Pure metallic silver may be melted 
 with metallic antimony, and the mass ground to a fine 
 powder in water. This powder, after being mixed 
 with some Venetian red and gum water, is applied 
 to the surface of the glass, which is, when dry, heated 
 to a dull red heat in a muffle, producing the yellow 
 stain, which can be seen after the Venetian red and
 
 110 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 the excess of silver liave been scraped off. The reason 
 why silver, or oxide of silver, is not mixed with the 
 glass materials and fused with them, is because it does 
 not readily unite with oxygen, and, when it has done 
 so, it loses its oxygen again at a high temperature, and 
 becomes reduced to the metallic state ; and inasmuch 
 as metals have no effect whatever in staining silicates, 
 glass made in this way would not have the yellow 
 colour which it has, when the silver is heated upon 
 its surface to a much lower temperature in a muffle ; 
 for the temperature to which the constituents of the glass 
 must be heated, so as to cause them to burn it in, would 
 be so high, that the oxide of silver first formed at a 
 lower temperature would be reduced to the reguline or 
 metallic state. Gold also, like silver, does not unite 
 with oxygen readily, or remain in union with it at 
 high temperature; therefore great care is required in 
 the preparation of glass to be coloured by oxide of gold ; 
 the form in which it is used being generally that of the 
 purple of Cassius, made by precipitating a salt of tin 
 with a salt of gold. This substance is mixed with the 
 glass to be coloured, and heated in a suitable glass- 
 pot. Portions of it are gathered and allowed to cool, 
 these being generally of a yellowish, brownish, and 
 sometimes reddish tint, though they have not in any 
 case the same beautiful red colour which they produce 
 when applied, as will be immediately described, to the 
 surface of white glass. A certain quantity of white 
 glass is gathered from the glass-pot in the soft state 
 with one of these pieces of gold glass ; the whole mass 
 is heated until both become soft, and is then blown
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. Ill 
 
 and formed into sheet, which, on examination, will be 
 found to consist mainly of white glass, with its surface 
 thinly covered with the glass stained with oxide of gold, 
 while the beautiful ruby colour, which the gold imparts 
 to the glass, appears pure and distinct. If such glass 
 as this be heated to too high a temperature, as when 
 it is used in the manufacture of stained glass windows, 
 the ruby colour is in part, and sometimes altogether, 
 destroyed, for the oxide of gold loses its oxygen, and 
 metallic gold is left behind, which does not yield a 
 colour to the silicate. I have in my possession a piece 
 of French glass of a pale sapphire tint, which, when 
 heated in the oxidizing flame of the blowpipe, assumes 
 a brilliant and intense ruby colour, showing that in the 
 first condition, the gold is not in a state of oxidation 
 sufficient to impart colour to the glass. 
 
 When the suboxide of copper is mixed and fused 
 with the glass which it is intended to colour, the result 
 is an opaque substance, almost like red bottle-sealing- 
 wax, which is treated in a manner exactly similar to 
 the gold glass ; viz. it is coated with white glass, and 
 blown and shaped into sheets, which owe their intense 
 ruby colour to a thin film of the coloured glass closely 
 adhering to the mass of the white upon which it is 
 placed. Glass made in this way is called " coated," 
 and sometimes " flashed " glass, and is extremely useful 
 for ornamental purposes, for by the action upon the 
 coloured surface of hydrofluoric acid, the ruby coating 
 can be eaten away, and the white glass beneath left 
 entire. If the backgrounds of the patterns be painted 
 upon the ruby side with a material like Brunswick
 
 112 BEITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 black, which is able to resist the action of hydrofluoric 
 acid, and if the plate of glass, on its ruby side, be ex- 
 posed to the action of the vapour of this acid, or to the 
 action of the acid in solution in water, in a short space 
 of time the pattern will be eaten away ; and if the 
 Brunswick black coating be removed with turpentine, 
 a sheet of ruby glass will be obtained with a white 
 pattern etched upon it. 
 
 Owing to the powerful colouring properties which 
 oxide of cobalt exerts, a very deep-coloured blue glass 
 can be made, which can be treated like the red copper 
 glass, and may be made to coat and cover in the same 
 way the surface of plates of white glass. Purple glass, 
 coloured with oxide of manganese, and green glass are 
 also sometimes used as coating materials for white 
 glass, but other colours are never employed in this 
 way. 
 
 It is manifest that if different metallic oxides be 
 used with the same glass, mixed tints will be pro- 
 duced, so that by mingling small quantities of oxide of 
 cobalt and protoxide of copper, a blue glass having a 
 greenish hue may be obtained. The revival of glass 
 painting has caused manufacturers to turn their atten- 
 tion to these mixtures, in order to produce tints re- 
 sembling those of ancient stained glass. Messrs. 
 Powell and Son, of Whitefriars, were the first to per- 
 form experiments on these mixtures, and after much 
 laborious attention and patience their efforts have been 
 crowned with great success, for they have been enabled 
 to produce glass as beautiful in tint and in texture as 
 the best specimens of ancient manufacture. Their
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 113 
 
 example has been followed by others, such as Messrs. 
 Hartley of Sunder land, and Messrs. Chance and Co. 
 of Birmingham. 
 
 While treating of the effect produced by different 
 metallic oxides upon colour, it may be well to mention 
 that the opaque glasses used for such purposes, as the 
 enamelling of watch-faces, are made by mixing with the 
 materials a certain quantity of arsenious acid (or white 
 arsenic), in much larger quantities than when it is 
 employed simply to correct the tint imparted to glass 
 by the iron impurities in the sand. Oxide of tin also 
 renders glass white and opaqe, and a certain quantity 
 of bone ash will produce a similar effect, though not in 
 so satisfactory a manner. 
 
 Glass painting first became general in this country 
 at the time when the Early English style of architec- 
 ture prevailed, and some of the best specimens were 
 executed during that period. By the best specimens is 
 not meant, that the figures painted upon those windows 
 were artistically as correct as similar works of a later 
 date, but that they were designed and executed in 
 accordance with those principles, which should always 
 govern the adaptation of a substance like glass to 
 ornamental purposes. The earlier mediaeval artists 
 depended for effect more upon the boldness of their 
 outline, than upon the intensity of their shading or 
 the delicacy of their manipulation. The form of a 
 thirteenth-century figure is merely indicated by a few 
 bold and well -drawn outlines, the features being 
 formed by lines, the pupils of the eyes by simple 
 well-shaped masses of opaque pigment; and such a 
 
 i
 
 114 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 treatment as this was quite sufficient to convey what 
 was, to the observer, more or less a symbolical, than a 
 truthful representation of the Scripture history which 
 they were intended to illustrate. These artists re- 
 membered that windows are openings in a building, 
 through which light has to pass, and they did not, there- 
 fore, like many of the later imitators, render them 
 opaque by masses of intense shadow, which perfectly 
 obscure the colour of the glass upon which the picture 
 is painted, and render the passage of light through 
 it simply impossible. The thirteenth-century glass 
 painters, too, in the treatment of their shadows, bore 
 this great principle in mind, and instead of daubing 
 and stippling them on, usually indicated them with 
 a thin wash of enamel colour, intensified in parts 
 by lines crossing one another, and therefore called 
 cross-hatching, through the interstices of which the 
 light, although subdued, was able, in a measure, to 
 pass. 
 
 But as the object of this article is not to discuss the 
 merits of the various styles of glass painting, however 
 much I might desire to enlarge upon it, I pass on to a 
 description of the methods employed in the manu- 
 facture of stained-glass windows. In the first place, 
 after a design has been drawn, in which the effect of 
 the window as a whole can be carefully considered, 
 cartoons of the figures and ornament are made of the 
 exact size of the intended painting. And here it 
 should be noted, that all the lines should be extremely 
 clear, precise, and well drawn, because it is from these 
 that the workman, who is not usually himself an artist,
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 115 
 
 has to convey on the glass the feeling of the artist. 
 The cartoon, when completed, is laid down in pieces 
 for convenience-sake on a table, and fastened with 
 small nails. The glass-cutter then selects the various 
 coloured glasses which are required to be inserted in 
 their proper places, so as to carry out the design of 
 the artist. For instance, a piece of white or yellow- 
 tinted glass is cut to the shape of the face. If the 
 figure be a small one, the hair also is included in this ; 
 and probably in the figure of a saint, the nimbus 
 which surrounds the head may be included; while in 
 larger figures, particularly in the earliest styles, the 
 face was of glass of one tint, the hair of another, and 
 the nimbus of one or more tints, different from either 
 of these. Sometimes, in the later styles, the hair, 
 after the face was painted and burnt in, was stained 
 with the silver stain already described, so that when 
 the glass was cleaned, it was of a yellow colour. How- 
 ever, not to enlarge more upon these points, which 
 really belong more to the artistic than to the industrial 
 part of window painting, let us proceed to the con- 
 sideration of manipulative details. The outlines of 
 the figures and ornament are painted with a substance 
 called " tracing brown," made by mixing with a flux 
 some oxide of iron, heating them together in a crucible 
 and grinding the product to a fine powder, which is 
 mixed with certain vehicles adapted to the particular 
 use to which it is to be applied. Different fluxes are 
 employed by different glass painters ; some contain 
 borax, because such fluxes fuse more easily, and there- 
 fore cause the glass which is painted to be exposed for
 
 116 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 a less time, and to a lower temperature, than when less 
 fusible fluxes are used. 
 
 It is always satisfactory to an author, to feel that his 
 articles have been of some use to those whom he hoped 
 to benefit. Since this article was written a letter ap- 
 peared in one of the architectural journals, complaining 
 that the glass furnished by manufacturers to glass 
 painters was of inferior composition to that which was 
 used by the manufacturers of ancient stained glass 
 windows. In fact, it was asserted that modern glass was 
 not made with due care, and that to this was owing the 
 unfortunate disappearance of some of the painting and 
 tracing of modern stained glass windows ; but that this 
 is not the case, is manifest to all who understand the 
 manufacture of glass. The real reason why the colour- 
 ing matter with which glass painters outline and shade 
 their designs, has in many instances gradually come 
 off from the surface of the glass, is, because the fluxes 
 used for making it adhere to the glass are of such a 
 composition, that they themselves have by the action of 
 time become disintegrated. 
 
 Some time ago, a person engaged in the manufacture 
 of the enamel plates used for railway lamps, on which 
 are written the names of the stations, called upon me, 
 and told me, that the enamel which he employed had 
 become dark, spotty, and in many cases had peeled 
 off from the glass. The reason of this is identical 
 with that which occurs in stained glass windows, viz. 
 that the fluxes that he used were not suitable for the 
 purpose, considering that they had to withstand the 
 action of the weather. From an analysis made of these
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. Ill 
 
 fluxes (not of those last alluded to, but of those which 
 have been employed in stained glass windows), it ap- 
 pears that large quantities of borax have been in- 
 troduced ; and, wherever this is the case, no reliance 
 whatever can be placed on the permanency of pictures 
 painted with such fluxes. I have appended a few 
 receipts for fluxes, which can be used with safety 
 by any glass painter who will take the trouble to try 
 them. But I must strongly advise that all those who 
 are connected with the making of fluxes in any 
 glass-painting establishment, should master sufficient 
 chemical knowledge to enable them to ascertain the 
 behaviour of ihe materials, with respect to one 
 another, as well as of the nature of the glass upon 
 which they are employed ; for very much indeed 
 depends upon a correct knowledge of the character of 
 the glass as to whether it be hard or soft, what it con- 
 tains, and of the temperature at which the glass 
 becomes sufficiently soft to form a firm and enduring 
 union with the colours fluxed upon it. 
 
 RECEIPTS FOR FLUXES. 
 
 1. 
 
 Flint glass (powdered) 10 parts. \ 
 
 White Arsenic 1 moderately 
 
 Nitre 1 j hard " 
 
 2. 
 
 Red Lead 1 ^ 
 
 Flint glass (powdered) 3 / 
 
 3. 
 
 Flint glass 6 
 
 Red Lead 8 
 
 (Mixed with four parts of the first flux, soft.)
 
 118 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 The use of very soft fluxes is attended with this in- 
 convenience, that the boracic acid contained in them is 
 generally acted upon by moisture and becomes hydrated, 
 and in this condition often causes the painting to peel 
 away. Harder fluxes, although they have the disad- 
 vantage of necessitating the glass to be submitted to a 
 much higher temperature for a longer time in the kiln 
 or muffle, are the best, and, with judicious management, 
 can be used without any injurious consequences to the 
 work on which they are employed. Lead fluxes, con- 
 taining oxide of lead, are sufficiently fusible for all ordi- 
 nary purposes, and are not liable to the same objection 
 as fluxes containing borax. Suppose, then, it is desired 
 to paint the outlines of a face, the glass is cut to the 
 shape of the face in the cartoon; it is then laid 
 upon it, and the painter, seeing the lines through the 
 glass, is able to trace them with his brown paint upon 
 its surface. He generally uses gum water as his 
 vehicle, and puts on the shading also with the same 
 mixture, though sometimes it is found necessary to 
 use a substance which is not affected by moisture, as 
 for instance, tar-oil. It is impossible, in the short 
 space of this article, to indicate those occasions on 
 which one should be used in place of the other ; a 
 knowledge of this can only be obtained by consulting 
 authorities in which details are more minutely given, 
 or by watching the operations of the glass painter in 
 his workshop. When the face is finished, it is re- 
 moved, and another portion of the figure, say a piece 
 of the drapery, is proceeded with in exactly the same 
 way ; and so, by a repetition of this process in all
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 119 
 
 parts of the figure, it is completed, and looks very 
 much like a puzzle, the parts being put together on 
 the cartoon before the work is finished, in order to 
 see that the whole is harmoniously treated. In 
 shading the face, hands, and those parts of the 
 drapery which require it, a glass easel is used, on 
 which the figure is put together, and the parts made 
 to adhere by wax, so that the artist is able, while 
 painting, to form an idea by transmitted light of the 
 effect which will be produced when the window is 
 finished. The ornament is painted in a similar 
 manner, but usually not with the same care in the 
 details of its execution. 
 
 When all the glass is painted, it is fired in a muffle, 
 upon the proper construction of which a great deal 
 depends. It is usually made of iron, and should not 
 be more than 15 inches from its bottom to the top, 
 though its width may vary. It is never well to have 
 muffles for firing glass for painted windows larger 
 than about 2 feet wide, by 2 feet 6 inches deep. The 
 top of the muffle is usually slightly arched from side 
 to side, and it is placed in the furnace on a tolerably 
 thick stone floor, so that the bottom may not get too 
 hot. The fire, which is lighted below, is allowed to 
 play up its sides and over its top, the flue being so 
 built as to draw the flames in that direction, for a 
 top heat is the best heat for firing glass regularly. 
 The muffle is arranged with ridges in its sides, passing 
 from front to back parallel to one another on one side, 
 and exactly opposite to corresponding ridges parallel 
 to one another on the opposite side. These metal
 
 120 BBITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 ridges are intended to receive iron plates, and there is 
 generally about an inch or rather less between the top 
 of one plate and the bottom of another, when the muffle 
 is perfectly filled. The plates are covered over with 
 perfectly dry powdered chalk or whiting, and the 
 pieces of glass are laid upon them with their painted 
 sides uppermost. When the plates are charged, they 
 are put into a muffle with an iron door, in the centre 
 of which is a hole, and a conical tube with the base 
 attached round it. It is larger than the opening at 
 the other end, which projects some 6 or 7 inches from 
 the surface of the muffle-door at right angles to it. A 
 second door is then placed at a short distance from 
 the first, the tube passing through a hole made for the 
 purpose in it. The orifice is usually stopped by a 
 piece of fire-clay, which can be removed at pleasure. 
 The use of the tube is, to enable the manager of the 
 kiln to look into the muffle, from time to time, to see 
 that the glass does not get too much heated. When 
 the firing is completed, the fire is raked out and the 
 muffle is allowed to cool very slowly, and by this 
 process the glass becomes annealed. 
 
 When it is desired to apply to any portion of white 
 glass some yellow silver stain, this can be done either 
 in the first firing, by floating it on to the places to be 
 stained, and allowing it to run in a sort of stream from 
 the brush, so that it will evenly cover the surface and 
 cause the heavier portions of the stain, namely, the 
 mixed metallic silver and antimony, to sink regularly 
 to the bottom, and come fairly in contact with the glass. 
 Not very long ago, it was mentioned to me by a glass
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 121 
 
 painter of note, that the workmen much prefer using 
 the old stain made with silver and antimony, to that 
 which is produced by using nitrate of silver. This 
 really is a mistake on their part, for, when properly 
 managed (and the knowledge of how to manage this 
 stain can be acquired with very little trouble), the 
 nitrate of silver stain is by far the best, and produces 
 much better tints, with less chance of what the men 
 call sulphuring when the glass is fired. This sul- 
 phuring is simply the result of opacity, obtained by 
 heating the glass to too high a temperature. If the 
 staining is to be performed in the same firing as that by 
 which the painting is to be fixed, it is quite clear that 
 the outlines of the part to be stained must be painted 
 in, with tar-oil, or with some such substance which 
 is not affected by the moisture of the stain. However, 
 in general, the staining operation is performed after 
 the first firing, that is to say, those pieces of glass to 
 which the silver is to be applied are stained in 
 the method above described after the first firing, and 
 are then fired again, because the heat required to 
 produce a good stain from silver is of a somewhat 
 different character from that which is required simply 
 to fuse the flux that binds the pigment to the glass. A 
 longer and less intense heat, technically called a 
 " soaking," is the best for producing an even and pure 
 yellow tint. If the temperature be allowed to rise too 
 high, the oxide of silver, which alone can stain the 
 glass, gets reduced wholly or in part, and when this 
 happens to only a slight extent, it destroys the trans^ 
 parency of the stain ; and when it happens to a great
 
 122 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 extent, it destroys its colour altogether, making the 
 glass opaque. 
 
 It is a matter of astonishment to me that glass 
 painters do not use a ruby stain, which, with a little 
 practice, can be managed quite as successfully as the 
 yellow silver one. It is true that it would be impos- 
 sible to fire the ruby and the silver stains together, and 
 it would not be at all convenient to fire the ruby stain 
 at the first firing of the painted glass. The method 
 of staining ruby is as follows : grind up carefully some 
 black oxide of copper, mix it with water (or with a 
 small quantity of gum added), float it on the parts to 
 be coloured, place it in a kiln and heat it. Black oxide 
 of copper, when mixed with glass and melted in a glass- 
 pot, makes the glass green ; suboxide of copper, which 
 contains less oxygen than the black oxide, when treated 
 in the same way, makes it red. Now, if it can be reduced 
 to the lower oxide of copper, while the black oxide of 
 copper on the surface of the glass is heated, it will 
 then colour the glass red. The best way of reducing 
 the black oxide, is to connect the muflle with a gas- 
 supply pipe, and allow coal gas to pass during the 
 whole time that the heating process goes on. The 
 action of the gas, which contains hydrogen and carbon, 
 is to take away oxygen from the black oxide of copper, 
 when it is at a high temperature ; and, as soon as suffi- 
 cient is taken away by the hydrogen to reduce the 
 black oxide to the state of suboxide, it stains the glass 
 red. It does not matter if the reducing action be con- 
 tinued longer, so that the oxide of copper be reduced 
 to the metallic state ; for at that temperature, the stain
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 123 
 
 produced by the red oxide of copper is not removed by 
 the continued action of hydrogen gas. The employ- 
 ment of this process would certainly enable artists who 
 paint in the later styles of glass painting, to very much 
 enrich their draperies, and to produce, more easily, 
 effects which now can only be obtained by a compli- 
 cated system of lead work. 
 
 When the pieces of glass which have been fired are 
 perfectly cold, the next process is to unite them 
 altogether by peculiarly shaped strips of lead, which 
 are of various kinds, according to the character of the 
 subject required. The lead has a thick part or core, 
 and at right angles to the top and bottom of this are 
 thin plates called the " leaves." The core is milled 
 with little ridges running at right angles to them, so 
 as to enable the workman to bend the lead about with 
 facility. The edges of the piece of glass to be leaded 
 are placed between the leaves and resting upon the 
 core, and the lead is thus arranged all round the glass, 
 and is then laid in its proper situation upon another 
 cartoon, prepared from the one from which the figure 
 was painted, and indicating simply, by lines, where 
 the lead work is to come. The first piece is fixed by 
 means of nails temporarily placed through the lead. 
 Those pieces which touch it in the design are put in 
 their proper positions, so that the edge touching the 
 next piece will be underneath the opposite leaves to 
 those which confine the first. This operation is re- 
 peated, till all the parts of the design are surrounded 
 by lead, and by it united to one another ; the joints 
 being secured by solder, generally applied by gas.
 
 124 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Nothing now remains but to fill in the interstices 
 between the lead and the glass, so as to make the 
 window firm, solid, and water-tight ; and this is done 
 by rubbing into them with a scrubbing brush a cement? 
 usually made of white lead, oil, and plaster of Paris. 
 This composition varies in different stained glass 
 works, nor is it material, provided that the substance 
 hardens, does not crack, and is water-proof. 
 
 From this description it will be seen, that the various 
 colours in the different parts of the window are put in 
 as pieces, and that no colours, properly so called, are 
 applied by the brush to the surface. There are, how- 
 ever, certain tints of the " tracing brown," which can 
 be obtained by the addition of black oxide of man- 
 ganese, or by a different method of preparation of the 
 oxide of iron, to give it its body. Sulphate of iron, 
 when heated, loses its sulphuric acid, and the oxide, 
 which was, as sulphate, in the state of protoxide, 
 becomes, by heating, the red or peroxide of iron ; its 
 tint, when made in this way, being generally lighter 
 than the tint of that form of oxide which is employed 
 as ordinary tracing brown. It is sometimes called flesh 
 tint, though this is decidedly an objectionable name 
 for it. 
 
 It has been suggested to me, that I should give some 
 receipts for the manufacture of the enamel colours 
 used in mediaeval glass painting ; I have therefore 
 added a few which are easily prepared. Others of a 
 more complicated nature had much better be obtained 
 from the makers of the enamel used in porcelain 
 painting. And here again, let me remark, that in
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 125 
 
 ordering fluxes from these manufacturers, it should 
 be stated especially, that a flux is required which 
 does not contain borax, nor should the painters in 
 any establishment be allowed to use these softer 
 fluxes, which they are almost certain to do, unless 
 forbidden ; for though they are easier to work with, 
 they will infallibly lead to calamitous results. 
 
 YELLOW. 
 
 Oxide of tin 2 parts. 
 
 Oxide of antimony 2 
 
 Bed Lead 16 
 
 ORANGE. 
 
 Red Lead 12 
 
 Oxide of antimony 4 
 
 Persulphate of iron 1 
 
 Flint powder 3 
 
 BROWN. 
 
 Black oxide of manganese .. 2 -25 
 
 Flint slate (powdered) .. .. 4-0 
 
 Red lead 8'5 
 
 BROWN RED. 
 
 Crocus (oxide of iron) 3 
 
 Green sulphate of iron (calcined) .. 1 
 mixed with six parts of these No. 2. 
 
 LIGHT RED FOR FLESH TINTS. 
 
 Carbonate of lead 1 5 
 
 Persulphate of iron (calcined) . . 1 
 Flint glass 3 
 
 The use of enamels that is, substances which impart 
 various colours to the glass, when placed on its surface
 
 126 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 by their fusion is not admissible in windows which 
 pretend to belong to any of the earlier styles of glass 
 painting ; though enamel painting is used for the 
 decoration of houses, and sometimes, as I consider very' 
 improperly, for the decoration of church windows. 
 One sheet of glass, colourless and transparent, or it 
 may have its surface"ground, is usually employed. A 
 subject is painted on it with enamel colours, much as 
 subjects are painted upon porcelain. When the work 
 is completed, the glass plate is fired, and thus the 
 colours become semi-transparent, and perfectly ad- 
 herent to the plate ; but they are not clear and bright, 
 and transparent, as are the colours of glass which is 
 coloured in the pot, and therefore have not the same 
 brilliancy, nor do they allow of the same bold and 
 effective treatment. 
 
 It is much to be desired that amateurs who can 
 draw, and who have a feeling for this particular style 
 of art, should devote a portion of their time to its 
 execution. They will find it to be extremely agreeable 
 and pleasant, and the few difficulties which they meet 
 with in their first attempts will be readily overcome 
 by perseverance, or by applying for assistance and 
 advice to gentlemen engaged in the pursuit of this 
 interesting profession. 
 
 Moulded and Cut Glass. Flint glass is now very 
 commonly blown in moulds, and this art has been 
 brought to such perfection that moulded decanters and 
 tumblers have an appearance very similar to that of 
 cut glass. The moulds are always made of metal, and
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 127 
 
 so constructed, that they open out into two or more 
 pieces, which are generally hinged to the bottom of 
 the mould. The workman places it on the ground, 
 and fixes it by standing on projections from its side. 
 He then gathers a suitable quantity of glass on the 
 end of his blowpipe, which he places in the mould, 
 and the side of the glass touching it will thus have 
 impressed upon it whatever form is engraved on it. 
 After the glass has become hard, the mould is opened, 
 and the glass vessel is removed and annealed. 
 
 When it is desired to cut a design on the outside of 
 a tumbler or wine-glass, the vessel is, in the first in- 
 stance, blown of a thicker substance than if it is to be 
 left uncut. The necessary shapes, which are usually in 
 facets, are cut upon it by the action of sand and water, 
 a lathe of a very simple construction being used to give 
 a rotary motion to cutting discs, made of stone and 
 kept continually moist by water dripping on them, so 
 that when the glass is pressed against them, the re- 
 quired portion of its surface is worn away. The usual 
 diameter of these stones is about 10 inches. After 
 the rougher stone has been used, a finer kind of sand- 
 stone disc is employed, or a disc of slate, upon which 
 sand and water are allowed to drop, and the already 
 roughly cut surface is, by their action, partly polished. 
 Copper discs with flattened circumference are used for 
 polishing the glass, and for this purpose, emery mixed 
 with oil, is applied to the edges of their circum- 
 ference. 
 
 Ground Glass is made by rubbing the surface of glass
 
 128 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 with sand and water, just as in the first operation of 
 plate-glass polishing. But a very ingenious method 
 is now generally adopted for grinding glass, by 
 placing it in a cradle, so that it can swing from side to 
 side ; sand and water are placed upon the glass, and it 
 grinds itself, so to speak, by this operation. 
 
 Annealing and Devitrification. As the word " anneal- 
 ing " has been often used in this article, it will be well 
 to explain what is its action. If a piece of molten 
 glass be dropped into water, it will assume an oblong 
 shape, the lower end of which will be round, while the 
 other will taper off into a fine point. These drops, 
 which have received the name of Prince Rupert's 
 drops, look like pieces of ordinary glass, and if the 
 small end of one of them be broken off, a sort of ex- 
 plosion takes place, and the whole mass flies into a 
 thousand minute pieces, some of which will be found 
 to have been driven to a considerable distance. Here 
 then it appears, that when the skin, which is perfect 
 and entire in the Eupert drop, is broken, the bond 
 which held together the constituent particles is broken 
 also, and so they are acted on by a repellent force, and 
 fly away from one another. If hot water be poured 
 into a thick common tumbler, it very generally cracks 
 it: but if the tumbler be thin and of better manu- 
 facture, it will bear almost boiling water without 
 cracking. In the first case it has been badly annealed ; 
 and besides this, glass being a bad conductor of heat, 
 from its thickness, the heat imparted by the hot 
 water expands the inner surface, while the outer 
 coating, not being warmed, does not expand, and, re-
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 129 
 
 taining its original form, is burst. If, however, a 
 tumbler be thick and properly annealed, there is not 
 so much danger of its breaking, when a portion of it is 
 exposed to a considerable rise of temperature. In the 
 case of the Kupert drops, they are not annealed at all, 
 and so there is no cohesive bond between the particles, 
 such as there would be if they were properly annealed, 
 that is, if, instead of being cooled suddenly from the mol- 
 ten state, they were allowed to cool in a heated chamber 
 very slowly. After glass has been heated, the particles 
 of which it is composed take a long time to rearrange 
 themselves, so that in the manufacture of thermometers, 
 it is necessary, after sealing up the bulb and tube 
 which contain the mercury, to allow them to remain 
 for a long time ; otherwise the pressure of the air on 
 the outside of the bulb, not being supported by any air 
 on the inside, causes the particles of glass to become 
 more compact, and thus renders the capacity of the 
 thermometer bulb and tube smaller than it was, when 
 the thermometer was first sealed. It seems that the 
 process of annealing glass gives time for the particles 
 to arrange themselves in such a way, that when the 
 glass is cold, it will not be so liable to fracture from 
 sudden changes of temperature. 
 
 Considerable curiosity has been excited of late by a 
 new invention, which has resulted from the investiga- 
 tions of a Frenchman. We have been told that 
 tumblers and wine-glasses, and other glass utensils, 
 could be so treated that they would never break ; and 
 experiments performed upon many samples of these 
 glasses led one to suppose, that the object had been 
 
 K
 
 130 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 attained. There is no doubt whatever, that some who 
 have had experience of what is termed toughened glass 
 know, that in many cases very uncertain results are 
 obtained in the resisting power of the glass to the 
 action of a violent blow. Before, however, entering 
 into some researches which I have made on the subject, 
 it will be well to state what is the nature of the change 
 which the toughening process produces in the glass, and 
 this seems to be a fit place for this consideration, as 
 the method of making, and the behaviour, of Prince 
 Rupert's drops, have just been discussed. 
 
 The physical properties of these Eupert's drops 
 have been examined with great care by M. Victor 
 de Luynes, and the results of his experiments have 
 been communicated to the Societe de Secours des Amis 
 des Sciences. For the purposes of this article, many 
 of his experiments have been repeated, confirming in 
 general his observations, and others have also been 
 instituted. The toughness and hardness of these drops 
 are remarkable ; the thick pear-shaped portion will bear 
 a sharp stroke with a hammer without breaking ; nor 
 can it be scratched with a diamond. To break the 
 tapering thread or tail, as it may be conveniently 
 called, requires considerable force. To find out what 
 weight was required to do this, a series of experiments 
 was performed, the results of which are given in the 
 table following. The tail of a drop was placed over 
 a small hole bored in the top of a table ; a hook was 
 then adjusted round a part of the tail which measured 
 19 on a Birmingham wire gauge; below the table and 
 attached to this hook, a scale-pan was hung. This
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 131 
 
 pan was then carefully loaded, all shock being avoided, 
 until the thread was ruptured and the weight required 
 to effect this was then noted : 
 
 White Glass Rupert's Drops. 
 ?auge. Strain. 
 
 19 16 Ib. oz. 
 
 19 15J 
 
 19 16 
 
 19 (poor) 9| 
 
 Green Glass. 
 
 Gauge. Strain. 
 
 19 18| 
 
 19 (poor) 9 
 
 19 28 6 
 
 16 26J,, 
 
 It will be observed that the drops made from green 
 bottle glass withstood a greater strain than those made 
 from crown glass ; the latter, in fact, did not break 
 throughout their mass, but left a portion of the bulb 
 unbroken, showing some fault in the tempering. It 
 was with difficulty that the workmen could be induced 
 to make drops out of this kind of glass, as they knew 
 by experience that they usually failed to break per- 
 fectly, and they stated that it was quite impossible to 
 make them with lead glass. To ascertain what force 
 was required to fracture a thread of like dimensions 
 that had not been tempered, one of the drops was 
 heated to redness, and annealed by allowing it to cool 
 very gradually. When subjected to the same trial, it 
 was fractured by a weight of 12 ozs., and the drop did 
 not break into small fragments, but behaved exactly 
 
 * 2
 
 132 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 like ordinary glass, thus showing that the glass had 
 been wntempered by the heating process. A piece of 
 glass rod, drawn out into a thread in a gas flame, when 
 subjected to the same conditions, bore a strain of 
 10 oz. A sewing-needle of the same thickness was 
 broken by a weight of 3 Ib. 14 oz., thus showing 
 that the tail of the Eupert's drop was very much 
 tougher than tempered steel. By suspending a Ru- 
 pert's drop in such a manner as to allow the tail to 
 dip into hydrofluoric acid, it is found, that when the 
 surface or skin is eaten away to a certain depth, rupture 
 takes place exactly in the same manner as when the 
 tail is broken. In whatever way fractured, the par- 
 ticles, when examined by the microscope, show a 
 crystalline structure, and 
 do not at all resemble 
 pieces of ordinary glass ; 
 when rubbed between the 
 palms of the hands, they 
 do not cut, nor scratch, nor 
 penetrate the cuticle. If a 
 drop be enclosed in plaster 
 of Paris so as to leave a 
 portion of the tail exposed, 
 it may then be broken and all the particles will remain 
 in situ. On removing the plaster, it will be found that 
 the drop has been broken up into thousands of minute 
 needle-shaped particles arranged in cones, the apices 
 being in the direction of the tail. It would appear 
 then from these experiments, and from observations 
 with polarized light, that the glass in the interior of a
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 133 
 
 Rupert's drop exists under enormous tension, and that 
 it is only prevented from bursting into fragments by 
 the outer skin ; on its being broken in any part, the 
 bond which holds together the constituent particles is 
 broken also, and so, being acted upon by a repellent 
 force, they fly away from one another. There is 
 another kind of toy resembling in some respects the 
 Eupert's drop, known as the Bologna bottle or philo- 
 sopher's flask. It has the form of a soda-water bottle 
 with the neck cut off, the bottom being rounded off 
 and very much thicker than the walls. These flasks 
 are sometimes formed accidentally in glass-works by 
 the workman, who, in order to examine the quality of 
 the glass, takes out a portion from the pot on the end 
 of his blowpipe, and blows a small quantity of air into 
 the mass, manipulating it in the usual manner. Whilst 
 still at a very high temperature, it is detached from 
 the blowpipe, and is probably allowed to fall on the 
 ground in a place where there is a current of cold air, 
 the exterior thus becoming suddenly chilled. When 
 cold, these flasks will bear very rough handling, and 
 will withstand the blow of a hammer on the outside, 
 it being almost impossible to break them by striking 
 the bottom ; the interior will also bear the blow of a 
 leaden bullet falling into it from a considerable height, 
 but if a few grains of sand be allowed to fall into it, or 
 if the inside skin be slightly scratched, the mass splits 
 into fragments in the same manner as a Eupert's drop. 
 The examination of these curious phenomena leads 
 us to the subject of " toughened glass," as it has been 
 termed. The invention of rendering articles of glass
 
 134 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 less fragile, which has given rise to so much public 
 attention during the last year, is due to M. Alfred de 
 la Bastie, a French engineer. His process consists in 
 heating the glass to be toughened to a temperature 
 close upon its softening point, and then plunging it 
 into a bath of oil, or into a mixture of oleaginous 
 substances kept at a much lower temperature. When 
 this operation is successfully performed, the glass 
 acquires properties very similar to those of Eupert's 
 drops ; it becomes much less fragile than ordinary 
 glass, but when sufficient force is employed to fracture 
 it, the whole flies into small pieces. It cannot be cut 
 with a diamond, but is immediately disintegrated when 
 the outer skin is scratched to a certain depth. 
 
 It is to be observed, however, that in particular 
 cases it is possible both to saw and pierce the 
 toughened glass. M. de Luynes reports, that when a 
 square of St. Gobain plate glass that had been sub- 
 mitted to the process of tempering was examined by 
 polarized light, it showed the appearance of a black 
 cross, the arms of which were parallel to the sides of 
 the square. The glass was sawed in two, along the 
 line of the stem of the cross, without causing fracture. 
 On examining the divided glass with polarized light, 
 black bands and fringes of colour were observed, 
 which, by their position, proved that the molecular 
 condition of the glass had changed ; on placing one 
 half of the divided glass on the other half, the 
 fringes and black bands disappeared on folding 
 one half on to the other, the black bands presented the 
 appearance that would have been produced by glass of
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 135 
 
 double the thickness. These facts show, that the 
 molecular forces on the glass were arranged symmetri- 
 cally in reference to the line of parting : and we may 
 conclude that toughened glass being in a state of 
 tension, similar to that of the Eupert drop, may be 
 divided or pierced, provided that the molecules of the 
 pieces produced are able to rearrange themselves into 
 a stable equilibrium. Polarized light shows the direc- 
 tions on which the division can be made with safety. 
 
 M. de Luynes, in his communication referred to 
 above, gives an account of some experiments performed 
 on plates of glass of the same quality, tempered by 
 this process, and untempered ; one or two examples 
 will suffice. A tempered plate measuring about* 
 6 inches by 5 inches, and T 2 F inch thick, was placed 
 between two wooden frames, and a weight of over 
 3^ ounces (100 grammes t) was allowed to drop upon 
 it from a height of more than 13 feet (4 metres |) with- 
 out breaking it. It only broke, when double the 
 weight was employed from the same height. A piece 
 of ordinary glass under the same conditions broke, 
 with the weight of 3 oz. dropped upon it from a 
 height 16 inches (0-40 metre). Plates of toughened 
 glass were allowed to fall on the floor from a height, 
 or were thrown to a distance, without breaking. A 
 rectangular piece of ordinary window glass, about 
 
 . * These numbers are approximate translations of the numbers 
 given in the communication : no object could be gained in giving 
 complex fractions. 
 
 t 1 ounce avoirdupois weighs 28 349 grammes. 
 
 $ 1 metre equals 39 '37 English inches.
 
 136 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 ^ inch in thickness, was bent into the form of a 
 bridge, and then subjected to the tempering process; 
 placed upon the ground ; it bore the weight of a man 
 easily without breaking. A commission, instituted by 
 the French naval authorities, to inquire into this 
 process of M. de la Bastie, has reported at some length 
 on the subject. The following series of experiments 
 were tried with a view of ascertaining the comparative 
 power of resistance of tempered and ordinary glass. 
 The plates experimented upon were placed loosely in 
 wooden frames constructed for the purpose. 
 
 Bectangular plates about 21 inches (0-525 m.) by 
 10 inches (0-248 m.) and $ inch (0-004 m.) thick. 
 
 The frame with the glass inserted was laid on the 
 ground, and in the middle of the plate a weight of 
 more than 10 Ibs. (5 kilogrammes*) was placed, and 
 upon it as a base, other weights were placed, care 
 being taken to avoid all shock. 
 
 1 Ordinary glass, broke with a weight of about 
 70 Ib. (35 kilos.) having resisted weights of from 
 30 to 50 Ib. 
 
 2 Toughened glass resisted fracture until a weight 
 of more than 510 Ib. (255 kilos.) had been added, 
 and then was not broken. The ' experiment was not 
 carried to its limit for want of weights. 
 
 Eectangular plates, about 13 inches (0-325 m.) by 10 
 inches (0-248 m.) and | inch (0-005 m.) thick. 
 
 These plates were allowed to fall flat on to a floor 
 of wood or thrown to a distance and allowed to 
 fall. 
 
 * 1 kilogramme = 2 2 Ibs. avoirdupois.
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 137 
 
 1 Ordinary glass allowed to fall flat from a height 
 of 1 T 2 ^ inch (0-03 m.) was broken at the first trial. 
 
 2 Toughened glass. Thrown to a height 6 feet 6 
 inches (2 metres) and to a distance of 13 feet (4 
 metres) was also broken at the first trial. The piece, 
 however, which had sustained the weight of 510 Ib. 
 did not break till the fourth trial. 
 
 Rectangular plates, about 10 inches (0'245 m.) by 
 6 inches (0- 157 m.) and % inch (0-007 m,) thick. 
 
 These plates were subjected to the same kind of 
 tests as the foregoing. After raising them to a given 
 height they were allowed to fall flat upon a wooden 
 floor. 
 
 1 Ordinary glass raised to a height of 20 inches 
 (0-50 m.) was broken on falling. 
 
 2 Toughened glass resisted successive falls of 
 from 20 inches (0-50 m.), 32 inches (0-80 m.), 5 feet 
 (1-50 m.), and 5 feet 7 inches (1-70 m.), but was 
 broken when dropped from a height of 6 feet 6 inches 
 (2 -Om.). 
 
 Rectangular plates about 10 inches (0 245 m.) by 6 
 inches (0-157 m.) and 1 inch (0-006 m.) thick. 
 
 Placed in the frames, they were held in position in 
 the rabbets by laths nailed to the sides so as to pre- 
 vent any play. The frames were raised to different 
 heights and allowed to fall in such a manner as to 
 cause as much vibration as possible. 
 
 1 Ordinary glass was broken with a fall of about 
 
 2 feet (0- 60m.). 
 
 2 Toughened glass resisted falls from heights of 
 
 3 feet 3 inches (1 metre), 6 feet 6 inches (2 metres),
 
 138 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 8 feet (2-50 m.) s 9 feet 9 inches (3 metres), and 14 feet 
 6 inches (4*50 m.). It was only broken by a fall of 
 19 feet 6 inches (6 metres). 
 
 Rectangular plates 6 inches (0-158 m.) by 4j inches 
 (0-120 m.) and \ inch (0-006 m.) thick. 
 
 These plates were placed in the frame on the 
 ground, as has been previously explained. Known 
 weights falling from known heights were made to 
 strike the plates exactly in the centre. The weights 
 consisted of bronze spheres, one weighing 3^ oz. 
 (100 grammes) ond another of twice that weight. 
 
 1st. Ordinary glass resisted the weight of 3 oz., 
 falling from heights of 8 inches (0-20 m.), 12 inches 
 (0-30 m.), 16 inches (0-40 m.), but was broken by a 
 fall of 20 inches (0-50 m.). 
 
 2nd. Toughened glass resisted the blow of the 3 oz. 
 weight falling from heights of 20 inches (0-50 m.), 
 40 inches (1 metre), 60 inches (1*50 m.), and 6 feet 
 6 inches (2 metres). The 7 oz. weight (200 grammes) 
 being substituted, the plate was broken by it, falling 
 from a height of 60 inches (1-50 m.). 
 
 Rectangular plates, 6 inches (0-158 m.) ~by 4f inches 
 (0-120 m.) and % inch (0-004 m.) thick. 
 
 The same conditions were maintained as in the 
 previous trial. 
 
 1st. Ordinary glass. The 3 oz. weight was allowed 
 to fall from heights of 1 foot (0-30), and 16 inches 
 (0-40 m). It was broken by the second blow. 
 
 2nd. Toughened glass. This resisted the 7 oz. weight 
 falling from heights of 2 feet 4 inches (0 70 m.), and
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 139 
 
 2 feet 8 inches (0*80 m.), but broke when the weight 
 fell from 39 inches (1 metre). 
 
 It appears then from these experiments, that tough- 
 ened glass will resist a blow five times as great as 
 ordinary glass, and will bear seven times as great a 
 weight. 
 
 I have now detailed most of the useful experiments 
 which have been made by competent observers upon 
 toughened glass, as well as some which have been 
 conducted in my own laboratory. The result of my 
 own personal investigations I will now lay before 
 the reader. I was consulted some time ago by a 
 gentleman interested in the introduction of toughened 
 glass into this country, as to whether this kind would 
 become untoughened in time. I feel no hesitation in 
 stating that when the process has been perfectly done, 
 the glass will remain in the same state for any length 
 of time, provided it be not treated in any way which 
 is calculated to rupture the external hard bond that 
 holds together the inner particles of the glass. I 
 feel quite sure, that no fear of this kind need 
 interfere with the benefits, whatever they may be, 
 which are to be derived from submitting glass articles 
 to the toughening process. 
 
 A tumbler which had been toughened in Monsieur 
 de la Bastie's works, was, in my presence, thrown upon 
 the ground, yet it did not break. It was a large soda 
 water glass. I kept it for some time, and after con- 
 sidering the matter carefully, I felt, that if it were 
 thrown down in such a way that the whole of its side,
 
 140 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 from base to rim, came in contact with the ground at 
 once, and it then stood this test, it would prove that 
 the whole of the glass was in the condition of the 
 Rupert's Drops, and would therefore bear the concus- 
 sion without fracture. I held the glass and let it fall, 
 so that it actually reached the hard floor on its side. 
 It immediately broke all to pieces. Now on the first 
 occasion when this glass was thrown down, it was 
 tossed somewhat upwards into the air, and the bottom 
 being heavier reached the ground first, and it did not 
 break. I have also seen in glass-houses, where the 
 tempering process is carried on, tumblers thrown down 
 in a similar manner, and I noticed, that whenever they 
 fell upon their bottoms, they were uninjured, as also in 
 cases where they fell upon their rims in such a manner, 
 that the curve of the rim acted as an arch, as in the 
 old trick of turning a wine-glass off the table so as 
 not to break ; but in other cases where the tumblers 
 fell flat upon their sides, fracture followed. I care- 
 fully gathered together the pieces of the large tumbler 
 which I broke myself in this manner, and examined 
 them, and found that the solid bottom was broken 
 in the same manner as the Prince Eupert's drops 
 break, viz., into a large number of small pieces, 
 having in all respects similar properties. The glass 
 for an inch or two above the bottom broke into small 
 pieces, but larger than those into which the bottom 
 itself broke, and the upper portion of the tumbler 
 was fractured just as an ordinary tumbler would be. 
 On careful examination, microscopic and otherwise, 
 the small pieces were found to have the character
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 141 
 
 of Prince Kupert's, whereas the larger from the upper 
 part of the glass had none of these characteristics in 
 the slightest degree. 
 
 These observations led me to perform an experi- 
 ment. A toughened tumbler was filled with plaster of 
 Paris, which was allowed to set. Its outside was then 
 encased in plaster of Paris, and 
 when the whole was hardened, a 
 pair of pincers were applied to a 
 portion of the tumbler's rim, and 
 with a violent wrench the tumbler 
 was broken. A rather smart shock 
 was communicated to the arm of the 
 operator, very much resembling, as 
 he said, the shock of an electrifying 
 machine. On removing the plaster of Paris, it was 
 found that the whole of the tumbler was fractured, 
 and, as will be seen by the accompanying illustration' 
 in a manner similar to that which has already been 
 described. 
 
 From this and other similar experiments, I was led 
 to the conclusion that none of the toughened articles 
 which have cavities in them, have thoroughly under- 
 gone the toughening process. 
 
 Having been requested to attend a series of experi- 
 ments performed by a glass manufacturer in London, 
 which consisted in the manufacture of a number of 
 toughened glass tumblers, I noticed certain facts 
 which led me to form conclusions as to how it was 
 that the tumblers, the fracture of which I already 
 explained, break in this peculiar manner. I will first
 
 142 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 describe the way in which these tumblers were made 
 and toughened. By the side of the glass blower there 
 stood a metal vessel, about three feet six inches high, 
 and, perhaps, from two to two feet six inches in 
 diameter. This was filled with melted fat or oil of 
 some kind at a temperature of about 80 Fahr. 
 Inside this vessel, which was open at the top, there 
 was a wire cage, with a trap door at the bottom about 
 one foot in diameter, and of about the same depth. 
 The glass blower, after finishing his tumbler on the 
 pontil, held the pontil in a horizontal position over 
 this metal vessel, struck it a smart tap, and the glass 
 tumbled off into the wire cage. The glass was at a 
 very high temperature. In almost every instance the 
 glass fell into the melted fat, as a glass thrown in a 
 similar manner will fall into water. It sank gradually 
 bottom downwards, and the liquid guggled into it as it 
 sank. Here, then, it is clear that every portion of the 
 hot tumbler did not come in contact with the oil at the 
 same moment, in fact there was an appreciable lapse of 
 time before the tumbler disappeared beneath the 
 surface of the liquid. Now there must be a limit as 
 to the temperature of the article to be tempered and of 
 the liquid by which it is to be tempered, that is to say, 
 if at a certain temperature glass can be tempered by 
 being plunged into the liquid of a certain temperature, 
 if these temperatures are varied similar results will 
 not follow. The upper portions of the glass coming in 
 contact with the tempering liquid at a lower tempera- 
 ture, as they must have done, were not properly 
 tempered, and this I have clearly proved by the facts
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 143 
 
 I have already stated. From these remarks it seems 
 tolerably clear that, until some method is devised of 
 bringing all the parts of the heated glass in contact 
 with the cooling liquid simultaneously, the tempering 
 of the article cannot be perfect throughout its whole 
 surface. As I desire, and very sincerely, that these 
 processes should be brought to perfection so as to 
 render them useful, I willingly give this result of 
 somewhat lengthened investigations to those whom it 
 may commercially concern, and I hope that they will 
 find, on investigating the matter, that my observations 
 have been tolerably correct, and that they will be able 
 to devise a method which will remedy in many cases 
 manifest imperfections of their present system. All 
 the accidents which have happened to tempered glass, 
 which have been recorded in the newspapers, can be 
 accounted for on the principle which I have just 
 endeavoured to explain, for there must be instability, 
 where the bonding material of the internal particles of 
 the glass is in different states of hardness; so that 
 there is no difficulty in conceiving how a gas globe 
 could break apparently spontaneously, for a portion of 
 it which was not fairly toughened might be exposed to 
 a somewhat sudden rise of temperature, produced, it 
 may be, from a draught blowing the flame upon that 
 particular spot. Articles such as saucers, made of 
 glass, which, being flat, or nearly so, can be plunged 
 into the tempering liquid with great rapidity, are 
 usually tempered all over, and these, when toughened, 
 can be thrown about and allowed to fall on hard 
 floors with impunity, thus proving the facts which
 
 144 BEITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 I have endeavoured to establish. I hope to be able to 
 continue my investigations, and should they be worth 
 anything, will give the results of them to the public. 
 Before quitting this subject, I shall make a few 
 remarks upon the process for toughening glass, which 
 is said to have been purchased by the Prussian 
 Government. 
 
 This process is described as consisting in the appli- 
 cation of superheated steam to the glass, brought up to 
 a temperature near to its melting point. Having 
 facilities for making experiments of this kind, I have 
 had them tried with great care, but in no case have I 
 met with a satisfactory result. This probably is 
 owing to the fact, that I did not comply strictly with 
 the condition of the experiments performed by the 
 German chemist who is said to have made the inven- 
 tion, nor do I see from analogy how this process is 
 likely to effect a change in the glass similar to that 
 arising from M. de la Bastie's dipping process. 
 
 If glass, instead of being taken from the annealing 
 kiln at the proper time, be left exposed in the hot part 
 of it, at a temperature just below that at which it 
 softens, it will be found to become gradually opaque 
 on its surface. Some experiments were performed 
 many years ago by Reaumur, who exposed pieces of 
 glass, packed in plaster of Paris, to a red heat, which 
 became gradually opaque, and lost altogether the 
 character of glass, the texture of their material be- 
 coming crystalline, and also effected by sudden changes 
 of temperature. Glass treated in this way was called 
 Reaumur's porcelain. All glasses do not undergo this
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. H5 
 
 change with equal rapidity, and some do not experience 
 it at all ; but the commoner kinds, such as bottle glass, 
 are the best to experiment upon, for the more alumina 
 that it contains and it is known that bottle glass 
 contains a considerable quantity the more readily does 
 it undergo this change, which is called devitrification. 
 In what it consists, is not at present well understood, 
 but it offers a field for investigation, which may produce 
 results of very considerable benefit to manufacturers 
 
 Soluble Silicates. An article on glass in a modern 
 scientific work like the present would not be complete 
 without a notice of the manufacture of soluble glass 
 and the uses to which it has been and may be applied. 
 It has already been mentioned that when silica or sand 
 is fused with an excess of alkali, the resulting glass is 
 soluble in water. 
 
 Soluble glass is made on a large scale in three 
 different ways. First of all, if flints, that is, black 
 flints, which are found in chalk, be heated to a white 
 heat, they lose their black colour and their hardness, 
 and are easily crushed to small pieces ; and if flint in 
 this condition be placed in a wire cage and put into 
 a jacketed iron digester, that is, an iron digester which 
 has an inner and an outer skin, with a free space be- 
 tween the two, so that steam may be forced into it 
 from a boiler under pressure ; and if the digester be 
 screwed down tightly with an iron cover, and steam 
 then be allowed to pass into the space between the 
 two, the temperature can be raised at pleasure, accord- 
 ing to the pressure under which the steam is intro- 
 
 . L
 
 146 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 duced. If the valve of the boiler be loaded with a 
 60-lb. weight, the temperature of the water warmed by 
 the steam will rise considerably higher than that of 
 ordinary boiling water ; and if this water be saturated 
 with caustic soda, it will dissolve the flints slowly, 
 forming silicate of soda, that is to say, the silicic acid 
 of the flint will unite directly with the soda of the 
 solution, and silicate of soda will thus be obtained. 
 For certain applications, the silicate so formed is not 
 sufficiently pure, because the soda used often contains 
 a certain amount of sulphate, which will remain with 
 it in the solution of silicate that is drawn off from the 
 digester. This sulphate is very objectionable for cer- 
 tain applications of silicates, because it crystallizes out, 
 and so destroys the substance, which the silicate is in- 
 tended to preserve. 
 
 Another and a much better method is to heat 
 together the silica in the form of sand with alkali, 
 cither potash or soda, in a reverberatory furnace, and 
 as the glass becomes formed, to rake it out into water, 
 and then gradually to dissolve it by boiling in suitable 
 vessels. Here the sulphate, if it existed in the alkali, 
 is decomposed by the silicic acid, and the sulphuric 
 acid passes off through the flues of the reverberatory 
 furnace. 
 
 There is also a very ingenious way of making silicate 
 of soda, discovered by Mr. Gossage, and performed as 
 follows : common salt is heated to a high temperature 
 and volatilized, and in this condition is brought into 
 contact with steam also at a high temperature, when 
 a double decomposition takes place. Steam is com-
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 147 
 
 posed of oxygen and hydrogen ; common salt, of 
 sodium and chlorine. The chlorine of the common 
 salt unites with the hydrogen of the steam, and the 
 oxygen of the steam with the sodium, so that hydro- 
 chloric acid and oxide of sodium are formed. Now. 
 if these two substances at this high temperature were 
 allowed to cool together, the action would be reversed, 
 and the re-formation of steam and chloride of sodium 
 would be the result ; but in the strong chamber lined 
 with fire-clay, in which these vapours are brought into 
 contact, silica is placed in the form of sand made up 
 into masses, and when the oxide of sodium is formed, 
 it unites with the sand to make silicate of soda, and 
 thus is removed from the action of the hydrochloric 
 acid, not entirely, but sufficiently to produce a large 
 yield of silicate of soda. 
 
 The properties of silicate of soda, as applied to the 
 arts, are somewhat different from those of silicate of 
 potash, so that one cannot always be substituted for 
 the other. Both these substances are, when in solution 
 and concentrated, thick and viscid, and have the 
 property of causing paper, wood, &c., to adhere when 
 applied as a gum or glue, and hence have been called 
 " mineral glue." In a dilute state they can be used 
 for coating stone, brick, or cement, and have the power 
 of rendering them for a time waterproof, or nearly 
 so, and of preventing the action of atmospheric influ- 
 ences, which too often produce the decay of some of the 
 softer stones used for building as well as for cement. 
 It has already been stated, that when carbonic acid is 
 passed through a solution of silicate of soda, silica will 
 
 L 2
 
 148 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 be precipitated. Now, inasmuch as there is carbonic 
 acid in atmospheric air, when these solutions are 
 applied to the surfaces of a building, they will be 
 acted upon slowly by the acid, and silica will be preci- 
 pitated in the pores of the material to which the silicates 
 are applied. But this operation is extremely slow, and, 
 before it can be thoroughly completed, the silicates, 
 being soluble, will get in part dissolved out by rain and 
 moisture, and it is therefore advisable to use with them 
 some material which will, by a double decomposition, 
 form a silicate insoluble in water. The silicate, how- 
 ever, which is formed, should have cohesion amongst 
 its particles, so that it will not only adhere to the 
 stone itself j but its own particles will adhere to one 
 another when it gets dry. Various methods have been 
 tried to cause this insoluble substance to be formed 
 upon the surface of stones, so as to fill up its pores 
 and to make a protecting cover for it ; but most of 
 them have signally failed, because the new silicate 
 produced by double decomposition has not had the 
 necessary coherence amongst its particles. If a solu- 
 tion of chloride of calcium be added to one of silicate 
 of soda, a silicate of calcium will be precipitated, and 
 it was therefore thought, that by applying to a stone 
 successive washes of silicate of soda and chloride of 
 calcium, an insoluble silicate of calcium would be pro- 
 duced in the pores and on its surface. It is true that 
 such a silicate is precipitated, and that, if the silicate 
 employed be in excess of the chloride of calcium, the 
 particles will be glued together by the adhesive powers 
 of this silicate when it dries ; but then the action of
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 149 
 
 moisture upon it is to cause it to run down the surface 
 of the building, and set free the particles of silicate of 
 calcium which it held in combination. Other processes 
 of the same kind have been tried, and with similar 
 results ; one great difficulty in the way of the success 
 of this method of applying silicates being that, from 
 the peculiar colloidal or gluey nature of the silicate, 
 it does not penetrate to any considerable depth into the 
 stone, and, if laid on first, prevents the penetration, as 
 far even as it has itself gone, of the solution of chloride 
 of calcium. If the chloride of calcium be used before 
 the silicate, it will penetrate farther than the solution 
 of silicate is able to reach, so that it is impossible to 
 obtain, even supposing the substance to be used in 
 equivalent proportions, a complete decomposition of the 
 one by the other. 
 
 The great object to be attained in the preservation 
 of stone by any silicious process, is to use one solution 
 possessing the substances which, when the water has 
 evaporated, will form a perfectly coherent mass for the 
 protection of the stone surface. The depth of penetra- 
 tion, if it is sufficient to protect the outside of the stone 
 from the disintegrating action of the atmosphere, need 
 not be carried much more than one-sixteenth of an 
 inch below the surface, for when old stones which have 
 long been in positions in buildings, and which have 
 not decayed at all, are examined, it will be found that 
 they are covered with an extremely thin film of a hard 
 substance, not thicker than a sheet of writing paper, 
 which has for ages protected and preserved them from 
 decay. This film is produced by a determination from
 
 150 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 the inside to the outside of the stone of a silicious 
 water, which existed in it in the quarry, and which, 
 when the stone was placed in the building, gradually 
 came to the surface, the water evaporating and leaving 
 behind it a thin film of silica, or of a nitrate most 
 likely the latter. 
 
 If alumina be fused with potash, aluminate of potash, 
 soluble in water, is made ; if, however the solution is too 
 concentrated, a certain quantity of the alumina will be 
 precipitated ; but if it be dilute, the whole of the alumina 
 will remain in solution. When aluminate of potash of 
 specific gravity 1-12 is mixed with a solution of sili- 
 cate of potash of specific gravity 1 2, no precipitate or 
 gelatinization will take place for some hours ; the more 
 dilute the solution, the longer will it remain without 
 gelatinization, and of course the thinner it will be, and 
 the greater power of penetration it will have when 
 applied to a porous surface. When solutions of alu- 
 minate of potash and of silicate of potash of greater 
 density are mixed together, a jelly-like substance is 
 almost immediately formed, and sometimes even the 
 whole mass gelatinizes. If this jelly be allowed to 
 dry slowly, it will contract, and at last a substance will 
 be left behind sufficiently hard to mark glass, though 
 the time for this hardening may be from one to two years ; 
 and on examination it is found that this substance has 
 very nearly the same chemical composition as felspar, and 
 is perfectly insoluble in ordinary mineral acids. Now, 
 'suppose a dilute solution of this mixture to be applied 
 to the surface of stone, the silicate and aluminate of 
 potash will gradually harden and fill up the interstices
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 151 
 
 of the stone ; and as both the substances entering into 
 combination are contained in the same solution, they 
 will both penetrate to the same depth. Inasmuch as 
 the artificial felspar is not acted upon by destructive 
 agents which would disintegrate the stone, it becomes 
 a bonding material for its loosened particles, and at 
 the same time gives a case-hardening to the stone, 
 which no doubt will as effectually protect it against 
 atmospheric influences as in the case of the harden- 
 ing of the natural one. We have a tolerable guarantee 
 that this will be so, if we consider the number of 
 enduring minerals into the composition of which silica, 
 alumina, and potash enter, and also of the almost im- 
 perishable character of granite, which is so largely 
 composed of felspar. Many experiments have been per- 
 formed on an exhaustive scale with these materials, and 
 in every case it has been found that they have answered 
 the expectation of those who have thus tested them. 
 It is, however, necessary to state, that in making these 
 experiments, great care must be used to employ the 
 mixed substance in solution before gelatinization has 
 set in, for if this has occurred, even to the slightest 
 extent, a surface coating is formed on the stone, 
 which, not having formed a bond with it, easily rubs 
 off. 
 
 Another application of soluble silicates in this or 
 other forms is to render walls of buildings which are 
 porous, waterproof. A colourless, transparent mate- 
 rial which can effect this object is doubtless desirable, 
 as anything like an opaque wash, if applied to brick- 
 work, would destroy the colour of the bricks, and
 
 152 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 therefore the character of the building constructed 
 with them. The silico-aluminate of potash may be 
 used for this purpose, as above directed ; and even 
 silicate of potash alone, provided it be in sufficient 
 quantities, will answer well, if from year to year, for 
 two or three years, the application be renewed, so as to 
 fill in spaces, wherever the silicate may have been in 
 part dissolved out. When the silicate of potash alone 
 is used, the action of the carbonic acid of the air in 
 precipitating the silica is depended on, and while this 
 action is going on, portions of the silicate not acted on 
 will be dissolved out. 
 
 Many years ago, an effort was made in Germany to 
 revive the ancient art of fresco-painting, and with very 
 considerable success. It was found, however, that our 
 climate is not suited to the permanence of this method 
 of decoration, nor indeed is any climate absolutely 
 suitable, because in fresco-painting, the surface only 
 of the lime is coloured with pigments laid on, so 
 that any influence which would destroy the lime 
 surface would cause the removal of the pigments ; and 
 from the porous nature of the surface of the work after 
 it is completed, absorption of moisture will from time 
 to time take place, causing the adhesion of dirt and 
 other foreign substances which may fall upon it, and 
 which it is almost impossible to remove without detri- 
 ment to the picture. Dr. Fuchs, of Munich, discovered 
 a method of painting with soluble silicates, which has 
 been tried with considerable success in Berlin by the late 
 Professor Kaulbach. On a properly prepared ground, 
 the painting was executed in colours mixed with water,
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 153 
 
 which, when dry and the painting finished, were fixed to 
 the wall by the application of soluble silicates. For 
 the preservation of the work, Dr. Fuchs mainly relied 
 upon the action of atmospheric carbonic acid. Now, 
 when carbonic acid acts upon silicate of soda or silicate of 
 potash, we have already seen that the silicic acid is pre- 
 cipitated in the hydrated form, and that the carbonic acid 
 has united with the soda or potash to form carbonate of 
 soda or carbonate of potash. These substances being left 
 in the painting and penetrating to a certain depth beneath 
 its surface, must find their way out, and in almost every 
 instance have done so in the form of an efflorescent 
 substance, which has caused the picture to have the 
 appearance of being mildewed over its surface. Some- 
 times, however, sulphates occur in the ground, and then 
 sulphates of soda and of potash have been formed, 
 injurious to the permanence of the surface of the 
 picture, because they crystallize and force off portions 
 of the lime and sand of which the surface is composed. 
 The effect of the efflorescence of the carbonates on the 
 surface of a silicious painting may be seen in the famous 
 picture of the meeting of Wellington and Blucher, in 
 the House of Lords, painted by the late Mr. Maclise, 
 E.A. When, however, the solution of aluminate and 
 silicate of potash is used with the pigments on a pro- 
 perly prepared ground, there is no fear of this efflores- 
 cence taking place, and paintings executed with it 
 have stood for many years, without giving any signs 
 whatever of decay. 
 
 To those interested in this subject, it is desirable 
 that they should perform a series of experiments them-
 
 154 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 selves, and ascertain the best methods of practically 
 applying this vehicle in the execution of large mural 
 paintings. They will find that, although at first they 
 may meet with some difficulties, yet after a while 
 these difficulties will vanish, and they will have a 
 material to work with, which will meet all their 
 requirements. 
 
 In an article so brief as the present, it is impossible 
 to enter fully into all the details of the manipulation 
 of this particular process of painting ; it is, however, 
 most desirable to give a short account of the method 
 of preparing the ground and of applying the colours, 
 leaving the rest to be learned from practical experience. 
 
 Angular fresh-water river sand, well washed, should 
 be mixed with sufficient lime to cause it to adhere to 
 the wall on which it is placed, and this in all cases 
 should be freshly plastered in the ordinary way. No 
 plaster of Paris (which is sulphate of lime) should be 
 used in the preparation of the groundwork. The 
 coating of fine sand and lime is laid on to a depth of 
 about an eighth of an inch, and when dry, an applica- 
 tion of dilute silicate of potash should be made, in 
 order to bond together the particles of sand which, 
 owing to the employment of so small a quantity of 
 lime, can be readily brushed off. As soon as these 
 particles are well fixed together and do not come off 
 when the hand is passed over the surface of the wall, 
 the ground is in a fit state for the commencement of 
 the painting. The colour should be used with zinc 
 white, and not with lead white, and, of course, they 
 must be in the state of fine powder, and not ground up
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 155 
 
 with oil or any such material. The artist can use his 
 mixture of silicate of alumina and aluminate of potash 
 of the strength already described ; he may, when 
 desirable, dilute it to a certain extent with water, but 
 he should not do so too much. He can then paint 
 with it just as he would with water in water-colour 
 painting ; and if he finds that any portion of his 
 colours, after they are dry, are not sufficiently fixed 
 upon the wall, he can then with a brush pass over them 
 a coating of the clear liquid, used a little stronger. 
 When the whole work is finished, it will perhaps be 
 desirable to give it one or two coats of a very dilute 
 solution of silicate of alumina and aluminate of potash. 
 After a time, owing to the contraction in drying of this 
 material, it would be advisable say, after the lapse of 
 two or three months to again apply a coat of it some- 
 what stronger ; and again, if after a year, or more 
 than a year, it should appear that any portions of 
 the surface were becoming loose, another application 
 of the mixed silicate of alumina and aluminate of 
 potash to these loosened parts alone will be desirable. 
 This repetition may appear to some to be an objection 
 to the process, but it is not so, however ; for in the 
 formation of those natural substances, such as flints, 
 which we find so hard, no doubt a very great lapse of 
 time occurred in the induration of the gelatinous silica 
 which formed them. Neither do we object from time 
 to time, at intervals of years to renew the coats of 
 varnish on oil-paintings, in order to preserve them or 
 to bring out afresh the brilliancy of their colours. 
 The soluble silicates are frequently used as bonding
 
 156 BRITISH MANUFACTUSING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 materials in the manufacture of artificial stone and 
 cement, very good results having been attained. The 
 objection, however, to their employment for these 
 purposes is the expense of the material of which they 
 form a constituent part, and it seems almost impos- 
 sible ever to bring it into competition with dressed 
 natural stone. But for ornamental purposes, from 
 the plastic nature of the substance when in the wet 
 state, it can be pressed into moulds, and wherever 
 plaster mouldings are admissible, no doubt this material 
 would be useful for certain kinds of ornamentation. 
 Some years ago, Mr. Ransome, of Ipswich, after having 
 made his artificial stone with sand and silicate of 
 soda, heated it in ovens, so as to produce a hard and 
 semi - vitrified mass. A church, the mouldings of 
 which are made of this stone, may be seen at the 
 bottom of Pentonville Hill, London ; and certainly as 
 to durability, there is no doubt that the substance 
 has answered very well. But from difficulties in 
 manipulation and other reasons, that gentleman gave 
 up this method of making artificial stone, and is now 
 working another process which yields far better re- 
 sults. Silicate of soda is mixed with sand (generally 
 Aylesford sand), and after the mixture is moulded 
 and dried, it is exposed to the action in vacuo of 
 chloride of calcium in solution. Whether the whole 
 mass is placed in a vacuum chamber and then charged 
 with chloride of calcium ; or whether a vacuum is 
 formed on the under side of the substance, and the 
 chloride of calcium solution caused by suction to filter
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 157 
 
 through it, is uncertain. However, whatever be the 
 manipulative processes, the result is the same, and 
 appears to be extremely satisfactory. 
 
 Soluble silicates produce very remarkable results 
 when mixed with certain substances. If silicate of 
 soda or potash be mixed with white lead, in a very 
 short time it sets into a hard substance, just as does 
 plaster of Paris when mixed with water. If powdered 
 pumice-stone or sand, in the proportion of eight parts 
 to one of carbonate of lead, be mixed together with 
 soluble silicate, a very hard and coherent mass is 
 obtained, and there seems no reason why a mixture of 
 this kind, in which pumice-stone is used, should not 
 be employed for the purpose to which pumice-stone 
 is usually applied. It would have the advantage of 
 being easily moTilded into forms, so as to suit mould- 
 ings, which might by it be much more accurately and 
 expeditiously smoothed down (as in the case especially 
 of picture-frame mouldings), than they can be by the 
 ordinary pumice-stone. 
 
 Another very important application of soluble 
 silicates is the rendering of wood incombustible. 
 Many experiments have been performed which show 
 that when wood is thoroughly impregnated to a depth 
 of a quarter of an inch or more with silicate of soda, 
 it will not flame, but will only char. Now, supposing 
 that the constructive timbers of a house were worked, 
 and then placed in suitable vessels and saturated with 
 silicate of soda, they would then be rendered- practi- 
 cally fireproof, or at least it would take a very pro-
 
 158 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 longed exposure to heat to cause them to smoulder 
 away, while at no period of this time would they burst 
 into flame. From the peculiarly gluey nature of these 
 soluble silicates, they do not penetrate readily into 
 porous substances ; it has therefore been suggested 
 that the impregnation of the wood should take place in 
 vacuum chambers, just in the manner that the creo- 
 soting process for preserving railway sleepers is at 
 present performed. It is most certainly advisable that 
 the wood should be worked before being exposed to the 
 silicating process, for that would render it so hard, that 
 it would considerably increase the cost of labour in 
 cutting and planing it. 
 
 At the commencement of this article, it was stated 
 that silicic acid, or silica, could be made soluble in 
 water. Some very interesting experiments were per- 
 formed by the late Dr. Graham, Master of the Mint, 
 which gave rise to the discovery of the process of 
 dialysis. If some silicate of soda be mixed with water, 
 so that not more than 5 per cent, of silica be in the 
 solution (rather less is better), and if some hydro- 
 chloric acid be then added in sufficient quantity to 
 make the liquid distinctly acid, and the mixture be 
 placed in a dialyzing apparatus, the chloride of sodium 
 formed by the union of the chlorine of the hydro- 
 chloric acid with the sodium of the silicate of soda 
 will pass out through this dialyzing membrane, leaving 
 hydra ted silica behind, which will remain in solution 
 in the water with which the silicate was mixed. The 
 dialyzing apparatus is constructed in the following 
 manner ; a sort of tambourine ring is made with
 
 GLASS AND SILICATES. 159 
 
 guttapercha, in place of wood, from 8 to 10 inches or 
 even more in diameter, the depth being about 2 inches. 
 Another ring of guttapercha, of about an inch deep or 
 even less, is made so as to fit tightly outside the 
 tambourine; a piece of vegetable parchment is then 
 moistened and placed over the tambourine, and the 
 thinner ring is pressed over it, so as to secure it 
 tightly. This is the dialyzing vessel, and it is into 
 this that the mixture of silicate and hydrochloric acid 
 must be put. The solution should not be more than 
 an inch deep in the dialyzing vessel, which is then 
 made to float upon distilled water in a larger vessel of 
 suitable size. The distilled water should be changed 
 every day, until no precipitate can be obtained in it 
 with nitrate of silver, and when this point is arrived 
 at, all the chloride of sodium will have passed through 
 the vegetable parchment into the larger vessel of 
 water, and nothing but silicic hydrate will remain 
 behind in solution. If this liquid be allowed to stand 
 for some time, it will gelatinize, and later on the jelly 
 will contract, becoming extremely hard, so that lumps 
 of it, when broken, will in their fracture resemble that 
 of flint. No doubt, at some future period, some one will 
 discover a method of rendering this condition of silica 
 useful in the arts. 
 
 Soluble silicates are very useful as detergents. A 
 small quantity of silicate of soda mixed with hard 
 water renders it valuable for washing purposes. 
 Silicate of soda is also used in the manufacture of the 
 cheaper kinds of soap. We can hardly speak of it as 
 an adulteration, because it renders the soap with which
 
 160 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 it is combined much more powerful in its cleansing 
 action. I suggest to those interested in the applica- 
 tion of science to the arts, that this subject will no 
 doubt well repay experimental investigations. 
 
 It is much to be wished that those engaged in this 
 branch of art and manufacture, and who have some 
 knowledge of chemistry, would turn their attention to 
 getting a better and more perfect method of making 
 coloured pot-metal glass. I have been engaged for 
 some time, and still am engaged, in experiments to 
 effect this object. But inasmuch as my engagements 
 are very numerous, and I cannot give the proper time to 
 it I desire, I therefore take the liberty of suggesting to 
 others the ways in which I am working, that they may 
 be able to arrive at good results more speedily pro- 
 bably than I shall be able to do. If sulphate of copper 
 be mixed with silicate of potash, silicate of copper will 
 be precipitated. Now, if this be carefully washed and 
 dried, it will be a silicate of a definite composition, 
 and I propose to use such silicates as these with 
 ordinary glass mixtures, in order to impart the par- 
 ticular colour which the oxide employed has been 
 already described as giving to the glass. Silicate of 
 manganese is prepared in a similar way to the silicate 
 of copper ; silicate of cobalt, and other silicates, can 
 be used as staining materials for colouring glass. 
 These mixed in due proportion would give tints, and 
 would, I do not feel the slightest doubt, produce colours 
 with much greater certainty than they are now pro- 
 duced, and tints hitherto unknown could be made to 
 the great benefit of the glass-painter.
 
 FURNITUEE AND WOODWOKK. 
 
 BY J. H. POLLEN, M.A., South Kensington Museum. 
 
 I PROPOSE in the following pages to give some account 
 of the materials used in making furniture, and of the 
 arts applied to its decoration. From the earliest ages 
 of society, when men moved about in tribes, they had 
 in their tents of camels' hair simple necessaries, such as 
 their wants required. Before people were gathered into 
 distinct nations, or cities built with walls and gates, 
 there were still certain human wants that must needs 
 be supplied ; and the objects that were needed to 
 enable mankind to live with convenience and decency 
 were found in their furniture. To this very day we 
 may see Arab tribes wandering over sunny deserts, 
 seeking pasturage, sowing here and there an acre of 
 wheat or barley, or gathering dates. Their camels and 
 dromedaries are their waggons, their horses are their 
 friends, their families and those of others that make 
 up their tribe are their only nationality. Yet they 
 furnish in some sort the temporary homes which they 
 shift from one spring of water to another, as the 
 patches of grass or grain grow up and ripen. Their 
 chief wants are, a cloth strained over three staves to 
 make a house, mats or carpets to lie on, a few bowls 
 to cook in, saddles of wood, and a few baskets or 
 chests, made of light sticks fastened together.
 
 162 BRITISH MANUFACTURING IND US TRIES. 
 
 In later periods of history and in more conventional 
 states of society, we shall find this primitive type of 
 furnishing carried out with growing splendour. In 
 the West and in the East, in ancient and mediaeval 
 times, great rulers, though constantly in the saddle, 
 have been followed by enormous trains of camp fol- 
 lowers, by whom costly furniture, hangings, vessels of 
 plate, and other luxuries, have been carried for the 
 convenience of the leaders and warriors of moving 
 hosts ; and of course this splendour was the measure of 
 the state and magnificence kept at home. The wealth 
 or feudal state, shown in the furniture of old castles 
 and palaces, extended not only to halls and rooms, 
 but to dresses, and armour, weapons, the furniture of 
 horses, tents, and other objects that could be carried 
 on distant expeditions. 
 
 Ancient nations have been as well, and more splen- 
 didly, if less conveniently, provided with furniture 
 for their houses than modern ones. It happens that 
 there are distinct records of many kinds, showing what 
 wealth and elaborate decoration some of the oldest races, 
 such as the Assyrians, the Egyptians, the Persians, and 
 the Greeks, bestowed on their thrones, beds, chairs, and 
 chariots. Beds of silver and gold are mentioned in 
 Esther i., and the curtains of the bed of Holofernes 
 were covered with a canopy of purple and gold, with 
 emeralds and precious stones (Judith x. 19 ; Esther i.). 
 Modern princes in India continue to devote their 
 jewels and gold to similar uses. It must be borne in 
 mind also, that this kind of splendour is an investment 
 of property in times and countries in which banks,
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 163 
 
 insurance offices, government funds, and other orga- 
 nized means of investing money are unknown. 
 
 Silver, if not gold, has been used occasionally, not 
 only in the East, but in Europe, for seats, tables, even 
 the frames of pictures and mirrors. The royal apart- 
 ments in Whitehall were completely mounted with 
 hammered and filagree silver furniture in the seven- 
 teenth century. Carlyle records of Frederick the 
 Great, that silver ornaments were kept in his palace, 
 and turned to account under the exigencies of war. But 
 of furniture generally, wood is the readiest and most 
 proper material. It is handy, easily worked, light to 
 carry about, and may be manufactured with or without 
 decorations of carved work, or of any other kind. 
 Hence, in giving an account, whether historical or 
 mechanical, of furniture, I class it under the more 
 general head of woodwork. Any other materials, either 
 for the framing or ornamentation of furniture, are 
 exceptional. The remarks now to be submitted to the 
 reader will refer to wood that is manufactured, though 
 I shall not enter on the interesting subject of wood 
 structure, which has been applied to such noble and 
 elaborate uses, and of which such splendid monuments 
 of many periods still remain for us to study. 
 
 Most of the methods used for decorating woodwork 
 made up into furniture are still in regular use, and 
 the processes of putting it together are the same as 
 they have always been. The reader may satisfy him- 
 self on this point any day by a walk in the Egyptian 
 rooms and in the Nineveh galleries of the British 
 Museum. In both these sections of that wonderful 
 
 M 2
 
 164 BEITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 collection, there are remains of woodwork and of fur- 
 niture, made of wood three or four thousand years 
 old, such as stools, chairs, tables, head-rests or 
 pillows, workmen's benches of Egyptian manufacture, 
 fragments less complete of Nineveh make that have 
 been portions of various utensils, and precious articles 
 of sculptured and inlaid ivory that have been in- 
 serted into thrones and chariots. These pieces of 
 furniture have been mortised together, or joined by 
 dowels, dovetailed at the angles, glued, nailed, or, 
 in short, made up by the use of several of these 
 methods of junction at the same time. And no great 
 changes have been introduced in the various ways 
 of ornamenting furniture. The Egyptian woodwork 
 was painted in tempera, and carefully varnished with 
 resinous gums. It was inlaid with ebony and other 
 woods, carved, gilt and, perhaps, sparingly decorated 
 with metal ornaments. The Greeks inlaid chests and 
 tables with carved ivory and gold, sometimes relieved 
 with colour. The Eomans, who made much furniture 
 of bronze, cast, inlaid, damascened and gilt, made much 
 more in wood, which they stained, polished, carved, 
 and inlaid. Mediaeval furniture was put together 
 with mortises, tenons and glue, and was gilt and 
 painted ; the painting and gilding being laid on a 
 ground prepared with the utmost care, and tooled and 
 ornamented in the same way that bookbinders orna- 
 ment leather. At a later period, a beautiful manu- 
 facture was carried on in various parts of Italy ; a sort 
 of mosaic in very hard stone, such as agate, lapis 
 lazuli, and other precious materials. The Italians
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 165 
 
 also used these beautiful stones inlaid in ebony. But 
 the furniture most valued in modern times has been 
 that which owes its name to Boulle, a French artist of 
 the seventeenth century ; and the marquetry, or wood 
 mosaic surface decoration, which reached so high a 
 standard of excellence during the last thirty years of 
 the eighteenth century in France. 
 
 The former of these t\vo classes of manufacture 
 made, if not originated, by Boulle (and I am inclined 
 to think that he was not the first maker), was a 
 marquetry, or surface decoration, not composed of 
 various woods, but of tortoiseshell and brass, with the 
 occasional introduction of other metal, and with metal 
 enamelled in blue and other colours. The materials 
 principally in use, however, in Boulle marquetry are 
 tortoiseshell and brass. In the older work, viz. that 
 of the seventeenth century, the tortoiseshell is dark, 
 and left in its natural hue. In later Boulle, called 
 new Boulle, the tortoiseshell is reddened by colour, 
 or by gilding laid under it. There is much grace 
 and variety in the delicate arabesque designs in 
 which one material is inlaid in the other. Parts of 
 the surfaces are sometimes diapered, as a contrast to 
 the free lines and curves of other parts. The inlaid 
 surface of Boulle work is framed in by borders, 
 cornices, or handles of brass or gilt bronze, giving a 
 massive architectural character to the whole. 
 
 Thus if we look back to the history of furniture, 
 not only will every kind of splendid material be found 
 devoted to the manufacture or decoration of it, but 
 the best art too of many different periods that money
 
 166 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 could command. It is in the late times of antiquity, 
 and since the period of the Eenaissance in modern times, 
 that works of art have been kept on shelves or gathered 
 into galleries. Many works of great masters, such as 
 the chest of Cypselus, and the chairs of the great 
 statues of ivory and gold, were prepared for celebrated 
 shrines and temples in the cities of Greece. It was 
 but the excessive wealth of great patricians in Rome 
 and Constantinople that led to their becoming collec- 
 tors, whether of sculpture, painting, or sumptuous silver 
 plate. The chief object of rich and accomplished men 
 in most ages of luxury and refinement has been, to make 
 the house, its walls, ceilings, floors, and necessary or 
 useful furniture, costly and beautiful. It was the same 
 in the days of Donatello, Raphael, Cellini, and Holbein. 
 Chests and trays were painted, together with gems, dies, 
 brooches ; table plate was modelled and chiselled ; 
 while chairs of wrought steel, or tables, cabinets, and 
 other pieces of rich furniture, were either designed or 
 carried into execution by these masters with their 
 pupils and followers. In some instances, as, e.g., in 
 that of the famous Pomeranian cabinet, in the Kunst 
 Kammer in Berlin, a long list has been preserved of 
 artists and craftsmen of note in their day, who com- 
 bined to produce monumental examples of actual room 
 furniture. 
 
 It cannot be denied that though great pains are 
 taken and much expense is incurred in modern fur- 
 nishing, the habits of the day lead rather to the search 
 for comfort than for grace or beauty ; and convenience 
 rather than intrinsic value or artistic excellence. Never-
 
 FUENITUEE AND WOODWORK. 167 
 
 tholess, a certain amount of decency and splendour is 
 indispensable in both receiving and sleeping rooms; 
 and though a house really well, that is beautifully, fur- 
 nished is of rare occurrence, this is not for want of 
 serious efforts, nor altogether to be laid to the account 
 of unwillingness to spend money for such a purpose. 
 Whether the " art of furnishing " or the desire to have 
 what people require for use in their houses more 
 becoming and beautiful, be a rising influence or not, it 
 is certain that the " fancy " or ornamental furniture 
 trade is of large and increasing importance, correspond- 
 ing to the increased size and cost of modern London and 
 country houses, compared with those built during the 
 reigns of William III. and George IV. Every trades- 
 man who has the pretension to repair chimney-pots, to 
 whitewash, or paint house-fronts, ceilings, or offices, 
 writes up the word " decorator," on his shop-front. 
 
 THE QUALITIES REQUIRED IN FURNITURE. 
 
 We may consider furniture under two broad divi- 
 sions, that which is made to be handled and moved 
 about, and that which is for use but not meant to be 
 handled or moved. We may add a third division in 
 the actual fixtures of the house, made by the joiner 
 and meant to be ornamental fittings or completions to 
 the builder's and carpenter's work. 
 
 Under the first head will be included light tables, 
 chairs, couches, and other movable objects ; under the 
 second, cabinets, book-shelves, frames, mirrors, and so 
 on ; under the third head come flooring, panelling, 
 window shutters, door-frames, stair-rails, &c.
 
 168 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 1. CHAIRS, TABLES, ETC. 
 
 The essential points in a well-made chair are 
 comfort, lightness, and strength. Of course, as men 
 and women are pretty much of the same proportion all 
 over the world, chairs, of which the seat is about the 
 height of the lower process of the human knee-joints, 
 must be of the same height, or but slightly varied, in 
 every country. From the habit that so many persons 
 have of throwing their whole weight back and, as we 
 are told, in some countries, of balancing their persons 
 on the back legs of their chairs and inclining their 
 legs in the direction of the chimneypiece, there is often 
 an immense strain on the back joints of chairs. Whether 
 we lean back or swing on them, the junction of the 
 seats of chairs with the backs is always subject to severe 
 trials ; and on no article of furniture in common use 
 is such good joinery required. It is worth while to 
 look at the old wall-paintings of the Egyptians, as 
 they are given in Eossellini and the great French book 
 of the ' Description de 1'Egypte,' to see what capital 
 workmanship those most ancient carpenters bestowed 
 on their chairs. Those of the best and oldest periods 
 are without connecting bars to the legs before or 
 behind, all the strength of the construction being 
 centred in the excellence of the joints of the seat with 
 the back and legs ; and in modern workshops, the 
 highest skill is applied to ensure strength in these 
 points of junction. If the wood is thoroughly dry, 
 the mortises and tenons fitting perfectly, and the 
 glue good, the different parts are so wedded together
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 169 
 
 that the whole structure becomes one piece, as if 
 nature had made a vegetable growth in that fashion, 
 all the fibres of which have continuous and perfect 
 contact with each other. If, however, there is a 
 deficiency in any of these conditions, these joints 
 fail. If the wood shrinks, or the tenons do not fit 
 the mortises all through, or the glue is deficient, 
 these various portions speedily come to pieces. Sofas, 
 couches, and stuffed chairs are so much more massive 
 in construction that there need be no risk of such a 
 kind of disintegration. 
 
 The members of which a chair is made up may be 
 either turned in the lathe, or left massive enough to 
 allow of carving on the legs, backs, or round the 
 framework of the seat. Turned work can be lightly 
 inlaid with ivory, as that of ancient Egypt, painted, 
 gilt, or mounted (lightly also) with metal. 
 
 The subjects of the carving may be either figures 
 of men, horses, lions, or the heads and legs of such 
 animals, acanthus leaves, and arabesques. Many of 
 these ornaments have been used from ancient times, 
 and revived at various historical periods. For modern 
 rooms the lightest construction is most in place, and 
 therefore carving should be compact in composition 
 and delicate in execution, without prominences or 
 undercutting that would interfere with comfort or be 
 liable to breakage. 
 
 A certain architectural character is given to chairs 
 by cutting flutings down the legs, or by borrowing 
 other slight details from architecture. The upholstery 
 of chairs will always be their most noticeable decora-
 
 170 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 tion, and this applies still more to lounging chairs 
 and couches of all shapes and sizes, as the framework 
 of them is so much less observable in proportion to 
 their upholstered surfaces. 
 
 Tables, lampstands, &c., being generally, though not 
 always, meant to be moved about, require as light a 
 construction as is consistent with strength. The sur- 
 face of all but small tables is beyond the dimensions 
 of a single plank of wood. The outer and inner 
 portions of a log or plank are of different fineness of 
 grain, contain varying proportions of sap, and shrink 
 in different degrees. Single planks of wood, therefore, 
 can only be exceptionally used for table tops. Gene- 
 rally, they are made up of portions of planks selected 
 with great care, grooved on the edges, with a tongue or 
 slice of wood cut the cross way of the grain, uniting the 
 planks about the middle of their thickness ; the edges 
 are then firmly glued together. If the surface is to be 
 of wood which can be procured in large pieces of 
 straight or continuous grain, such as mahogany, the 
 wood is solid throughout ; if of some rare wood or rare 
 figured graining, such as the roots or wens of oak, this 
 ornamental surface is laid on in thin slices with glue 
 and heavy pressure. This is known as veneering. 
 The surface is sometimes inlaid with ivory, metal, 
 mother-of pearl, slices of agate and other substances, 
 as in the Boulle or marquetry work already alluded 
 to. 
 
 The frame of the table is either a deep rail not far 
 within the edge, or a thick pillar or leg or several legs 
 collected, mortised into a broad expanding foot and
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 171 
 
 supporting a spreading framework above, to which the 
 top itself can he fastened, and stretching far enough 
 all round in the direction of the edges to give a firm 
 support. 
 
 The decoration of the top can only he superficial 
 if the table is for use, and any decoration by carving, 
 piercing, and so on, must be confined to the framework 
 and the supports. These parts can be, and have been 
 at all times decorated as the framework of chairs, and 
 by very much the same kinds of ornament. 
 
 To tables of more modern periods, little galleries of 
 pierced work or of tiny balustrades are sometimes 
 added. They belong to the age of porcelain collectors, 
 hoops, broad coat-skirts, and tea-parties, and are in- 
 tended to save delicate wares from being swept to the 
 ground. Side tables, and such as are made to support 
 heavy objects, can be treated with more massive frame 
 work and supports, and the carving and decorations 
 will be bolder and larger accordingly. 
 
 2. CABINETS, ETC. 
 
 I will proceed to the second division of furniture, 
 cabinets, book-cases, and other standing objects, which 
 are more or less immovable. But shelves and china 
 trays must be placed in secure parts of the room, if 
 they are not actually fastened to the wall. The former 
 must be strong to support the great weights laid upon 
 them, and the supports or framework, which is all that 
 would be seen, may be carved or decorated with surface 
 or applied metal ornament. On a large scale, fittings 
 of this kind belong rather to architectural woodwork.
 
 1 72 BEITISH MAN UFA CTURING IND US TR FES. 
 
 China holders, whether placed on the ground or fixed 
 against a wall, are properly treated with shelves quaintly 
 shaped on plain and light, pierced galleries or gilt 
 decorations corresponding with the apparent lightness 
 of pieces of porcelain. The wood and lac work cabinets 
 of the Chinese ; and the complicated, but not ungrace- 
 ful, gilt mirror frames and flourishing acanthus work 
 of the Italians, French, and Germans, of the last 
 century, seem specially suited for showing off this gay 
 and fragile material. The collector proper will pro- 
 bably place his treasures under glass, and with little 
 regard to the framework of his cases. Here china and 
 china stands are treated only as decorations. 
 
 As to cabinets, they are the most precious, if not the 
 most useful of all pieces of furniture. They have 
 generally been intended to hold family treasures, are 
 not required to be moved, and have therefore been 
 the richest and most decorated objects in the room. 
 Cabinets are the legitimate descendants of the chests 
 of former days containing bridal outfits and trinkets, or 
 plate, jewellery, and other valuables. They were carried 
 from town to country, from grange to castle. About the 
 beginning of the sixteenth century, the personal habits 
 of great men became less nomad, and their chests were 
 no longer liable to be packed and moved away. These 
 receptacles were mounted on stands at which height 
 the lids could not be lifted, and doors were substituted. 
 Drawers took the place of shelves or compartments, and 
 every sort of ingenuity was applied to make these 
 pieces of furniture quaint and splendid inside and out. 
 
 As to shape, it is contrary to their purpose of con-
 
 FURNITURE AND WOOD WORK. 173 
 
 venience and interior capacity, to make cabinets, cup- 
 boards, or other receptacles, with showy and spreading 
 architectural details, such as cornices, architraves, 
 columns, pediments, and the like. All these parts, 
 which are laborious and costly in construction, are 
 so many additions to its size, and make no more room 
 inside to compensate for this expenditure. Cabinets 
 should, in propriety, be as big and convenient inside 
 as their size would lead us to expect. 
 
 On the other hand, the many fine examples made in 
 the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in this country, 
 Holland, Germany, France or elsewhere, have been 
 generally intended for rooms larger, higher, and with 
 fewer pieces of furniture in them than those of our 
 modern houses, not to speak of the massiveness of fire- 
 places and fittings with which they were in character. 
 It is their age, and the connection, which we cannot 
 help tracing, with old houses and bygone generations 
 which give architectural cabinets an interest now. 
 
 In construction, the skill of the cabinet-maker will 
 be shown in the neat and convenient arrangement of 
 drawers of various depths and sizes, shelves or re- 
 positories, so contrived as to turn the entire internal 
 space to account. The most curious contrivances are 
 often found in old German, English, and French 
 cabinets, bureaux, secretaires, and other varieties of this 
 kind of furniture. Pediments, capitals of columns, and 
 other parts of architectural fronts are made to open, 
 and secret drawers stowed away with an ingenuity 
 almost humorous. It is upon the fronts and stands 
 that the skill of great masters of the craft has been
 
 174 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 bestowed. The large wardrobes, or " armoires," of 
 Boulle are examples of great inventive and designing 
 power, as well as the marquetry of Biesener and 
 David, and the chiselled metal-work of Berain, Gou- 
 thiere, and that of many English artists. 
 
 As in past times, and so in our own, it is on cabinets 
 that the real triumphs of the cabinet-maker's art are 
 displayed. 
 
 3. FIXED WOODWORK. 
 
 Thirdly, the joiner's and cabinet-maker's art plays 
 an important part in the fixed furniture of the house, 
 and the woodwork, such as flooring, doors and door- 
 frames, panelling, chimneypieces, with the comple- 
 mentary decorations of hangings, whether tapestry, 
 silk, or the more humble material of paper. 
 
 In this last division of furniture the work is that of 
 joinery. There is no great demand for constructive 
 strength, as the work is fixed to walls ; but as doors and 
 shutters are swung to and fro continually, and subject 
 to jars and strains, their stiles and rails, upright and 
 cross-framing members, as well as the panelling that 
 fills them, require well-seasoned timber and the most 
 accurate workmanship : without these conditions the 
 joints open, the panels shrink from the grooves in 
 which the edges are held, and split, while the frame 
 itself, if of unseasoned material, ' buckles ' or twists, 
 so that the door or shutter will no longer shut flat in 
 its frame. 
 
 Panelling and fireplaces are, however, opportunities 
 for the display of carving, inlaying, and gilding. The
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 175 
 
 reader has seen carved room panelling, probably, in 
 many old bouses. In some of tbe municipal ' palaces ' 
 in Flanders, e. g. in Bruges, and in the old rooms of 
 the Louvre in Paris, carved panelling of the utmost 
 grace and perfection, some of it in groups of life-sized 
 portrait figures, may be studied by the tourist. 
 
 Of work so rich and costly as this wood sculpture, 
 it is perhaps hopeless to speak with reference to our 
 modern houses, and in connection with the manu- 
 facture of furniture in this country, at least on 
 any large or general scale of application. Still as 
 such work, confined to the composition of fireplaces or 
 sideboard backs, is still sculptured by Italian and 
 French carvers, and has been sent to Universal Exhibi- 
 tions of recent years, it must be considered a possible 
 effort for our great employers of skilled labour. 
 
 The panelling of wall surfaces will be divided into 
 larger or smaller reticulations or framework, with 
 some reference to the size of the room, that is to say, 
 that very large and lofty rooms will not bear the 
 smaller subdivision of space and delicate moulding 
 lines which are so general in panelling of mediaeval or 
 very early Tudor houses, and which are in keeping 
 on walls of moderate size. Any inlaying or variety of 
 .woods should be used on walls with great discretion. 
 
 So far, then, on the general consideration of the 
 work, which it is the business of the furniture maker 
 to produce. In theory, it is his object to satisfy daily 
 wants and necessities in the most convenient, useful, 
 and agreeable way. 
 
 The difference between rudeness and refinement in
 
 176 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 daily habits consists in putting first order and pro- 
 priety, then comeliness and cheerfulness into our 
 homes and habits. There is so much to be borne and 
 to be done merely that we may live, so many con- 
 tradictions to natural inclination meet us on all sides, 
 that we look for repose, and some moderate satisfaction 
 to the natural desire of the eye, in that which meets it, 
 and must meet it, so constantly. This satisfaction is 
 beauty, or some measure of it, or what we have grown 
 to take for beauty. As the eye is more exercised, the 
 mind more informed, and becomes a better monitor 
 or corrective to the eye, so we get less satisfied with 
 much that passes for beauty, and so, on the other hand, 
 we find it out in objects in which it is commonly or 
 often passed over. 
 
 MANUFACTURE. 
 
 A return prepared by the Commissioners for the 
 Paris Exhibition, in 1867, gave the following as the 
 number of manufacturers engaged in London in " the 
 several branches of the fancy furniture trade." 
 
 Cabinet-mnkers 812 
 
 Upholsterers 486 
 
 Carvers and gilders 342 
 
 French polishers 142 
 
 Cabinet carvers, inlay ers, and liners .. .. 108 
 
 Bedstead-makers 43 
 
 Chair, sofa, and stool-makers 252 
 
 Wood and cabinet wares were exported (in 1865) to 
 the value of 289,887Z., and imported to the value of 
 128,9252* 
 * Cat. Brit. Section Exhibition, 1867, Introduction, p. 61.
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 177 
 
 The highest efforts of the trade are concentrated in 
 a few large establishments in London and the great 
 cities, which have their own cabinet makers, carvers, 
 upholsterers, &c., on their premises. In some instances, 
 one piece of furniture may pass through the hands of 
 several branches of the manufacture. I may choose a 
 few names of makers who presented their works in Paris 
 in 1867 in alphabetical order, e.g. Messrs. Collinson 
 and Locke, Grace, Dyer and Watts, Gillow, Herring, 
 Holland, Howard, Hunter, Ingledew, Jackson and 
 Graham, Morant, Trollope, Wertheimer, Wright and 
 Mansfield. The larger of these establishments are 
 supplied with steam machinery, and all the work that 
 can possibly be executed by mechanical agency is 
 prepared by these engines, leaving only the most 
 costly operations to be executed by hand. 
 
 It is the province of the carpenter to put together 
 simple woodwork ; that which is an actual part of 
 architecture, such as boxes, chests, benches, seats, 
 shelves, and so forth as require only good material 
 and neatness of hand in execution. The joiner and 
 cabinet-maker include this amount of skill as a founda- 
 tion for their accomplishments, as a sculptor can 
 block out a statue and a painter grind his colours, 
 work, however, which in ordinary practice is handed 
 over to assistants or apprentices. 
 
 Before discussing the materials and the methods of 
 execution now in use, it would be well to notice a great 
 change which has taken place both in the status of the 
 workman, the division of labour, and the mechanical 
 appliances now at his command. 
 
 N
 
 178 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Down to recent times, joinery and cabinet making 
 were in the hands of a number of masters in the trade, 
 far greater in comparison to the pressure of the 
 demand on the part of buyers than is the case at 
 present. We have a larger society of buyers, a greater 
 demand for the execution of large orders at a rapid 
 rate, than was the case in former generations. On the 
 other hand, the trade is gathered up into fewer master 
 hands. The masters then employed a less amount of 
 labour. They took in apprentices, many of whom 
 remained for years with them as assistants, and the 
 establishment was more of a family. It followed, that 
 all members of this smaller society worked together 
 and took part in the particular sets of chairs, the 
 tables, cabinets, and so forth, turned out from their 
 own house. They were, moreover, animated in a 
 closer and truer degree by the spirit, and adopted the 
 ideas, of a master who worked with or overlooked 
 and advised them constantly, than could be the case in 
 our great modern establishments. Again, though, as I 
 have already said, the old operations by which boards, 
 bars, and other members of wood construction are 
 joined together, have not substantially varied since the 
 days of Egyptians and Eomans, the methods of execu- 
 tion have undergone a great change, owing to the 
 introduction of machinery. The skill and training of 
 the hand of the workman must necessarily undergo a 
 change as well, whether for the better or the worse. 
 The workman is relieved from the necessity of attain- 
 ing an absolute accuracy in much of the ordinary but 
 essential work of joints, mortises and other operations
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 179 
 
 which can be produced with an uniform exactness by 
 mechanical means. 
 
 The fact, also, that different engines or lathes can 
 produce at a prodigious rate certain separate parts of 
 many pieces of furniture, has made skilled mechanics 
 less universal " all round " men than they were. If 
 this combination of qualities is to be met with in 
 provincial towns or villages, there, without doubt, the 
 standard of excellence is a lower one. 
 
 Materials and Execution. The woods used for making 
 furniture besides pines and deals, are birch and beech 
 (used for stuffed chair-frames, couches, &c.) walnut, 
 letter wood, Spanish and Honduras mahogany, syca- 
 more, lime, pear, cherry of several kinds, and maple ; 
 ash, English, American, and Hungarian ; oak, English, 
 foreign, and pollard, with pieces cut from wens and 
 sweet cedar. Turners use also plane, laburnum, yew, 
 holly, and box. More precious woods are also used in 
 furniture : rosewood, satin wood, ebony, and sandal- 
 wood. Other rare woods are used in inlaying and 
 marquetry. 
 
 Some of these materials, mahogany and walnut, 
 which are much in use, are imported in vast logs, the 
 former sometimes three feet square ; when of very fine 
 grain suited to veneers, worth 1000Z. or more, per log. 
 
 The woods are stacked in yards, or, in London, 
 where the space cannot otherwise be had, on plat- 
 forms resting on the walls of the workshops, and 
 fully exposed to the weather. Woods are dried after 
 a year, or two years, according to the size of the log 
 and nature of the wood. Oak is sometimes kept for 
 
 N 2
 
 180 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 eight or more years. When sawn into the scantlings 
 required, it is further dried by placing the logs and 
 planks in rooms heated by the waste steam from the 
 engine. An American patented method of drying is 
 to place a coil of pipes, through which exceedingly 
 cold water is passed in the drying room, which con- 
 denses and carries off the vapours from the wood 
 exposed to this heat. Some firms have tried this 
 method, but, I believe, without much success. 
 
 Logs are cut up by the engine with three or more 
 perpendicular saws at once, the teeth being set to the 
 right and left alternately, to open a passage for the 
 blades. More valuable woods, e.g .mahogany, are cut 
 into thin plank by an horizontal saw. In this case the 
 teeth are not bent, but a labourer opens the passage for 
 the blade by lifting the plank with a wedge. As little 
 waste of the material as possible is thus secured. 
 
 Further cutting up of the material is done by means 
 of circular saws. Part of the saw rises through a metal 
 table. A moveable bar is firmly screwed at one, two, or 
 more inches from the blade, and the wood is pushed 
 by the workman against the saw, keeping one sur- 
 face against the fixed bar, so as to secure a straight 
 cut of the thickness required. Most modern planing is 
 done by a revolving cutter, brought to bear upon the 
 wood, which is drawn under it on an iron table, with 
 more or less pressure, according to the quantity to be 
 taken off the surface. Messrs. Howard have contrived 
 a tube with a blast down it, which carries the shavings 
 at once to the furnace, otherwise the dust made by the 
 flying particles of wood would be unendurable.
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 181 
 
 Mouldings for panelling, cornices, skirtings, &c., are 
 cut by revolving cutters or chisels, filed to any 
 desired shape and case-hardened. They are set in a 
 perpendicular axle and cut horizontally, the wood 
 being firmly pressed against the tool. The workman 
 can gear the cutter or reverse the action, so as to make 
 a neat finish to his work. 
 
 Formerly all such work was done with a plane, cut 
 to the required figure, and the finishings of lines of 
 moulding had to be carved with the hand. 
 
 Mortising is done by a revolving boring tool, against 
 which the wood to be mortised is moved by a 
 gradual action, from side to side, and backwards and 
 forwards, till the exact depth and width are bored out ; 
 tenons fitting these cavities are cut in another lathe, 
 also by mechanical action. 
 
 Turning lathes. The legs of chairs and tables are 
 made in lathes, the general outline being obtained by 
 turning in the simple form. Portions of the legs are 
 sometimes squared, and the square faces must be 
 evenly graduated. These parts are cut as follows : the 
 lathe and the leg in it are kept at rest, and a revolving 
 tool in fact, a small lathe with a perpendicular 
 cutter in it, connected by a leather band with a 
 spindle overhead set in motion by the steam-engine. 
 The workman passes this cutter carefully down the 
 four surfaces of the portions to be squared, cutting to 
 a given depth all down, but never losing the angle 
 outlines originally found by the first turning. When 
 flutings have to be cut down the legs, whether they 
 are round or square, this is done by using a revolving
 
 182 BRITISH MAN UFA C TURING IND US TRIES. 
 
 cutter set with horizontal action, which passes care- 
 fully along at one level, and is geared by the joiner so 
 as to graduate the width of each fluting, as it de- 
 scends, if the diminishing size of the support or leg 
 requires it. 
 
 Bars of chairs, edges of shelves, the stretchers (or 
 connecting bars) under some kinds of tables, are cut 
 into carved or other shapes by an endless band saw 
 revolving on two rollers. The workman passes his 
 wood along an iron table against the saw, gearing the 
 former according to the pattern drawn on the surface. 
 
 Fretwork is done with a still finer hair or watch-spring 
 saw, of which one end can be detached from the holder 
 and passed through a small hole in the piece of wood 
 where the piercing is to be cut out by the saw. This 
 could not be done by an endless saw, which can only 
 be used to shape out edges. The best saws of this 
 description are made by Perin, in Paris. 
 
 Watch-spring saws strained in frames have long been 
 in use. In the steam-engine it is the wood only that 
 is moved, and as it rests on a steady table, it gives the 
 workman a great advantage, and should enable him to 
 shape out his design with a delicacy only attainable 
 with greater difficulty by the old method. 
 
 The process of mitreing pieces of moulding, where 
 they meet at an angle at a corner, is done by machinery 
 in some houses. In the works of Messrs. Jackson and 
 Graham, this is done by setting the pieces in a metal 
 T square. They are carefully cut by hand, and as 
 each piece is set in a frame geared to the angle re- 
 quired, and under the hand of an experienced work-
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 183 
 
 man, no inaccuracies are likely to occur. In cabinet- 
 making and joinery of all kinds, the number of angles 
 round which mouldings have to pass is very great, as 
 anyone will see who is at the pains to notice the con- 
 struction of furniture of the most ordinary kind. Any 
 staring or opening of an oblique joint is destructive of 
 the effect of such workmanship, as it is of the strength 
 of the joint which is glued together, and requires 
 absolute contact of the parts to be joined. 
 
 Much work, such as chair rails, table legs, balusters 
 for little galleries or on a large scale, is turned and 
 cut in the steam lathe by hand, using steam power only 
 to turn it. 
 
 Joinery. The pieces of wood thus prepared are made 
 up in many different combinations. This is the work of 
 the joiner. In the joiners' shop of Messrs. Jackson and 
 Graham, for instance, several benches were shown to 
 me occupied by lengths of wall-panelling in ebony, 
 some of the work being intended to cover the wall of a 
 staircase; it was therefore framed in sloping lines. 
 Each panel was a rhomboid, and none of the sides or 
 mouldings were at right angles to each other. The 
 mouldings had several fine strings, ovaloes, &c., all 
 specially designed by the architect of the house as 
 the fittings of well-furnished houses should be. For 
 these, special cutters had been made and fitted to the 
 steam-moulding machine. To show the back of the 
 panelling, the workmen turned it over. Instead of each 
 panel being held in a groove provided in the stiles and 
 rails, a rebate only has been cut in the frame, and the 
 panel fits into it from the back (as the stretcher of a
 
 184 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 picture fits into a picture-frame), while iron buttons 
 screwed into the frame pieces hold the panels firmly 
 in their places. The object of this is to allow for the 
 contraction of the wood with the alterations of tem- 
 perature. With some woods, however well seasoned, 
 this provision is requisite, and it is the more necessary, 
 when more than one material is employed. In using 
 ebony over large surfaces, it is found that the lengths 
 required for the continuous rails cannot be procured 
 free from knots or faults ; and particular kinds of 
 wood (pear and other material) are stained and 
 prepared, to supplement the ebony in these instances. 
 
 The joiners put together panelling, chairs, couches, 
 frames of tables, shelves, cupboards, and other complex 
 pieces of furniture. 
 
 Upholstery. Chairs and sofas required to be stuffed 
 are then handed over to the upholsterer, and the seats 
 and backs are stuffed with curled horsehair, carefully 
 arranged so as not to wear into holes. A French edge 
 is given to some stuffed seats by bringing the edges 
 of several ridges of horsehair together, so inclined 
 towards the upper edge, that each roll receives support 
 from the others, which react on the pressure thus 
 brought upon them, like springs. One would suppose 
 that these edges were maintained by whalebone, like 
 the stocks in which a past stiff-necked generation 
 suffered so much. Where ribbon scrolls, tiny bunches 
 of flowers, &c., are carved on the frames and top rails 
 of chairs and sofa-frames, if these are to be polished 
 only, the polishing is done before the upholstery. If 
 parts are to be gilt, or the whole gilt, these operations
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 185 
 
 are postponed till the upholstery is completed. So 
 also when panelling, sideboards, bookcases, &c., are to 
 be made up, the moulded lines which can only be con- 
 veniently hand-polished while in lengths, are treated 
 thus before making up ; and there remain only flat 
 panels and surfaces, that can be evenly rubbed for the 
 final polishing. In upholstered furniture, the coverings 
 would be greased and stained, if polishing were done 
 over or in connection with them; but in the case of 
 gilt work, it must be left in most cases to the last, for 
 fear of dimming or rubbing the gold during the pro- 
 cesses of sewing, nailing, stufling, &c. 
 
 I may remark here, that though arm-chairs, fauteuils, 
 &c., are made in great London establishments, the 
 manufacture of light chairs on a large scale is a 
 special branch of the trade, and mostly carried on at 
 High Wycombe, in the neighbourhood of which town 
 there are extensive woods of beech, and where land 
 and water carriage is at hand to convey these produc- 
 tions to London and elsewhere. 
 
 Cabinet-making. It is by no means easy to lay down 
 the exact technical boundary between what I have 
 been describing as joinery, and what I am now about 
 to call cabinet-making. They are considered, however, 
 as distinct branches or rather, perhaps, different opera- 
 tions of the trade ; and in such establishments as we 
 are discussing, the cabinet-makers and joiners have 
 their own separate workshops and benches, and cor- 
 responding separate repositories for storing and drying 
 their woods. Every kind of work is required in 
 making costly cabinets, bookcases, sideboards, com-
 
 186 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 modes, or by whatever name we choose to call the 
 beautiful chests, cupboards, and other artistic recep- 
 tacles, tables, consoles, brackets, &c., that go to com- 
 plete the requirements of our modern reception rooms. 
 
 They are seldom made with the quaint or elaborate 
 interior fittings, such as have been alluded to in older 
 work, but every resource is brought to bear on the 
 external decoration. Here we come to the arts 
 brought to bear on the ornamentation of furniture. 
 
 Let us begin with carving. Sculpture is the highest 
 or most beautiful kind of decoration that can be 
 applied to furniture. It can only be executed by a 
 trained artist. To go no farther back here than the 
 Italian and French Eenaissance furniture, generally 
 made of walnut-wood, it is the spirited and graceful 
 sculpture that makes its first great attraction. The 
 Italian carving of this kind is the most graceful ; while 
 that of France by Bachelier and others, and much that 
 was executed in England and Germany, being, if less 
 graceful, always spirited and thoroughly decorative. 
 As a general rule, sculpture so applied is conventional 
 in design and treatment, that is, we rarely see it, 
 (except, perhaps, occasionally in little ivory statuettes, 
 and in bas-reliefs,) strictly imitative of nature, like 
 perfect Greek sculpture. But neither should we find 
 strict studies from nature on Greek furniture, if we had 
 it, except with the same limitations. The furniture 
 made by Greco-Roman artists, and discovered at 
 Pompeii,* bears witness to this assertion, such as a 
 head, a bust, the claws of animals, sculptured on 
 * See also Q. de Quincy, Le Jupiter Olympien.
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 187 
 
 furniture generally ending in scrolls or leafwork. If 
 a human figure is complete, it bears no real pro- 
 portion to objects round it, and so on. 
 
 Excellent wood sculpture used to be executed in 
 England, from the days of Grinling Gibbon to those of 
 Adam and the Chippendales, suited to the furniture 
 then in fashion. I wish I could say that our fur- 
 niture-makers of to-day could easily, or did gene- 
 rally, command such talents. Ingeniously carved re- 
 presentations of animals and game on sideboards we 
 sometimes see, but game ' dead ' in every sense. If, 
 indeed, Messrs. Grace, Howard, Jackson and Graham, 
 and other firms could persuade the Eoyal Academicians 
 to model for them, those artists would have to give 
 some material amount of time to the study of how 
 they could so effectually modify their skill as to suit 
 the requirements and opportunities of a piece of fur- 
 niture, these being quite peculiar. The French are 
 easily our masters in this respect, but even they sacrifice 
 good qualities proper to this kind of sculpture, in a 
 morbid search after the softness of nature. 
 
 A curious piece of mechanism has been invented, 
 and is in use in most large London furniture work- 
 shops, for carving by steam. Besides boring out and 
 cutting away superfluous material, there is an engine 
 for making mechanical sculpture in bas-relief, or the 
 round. The wood is fixed on a metal table, which is 
 moved to and fro and up and down, so as to come in 
 contact with a revolving cutter held above it. The 
 wood is then shaped and cut, according as it is elevated 
 or moved. There are three or four cutters, and one
 
 188 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 piece of wood may be placed under each. Under the 
 middle cutter, replaced by a dummy tool that does 
 not really cut, the workman places his cast or model, 
 and makes the dummy cutter pass over every undula- 
 tion of its surface. The two or three cutters on either 
 side cut the corresponding blocks exactly to the same 
 depths and undulations as are followed by the blunt 
 tool. It is a copying machine. That such copies, 
 though they may pass muster, will ever have the 
 charm of original carving, the reader shall not be 
 asked to believe. 
 
 Certain elaborate methods of decorating and finish- 
 ing woodwork must now be described, viz. those known 
 as inlaying and marquetry. These two processes are 
 distinct, but marquetry furniture has often portions 
 decorated with inlaying, as also carved ornaments and 
 decorations of beaten, cast, or chiselled metal work. 
 This last addition is not generally of the same import- 
 ance in our modern English woodwork that it was a 
 century ago, and I will describe the former methods 
 first. 
 
 Inlaying means the insertion of pieces of more costly 
 wood, stone, small discs, or carved pieces of ivory, into 
 a less valuable material. The process is as old as any 
 manufacture in wood working of which we possess 
 records. Beautiful plates or blocks of ivory can be 
 seen in the Assyrian gallery of the British museum, 
 found at Nineveh by Mr. Layard. They are deeply 
 cut with lotus and other leaf decorations, figures and 
 hieroglyphics, and most of them have an Egyptian 
 character. The ivory figures, too, have been inlaid
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 189 
 
 and filled up with vitrified material. Kemains of 
 these decorations are still discernible, and the thick- 
 ness of many of these pieces of ivory shows that they 
 have been sunk bodily into woodwork of a solid 
 character. 
 
 No such work as this can be pointed out in our 
 London workshops, but patterns and arabesques, both 
 of wood and ivory, are occasionally let into solid beds 
 of wood so deeply, as to be actually mortised into the 
 main body of the structure. This is done both by our 
 own makers and by the French cabinet-maker, Henri 
 Fourdinois, a prize piece of whose make was bought for 
 the South Kensington museum. It is not uncommon 
 to insert pieces of lapis lazuli, bloodstone, and precious 
 marbles into centres of carved woodwork, and I may call 
 attention to the use of plates, medallions and cameos 
 of Wedgwood, or Sevres ware, which were frequently 
 inlaid by Chippendale, and by the great French fur- 
 niture makers, or ebenistes, of the last century. These 
 are used in the modern satinwood furniture of Messrs. 
 Wright and Mansfield, and I have lately seen a coarser 
 material used, viz. bas-reliefs in stoneware, imitations 
 of the gris de Flandres, by Messrs. Doulton. These 
 last, however, may be said to be rather panels set in 
 frames, than pieces let into cavities in wood. 
 
 Veneering and Marquetry. An effective method of 
 ornamenting woodwork by the application to the 
 surface of other woods is what is known as veneering 
 and marquetry. The surface is in both cases covered 
 with a thin layer of other woods, fastened on with 
 glue and by strong pressure. Some of the panelling,
 
 190 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 table tops, and other joiner's work already described, 
 is clothed with a thin slice of more valuable wood. 
 This is called veneering. Woods such as ebony, tuya, 
 satinwood, palm, hare-wood, and a number more, are 
 only to be had in small scantlings, logs a few feet long, 
 and six or seven inches wide. Other woods, of which 
 the grain is most beautifully marked, are cut from 
 roots, wens, and other excrescences of the trees, to 
 which they belong, and are only found occasionally, 
 and in lumps of no great size. The contortions of the 
 grain, which make them so valuable and beautiful, are 
 owing to peculiar conditions of growth. In all these 
 cases an inch plank of wood has to be cut into very 
 thin slices, twelve being cut with a saw, or from 
 eighteen to twenty-two if it is cut with a knife, as in 
 that case no material is wasted by the opening made 
 by a saw. These slices are laid on the surface of well- 
 seasoned wood, and in the workshops of our great 
 manufacturers will be seen a metal table or bed, pre- 
 pared expressly for the process of veneering. 
 
 Supposing the object to be veneered to be a large 
 surface a number of panels, or the top of a table of 
 ebony, for instance the substance of the table may be 
 Honduras mahogany. The wood has been carefully 
 seasoned, and the top grooved, tongued, and firmly 
 glued up to the required form. The ebony surface 
 is also carefully fitted together and glued on paper, 
 the surface being left rough, so that the glue may have 
 a firm hold on the fibre of the grain. A correspond- 
 ing roughness is produced on the upper surface of the 
 mahogany, which is then laid on the metal bed. Glue,
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 191 
 
 perfectly fiuid and hot, is now rapidly brushed over 
 the entire surface, and the thin veneer top is laid 
 upon it, and firmly pressed down by several workmen, 
 who then carefully go over the whole with hammers 
 having broad, flat heads ; the object of this being to 
 flatten any apparent thicknesses of glue or bubbles of 
 air which would interfere with the perfect contact 
 of the two surfaces of wood. The whole is then placed 
 under a caul or frame that touches it all over, and 
 a number of strong bars are screwed down till the 
 greater part of the glue has been pressed out. The 
 complete union of the surfaces of the woods is effected 
 not so much by the quantity of glue as by the abso- 
 lute exclusion of the air, and this can only be done 
 by pressure. The whole metal bed or frame in which 
 the veneering is performed is heated by steam, or by 
 gas-burners, where steam cannot be applied. The 
 wood is left for twenty-four or thirty hours, till the 
 glue has been completely set and hardened. The caul 
 or frame is then removed, the paper used to keep 
 the thin veneer together before gluing is scraped 
 off, and the work of finishing and French polishing 
 takes place. French polish, or careful wax polish, 
 has the effect of keeping out air and damp, which 
 latter might soften the glue and disintegrate the 
 surface veneer. It is to be observed, that such wood 
 as the finest French or Italian walnut is often veneered 
 on mahogany, for it lasts better in this condition than if 
 it was solid ; large surfaces and thicknesses of walnut 
 being difficult to procure without faults. Walnut 
 veneers are applied in greater thicknesses than ebony ;
 
 192 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 and if the surfaces to which they are applied are 
 curved, cauls, or shaped pieces of wood made to fit 
 them, are screwed down and held by numerous wooden 
 vices, as in the method already described. 
 
 Marquetry is the application of veneer made of dif- 
 ferent woods, ivory, &c., composed like a mosaic or 
 painting executed in coloured woods. This kind of 
 decoration is of ancient use, was much in vogue during 
 the Eenaissance of the fifteenth and sixteenth centu- 
 ries, and was carried to a great pitch of perfection in 
 France during the seventeenth and eighteenth. It is 
 still practised, and the process may be seen in full 
 activity in the workshops of our modern furniture 
 makers. In cutting out the forms required for 
 marquetry decoration, one, two, or more thicknesses of 
 thin wood are gummed or pasted together, according 
 to the pattern required. In many fine pieces of 
 marquetry there are, as in the case of a cabinet or 
 table, portions of the surface entirely occupied by 
 quiet reticulated patterns. As in these cases the same 
 pattern often recurs, several thicknesses of wood can 
 be laid together, and are then firmly fixed in a vice, 
 having pasted over them a piece of paper on which 
 the pattern is drawn. A small hole is bored where it 
 will not interfere with the design, and the end of a 
 thin watch-spring saw is passed through, and then 
 re-attached to the frame that strains it out in working 
 order. With this in his hand, the workman carefully 
 traces the outlines of his drawing, which the tenuity 
 of the saw-blade allows the tool to follow into every 
 curve and angle. The thicknesses are then separated
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 193 
 
 with the blade of a knife, and the slices become alter- 
 nately pattern and ground, so that a set of patterns 
 and a set of matrices of each wood are ready for use, 
 and can be applied either on different parts of the 
 same, or on two separate pieces of furniture. If a 
 flower or other ornament is required which will not be 
 repeated, two thicknesses only will be cut together. It 
 is necessary that the same action of the saw should cut 
 out the pattern and the ground in the two woods 
 required, so that they may fit exactly. 
 
 When all the portions of the design are cut out, 
 they are pasted on paper, and can be fitted together 
 like mosaic. A little sawdust from the woods used, 
 and a very small quantity of glue, join the edges and 
 fill up the fine openings made by the saw ; and in this 
 way the whole surface of the marquetry is laid down 
 on paper. In the case of flowers, heads, architectural 
 or other designs, some slight additions, either of lines 
 to indicate stalks, leaf-fibre, or the features of the face, 
 are made with a graver, and stained ; or gradations of 
 a brown colour are given, in the case of white or light- 
 tinted wood, by partial burning. It was formerly the 
 custom to burn with a hot iron, but a more delicate 
 tint is given by using hot sand, and this is the best 
 method of tinting beech, lime, holly, box, maple, or 
 other woods which are nearly white. There remains 
 nothing but to rough the surface of the furniture, and 
 to lay down the marquetry on it, precisely as in the 
 case of plain veneering. When the glue is dry and 
 hard, the pressure is taken off, the paper which is on 
 the outer surface is scraped away, and the whole 
 
 o
 
 194 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 rubbed down to a fine surface and French polished. 
 The most beautiful work of this description was made 
 in France by Riesener and David, during the reigns of 
 Louis XV. and Louis XVI. Besides graceful and 
 delicate design, which these artists (for such they were) 
 thoroughly understood, the beauty of their work owes 
 much to their charming feeling for colour. Both used 
 light woods, such as maple, holly, box, lime, &c., and 
 laid brown woods, such as laburnum and walnut, on 
 this light ground. Sometimes architectural compo- 
 sitions in the manner of Pannini, a favourite Roman 
 painter of the day, were designed over the doors or 
 flaps of secretaires and cabinets, or busts, medallions, 
 baskets of roses, &c. The charm of the work is the 
 grace and repose with which these simple decorations 
 are laid on. Compare some of the work of Riesener 
 and David, on the cabinet doors in the collection of 
 Sir Richard Wallace, with the glaring contrasts, the 
 gaudy, often discordant colouring, and the crowded 
 compositions of modern marquetry, at least of most of 
 it. There is a tenderness of treatment, a grace and 
 harmony of colour and arrangement throughout the 
 former, which is wholly wanting, and which no lapse 
 of time will add to the latter. Though these criticisms 
 are not meant to be applied to the products of the 
 leading houses now under review, the reader who has 
 taken an observant stroll amongst the furniture of Sir 
 Richard Wallace, at Bethnal Green, will find abundant 
 contrasts as he walks along the streets of London. 
 
 In order to illustrate my remarks on the processes 
 of colouring woods by burning or etching, I may point
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 195 
 
 to a large writing bureau, or secretaire, belonging to 
 Sir Richard Wallace, made by Riesener, in 1769 (and 
 signed), for Stanislaus, king of Poland. It is decorated 
 partly with, reticulated pattern work, partly with the 
 royal cipher in medallions, and with other medallions 
 containing emblematic figures, such as a carrier pigeon, 
 a cock, the emblem of vigilance, or the head of a girl 
 placing her finger on her lips, an emblem of silence. 
 All these medallion figures are broadly drawn, the 
 very slightest and most delicate tint only being added 
 to represent shading, while the drawing is a single 
 line lightly pencilled. 
 
 The materials used in the best marquetry are lime, 
 holly, box, maple, beech, poplar, for white ; pear, la- 
 burnum, palm (cut across the grain), lignum vitae, 
 walnut, teak, partridge-wood, for brown ; wood called 
 in the trade fustic, satinwood, for yellow ; tulip, purple- 
 wood, amboyna, mahogany, thuya, log-wood, cam-wood, 
 and varieties of these woods, for red ; ebony for black, 
 or stained wood. Greens and blues are also stained 
 with metallic dyes. The finest of the old work may 
 be called studies in brown and white, and the red 
 woods are used sparingly ; the dyed woods still more 
 so, nor can they be said ever to be really effective. 
 
 As an example of great mechanical skill in a modern 
 piece of very difficult execution, I might call attention 
 to Messrs. Jackson and Graham's elaborate cabinet of 
 marquetry, in patterns of Oriental character, after 
 designs by the late Mr. Owen Jones (sent to the 
 Vienna Exhibition by Messrs. Jackson and Graham). 
 It had an architectural front, with detached columns 
 
 o 2
 
 196 BRITISH MANUFA CTURING IND US TRIES. 
 
 and groups of architectural mouldings, some of them 
 put together with the lines of moulding in woods of 
 contrasted hue, an element of ornamentation that took 
 from the unity and completeness of cap or corona 
 mouldings. The little columns of an inch and a half 
 diameter were entirely covered with reticulated pattern 
 in different woods. As the shafts were tapering, so the 
 reticulated patterns had to be graduated in size from top 
 to bottom. This was a feat of most difficult execution, 
 nor was it the only difficulty in this portion of the design. 
 The marquetry in the instance of these columns had to 
 be wrapped round each circular shaft ; and each edge, 
 thereforej of every portion of pattern and groundwork 
 had to be sawn out with bevelled edges, so that when 
 rolled, the inner edges might meet and the outer edges 
 remain in contact, which would not be so, were they not 
 bevelled : the contrary would happen in that case, and 
 the outer edges would start in sunder. These columns 
 were two feet and some inches high, and the little reticu- 
 lations of pattern recurred many dozens of times. The 
 conditions of which I speak had to be carefully ob- 
 served in the case of each. The pattern, too, was 
 graduated, as above stated, so that they had to be 
 sawn out by separate cuttings a most laborious and 
 costly operation. 
 
 We miss in the great English houses one of the 
 most costly and beautiful elements in the adornment 
 of furniture, and that is, the fine moulded and chiselled 
 bronze work, always gilt, which enters so largely into 
 the decoration of fine old French marquetry. The 
 English furniture makers of a century ago were not so
 
 FUENITURE AND WOODWORK. 197 
 
 behindhand,- and old carriages had door-handles, and 
 furniture had mounts of gilt bronze. Probably the 
 French were always superior to us in this kind of skill. 
 They still produce good work of this class, cast and 
 afterwards cleaned and tooled with the chisel, but it is 
 not equal to the work of the same description by Gouth- 
 iere, and the famous ciseleurs of Paris in the last century. 
 I must not pass over in silence a beautiful kind 
 of furniture which was in fashion a century since, and 
 has been revived by Messrs. Wright and Mansfield, 
 and other firms, viz. satin-wood furniture. In the time 
 of Chippendale, Sheraton, Lock, and other great 
 cabinet makers, contemporaries of the French artists 
 Eiesener, Gouthiere, and David, satin-wood was im- 
 ported from India. It was made up by veneering, and 
 was decorated with medallions, some of marquetry, 
 some of Wedgwood ware, after the model of the French 
 inlaying of Sevres porcelain plaques, and in some 
 instances painted with miniature scenes like the 
 Vernis Martin, called after a French decorator of the 
 name of Martin. Old examples of satin-wood furni- 
 ture, such as tables, book-cases, chests of drawers, &c., 
 are not uncommon, decorated in one or more of these 
 methods. Cipriani and Angelica Kauffmann were em- 
 ployed amongst many others in painting cameo medal- 
 lions, busts, Cupids and so forth for satin-wood furniture. 
 Messrs. Wright and Mansfield have executed much of 
 this work, and sent a cabinet of large size to the Paris 
 Exhibition of 1867, decorated with medallions, swags, 
 ribbons, &c., partly in marquetry of coloured woods, 
 partly in plates of Wedgwood ware. The piece is
 
 198 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 further set off by carved and gilt portions, not, how- 
 ever, sufficiently attractive to add greatly to the effect 
 of the whole cabinet, which is gay, cheerful, of beautiful 
 hue, and excellent workmanship. It is in the South 
 Kensington Museum. 
 
 Allusion has been made to the furniture of Boulle. 
 It began to be made somewhere about 1660, and was 
 perhaps the earliest start taken in the more modern 
 manufacture of sumptuous furniture. I have al- 
 ready called it a great advance and improvement, 
 rather than an absolutely new invention, for pieces are 
 found of a date too early to have been the actual work 
 of Boulle. When the tortoiseshell is dark and rich in 
 hue, the brass of a good golden yellow, and the designs 
 carefully drawn, Boulle work seems to equal in splen- 
 dour, though not in preciousness, the gold and silver 
 furniture of the ancients, and the inlaid work of agates, 
 crystals, amethysts, &c., with mounts of ivory and 
 silver made in Florence in the sixteenth century. 
 
 Boulle work is made occasionally by French and 
 other foreign houses, and by Wertheimer of Bond 
 street, but it is costly, and the rich relieved portions, 
 such as the hinge and lock mounts, the salient medal- 
 lions, masks, &c., set in central points of the compo- 
 sition, are either copies or imitations of old work. 
 They lack the freshness, vigour, and spirit of the old 
 French metallurgy. 
 
 A spurious kind of Boulle is made with a compo- 
 sition in place of the tortoiseshell. 
 
 Parquet floors are made by Messrs. Howard as 
 follows : Slices of oak, varied sometimes with ma-
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 199 
 
 hogany, walnut, and imitation ebony, are laid out and 
 put together on a board. If rings, circles or other 
 figures are introduced, these portions, patterns, and 
 cavities as well as angular pieces are cut in the machine. 
 The thickness of these pieces is a quarter of an inch. 
 They are then laid on three thicknesses of pine, the 
 grain of each thickness being laid crosswise to the 
 one below, so as to keep the wood above from warp- 
 ing and opening. These are glued together, and kept 
 for twenty-four hours under an hydraulic press. It is, 
 in fact, coarse marquetry, and the whole is laid down 
 over a rough deal floor. Messrs Howard also glue 
 up their quarter inch hardwoods without a pine back- 
 ing, and lay them down with glue and fine brads on 
 old deal floors, a less expensive method, and which 
 can be adopted without raising the level of an old 
 floor. 
 
 It is remarkable that English cabinet makers should 
 so rarely make these floors, or architects lay them down 
 in rooms of modern houses. The French, Germans 
 of all states, Swiss, Belgians, in short most continental 
 nations have these floors, and Swiss and Belgian 
 flooring is imported into England. That of the 
 Belgian joiners is in large pieces four feet or so 
 square, of seasoned wood, moderate in price, and 
 easily laid down. 
 
 In this country, our costly modern houses are barely 
 provided with a border of a foot or so round the edges 
 of the reception rooms. Even that is but an exceptional 
 practice. Yet oak flooring is not a costly addition to 
 important rooms, while the habit of keeping floors
 
 200 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 always covered with Brussels carpet tacked down is 
 not the cleanest imaginable. 
 
 Another application of veneered wood practised by 
 Messrs. Howard is called by them "wood tapestry." 
 Very thin slices are arranged geometrically in large 
 patterns, and fastened with glue on staircase and 
 passage walls, or made into dado panelling to the 
 room, in this case capped by mouldings. 
 
 An ingenious method of inlaying thin veneers on flat 
 surfaces of wood by machinery has been patented by 
 the same firm. Veneers or slices of wood about the 
 thickness of coarse brown paper are glued on a board, 
 e. g. a table top. A design punched out in zinc, of a 
 thickness somewhat greater than that of the veneer, is 
 laid over it, and the board is then placed under a heavy 
 roller. The zinc is forced into the surface of the board 
 by the roller to about the thickness of the veneer. A 
 plane cleans off the rest of the veneer, leaving the por- 
 tion only that answers to the zinc pattern, thus forced 
 into the surface of the board. If soaked, the grain of 
 the wood would push up the thin veneer, no doubt, 
 but this is no greater risk than that to which all 
 marquetry is exposed. 
 
 Neither of these inventions have as yet been carried 
 beyond the simplest disposition of arrangement. What 
 can be done in either method remains to be shown. 
 
 All the woodwork passed under review thus far in 
 joinery and cabinet-work, is of hard woods. Much, 
 however, of our modern furniture is of a less valuable 
 description, and is made of pine, American birch, 
 Hungarian and other ash. Pitch-pine, an exceedingly
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 201 
 
 hard wood, difficult to dry, and with a disagreeable 
 propensity to crack if not very well seasoned, is also 
 used, and a beautiful material it is. Some small 
 quantity of bedroom furniture in beech, oak, and ash 
 is made in the workshops that I have been describing. 
 As a general rule, however, this manufacture of soft 
 woods is a separate branch of the trade. To see soft 
 wood, such as pine, made up into admirable bedroom 
 furniture, and French polished till the grain of it 
 shows much of the delicacy and agreeableness of 
 satinwood, we should pay a visit to the works of 
 Messrs. Dyer and Watts, in Islington, and to other 
 houses that occupy their time exclusively in work of 
 this kind. It is clean, cheerful, and, by comparison, 
 cheap ; is ornamented (in the works of Messrs. Dyer 
 and Watts) with neat lines of red, grey, and black, 
 some of the lines imitative of inlaid wood. It is 
 popular, and if we proceed from the workshops of 
 Messrs. Graham, Holland, and others, to their show- 
 rooms and warehouses, we shall find this deal furni- 
 ture for sale, though they do not profess to make any 
 of it. Less costly pine-wood furniture is painted 
 green, or white, or in imitation of other woods. 
 
 The surface of woodwork, if the woods are valuable, 
 is finished by French polishing. A solution of shell-lac 
 is put on a rolled woollen rubber, which is then covered 
 with a linen rag, on which the polisher puts a drop of 
 linseed oil. He rubs this solution evenly over the 
 entire surface of the wood as it passes through the 
 fibre of the linen, smooth action being secured by the 
 oil. It is laid on in successive fine coats till a glossy
 
 202 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 surface is obtained which is air and water proof. For 
 fine work the surface should not be so glossy as to look 
 like japan work. French polishing preserves woods 
 liable to split, such as oak, from the too rapid action 
 of the air. 
 
 Graining is an imitation of oak or other woods. A 
 light colour, chrome yellow, and white, is first laid on, 
 and glazed over with brown. While still wet, the 
 brown is combed with elastic square teethed combs to 
 give the appearance of graining. Larger veins are 
 wiped out by the thumb and a piece of rag. All sorts 
 of woods are thus imitated, and the work when dry is 
 varnished over. Independently of any skill or decep- 
 tiveness, this broken painted surface looks effective and 
 lasts long. 
 
 Of the propriety of such a decoration there are 
 many doubts, for the discussion of which there is 
 not space here. Marble graining has long been re- 
 presented in Italy, e. g. in the loggie of Raphael in 
 the Vatican. But in that particular instance, the 
 painting is a representation, not an imitation. Wood 
 graining is performed in all countries, and such imita- 
 tions seem to have been practised by the ancients. 
 
 Mr. Norman Shaw is now exhibiting in Exhibition 
 road examples of woods with fine grain stained green, 
 red, and other colours, and French polished, the grain 
 showing as if the woods were naturally of those hues. 
 
 For inexhaustible resource in tinting, polishing, and 
 decorating wood surfaces, we shall have to learn from 
 the Japanese, from whom probably the famous Verms 
 Martin was first borrowed in the last century. Much 
 imitation lac-japanning was executed in this country
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 203 
 
 during the latter years of the century. This work is 
 still made in Birmingham. Pieces of mother-o' -pearl 
 are glued on wood and the intervening surface, covered 
 with lac varnish which is rubbed smooth, coat after 
 coat, with pumice and water, till the surface of the 
 inlaid pearl shell is reached, and the whole ground to 
 a glassy polish. 
 
 LONDON FACTOEIES. 
 
 The number of hands employed in large cabinet- 
 making and furnishing establishments is very con- 
 siderable. Not only are the workshops well pro- 
 vided with joiners, cabinet makers, and turners, but 
 also with upholsterers, cutters-out and workwomen, 
 stuffing, tacking on or sewing on the covers of chairs, 
 sofas, &c. Indeed, it is no uncommon occurrence for 
 the entire furniture of royal palaces and yachts to be 
 ordered from one of these firms by the courts of 
 foreign potentates in every corner of the world. 
 Chairs, tables, sideboards, &c., were made lately at 
 Messrs. Holland's for a steam yacht of the Emperor 
 of Austria; while Messrs Jackson and Graham have 
 been furnishing the palace of the Khedive at Grand 
 Cairo. 
 
 To execute, with certainty and promptitude, orders 
 such as these, both premises, plant (such as wood and 
 machinery), and the command of first-rate hands, must 
 be abundant. Painters, gilders, carpenters, paperers, 
 and a miscellaneous assistant staff are required to 
 pioneer the way for the more costly work, or to make 
 all good behind it. The firm of Jackson and Graham, 
 for instance, employs from 600 to 1000 hands, accord-
 
 204 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES, 
 
 ing to the time of the year or the pressure of orders ; 
 and pays out close upon 2000Z. per week as wages, 
 when all these hands are in full work ; and to highly 
 skilled craftsmen (independently of designers), occu- 
 pied on the production of the most costly kind of 
 furniture, 60Z. to 230Z. per week. The Howards 
 employ from 150 to 200 hands on cabinet making 
 and joinery alone. It is the variety and comprehen- 
 siveness of these operations, that is so profitable as 
 a speculation. Such a business requires, it need 
 hardly be said, a large capital, and must be liable to 
 fluctuations. 
 
 THE PAST AND THE FUTUEE. 
 
 A few words must be given to a retrospect of the 
 state of this branch of the national industry, and to its 
 prospects. If we look back twenty-five years to the 
 furniture exhibited in London in 1851, the improve- 
 ment of the present time seems incredible. 
 
 We may take that Exhibition, the first of these 
 modern displays of all sorts of products of labour, as 
 a point of departure for our review. 
 
 In 1851, the Commissioners directed that a complete 
 report should be drawn up on the subject of the deco- 
 rative treatment of manufactures of all kinds, including 
 the particular class of objects under discussion. The 
 author of this report calls attention to what should be 
 the first consideration, in the construction of objects 
 for daily and personal use. From the continual pre- 
 sence of these things, " defects overlooked at first, or 
 disregarded for some showy excellence, grow into
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 205 
 
 great grievances, when, having become an offence, the 
 annoyance daily increases. Here at least utility 
 should be the first object, and as simplicity rarely 
 offends, that ornament which is the most simple in style 
 will be the most likely to give lasting satisfaction."* 
 Yet on examining the furniture on the English 
 side, the reporter could not but notice, how rarely 
 this very obvious consideration had been attended to. 
 "The ornament of such works on the English side 
 consists largely of imitative carving." Ornaments 
 consisting of flowers, garlands of massive size and 
 absolute relief, were applied indiscriminately to bed- 
 steads, sideboards, bookcases, pier-glasses, &c., with- 
 out any principle of selection or accommodation. " The 
 laws of ornament were as completely set aside as those 
 of use and convenience. Many of these works, instead 
 of being useful, would require a rail to keep off the 
 household" 
 
 These strictures were far from being applicable to the 
 entire British Exhibition of this class of work. One or 
 two notable exceptions may be quoted, such as a book- 
 case carved in oak, exhibited by Mr. Grace, bought 
 by the Commissioners and added to the Kensington 
 collections. This and a few other works " are par- 
 ticularly to be commended for their sound constructive 
 treatment, and for the very judicious manner in which 
 ornament is made subservient to it. The metal work 
 is also excellent, and the brass fittings of the panels 
 of the bookcase deserve to be studied, both for the 
 manner in which they have been put together and for 
 their graceful lines." 
 
 * Supplementary Report, chap. xxx.
 
 206 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Four years later, in 1855, in the Paris Exhibition, 
 our furniture and woodwork had made a stride forward, 
 which was still more marked in the London Exhibition 
 of 1862. By that time, our leading houses had ap- 
 preciated the necessity of obtaining talented designers 
 and foremen, and in many instances they had employed 
 the first architects of the day to give them draw- 
 ings. The result was a great progress. While the 
 French, indeed, continued to produce very fine pieces, 
 some on the best models, or rather after the principles 
 of the best periods of the Eenaissance, our own cabinet 
 makers had run far on in the same direction and in 
 many others, for the mediaeval feeling had still a 
 strong hold on the taste of English architects and 
 their patrons. 
 
 The greatest change, however, was that which the 
 Paris exhibition of 1867 brought to light. Fifteen 
 full years had passed, since public attention had been 
 called to any careful comparison between the state 
 of our furniture and the decorations of the interiors 
 of our houses, with those of other countries, and 
 the advance was incalculably greater on the part of 
 this country than on that of the other competing 
 nations. 
 
 It is worth remarking, that in three great com- 
 parative Exhibitions, and particularly in that of 1867, 
 national tastes and peculiarities seemed to have been so 
 completely pared away, that it became difficult to 
 keep the productions of the North and West of Europe 
 from those of the South or the East, distinct in one's 
 mind. Each nation followed the fashion of the works
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 207 
 
 that had obtained the best prizes at former Exhi- 
 bitions. 
 
 For the present, French Renaissance designs in wood- 
 work, and the produce of the looms of Lyons in 
 hangings, serve to give the key to the school of 
 domestic and industrial art in this country. If we 
 look at the richest and most costly productions that 
 have been exhibited, and carried off prizes at the 
 International Exhibitions of late years (and we have no 
 other standard of easy comparison), it will be found 
 that French cabinets, tables, and chairs have served 
 as models to the successful competitors. Indeed, the 
 most successful of such pieces of furniture are actually 
 designed by French artists in some of our leading 
 firms. There is a decided English type in the satin- 
 wood furniture of Messrs. Wright and Mansfield, and 
 there is some invention, though not always happy, 
 about our designers of mediaeval furniture. These 
 productions are, however, too apt to be heavy and 
 ecclesiastical, to follow rather the types of stone 
 constructions, and the teachings of the admirable 
 plates of Viollet-le-duc, than the lighter work, in- 
 augurated, not without power and success, by Pugin. 
 There is a company of artists, Morris and Co., who 
 have combined painting and woodwork, and produced 
 excellent results ; but they have had few followers, or 
 rather few successful followers. I cannot but men- 
 tion with honourable commendation the Royal School 
 of Art needlework, as a subsidiary branch of furniture 
 art. 
 
 So far as to the past. With regard to the future
 
 208 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 some few remarks may not be out of place : on the 
 excellence of workmanship, the propriety of design, 
 and the beauty of decoration. 
 
 The altered conditions of a trade such as that of 
 the cabinet maker, which combines the useful with 
 the agreeable, comely, and beautiful, in its produc- 
 tions, have been alluded to already. This change 
 must seriously affect the accomplishments of the work- 
 man. Instead of working under and with his master, 
 he is become one of a regiment of officials. He cannot 
 identify himself with the entire work of which he 
 only executes members interchangeable with other 
 members, all mechanically alike. Again, mortises, 
 tenons, dovetails, and joinery of all sorts, no longer 
 demand from hand-work the accuracy, neatness, and 
 perfection of former days. These operations are done 
 for him. Occasionally he supplements the work of 
 the engine. Like a player who only plays music occa- 
 sionally, we cannot expect him to retain all the fine- 
 ness of his hand in perfection. 
 
 Is the modern workman, then, the equal of those of 
 sixty years since, whose productions stand so well to 
 this day, because of this perfection of manual dexterity? 
 It will be difficult to maintain that he is, but it would 
 be most unjust to deny either that the best workmanship 
 can be turned out, or that it is turned out, of our great 
 establishments. This is the work of the most choice 
 and accomplished hands. In smaller London houses, 
 and in the furniture which we find in the trade 
 generally, the workmanship is inferior, relatively, to 
 that of the former period.
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 209 
 
 The introduction of machinery, however, is a fact, 
 and its effects on manual skill must be accepted as a 
 necessity. Nor must we pass over the further fact, 
 that if the modern joiner is not the equal of the 
 journeymen of Chippendale, he can do more. He has 
 powers at command, and can carry into execution 
 quantities, beyond the reach of half-a-dozen, perhaps 
 a score of his predecessors. The consumer ought to 
 reap advantages from this latter fact which he has 
 failed hitherto to get, as shall be explained presently. 
 
 This brings me to the consideration of the pro- 
 prieties of design, and the beauty of decoration of our 
 present furniture. If workmanship is affected by 
 altered conditions of the manufacture, so also is design, 
 that union of effective and suitable decoration with the 
 required convenience of each piece of furniture, which 
 may be called style. 
 
 The artist, as regards his productions or style, is 
 fashioned partly by what he thinks and loves, partly 
 by his materials and his tools. With some materials 
 he can do little, for want of tools and appliances. As 
 regards material, wood remains what it always has 
 been, but the steam-engine supplies an absolutely new 
 set of tools. What has been done with them ? The 
 impressed marquetry has been mentioned, but as yet 
 nothing really new has been done by the use of 
 machinery. Thin veneers which might be cut out with 
 scissors, as if one were cutting paper in inexhaustible 
 fulness and variety, are restricted, in this impressed 
 marquetry, to such as can be copied in the coarse 
 material, zinc, which has to be punched or sawn out for
 
 210 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 the manufacture. Then again we have the carving or 
 copying machine. At present nothing more is done 
 with it than to copy, and to copy somewhat clumsily, 
 in duplicate or in large numbers, that which has first 
 been carved or modelled by hand. It would be 
 premature to decide, that with so powerful a tool in his 
 hand, an accomplished artist trained to use it, could 
 not produce real and rapid sculpture. But no such 
 artist has yet stepped on the stage, and it can only be 
 an artist who can put the matter to a proof. 
 
 In following the style and ornamentation of former 
 periods, our new machinery is in no sense a help to us. 
 The man who cuts out his material for a Sheraton 
 chair felt what he was going to carve upon, chose his 
 pieces, arranged the grain, and the spare material just 
 as he would require it, with careful reference to the use 
 of his carving tools from first to last. The pace, too, 
 required in executing orders was then more deliberate ; 
 costly and elaborate plant and machinery not being 
 required, provincial workmen of admirable skill were 
 to be found in many towns. There is no royal process 
 by which we can put a log of wood into one end of an 
 engine, and find a chair, a table, or a cabinet at the 
 other. What steam machinery does for us is to 
 perform with certainty, and with immense rapidity, 
 the simple operations of sawing, planing, boring, and 
 turning. It is by turnery that ornamentation is done 
 in the engine. Any length of moulded edges can be 
 soon turned out, any amount of the parts of panelling, 
 of turned rails, and of ornaments turned on flat surfaces 
 pressed on the cutting tool, together with the piercing of
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 211 
 
 fretwork and curved and shaped edges to boards. The 
 saw being a fixture in this instance, is an advantage, 
 but machine turnery is not rich in resources. The 
 tool itself is filed laboriously to the mould required, 
 and the wood merely pressed against it. When the 
 wood revolves (as in the old lathe), the turner, with 
 the simple edge of his chisel or his gouge, was the 
 master of an endless variety of ornament limited 
 only by his fancy or skill of hand. 
 
 It is nevertheless in the turnery and the fret-cutting 
 machinery, that a furniture artist must find the elements 
 of a style. The man of genius, the poet and maker, 
 who can throw himself into these elements, will do 
 wonders with them. The lathe is as old as history. 
 During the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth cen- 
 turies, turned wood furniture was made in considerable 
 quantities in this country, in Italy, and in the Indian 
 possessions of the Portuguese. All the furniture of 
 Arabs, Moors, and Turks springs from the lathe and 
 the moulding plane; the tables and stools, the in- 
 genious reticulation of Cairene geometrical panelling, 
 the screens of woodwork so effective in the queen of 
 Arab cities and in Damascus are derived from these 
 humble sources. 
 
 To surface ornament of marquetry, occasional 
 carved insertions can be added. But light, neat, and 
 elegant woodwork, panelling, book-cases, cabinets, 
 dressers, chairs, and tables, can be turned out without 
 these additions, and the variety might be endless. 
 
 Carved acanthus foliage, bulging legs and surfaces, 
 artistic carving and marquetry, and chiselled metal- 
 
 p 2
 
 212 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 mountings must be the work of trained sculptors. The 
 engine gives them no real help. To design, that is 
 invent (not to copy), carving and marquetry that will 
 bear comparison with the products of Eiesener, and of 
 the school of Gibbons, is not to be done by command of 
 appliances or skilful workmanship only. The artist 
 who is thoroughly at home in designs of this kind, is 
 the pupil or descendant of masters whose traditions are 
 well established : 
 
 " Fortes creantur fortibus." 
 
 But neat furniture, unornamented by hand-work, 
 ought to be turned out of the engine-room, the per- 
 fection of lightness, convenience, and strength. And 
 here the buyer will look for the advantage of cheapness. 
 We do not find that our large makers supply well- 
 made machine furniture cheap. As a broad rule, prices 
 seem to be calculated on what a man would do, and 
 work done in the machine is priced, as if a man had 
 made it by hand. In point of fact, five or six men's 
 work is done in the same time, and the cost of wages 
 charged on articles so made, will leave a dispropor- 
 tioned profit, notwithstanding the expense of setting 
 up and maintaining the steam plant. 
 
 Decorative furniture can never be had at a cheap rate. 
 
 A word, in conclusion, as to the arts which are 
 necessarily pressed into the service of furniture, and 
 their prospects of the future. 
 
 These "sumptuary" arts have been spoken of in 
 these pages as a revival in furniture and style, as dead. 
 The disorders that culminated in the French revolu-
 
 FUENITUEE AND WOODWORK. 213 
 
 tion cut off our present European thoughts, or at 
 least our manners and customs, from the past. 
 
 We are now trying to revivify past traditions. The 
 furniture makers have made extraordinary exertions 
 in this direction. How will it be in the coming 
 years ? 
 
 Some critics are of opinion that " art manufacture " 
 is a delusion, and that, if our academicians were 
 equal to the ancient Greeks, we should not find that 
 rich buyers would care about the shapes of their chairs 
 (if comfortable), the colours of their walls, and so 
 forth a singular delusion. If Phidias, Michael 
 Angelo, and Eaphael exhibited at Burlington House, 
 their pupils and followers would overflow with good 
 work in various degrees of elaboration. We should 
 find it in our churches, houses, seats, carriages, and 
 the rest. This is what did happen when the great 
 artists were flourishing. Ugliness and vulgarity were 
 not endurable anywhere. Mentor expressed himself 
 in drinking cups, Cellini in brooches, Holbein in 
 daggers, Michael Angelo in a candlestick, Raphael 
 culminated in a church banner. The art that finds its 
 utterances on knobs, or handles, or drawer fronts, is 
 restricted certainly, because the object is of awkward 
 shape or surface, is to be handled and used, and is 
 only a part of something larger. Nevertheless the 
 street of tripods in Athens, the front of the biga in 
 the Vatican, were " occasions " on which good sculptors 
 did the best that those occasions allowed of. Four 
 fine silver images, representing four great provincial 
 capitals, in the Blacas Collection (now to be seen
 
 214 BRITISH MANUFACTURING- INDUSTRIES. 
 
 in the British Museum), were perhaps the ends of 
 the poles of a Sedan chair. 
 
 Objects of this kind, though fragmentary, or slightly 
 worked out, or combined in some grotesque but grace- 
 ful fashion, with a piece of leaf or stalk, are the easy 
 results of long years of mental and manual training. 
 
 The workman artist, therefore, though his pro- 
 ductions may not be thought suitable for the Academy 
 walls, is a child of the same school, as that which 
 brings forth such portents as Phidias, Praxiteles, 
 Michael Angelo, and Leonardo, not to speak of our 
 Royal Academicians. 
 
 Artists who are " specialists," like Giovanni da 
 Udine, will continue to do special things only, but 
 those admirably. Where the arts flourish, there will 
 be a large school that includes half a nation, artists 
 of all ranges of education, refinement, and knowledge. 
 Some will sculpture figures for the temple, others will 
 be of the rank of workmen. Vasari has given full 
 details of the sumptuous furniture which was executed 
 by the sixteenth century Academicians of Florence. 
 
 How are we to procure such teachings ? This was 
 the question which Colbert put to himself in the reign 
 of Louis XIV. He resolved it, by getting masters and 
 teachers of every kind of sumptuary art from Italy. 
 The result has been to give the French nation a lead 
 in this kind of industry, that holds good even amidst 
 the ruin of old traditions, at this day. 
 
 The Kensington schools, and those on the same 
 pattern throughout the country, are efforts made by the 
 Government to meet the wants of our manufacturers.
 
 FURNITURE AND WOODWORK. 215 
 
 They are inelastic, and it is too soon to judge of the 
 work they are likely to do hereafter. The only great 
 error in such education would be to train scholars to 
 be " ornamentalists," i. e. to teach them conventional art. 
 
 Art is conventional in connection with architecture 
 and furniture, because in most instances this is all 
 that would be proper or look well. A good modeller, 
 draughtsman, or carver, would become conventional 
 just as occasion required, but with no abstract desire 
 for ugliness or the grotesque. That artists should 
 be generally well educated and good scholars, 
 and that the profession should possess knowledge 
 and refinement, is of more importance than most 
 people suppose. This kind of refinement lay at the 
 root of the universality of accomplishments of the 
 sixteenth century artists. 
 
 Lastly, it is not enough that the profession only 
 should be educated, so as to supply the manufacturer 
 with designs. It is the rich that must be taught as 
 well. We are neither Italians nor Frenchmen, and, 
 indeed, speaking generally, we have not so much sense 
 of beauty and propriety in art as those races have, 
 even with such degeneracy as prevails but too widely 
 over the Channel. 
 
 It is enough to look at modern London, to listen to 
 the disputes of committees of management or selection 
 for a public monument, a street, or a gallery, and to 
 take a glance at their choice, to see what we are in 
 these respects. But Englishmen are not wanting in 
 genius, and in the matter of which these pages treat, 
 they have played their part well in the past.
 
 216 BRITISH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 When buyers know what is ugly, they will not 
 tolerate it about their houses ; the eagerness to possess 
 something new or original will give place to a just 
 judgment of what is good, whether new or old. Most 
 periods of good sumptuary art owe their designs to 
 a few old types constantly reproduced under new and 
 agreeable varieties, that are not radical changes. To 
 know good from bad in these matters, is the result not 
 of a natural instinct altogether, but of such a sense in- 
 structed by study, experience, and reflection. Nor, on 
 the other hand, does such an instinct accompany great 
 intellectual acquirements naturally, and as a matter 
 of right. A man may possess a vast amount of learn- 
 ing, statesmanship, or professional knowledge, and be 
 no judge of painting, sculpture, marquetry furniture, or 
 blue porcelain. Nor, though he knows something of 
 the history of these objects, will he necessarily admire 
 and like the best or most beautiful examples. It is 
 this sense of what is becoming, that has to be learned, 
 though it is occasionally a natural gift. When whole 
 nations have become used to good domestic art, public 
 opinion will be sound, and will perpetuate itself as 
 regards this subject matter, till some great national 
 convulsion reduces sumptuous living, and refined social 
 manners and habits, to ruin. 
 
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 SCHOOL-BOYS' LETTERS for COPYING and DICTA- 
 TION: being a Series of Lithographed Letters on Subjects interesting to 
 School-Boys, with Remarks on the Essentials of Good Writing, &c. Third 
 Edition. Large post 8vo, cloth, 2s. 6d 
 
 SHARP.-RUDIMENTS of GEOLOGY. By SAMUEL SHARP, F.S.A., F.G.S. 
 Introductory and Physical Si ratigraphical and Palaxmtological. Second 
 Edition, revised and enlarged. Crown 8vo, cloth, 4s. 
 
 SULLIVAN. THE PRINCES OF INDIA. An Historical Narrative of the 
 principal events from the Invasion of Mahmoud of Ghizni to that of Nadir 
 Shah. By Sir EDWARD SULLIVAN, Bart., Author of ' Letters on India,' ' Trip to 
 the Trenches,' ' Rambles in North and South America,' &c. Second Edition. 
 Crown 8vo, cloth, with Map, 8s. 6d. 
 
 SHERRY. FKOM VINEYARD to DECANTER. A Book about Sherry. 
 By DON PEDRO VERDAD. With a Map of the Jerez District. 5lh Thou- 
 sand. Fcap. 8vo, cloth, Is. 
 
 WILLIAMS. THROUGH NORWAY WITH A KNAPSACK. A New and 
 Improved Edition. By W. M. WILLIAMS, F.R.A.S., F.C.S., &c. Crown 8vo, 
 cloth, with Frontispiece and Map, 6s. 
 
 Edward Stanford, 55, Charing Cross, London.
 
 SELECTED LIST. 
 
 0r 
 
 Wizll 
 
 EUROPE. Scale, 50 miles to an inch ; size, 65 inches by 58. Coloured and 
 mounted on linen, in morocco case, 31. 13s. 6<i. ; on roller, varnished, 31. ; spring 
 roller, 61. 
 
 ENGLAND and WALES. Scale, 5 miles to an intti ; size, 72 inches by 84 
 Coloured, 2J. 12s. 6d. ; mounted on linen, in morocco case, 31. 13s. 6d.; on roller, 
 varnished, 4l. is. ; spring roller, 61. 6s. 
 
 LONDON and its SUBURBS.-On the scale of six inches to a mile : 
 constructed on the basis of the Ordnance block plan. Price, in sheets, plain, 
 21s. ; coloured, in a portfolio, 31s. 6d. ; mounted on linen, in morocco case, or on 
 roller, varnished, 21. 15s. ; on spring roller, 5l. 5s. Single sheets, plain, Is. ; 
 coloured, 1*. 6d. A Key Map may be had on application, or per post for one 
 stamp. 
 
 SCOTLAND. Scale, five miles to an inch; size, 52 inches by 76. Coloured, 
 42s. ; mounted on linen, in morocco case, 31. 3s. ; on roller, varnished, 31. 13s. 6d; 
 spring roller, 51. 5s. 
 
 IRELAND. Scale, 4 miles to an inch; size, 66 inches by 81. Coloured, 
 11. lls. ed. ; mounted on linen, In morocco case, 21. 12s. 6d. ; or, on roller, 
 varnished, 31. 3s. ; spring roller, 5l. 5s. 
 
 ASIA. Scale, 110 miles to an inch; size, 65 inches by 58. Coloured and 
 mounted on linen, in morocco case, 31. 13s. 6d. ; on roller, varnished, 31. ; spring 
 roller, 61. 
 
 AFRICA. Scale, 94 miles to an inch; size, 58 niches by 65. Coloured and 
 mounted on linen, in morocco case, 31. 13s. 6d. ; on roller, varnished, 31. ; spring 
 roller, 61. 
 
 NORTH AMERICA. Scale, 83 miles to an inch; size, 58 inches by 65. 
 Coloured and mounted on linen, in morocco case, 3/. 13s. 6d. ; on roller, 
 varnished, 31. ; spring roller, 61. 
 
 CANADA. LARGE MAP of CANADA, including New Brunswick, Nova 
 Scotia, Newfoundland, and a large portion of the United States. By JOHN 
 AREOWSMITH. Scale, 15 miles to an inch ; size, 96 inches by 54. Eight 
 Coloured Sheets. 
 
 UNITED STATES and CENTRAL AMERICA, with Canada, 
 New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and ihe West Indies.. Scale, 54* 
 miles to an inch ; size, 72 inches by 56. Coloured and mounted on linen, in 
 morocco case, 31. 13s. 6cf. ; on roller, varnished, 3l. ; spring roller, 61. 
 
 SOUTH AMERICA. Scale, 83 miles to an inch; size, 58 inches by 65. 
 Coloured arfd mounted on linen, morocco case, 31. 13s. 6d: on roller, varnished, 
 31. ; spring roller, 61. 
 
 AUSTRALASIA. Scale, 64 miles to an inch; size, 65 inches by 58. 
 Coloured and mounted on linen, morocco case, 31. 13s. 6d. ; on roller, varnished, 
 31. ; spring roller, 61. 
 
 Edward Stanford, 55, Charing Cross, London.
 
 GENERAL MAPS. 
 
 ETJROFE. 
 
 EUROPE. STANFORD'S PORTABLE MAP of EUROPE; showing the 
 latest Political Boundaries, the Railways, the Submarine Telegraphs, &c. Scale, 
 150 miles to an inch; size, 36 inches by 33. Fully coloured and mounted on 
 linen, in case, 10s.; on roller, varnished, 14s. 
 
 CENTRAL EUROPE. DA VIES'S MAP of CENTRAL EUROPE; 
 containing all the Railways, with their Stations. The principal roads, the 
 rivers, and chief mountain ranges are clearly delineated. Scale, 24 miles to 
 an inch ; size, 47 inches by 38. Sheets, plain, 10s. ; coloured, 12s. ; mounted on 
 linen, in case, 16s. 
 
 AUSTRIAN EMPIRE. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale, 28 miles to an inch ; 
 size, 26 inches by 22. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted in case, 5s. 
 
 DENMARK and ICELAND. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale, 13 miles to 
 an inch ; size, 22 inches by 26. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted in case, 5s. 
 
 FRANCE, in DEPARTMENTS. With a Supplementary Map, divided 
 Into Provinces, and a Map of the Island of Corsica. By J. ARHOWSMITH. Scale, 
 31 miles to an inch ; size, 22 inches by 26. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted in 
 case, 5s. 
 
 GREECE and the IONIAN ISLANDS. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale, 
 15 miles to an inch ; size, 22 inches by 26. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted in 
 case, 5s. 
 
 ITALY, including Sicily and the Maltese Islands. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale, 
 20 miles to an inch; in two sheets, size of each 22 inches by 26. Price of each, 
 coloured, 3s. ; mounted in case, 5s. 
 
 NETHERLANDS and BELGIUM, including Luxembourg and the 
 Country to the East as far as the Rhine. By J. AREOWSMITH. Scale, 13 miles 
 to an inch ; size, 22 inches by 26. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted in case, 5s. 
 
 RUSSIA and POLAND, including Finland. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale' 
 90 miles to an inch ; size, 22 inches by 26. Sheet, coloured, 3*. ; mounted in 
 case, 5s, 
 
 SPAIN and PORTUGAL. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale, 30 miles to an 
 inch ; size, 26 inches by 22. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted in case, 5s. 
 
 SWEDEN and NORWAY. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale, 35 miles to an 
 inch ; size, 22 inches by 26. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted in case, 5*. 
 
 SWITZERLAND. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale, 10 miles to an inch; size, 
 26 inches by 22. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted in case, 5s. 
 
 TURKEY in EUROPE, including the Archipelago, Greece, the Ionian 
 Islands, and the South part of Dalmatia. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale, 40 miles 
 to an inch ; size, 22 inches by 26. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted in case, 5s. 
 
 Edward Stanford, 55, Charing Cross, London.
 
 SELECTED LIST. 
 
 ENGLAND and WALES. LARGE SCALE RAILWAY and STATION 
 MAP of ENGLAND and WALES. In 24 sheets (sold separately). Con- 
 structed on the basis of the trigonometrical survey. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale, 
 3 miles to an inch ; size of each sheet, 20 inches by 2*. Price, plain, 1*. ; 
 mounted in case, 2s. 6d. ; coloured, 1*. 6d. ; mounted in case, 3s. Size of the 
 complete map, 114 inches by 128. Price, plain, in case or portfolio, 11. 5s.; 
 coloured, in case or portfolio, 1Z. 8s ; mounted on cloth to fold, in case, coloured, 
 4Z. 4s.; on canvas, roller, and varnished, 41. 14s. 6d. : on spring roller, 91. 9s. 
 
 ENGLAND and WALES. STANFORD'S PORTABLE MAP of ENG- 
 LAND and WALES. With the Railways very clearly delineated ; the Cities 
 and Towns distinguished according to their Population, &c. Scale, 15 miles to 
 an inch ; size, 28 inches by 32. Coloured and mounted on linen, in case, 5s. ; 
 or on roller, varnished, 8*. 
 
 WALES. NORTH and SOUTH WALES. Ee-issue of Walker's Maps, 
 thoroughly revised and corrected to the present date. Scale, 3 miles to an inch. 
 Each in sheet, 32 inches by 27, coloured, 3s. ; mounted to fold in case for the 
 pocket, 6*. 
 
 SCOTLAND, in COUNTIES. With the Roads, Rivers, &c. By J. 
 ARROWSMITH. Scale, 12 miles to an inch; size, 22 inches by 26. Sheet, 
 coloured, 3s. ; mounted in case, 5s. 
 
 IRELAND, in COUNTIES and BARONIES, on the basis of the 
 Ordnance Survey and the Census. Scale, 8 miles to an inch ; size, 31 inches 
 by 38. On two sheets, coloured, 8s.; mounted on linen, in case, 10s. 6d. ; on 
 roller, varnished, 15*. 
 
 IRELAND, in COUNTIES. With the Roads, Rivers, &c. By J. 
 ARROWSMITH. Scale, 12 miles to an inch ; size, 22 inches by 26. Sheet, 
 coloured, 3s. ; mounted in case, 5s. 
 
 COLLINS' STANDARD MAP of LONDON is admirably adapted 
 for visitors to the City. Scale, 4 inches to a mile ; size, 34* inches by 27. 
 Price, plain, in case, Is. ; coloured, Is. 6d. ; mounted on linen, ditto, 3s. 6d. ; 
 on roller, varnished, 7s. 6d. 
 
 BRITISH METROPOLIS.-DAVIES'S NEW MAP of the BRITISH 
 METROPOLIS. Scale, 3 inches to a mile ; size, 36 inches by 25*. Price, 
 plain sheet, 3s. 6d. ; coloured, 5s. ; mounted on linen, in case, 7s. 6d. ; on roller, 
 varnished, 10s. 6d. With continuation southward beyond the Crystal Palace, 
 plain sheet, 5s.; coloured, 7s. 6d. ; mounted on linen, in case, 11s.; on roller, 
 varnished, 15s. 
 
 RAILWAY MAP of LONDON and ENVIRONS.-STANFORD'S 
 SPECIAL MAP of the RAILWAYS, RAILWAY STATIONS, TRAM- 
 WAYS, POSTAL DISTRICTS, and SUB-DISTRICTS, in LONDON and its 
 ENVIRONS. Scale, 1 inch to a mile; size, 24 inches by 26. Price, coloured 
 and folded, Is. ; mounted on linen, in case, 3s. 
 
 ENVIRONS of LONDON. -DAVIES'S MAP of the ENVIRONS of 
 LONDON. Scale, 1 inch to a mile; size, 43 inches by 32. Price, sheet, plain, 4s. ; 
 coloured 5s. Gd. ; mounted on linen, in case, 8s. ; or on roller, varnished, 14s. 
 
 Edward Stanford, 55, Charing Cross, London.
 
 GENEBAL MAPS. 
 
 GENERAL MAP OF ASIA. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale, 300 miles to 
 an inch ; size, 26 inches by 22. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted, in case, 5s. 
 
 NORTHERN ASIA, including Siberia, Kamtschatka, Japan, Mantchooria, 
 Mongolia, Tchoongaria, Tibet, and the Himalaya Mountains. By J. ARROW- 
 SMITH. Scale, 170 miles to an inch ; size, 26 inches by 26. Sheet, coloured, 4s. ; 
 mounted, in case, 7s. 
 
 CENTRAL ASIA. STANFORD'S MAP of CENTRAL ASIA, including 
 Teheran, Khiva, Bokhara, Kokan, Yarkand, Kabul, Herat, &c. Scale, 110 miles 
 to an inch ; size, 22 inches by 17. Coloured sheet, 2s. 6<1; mounted, in case, 5s. 
 
 ASIA MINOR, &c. (TURKEY in ASIA). With portions of Persia, the 
 Caspian Sea, and the Caucasian Mountains. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale, 55 
 miles to an inch ; size, 26 inches by 22. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted, in 
 case, 5s. 
 
 INDIA. STANFORD'S NEW PORTABLE MAP of INDIA. Exhibiting the 
 Present Divisions of the Country according to the most Recent Surveys. Scale, 
 86 miles to an inch : size, 29 inches by 33. Coloured, 6s. ; mounted on linen, in 
 case, 8s. ; on roller, varnished, 1 Is. 
 
 INDIA. MAP of INDIA. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale, 90 miles to an inch; 
 size, 22 inches by 26. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted in case, 5s. 
 
 CEYLON. MAP of CEYLON. Constructed from a Base of Triangnlations and 
 corresponding Astronomical Observations. By Major-General JOHN FRASER, 
 late Deputy-Quartermaster-General. Reconstructed by JOHN ABROWSMITH. 
 Scale, 4 miles to an inch ; size, 52 inches by 78. Eight sheets, coloured, 21. 5s. ; 
 mounted, in case, 31. 13s. 6ci.; on roller, varnished, il. 4s.; spring roller, 
 6L 16s. 6d. 
 
 CEYLON. COFFEE ESTATES of CEYLON. Map showing the Position of the 
 Coffee Estates in the Central Province of Ceylon. By J. AJBROWSMITH. Size, 
 15iinches by 20. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted, in case, 5s. 
 
 BURMAH. &C. A Map showing the various Routes proposed for connecting 
 China with India and Europe through Burmah, and developing the Trade of 
 Eastern Bengal, Burmah, and China. Prepared under the direction of JOHN 
 OGILVT HAT, F.R.G.S. Scale, 33 miles to an inch; size, 27 inches by 32. 
 Coloured, 3s. ; mounted, in case, 5s. 
 
 BURMAH and ADJACENT COUNTRIES. -Compiled from 
 
 various MSS., and other Documents. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale, 24 miles to 
 an inch ; size, 26 inches by 22. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted, in case, 5s. 
 
 CHINA. MAP of CHINA. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale, 90 miles to an inch ; 
 size, 26 inches by 22. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted, in case, 5s. t 
 
 CHINA and JAPAN. STANFORD'S MAP of the EMPIRES of CHINA 
 and JAPAN, with the Adjacent Parts of British India, Asiatic Russia, Burmah, 
 &c. Scale, 110 miles to an inch ; size, 38 inches by 24. One sheet, full coloured, 
 8s. ; mounted on linen, in case, 10s. 6d. ; on roller, varnished, 14s. 
 
 Edward Stanford, 55, Charing Cross, London.
 
 10 SELECTED LIST. 
 
 GENERAL MAP of AFRICA. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale, 260 miles 
 to an inch ; size, 22 inches by 26. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted, in case, 5s. 
 
 EGYPT. MAP of EGYPT. Compiled from the most authentic materials, and 
 founded on the best Astronomical Observations. By Colonel W. M. LEAKE, 
 R.A., LL.D., F.R.S. Scale, 10 miles to an inch; size, 34 inches by 52. Two 
 sheets, coloured, 21s. ; mounted, in case, 28s. ; on roller, varnished, 36s. 
 
 EGYPT. MAP of EGYPT: including the Peninsula of Mount Sinai. By 
 J. AUROWSMITH. New Edition. Scale, 26 miles to an inch; size, 22 inches by 
 26. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted, in case, 5s. 
 
 AFRICA (NORTH-WEST). MAP of NORTH-WEST AFRICA, in- 
 
 eluding the Coast of Guinea, and the Isle of Fernando Po, on the South, and the 
 Western parts of Egypt and Darfur, on the East. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale, 
 130 miles to an inch ; size, 26 inches by 22. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted, in 
 case, 5s. 
 
 AFRICA (SOUTH). MAP of SOUTH AFRICA to 16 deg. South Latitude. 
 By HENRY HALL, Draughtsman to the Royal Engineers, Cape Town. Scale, 50 
 miles to an inch ; size, 34 inches by 28. Two sheets, coloured, 10s. 6d. ; 
 mounted on linen, in case, 13s. 6<Z.; on roller, varnished, 15s. 
 
 AFRICA (SOUTH-EASTERN). MAP of SOUTH-EASTERN 
 AFRICA. Compiled by HENRY HALL. Scale, 25 miles to an inch; size, 26 
 inches by 22. Sheet, 4s. ; mounted on linen, in case, 6s. 
 
 AFRICA (WEST COAST). MAP of the WEST COAST of AFRICA. 
 Comprising Guinea and the British Possessions at Sierra Leone, on the Gambia, 
 and the Gold Coast, &c. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale, 50 miles to an inch. Two 
 coloured sheets; size of each, 22 inches by 26, 6s. Mounted, in case, 10s. 
 
 CAPE of GOOD HOPE and SOUTH AFRICA MAP of SOUTH 
 AFRICA, Cape Colony, Natal, c. By HENRY HALL. Scale 50 miles to an 
 inch; size, 29 inches by 17. Sheet, price 4s. 6d. ; mounted, in case, 6s. 6d. 
 
 CAPE COLONY (EASTERN FRONTIER).-MAP of the EASTERN 
 
 FRONTIER of the CAPE COLONY. Compiled by HENRY HALL. Scale, 
 8 miles to an inch; size, 40 inches by 38. Sheets, 18s. 6cZ. ; mounted on linen, 
 in case, 25s. ; on roller, varnished, 31s. 6d. 
 
 NATAL. A MAP of the COLONY of NATAL. By ALEXANDER MAIR, Land 
 Surveyor, Natal. Compiled from the Diagrams and General Plans in the 
 Surveyor-General's Office, and from Data furnished by P. C. SUTHERLAND, Esq., 
 M.D., F.R.S., Surveyor-General. Scale, 4 miles to an inch ; size, 54 inches by 80. 
 Coloured, Four Sheets, 21. 5s. ; mounted, in case, or on rollers, varnished, 31. 
 
 NATAL. MAP of the COLONY of NATAL. Compiled in the Surveyor- 
 General's Office. Size, 11* inches by 14 . Sheet, coloured, Is.; mounted, in 
 case, 2s. 6d. 
 
 NUBIA and ABYSSINIA, including Darfur, Kordofan, and part of Arabia. 
 By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale 65 miles to an inch ; size, 26 inches by 22. Sheet, 
 coloured, 3s. ; mounted, in case, 5s. 
 
 Edward Stanford, 55, Charing Cross, London.
 
 GENERAL MAPS. 11 
 
 BRITISH COLUMBIA. NEW MAP of BRITISH COLUMBIA, to the 
 
 56th Parallel North Latitude, showing the New Gold Fields of Omineca, the 
 most recent discoveries at Cariboo and other places, and the proposed routes for 
 the Inter-Oceanic Railway. Scale, 25 miles to an inch ; size, 39 inches by 27. 
 Price, in sheet, coloured, 7s. 6d. ; or mounted on linen, in case, Ids. 6d. 
 
 CANADA. MAP of UPPER and LOWER CANADA, New Brunswick, Nova 
 Scotia, Prince Edward's Island, Cape Breton Island, Newfoundland, and a large 
 portion of the United States. By J. ABROWSMITH. Scale, 35 miles to an inch ; 
 size, 40 inches by 26. Two sheets, coloured, 6s. ; mounted, in case, 10*. ; on 
 roller, varnished, 15s. 
 
 UNITED STATES and CANADA. STANFORD'S NEW RAILWAY 
 and COUNTY MAP of the UNITED STATES and TERRITORIES, together 
 with Canada, New Brunswick, &c. Scale 54* miles to an inch ; size, 57 inches 
 by 36. Two sheets, coloured, 21s. ; case, 25*. ; on rollers, varnished, 30s. 
 
 UNITED STATES. STANFORD'S HANDY MAP of the UNITED 
 
 STATES. Scale, 90 miles to an inch ; size, 40 inches by 25. Coloured sheet, 
 7s. 6ci. ; mounted, in case, 10s. 6cJ. ; on roller, varnished, 15s. 
 
 UNITED STATES. STANFORD'S SMALLER RAILWAY MAP of the 
 UNITED STATES. Scale, 120 miles to an inch; size, 29 inches by 17*. Two 
 sheets, coloured, 4s. Gd. ; mounted on linen, in case, 6s. 6rf. 
 
 CENTRAL AMERICA. BAILEY'S MAP of CENTRAL AMERICA, 
 
 including the States of Guatemala, Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa 
 Rica. Scale, 8 miles to an inch ; size, 40 inches by 27. Sheet, 7s. 6ei.; mounted 
 on linen, in case, 10s. 6cJ. ; on roller, varnished 14s. 
 
 MEXICO. A GENERAL MAP of the REPUBLIC of MEXICO. By the 
 Brigadier-General PEDRO GAKCIA CONDE. Engraved from the Original Survey 
 made by order of the Mexican Government. Size, 50 inches by 37. Sheets, 
 price, IDs. 6d. ; mounted on linen, in case, 18s. 
 
 BERMUDAS. MAP of the BERMUDAS. Published by direction of His 
 Excellency Major-General J. H. LEFBOT, C.B., R.A., Governor and Commander- 
 in-Chief of the Bermudas. Scale, 2J- miles to an inch ; size, 62 inches by 63. 
 Mounted, in case, or on roller, varnished, 21*. 
 
 WEST INDIA ISLANDS and GUATEMALA.-Showing the 
 Colonies in po ; session of the various European Powers. By J. ABROWSMITH. 
 Scale, 90 miles to an inch ; size, 26 inches by 22. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted, 
 in case, 5s. 
 
 JAMAICA. A NEW MAP of the ISLAND OF JAMAICA. Prepared by 
 THOMAS HARRISON, Government Surveyor, Kingston, Jamaica, under the direc- 
 tion of Major-General J. R. MANN, R.E., Director of Roads and Surveyor-General. 
 Scale, 2i miles to an inch : size, 64 inches by 27. Mounted, in case, or on roller, 
 varnished, 21s. 
 
 BARBADOES. Topographical Map, based upon Mayo's Original Survey in 
 1721, and corrected to the year 1846. By Sir ROBERT H. SCHOMBCBGH, K.R.E. 
 Scale, 2 miles to an inch ; size, 40 inches by 50. Two sheets, coloured, 21s. ; 
 mounted, in case, 28s. ; on roller, varnished, 37s. 
 
 Edward Stanford, 55, Charing Cross, London.
 
 12 SELECTED LIST. 
 
 AUSTRALIA. From Surveys made by order of the British Government, com- 
 bined with those of D'Kntre, Casteaux, Baudin, Freycinet, &c. By J. ARROW- 
 SMITH. Scale, 80 miles to an Inch. On two sheets ; size of each, 22 inches by 
 26. Sheets, coloured, 6s.; mounted, in case, 10s. 
 
 AUSTRALIA. Constructed from Official and other original Documents, 
 adjusted to the Maritime Survey of Flinders, King, Wickham, Stokes, Black- 
 wood, Stanley, &c. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale, 27 miles to an inch. In 
 Nine Sheets. [Preparing. 
 
 WESTERN AUSTRALIA. With Plans of Perth, Fremantle, and Guild- 
 ford. From the Surveys of John Septimus Roe, Esq., Surveyor-General, and from 
 other Official Documents in the Colonial Office and Admiralty. By J. ARROW- 
 SMITH. Scale, 16 miles to an inch ; size, 40 inches by 22. Two sheets, coloured, 
 6s. ; in case, 10s. 
 
 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Showing the Division into Counties of the settled 
 portions of the Province. With Situation of Mines of Copper and Lead. From 
 the Surveys of Capt. Frome, R.E., Surveyor-General of the Colony. By J. 
 ARROWSMITH. Scale, 14 miles to an inch ; size, 22 inches by 26. Sheet, 
 coloured, 3s. ; in case, 5s. 
 
 QUEENSLAND. STANFORD'S NEW MAP of the PROVINCE of 
 
 QUEENSLAND (Nortb-Eastern Australia) : Compiled from the most reli- 
 able Authorities. Scale, 64 miles to an inch ; size, 18 inches by 23. In sheets, 
 coloured, 2s. 6d. ; mounted on linen, in case, 4s. 6d. 
 
 VICTORIA. A NEW MAP of the PROVINCE of VICTORIA (Australia) : 
 Showing all the Roads, Rivers, Towns, Counties, Gold Diggings, Sheep and 
 Cattle Stations, &c. Scale, 20 miles to an Inch ; size, 31 inches by 21. In 
 sheet, 2s. 6d. ; or mounted on linen, in case, 4s. 6d. 
 
 NEW ZEALAND. STANFORD'S MAP of NEW ZEALAND: Compiled 
 from the most recent Documents. Scale, 64 miles to an inch ; size, 17 inches by 
 19. Full-coloured, hi sheet, 2s. ; mounted on linen, in case, 3s. 6d. 
 
 NEW ZEALAND. From Official Documents. By J. ARROWSMITH. Scale, 
 38 miles to an inch ; size, 22 inches by 26. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; mounted, in 
 case, 5s. 
 
 NELSON and MARLBOROUQH.-A NEW MAP of the PRO- 
 VINCES of NELSON and MARLBOROUGH, In New Zealand, with Cook's 
 Strait, and the Southern Part of the Province of Wellington. Scale, 8 miles to 
 an inch. Size, 40 inches by 27. In sheet, coloured, 7s. 6d. ; mounted on linen, 
 in case, i (i.s. (;/. 
 
 TASMANIA (Van Diemen's Land). -From MS. Surveys in the 
 Colonial Office, and in the Van Diemen's Land Company's Office. By J. ARROW- 
 SMITH. Scale, lOi miles to an inch ; size, 22 inches by 26. Sheet, coloured, 3s. ; 
 mounted in case, 5s. 
 
 Edward Stanford, 55, Charing Cross, London.
 
 SCHOOL MAPS. 13 
 
 Sdgoal Paps. 
 
 STANFORD'S NEW SERIES OF SCHOOL MAPS. 
 
 Prepared under the direction of the SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE 
 and of the NATIONAL SOCIETY, are patronized by Her Majesty's Government 
 for the Army and Navy Schools, the Commissioners of National Education for 
 Ireland, the School Boards of London, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Liverpool, 
 Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Brighton, Brisiol, Bradford, Canterbury, Derby, 
 Glasgow, Halifax, Huddersfield, Hull, Leicester, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Notting- 
 ham, Oldham, Perth, Scarborough, Stockton, Sunderland, West Bromwich, &c., 
 and are used in the chief Educational Establishments of Great Britain and the 
 Colonies. The Series comprises the following Maps, size 58 inches by 50, 
 coloured, mounted, and varnished, each 13s. : 
 
 Eastern Hemisphere. 
 "Western Hemisphere. 
 Europe. 
 British Isles. 
 
 England. 
 Asia. 
 
 Holy Land. 
 India. 
 
 Africa. 
 
 North America. 
 South America. 
 Australasia. 
 
 Also, size 42 inches by 34, each 9*. 
 
 Scotland. | Ireland. | Australia. | New Zealand. 
 Old Testament. | New Testament. | Acts and Epistles. 
 
 Journeying^ of the Israelites. 
 The British Isles. Size 75 inches by 90, price 42s. 
 The World in Hemispheres. Size 102 inches by 90, price 26s. 
 This New Series of Large School Maps has been drawn and engraved with the 
 utmost care, and is constructed upon the principle of combining with geographical 
 accuracy and systematic arrangement the bold outline and lettering requisite for 
 teaching. 
 
 STANFORD'S SMALLER SERIES OF SCHOOL MAPS. 
 
 Published under the direction of the SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOW- 
 LEDGE and of the NATIONAL SOCIETY. These new Maps retain all the character- 
 istic boldness of the larger series, and are specially suitable for small classes. 
 
 The following are ready, coloured, and mounted on rollers, varnished, 6s. ; or 
 in coloured sheet, 2s. 6rf. ; size, 32 inches by 27. 
 
 Eastern Hemisphere. I Asia. I North America. 
 
 Western Hemisphere. I Holy Land. I India. 
 
 The Hemispheres can be had mounted as one Map, coloured, and mounted on 
 rollers, varnished, 12s. ; size, 54 inches by 32. 
 
 Also, coloured, and mounted on rollers, varnished, 4s. ; or in coloured sheet, 
 Is. 6ii.; size, 17 inches by 22. 
 Old Testament. | New Testament. | Acts and Epistles. 
 
 Maps of South America, Australia, and New Zealand are preparing, and will 
 shortly be issued. 
 
 Edward Stanford, 55, Charing Cross, London.
 
 14 SELECTED LIST. 
 
 STANFORD'S NEW PHYSICAL SERIES of WALL MAPS, 
 for use in Schools and Colleges. Edited by A. C. RAMSAY, LL.D., F.K.S., &c., 
 Director-General of the Geological Surveys of the United Kingdom. 
 
 The British Isles. Scale, ll miles to an inch ; size, 50 inches by 58, 
 
 mounted on rollers, varnished, 30s. 
 England and Wales. Scale, 8 miles to an inch; size, 50 inches by 58, 
 
 mounted on rollers, varnished, 30s. 
 Europe. Scale, 65 miles to an Inch ; size, 58 inches by 50, mounted on rollers, 
 
 varnished, 30*. 
 
 ThefoUouiing Maps are in preparation : 
 Scotland. Scale, 8 miles to an inch , size, 34 Inches by 42. 
 Ireland. Scale, 8 miles to an inch ; size, 34 inches by 42. 
 Africa. Scale, 118 miles to an inch: size, 50 inches by 58. 
 America, North. Scale, 97 miles to an Inch ; size, 50 inches by 58. 
 America, South. Scale, 97 miles to an inch; size, 50 inches by 58. 
 
 VARTY'S EDUCATIONAL SERIES of CHEAP WALL 
 
 MAPS, for class teaching, constructed by AKROWSMITH, WALKER, &c. Hew 
 
 and revised editions, coloured, mounted, and varnished. 
 The World in Hemispheres. Size, 51 inches by 26. Price 12s. 
 The World (Mercator). Size, 50 inches by 32. Price 10s. 
 The British Isles. Size, 51 inches by 41. Price 10s. 
 Also the following, each 6s., size, 34 inches by 26 : 
 
 Europe. 
 
 Asia. 
 
 Africa. 
 
 Australia. 
 
 England. 
 Scotland. 
 
 America. Ireland. 
 
 New Zealand. Roman Empire. 
 
 Journeyings of 
 the Children of 
 Israel. 
 
 S. Paul's Voyages 
 and Travels. 
 
 VARTY'S LARGE OUTLINE MAPS. Price, in plain sheet, 2s. ; 
 
 coloured, 3s. ; mounted on rollers, 7*. 
 The World (globular), 2 feet 3 inches by 4 feet 3 inches. Price, in plain 
 
 sheet, is. ; coloured, Is. 6d. 
 The World (Mercator), 21 inches by 15 in. 
 And the following, plain sheet, is. 3<i. ; coloured, Is. Gd. ; mounted on rollers, 4s. ; 
 
 size, 2 feet 10 inches by 2 feet 2 inches. 
 
 Europe. 
 
 Asia. 
 
 Africa. 
 
 America. 
 England. 
 Scotland. 
 
 Ireland. 
 
 Palestine (O. Test.). 
 
 Palestine (N. Test.). 
 
 STANFORD'S OUTLINE MAPS. Size, 17 inches by 14, printed on 
 drawing paper. A Series of Qeograpillca] Exercises, to be filled in from the 
 Useful Knowledge Society's Maps and Atlases. Price 6d. each. 
 
 STANFORD'S PROJECTION SERIES. Uniform in size, price, &c., 
 with Stanford's Outlines. 
 
 The OXFORD SERIES of OUTLINE MAPS. Size, 16 inches by 14. 
 Price 3d. each. 
 
 Edward Stanford, 55, Charing- Cross, London.
 
 NATURAL HISTORY DIAGRAMS, &0. 15 
 
 Stanford's giagrams 0f gtateal 
 
 THESE Diagrams, compiled by the eminent Scientific Men whose names are appended, 
 are drawn with the strictest regard to Nature, and the Plates have been engraved in 
 the best style of art. The Series consists of Twelve Subjects, each arranged so that 
 it may be mounted in one sheet, or be divided into four sections and folded in the 
 form of a book, thus rendering them available either for Class Exercises or indi- 
 vidual study. 
 Price of each, mounted on roller and varnished, 6s. ; or folded in book form, 4s. 
 
 Characteristic British Fossils. By J. W. LOWET, F.R.G.S. 
 Characteristic British Tertiary Fossils. By J. W. LOWRY, F.R.G.S. 
 Fossil Crustacea. By J. W. SALTER, A.L.S., F.G.S., and H. WOODWARD, 
 
 F.G.S., F.Z.S. 
 
 The Vegetable Kingdom. By A. HENFREY. 
 The Orders and Families of Mollusca. By Dr. WOODWARD. 
 Myriapoda, Arachnida, Crustacea, Annelida, and Entozoa. 
 
 By ADAM WHITE, and Dr. BAIRD. 
 Insects. By ADAM WHITE. 
 Fishes. By P. H. GOSSE. 
 
 Reptilia and Amphibia. By Drs. BELL and BAIRD. 
 Birds. By GEORGE GRAY. 
 Mammalia. By Dr. BAIKD. 
 British Sedimentary and Fossiliferous Strata. By H. W. 
 
 BRISTOW, F.R.S., F.G.S. 
 
 ntjg's Jfmproixefr 
 
 EDITED BY ROBERT JAMES MANN, M.D., F.R.A.S., F.R.G.S., late Super- 
 intendent of Education in Natal. Price Sd. each. 
 
 ALGEBRA. 
 
 ASTRONOMT. 
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 BRITISH CONSTITUTION. 
 
 CHEMISTRY. _^_ 
 
 CLASSICAL BIOGRAPHY. MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 
 
 ENGLISH HISTORY. ROMAN ANTIQUITI 
 
 FRENCH GRAMMAR. ROMAN HISTORY. 
 
 FRENCH HISTORY. SACRED HISTORY. 
 
 GENERAL GEOGRAPHY. SCOTTISH HISTORY. 
 
 GENERAL KNOWLEDGE. UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 
 GRECIAN ANTIQUITIES. 
 
 Edward Stanford, 55, Charing Cross, London. 
 
 GRECIAN HISTORY. 
 IRISH HISTORY. 
 ITALIAN GRAMMAR. 
 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 
 Music.
 
 16 SELECTED LIST. 
 
 mttr Animal 
 
 PRECEPTIVE ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE BIBLE. A Series 
 of Fifty-two Prints to aid Scriptural Instruction, selected In part by the Author 
 of ' Lessons on Objects.' The whole from Original Designs by S. BENDIXEN, 
 Artist, expressly for this Work. They have been recently re-engraved, and are 
 carefully coloured. Size, 17J inches by 13. 
 
 Price of the Work. 
 The Set of 52 Prints, in Paper Wrapper .............. 52*. 
 
 -- in One Volume, handsomely half-bound . . . . 60s. 
 
 - In Varty's Oak Frame, with glass, lock and key 60s. 
 Single Prints, Is. each ; mounted on millboard, is. 4d. each. 
 
 VARTY'S SELECT SERIES of DOMESTIC and WILD 
 
 ANIMALS, Drawn from Nature and from the Works of Eminent Artists. In 
 36 carefully-coloured Plates, exhibiting 130 Figures. Size, 12 inches by 9. 
 The selection of Animals has been limited to those which are most known and 
 best adapted to elicit inquiry from the young, and afford scope for instruction and 
 application. 
 
 Bound In Frame 
 
 in Cloth. and Glass. 
 Set of 36 Prints, Coloured ...... 18s. .. 24s. .. 24s. 
 
 --- Plain ........ 12s. .. 17s. .. 18s. 
 
 Single Prints, coloured, 6<i. ; mounted on millboard, lOd. 
 
 The ANIMAL KINGDOM at ONE VIEW, clearly exhibiting, on 
 four beautifully-coloured Plates containing 184 Illustrations, the relative sizes of 
 Animals to Man, and their comparative sizes with each other, as arranged in 
 Divisions, Orders, &c., according to the method of Baron Cuvier. 
 Exhibited on four Imperial Sheets, each 30 inches by 22 : 
 
 Cloth, 
 
 Rollers, and 
 . Varnished. 
 Complete Set, 
 
 Animals and Landscape, full coloured .. 
 
 Animals only coloured 
 
 Single Plates, full coloured 
 
 On 
 
 181. 
 
 1 5S. 
 Si'. 
 
 VARTY'S GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS of ANIMALS, 
 
 showing their Utility to Man, in their Services during Life and Uses after 
 Death. Beautifully coloured. Size, 15 inches by 12. Price, the set, 31s. 6ii.; 
 in frame, with glass, lock and key, 39s. 6d. ; or half-bound in leather, and 
 lettered, 1 vol. folio, 42s. 
 
 The 21 separate Prints may also be had, price Is. 6<i. each. 
 Or Mounted on Millboard, Is. lod. 
 
 For complete lists of EDWAKD STANFORD'S PUBLICATIONS, see his GENERAL 
 CATALOGUE of MAPS and ATLASES, LIST of BOOKS, EDUCATIONAL CATALOGUE, &c., 
 gratis on application, or by post for one penny stamp. 
 
 Edward Stanford, 55, Charing Cross, London.
 
 This book is DUE on the last 
 date stamped below 
 
 Edi1 
 
 The Serie 
 
 Iron and Steel 
 Copper .. .. 
 Brass, Tin, a, 
 
 Metallic Mini) 
 Coal .. .. 
 
 Collieries .. 
 Building Ston 
 Explosive Con 
 
 Guns, Nails, 
 screws, Rait 
 Spikes, Bt 
 Needles, Sc 
 troplate .. 
 
 Pens 
 
 Papier-Mdche 1 
 
 Acids and AL 
 
 Oils and Can, 
 Gas and Ligh 
 
 Wool 
 
 bine*. 
 
 , &c. 
 
 3., F.R.A.S. 
 lem. Inst. C.E.). 
 
 SMYTH, F.R.S., 
 uburgh Museum 
 
 SMYTH. 
 
 G,S. 
 .S., F.R.A.S. 
 
 (Birmingham). 
 
 i, M.A., F.C.S. (Royal Agricul- 
 _2, Cirencester). 
 
 IEU WILLIAMS, F.C.S., F.R.A.S. 
 VTTERSON, F.S.S. (late Metropol. Gas 
 
 )F. ARCHER, F.R.S.E. (Director of Edinburgh 
 2r-6 ,'52(A18. /Museum of Science and Art). 
 
 Flax and Lin w. T. CHARLEY, M.P. 
 
 Cotton ISAAC WATTS (Sec. Cotton Supply Association). 
 
 Silk B. F. COBB (Sec. Silk Supply Association). 
 
 London : Edward Stanford, 55, Charing Cross.
 
 British Manufactu 
 
 Hosiery and Lace .. .. The late W A 000506050 4 
 
 Carpets CHRISTOPK~~ ^^^j^^, rn.i7. 
 
 Dyeing and Bleaching . . T. SIMS (Mayfield Print Works). 
 
 L. ARNOUX (Art Director of Minton's Manu- 
 \., F.C. S. (Kensington Catho- 
 A. (S. Kensington Museum). 
 
 R.S.E. (Director of Edinburgh 
 ace and Art). 
 
 DAVENPORT. 
 
 ER (Society of Arts). 
 
 outh Kensington Museum). 
 
 . (Edinburgh). 
 F.R.C.I. 
 
 IM, R.N., M.P. 
 
 57 -E- 
 
 n fa. i (Royal Agricultural College, 
 
 1877 3i. Inst. C.E.). 
 
 er of Art Collections, South 
 sum). 
 
 UTELL, M.A. 
 
 .tish Horological Institute). 
 
 BAULT, LL.D. 
 
 d). 
 
 I. 
 
 FLL (late Assist. Exam. Univ. 
 
 of London). 
 
 Butter and Cheese MORGAN EVANS (late Editor of ' Milk Journal '). 
 
 Brewing and Distilling .. T. POOLEY, B.Sc., F.C.S. 
 
 The Industrial Classes and\ r PT , TTTTIJC -R WVA1vr -p r c 
 Industrial Statistics, aVols./ G> PHILLIPS ^EVAN, F.G.S. 
 
 London : Edward Stanford, 55, Charing Cross.