By courtesy of Taylor, Smith & Taylor, East Liverpool, Ohio Kiln

Porcelain ware, according to experts and connoisseurs, is brought to its highest development, artistically and mechanically, in the great imperial porcelain factory near Meissen, Saxony, the oldest in Germany. It was in these immense works that the secret of the Chinese and Japanese "crackleware" was discovered, and now crackleware is made in Saxony as well as in the Orient. The kaolin, or porcelain clay, from which the porcelain paste is made in the Meissen factory, comes partly from underground pits, and partly from open pits in the Saxon villages of Seilitz and Sornzig, and the feldspar comes from Norway

By courtesy of Taylor, Smith & Taylor, East Liverpool, Ohio Claydepartment.

The porcelain clay is first washed in a large wooden cylinder, which revolves horizontally, and then is run through a series of vats and channels, into which the heavier substances mixed with the clay are precipitated. The feldspar and quartz are separated from all impurities by means of hammers, and are mixed with the clay. The mixed mass is passed through filter presses and kneading machines, in which the great iron arms and knuckles blend the materials perfectly, and press out all the air bubbles.

By courtesy of Taylor, Smith & Taylor, East Liverpool, OhioDippers glazing ware.

The mass then is rammed into barrels and stored for a long time, ten months at least, in order to give the clay plasticity and to make it more "workable." In the molding room, the plastic clay is formed into vases, urns, plaques, statuettes, busts, and other shapes, by modelers, who first make the clay model and then the plaster mold for those pieces which are duplicated and reduplicated, and are finished in plaster molds. Sometimes figures in groups are molded in separate pieces, and then fastened according to the model by means of the thin paste, or "slip," as it is called. The porous plaster of the mold sucks out all the moisture, leaving the molded objects quite dry.

By courtesy of Taylor, Smith & Taylor, East Liverpool, Ohio Hand painting and gilding.

A "bosser" puts on the finishing touches, correcting all faults in the plastic decorations. Then the articles are ready for the glazing. This is a very delicate and important process and one which requires much care and skill. They are first baked, in a temperature varying all the way from 1,400 to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, which hardens them, and leaves them porous and very brittle. They then are ready to be painted or finished as white porcelain. In the glazing room each article is carefully dipped into the glaze bath, a milk white fluid, which is composed of kaolin, quartz, feldspar and limestone. As soon as the glazing mixture touches the porcelain all the colors painted on it by the artist disappear, for the glaze forms a powdery crust, which, however, fuses when exposed to a high heat, and the colors reappear. Those parts which are to remain unglazed are carefully covered with a preparation which protects the surface, and the porcelain is put into the kiln. The kilns are circular in form and are built in three stories. The articles in the lowest compartments are exposed to the highest heat, the temperature here reaching 2,912 degrees. The other stories are used to give the first baking.

By courtesy of Taylor, Smith & Taylor, East Liverpool, Ohio Putting handles on cups.

Porcelain manufacturing in the United States is rapidly coming to the high standard reached by the foreigners. People have been slow to believe that good ware could be made in their own country, and any but American manufacturers would have been discouraged by this seeming non-appreciation of their fellow-countrymen, but with the vigor and vim characteristic of the race, they have slowly but surely pushed to the front, and their wares are no longer ignored, but conceded to furnish some of the world's best makes. The pottery districts of America are Trenton, N. J., and East Liverpool, Ohio. The latter, including the near surroundings, contains about two-thirds of the potteries of the United States.

Through the courtesy of The Taylor, Smith & Taylor Company of East Liverpool, Ohio, we are able to show some of the departments in their factory which illustrate the method used in making fine dinner and toilet wares. Their model pottery is the envy of all, and every year is visited by manufacturers from all the world to study their modern methods of producing porcelain.

By courtesy of Taylor, Smith & Taylor, East Liverpool, Ohio Kiln placing.					By courtesy of Taylor, Smith & Taylor, East Liverpool, Ohio A presser.

XXXX
NEW PROCESS OF MAKING STAINED-GLASS WINDOWS
Table of Contents
Return to Main Page
© 1998, 2002 by Lynn Waterman