LOWESTOFT PORCELAIN.. One of the most interesting and prolonged controver sies that was ever entered into by connoisseurs and collectors of °china* was concerning the term "Lowestoft') as applied to certain pieces of porcelain ware. William Chaffers, a former authority on ceramics, in his °Gallery* (1872) claimed that certain pieces of porcelain (now known to be °Canton ware') were made and decorated in the English village of Lowestoft. His argument was based on a system of forced circumstantial evidence. Sir Augustus Wolla ston Franks (the graft expert) disclosed, in 1878, the deception Chaffers had been innocently guilty of. Many pieces of this Oriental porce lain, especially in America, are still termed °Lowestoft') ware of which there is docu mentary evidence of their importation in Amer ican ships from the port of Canton, some of these pieces, with the heraldic bearings of the original owners, even have the word °Canton* and date of make as well as a picture of the ship that brought the ware to this country figuring in their decoration. Excavations (in the years 1902-04) made on the site where the factory was that tradition stated made such ware finally disposed of the contention. (defective pieces and fragments) and some molds were unearthed which show clearly that all stages of porcelain making were carried on at this spot. Research among con temporary literature and documents disclose the following interesting facts as to the history of this porcelain pottery: Hewlin Luson, of Gun ton Hall, near Lowestoft, discovered in 1756 some kind of china clay and set up °a tern porary kiln and furnace' at Gunton and put practical potters from London at work there. In fear of successful competition, London manufacturers bribed the workmen to spoil each batch baked in the experiment. Such dis couragement stopped the work. The chemist Robert Brown in association with Philip Walker, Obed Aldred (bricklayer) and John Richmond started a kiln, next year, in Lowe stoft (at Bell Lane). The same spoiling of the
output by tampering with the workmen oc curred. But the cause of the trouble was found out and precautions permitted success to attend later efforts. Gillingwater's contem porary