Miles Mason established his pottery at Lane Delph, in Staffordshire, about 1780. “Miles Mason, late of Fenchurch St., London,” so runs his advertisement in the _Morning Herald_, October 1, 1804, “having been a principal purchaser of Indian porcelain, till the prohibition of that article by heavy duties, has established a manufactory at Lane Delph, near Newcastle-under-Lyme.” The “Ironstone China” was patented by Charles James Mason in 1813. It consisted in using the slag of ironstone pounded with water together with flint, Cornwall stone, and clay, and blue oxide of cobalt. The ware is usually outlined with flowers in transfer printing, and painted and gilded by hand. Some of Mason’s blue plates are in colour equal to old blue Delft. On account of its handsome decorative effect it is rapidly rising in value. [Illustration: GROUP OF MASON’S JUGS. (Largest 9-1/2 in. high.) _In Collection of Mr. W. G. Honey._] SALE PRICES. STAFFORDSHIRE. £ s. d. Jug, Bacchanalian, 13 in. high, figures in bold relief of “Bacchus” and “Pan” supported by a barrel with grotesque animal handle and dolphin spout, in rare colours and highly glazed by Voyez, Cobridge, 1788. Edwards, Son & Bigwood, Birmingham, May 13, 1902 15 0 0 Vase, Etruscan, 18 in. high, snake-and-mask handles, marked S. A. & Co. (Alcock & Co). Edwards, Son & Bigwood, Birmingham, May 13, 1902 10 0 0 MASON’S WARE. Vase 27 in., decorated with flowers and gilt, and ornamented with gilded head handles supporting a cornucopia and mermaid. Gudgeon & Sons, Winchester, April 3, 1902 8 5 0 FOOTNOTES: [2] “Chats on English Earthenware,” the companion volume to this, deals in detail with the subject of earthenware as outlined here. XII LUSTRE WARE [Illustration: SILVER LUSTRE JUG. _In the Collection of Mr. W. G. Honey._] [Illustration: _W. G. Honey._] [_Cork._ COPPER LUSTRE JUGS. (4-3/4 in., 6-3/4 in., 7-1/4 in. high.)] XII LUSTRE WARE The old Spanish golden red and canary coloured lustrous dishes with Moorish ornamentation, and the wonderful Italian majolica, with its copper and purple and amber surfaces glowing like beaten metal, are probably the early masters from which our English potters took the idea which they adapted to the decoration of their pottery. In this chapter we shall treat solely of English lustre ware. It is roughly divided into three classes—copper, silver, and gold.