Great care was taken that nothing but perfect work went from, the factory; this kept the character of the Derby works high. But it filled their shops with many "seconds." When Mr. Bloor came into possession, of the factory, these seconds were sold by auction in various parts of England; and this greatly injured the name and fame of "Derby," from which it did not recover. The Bernal sale records of Chelsea-Derby and Derby: Five old Derby plates, with Cupids in pink and flower borders £9 Three of Derby-Chelsea, with bases and deep-blue borders 2 12_s._ 6_d._ A two-handled cup, cover, and saucer, with landscapes and roses on a yellow ground 17 6_s._ 6_d._ None of these were the best work, and brought but corresponding prices. Marks used on Derby porcelain: [Illustration: _Duesbury (1756)._] [Illustration: _Derby-Chelsea (1770)._] [Illustration: _First in lilac, then in red._] [Illustration: _Crown Derby (1780)._] [Illustration: _Sometimes D is in old English--D (1780)._] [Illustration: _Imitation of Sèvres (1798)._] [Illustration: _Imitation of Chinese._] [Illustration: _Probably workman's mark._] [Illustration: _Sometimes in oval (about 1830)._] LOWESTOFT--SOFT AND MOSTLY HARD PASTE.--Much uncertainty, discussion, and perplexity, have prevailed concerning the porcelain made at Lowestoft, on the eastern coast of England, near Yarmouth. About 1756, as is agreed to by both Marryat and Chaffers, a gentleman named Luson attempted a manufactory of pottery and porcelain there, which was not successful. Shortly after another was attempted, which for a time succeeded well; in this Mr. Robert Browne was the principal man. Pottery and porcelain were made here in great variety and in considerable quantities--much of it for exportation, and especially for the Turkish markets; and some of it appears to have been marked with a crescent, like that made at Worcester. But, as a rule, no marks, either of the factory or the painter, were used at Lowestoft. Not only was pottery, or earthenware, made here, but the early porcelain was soft ware. Mr. Chaffers states that, about 1775, hard paste was made there in close imitation of Chinese. He states, also, that some of the heavier pieces, like tureens and punch-bowls, had a sort of uneven surface, as if it had been patted into shape by the hand or a tool. This patted or uneven surface is a defect; but as this is found also in heavy pieces of porcelain, which are Chinese beyond question, it ceases to be a distinguishing mark of Lowestoft work--if, indeed, it is a mark of it at all, which one may be permitted still to doubt. Some of the work reached great perfection, and the egg-shell cups, etc., made there are said to be equal to any others made in Europe. Among the peculiar decorations were hares' heads for handles, fruits for knobs of covers, doubled handles to mugs, braided or crossed, which are asserted to be quite distinct from Oriental designs.