Plot mentions how the old potters used to marble their ware by combing together the different coloured slips, just as the paper on the inside of book-bindings is now marbled. Whieldon carried on this imitation work, and made it artistic and important. Instead, however, of marbling the slip or the glaze, he marbled his clay body in the solid. Flat “bats” of clay of different colours—coloured either naturally or else artificially with manganese, cobalt or copper—were laid on each other, and pressed and sliced again and again; care being taken to preserve the same run of the grain. In this way a streaked body was produced, which, when pressed into moulds, retained the curious markings of agate or marble. This was Whieldon’s “solid agate,” with which the new trade in snuff boxes and knife handles was supplied.[71] He made toys, too, and chimney ornaments of this same new material, or else glazed with brilliant coloured glazes in splashes of irregular colour. He made larger goods also—teapots, dishes and vases in solid agate. All these were pressed in moulds; and for moulder or block-cutter he had, from about 1746 onwards, the celebrated Aaron Wood. The cream-coloured body, with Enoch Booth’s transparent lead glaze, afforded Whieldon another material on which to work. He took the colourless fluid glaze and turned it madder brown with manganese, or yellow with iron oxide, or green with copper, or blue with cobalt. Then he mixed them to give every shade of coloured glaze, and laid these glazes on the ware to give infinite variety. In this way he produced those beautiful tortoiseshell wares for which he is most renowned. His agate ware is solid; his tortoiseshell ware is a glaze.[72] He had acquired fame as a skilful potter before Josiah Wedgwood joined him in 1754, and probably produced already both the solid agate and the tortoiseshell. In his last popular production—the melon, cauliflower, and pineapple wares, with their brilliant green glaze—it is probable that Wedgwood’s incessant experiments played a decisive part. Besides having Wedgwood as a partner, he had in his employ such examples of the new race of potters as Josiah Spode, Robert Garner, J. Barker, and Wm. Greatbach. Jewitt[73] has preserved for us some of the hiring books and accounts of Thomas Whieldon, in which the names and pay of three of these four apprentices occur, and which, as they are unique evidence of wages, are here given: 1749 Jany 27 Hired Jno Austin for placeing white &c. per week 5 6 Pd his whole earnest[74] 3 0 Feby 14 Then hired Thos. Dutton 6 6 Pd 1 pr Stockings 3 6 Earnest for vineing (? veining) 15 0 Feby 20 Hired Wm. Cope for handleing and vineing cast ware 7 0 Pd his whole earnest 10 6