etailed notice of the important English
factories of the 18th century, something should be said of the various
influences that were at work in determining what the porcelain-maker
should do, both in the way of shape and decoration. The eyes of all men
were, of course, turned first to the porcelain brought from the far
East; and in the early efforts of the English factories, as of those of
France and Germany, we notice a predominance of white pieces or of
pieces decorated with paintings in under-glaze blue alone, obviously
inspired by the current importations from China. Bow and Chelsea
produced large quantities of ware of this class, and in the early days
of the Worcester factory little else was made there than white, or blue
and white pieces closely simulating the Chinese. Another oriental
influence was to be found in the Imari patterns of Japan, particularly
those in the style of Kakiemon. It has been noted that Meissen,
Chantilly and other continental factories had already created a vogue
for these reproductions of Japanese decorations, and in our own country
Bow, Chelsea and Worcester followed suit. The later Imari patterns,
heavily decorated with blue and red and gold for the use of "the
foreigner," furnished another popular style for Worcester and Derby, and
the vogue of these English "Japan" patterns, in the last quarter of the
18th century and the first half of the 19th century, was so great that
they represent a large proportion of the output of our English porcelain
works during that period. The productions of the German and French
factories also exerted a profound influence on English potters; so that
throughout the 18th century English porcelains largely consisted of
imitations of the foreign wares brought into the country by the wealthy.

We can only point to one method of porcelain decoration which
undoubtedly arose in England. This is the method of transfer-printing,
whereby patterns printed on paper from engraved copper plates are
transferred to porcelain or pottery and subsequently fired, either under
or on the glaze. At the best these printed patterns are in no way
superior to the stencilled work of modern oriental porcelain, while, at
the worst, European and American printed patterns have been perhaps the
most inappropriate decoration ever applied to porcelain in the world. It
has been generally urged on behalf of transfer-printing that it enables
elaborate effects to be produced at a small cost and so