PREFA CE.

the products of the potteries of the United States, and
by consultation with intelligent potters in the leading
establishments of the land. Much of the material con-
tained herein appears for the first time, and will doubtless
form the basis for other histories which will follow later.
It does not come within the scope of this volume to
include the history of every pottery which has been estab-
lished since the time of Columbus, or which is now in
operation in this country. Such a detailed review would,
even if desirable, be manifestly impossible in an under-
taking of this compass. The main purpose of the work
is to furnish an account of such of the earlier potteries as,
for any reason, possess some historical interest, and of
those manufactories which, in later days, have produced
works of originality or artistic merit. Confining myself
necessarily to these limits, I have endeavored here to
present a condensed but practically complete record of
the development of the fictile art in America during the
three centuries which have elapsed since the first settle-
ment of the country.
I beg leave to express my sense of indebtedness to all
who have contributed in any manner to the information
contained herein, and I desire particularly to extend my
thanks to Prof. Edward S. Morse, Mr. D. F. Haynes,
Prof. Isaac Broome, Mr. W. W. Taylor, Mr. L. W.
Clark, Hon. J. Hart Brewer, Prof. William H. Holmes,
Dr. Marcus Benjamin, and Mr. Edward Lycett, for val-
uable assistance and advice, and to the publishers of the
Popular Science M/onthly for the use of cuts which
appeared in my articles in that journal on American

iv