AMUERICAN CHINA MANUFACTORY. 153
in our chapter on American Marks and Monograms,
but other initials are frequently met with on pieces of
the Tucker and Hemphill ware, which cannot now be
identified.
It is impossible to set down any rules by which this
ware can always be known. There are certain peculi-
arities of form and decoration which are easily recognized
and some pieces may be identified by the private marks
upon them. Many, however, which are not marked, can
with difficulty be distinguished from French productions,
even by the connoisseur.
Just why this venture should not have proved more of
a financial success, we are unable to understand at this
remote period, though it can readily be seen that the high
cost of foreign skilled labor and the expensive gilding
which was used so lavishly were, doubtless, important
factors in the heavy losses which the promoters of the
undertaking sustained. The pieces yet in existence are
generally carefully preserved as heirlooms in the families
of those who procured them from the manufacturers, and
the few examples which, from time to time, find their way
into the market are eagerly purchased by collectors, both
on account of their comparative rarity and because they
possess qualities which have not been surpassed by the
best of imported or domestic productions.
OW- 10.,