William Ellis Tucker (died 1832) was an American craftsman who became the first person to successfully produce hard paste

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

for the home market made entirely in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

of purely domestic materials. There had been several previous attempts at the craft by progressive American potters prior to 1825, some of which had been partially successful. However, all porcelain products sold or used in the young country were imported from Europe. In 1826, Tucker established the first hard paste porcelain factory in the United States in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Tucker formed a partnership with potter Thomas Hulme in 1828 that allowed him to greatly expand production. Even though Tucker and Hulme worked together for less than one year, there are some pieces surviving bearing their mark. In 1831, Tucker formed a second partnership with Alexander Hemphill. Tucker's died in 1832 After Tucker's death, the firm was joined by Hemphill's father (Judge

Joseph Hemphill Joseph Hemphill (January 7, 1770May 29, 1842) was an American politician who served as a Federalist Party, Federalist member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district from 1801 to 1803, as a Jackson Feder ...

) and brother (Thomas Hemphill). The factory continued production under the Hemphill name until it closed in 1838. The Tucker porcelains included dinner services, coffee and tea services and

pitchers In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

as well as ornamental wear such as

urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...

s and baskets. Some items were pure white and gilt, but most were hand painted and decorated with

gold leaf Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 µm thick) by goldbeating and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 22-kara ...

. Surviving examples of Tucker porcelain are extremely rare and very valuable today.

References

Year of birth missing 1832 deaths American potters {{US-bio-stub