"The ultimate way to repair pottery and porcelain is to use the original materials, clay or kaolin. In some cases, to achieve the correct texture, it is even necessary to use clay from the original location, and to fire at the same temperature in a kiln as near as possible to the one used by the original potter. In many cases, records of firings and temperatures have been lost, or did not exist anyway. Potteries have closed down and other things have occurred to make the ultimate repair sometimes impossible, and at all times very expensive. For this reason, there are very few people who undertake this type of repair, and those that do are very highly skilled, using equipment into hundreds of dollars, and restoring only those pieces of a value that warrants the cost. Fortunately, modern technology has come to our rescue, bringing with it materials that are cheap, easy to use and readily available, so this fascinating and rewarding pastime is now within reach of anyone who cares to have a try, whether they have artistic skills or not. A famous memory man once said that there is no such thing as a bad memory, only an untrained one. The same thing applies to almost anything you undertake. Taken stage by stage, the repairs covered in this book come well within the scope of the average person, especially those who have often felt the urge to do something creative, but never thought themselves capable. The restoring of pottery and porcelain is quickly gathering impetus as both a business and a hobby, and this trend will increase as it gets more and more difficult to find pieces in perfect condition. Large manufacturing companies of resins and plastics are now taking a great interest in the subject, obviously realizing the future potential. The antique trade imports vast quantities of pottery and porcelain each year, and this is having the effect of raising values of both perfect and restored pieces. Although it can not be said that restoring a piece also restores its full value, it certainly increases it. There is, of course, a school of thought that restoring takes away originality. Well, to a certain extent this is true, but if the original potter were alive to choose whether a piece he made was restored or thrown away, or a plate in two halves stuck together with crude rivets or invisibly repaired, I doubt if his choice would be difficult."--Preface.