Chinaman (porcelain)

He is lately returned from Staffordshire with a very large and elegant Assortment of that much improved Manufactory, particularly some compleat Table Services, after the Dresden Manner and from their Patterns; and in consequence of his frequent Attendance on that Manufactory, he will be able to supply his Warehouse in Norwich immediately with every new and improved Pattern.The above Goods, with all Sorts of Glass, Stone, Delft, and Earthen Ware, will be sold Wholesale and Retail upon very low Terms.N.B.

A chinaman is a dealer in porcelain and chinaware, especially in 18th-century London, where this was a recognised trade; a "toyman" dealt additionally in fashionable trifles, such as snuffboxes.

These were sold at auction by the East India Company and the resulting trade made London the hub for distribution of chinaware throughout the country.

One prominent chinaman of this well-to-do sort was James Giles who had premises in Soho and a fashionable showroom near Charing Cross.

[5][6] In the 1760s, Josiah Wedgwood was the first of the English potters to open his own showroom in West End of London rather than making bulk sales to the trade (as well as commissions for large services); eventually others followed.

This reduced the import trade considerably and so, in 1795, the chinaman Miles Mason of Fenchurch Street, asked whether the company would carry private shipments of china for a carriage fee.

[12][9] The original trade in imports from China ceased in 1798 as the East India Company stopped making bulk sales.