Talk:Auguste Delaherche

March 2020

The articles says He was said to use clay dug from his own garden, and according to Bernard Leach, he only fired his kiln once a year. Strictly speaking, this is not correct since both statements are attributed to the Kokomo Tribune's article. I propose to change it to something along the lines of:

He was said to use clay dug from his own garden and to only fire his kiln once a year.

or

According to a 1926 article by Kokomo Tribune, from his own garden he extracted the clay he modelled and he then stayed in front of his kiln for thirty hours without sleeping to be sure of maintaining the heat.

(the second is a translation of the quoted source).

What do you think? M.Bitton (talk) 00:17, 24 March 2020 (UTC)

I somehow doubt Bernard Leach was a reader of the Kokomo Tribune, and I very much doubt the article there was the first time either snippet was published. Had Frank Crane ever even been to France? I haven't read all of Tournier, but he has a fair bit on the developing "hermit" myth, & might have earlier mentions. There are also various snippets on google searches. No-one has access to libraries at the moment, & he is not well-covered in English sources. I'm sure there are earlier ones, which I would use if I knew what they were. By all means clarify Tournier's source. Leach is a much weightier source than a newspaper article from Indiana, and should be preferred. Your second suggestion omits the "once a year" & doesn't make much sense (oddly ordered too). Having a kiln continuously watched during firing was (is?) I think normal industrial practice. Johnbod (talk) 02:25, 24 March 2020 (UTC)

Here's what the source says (rough translation):

Delaherche embodies the man who has reached a level of wisdom and fulfilment. And we find the ceramist where we would hardly go looking for him: the Kokomo Daily Tribune, a daily newspaper published in Indiana, devotes part of an editorial titled "Happy Men" to the potter of Armentières:

"To do what you would rather do more than anything else, and get paid for it is happiness. The happiest man in the world is the one who is able to live from his passion. These are Happy Men. One of them lives in France. He makes the famous Delaherche pottery. He is an elderly man with a long white beard who lives in Armentières near the town of Beauvais, famous for its tapestries. From his own garden he extracts the clay he models. According to his aesthetic principles, he realizes his objects during the year and only uses his kiln once a year. He then stays in front of his kiln for thirty hours without sleeping to be sure of maintaining the heat. It is, he says, the secret of the superior quality of his glazes, which distinguishes his work. He likes to do what he does and his pottery is rare, sought after by collectors, and has a high price."(42)

(42) Frank Crane, « Happy Men », The Kokomo Daily Tribune, 9 août 1926, p.4.

M.Bitton (talk) 02:39, 24 March 2020 (UTC)

Yes, I can read the French thanks. But is this the best source? Your sentence at the top of the section: "Strictly speaking, this is not correct since both statements are attributed to the Kokomo Tribune's article" shows some confusion. The Leach source is separate, & as I explain above, much better. I'm sure both just repeat unknown earlier French ones though. Johnbod (talk) 03:09, 24 March 2020 (UTC)

Well, I've added the 30 hours of watching. I feel I may have run across Crane's English original, from another publication, somewhere on google in snippets btw. I think earlier, too. Johnbod (talk) 04:08, 24 March 2020 (UTC)

What I meant to say is that there is no point in attributing the statement to Bernard Leach since it's already attributed to two sources (his and Tornier's Kokomo Tribune). In any case, it's not a big deal. The thirty hours addition is a good one.

Another thing worth mentioning is the fact that "Les Sables Rouges" was built by his friend Charles Genuys. Whether this will help someone remains to be seen, but thanks to it I was able to find the original plans. M.Bitton (talk) 16:23, 24 March 2020 (UTC)

Yes, I saw that, but, well, someone had to build it. A photo would be nice. I'd like better sources on the pottery really. One says he stopped doing stoneware in 1910, but I'd like a stronger one. Btw, Pays de Bray (en:wp) has no mention at all of pottery, for which the rather good tourist board PDF is a good source. Johnbod (talk) 16:37, 24 March 2020 (UTC)

Here's a photo of the workshop (taken in 1901).[1] I'll let you know if I find anything interesting on the pottery. Also, I noticed the name "Tournier" mentioned in the article. Unless it's referring to someone other than Étienne Tornier, it should obviously say "Tornier" (without the "u"). M.Bitton (talk) 16:53, 24 March 2020 (UTC)

Thanks, Tornier corrected, & photo linked in a note - is that the house at left and workshop at right, do you know? Johnbod (talk) 17:01, 24 March 2020 (UTC)

No idea, though judging by this bad photo of the house,[2] I'd say that the house on the left is way too grand to be his and the workshop must be on the right (but that's just OR).

I am trying to get hold of Lecomte's book. Described as a friend, critic and admirer of Delaherche, I have a feeling that his book will be worth reading. M.Bitton (talk) 00:10, 25 March 2020 (UTC)

Ok, I'm about finished here, but anything you can add will be welcome. Pierre-Adrien Dalpayrat next, after William Ault (coming). Johnbod (talk) 03:29, 25 March 2020 (UTC)

References