Joseph Herbert on sat 27 sep 08
Edward J. Orton Sr. and his son, Edward J. Orton Jr. both were State
Geologists for Ohio and the elder was President of the Ohio State
University, for a while. The younger Orton was Dean of the Ceramic
Engineering department and developed the cones that bear the name. =
While
the cones of Hermann Seger appeared in Germany ten years prior, cones
manufactured by the younger Orton and the foundation he created have
dominated firing indicators in this country. =20
An artifact of the two Ortons survives at Ohio State as Orton Hall. The
attached link shows a view of the typically Victorian building that =
honors
the older Orton. There is a really nice geologic library inside. The
building itself features many geologic aspects of the state in its
construction. In the picture, the lowest layers of rock visible are a =
much
lighter grey than those above. These are cut from Ordovician Limestone, =
the
oldest rock to outcrop in the state. All the rocks that make up the =
bluffs
around Cincinnati are this kind of rock. The rock above would be a =
Silurian
limestone with decorative elements from Clinton sandstone (very red) and
Devonian Berea sandstone (still quarried near Cleveland). =20
The tower once (and maybe still does) contained a carillon that struck
various tones at particular times of the day. The gargoyles represent =
the
non-engineering facility of the day, no doubt.
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:OrtonHall.JPG"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:OrtonHall.JPG
Inside, the foyer is lined with all of the rock commercially quarried in
Ohio at the time of construction. There are a lot of them. When you =
say,
=93They don=92t build them like this anymore.=94 It really applies to =
this
building. It is a gem of its kind.
When the younger Orton died in 1932, he established the foundation that
still functions in Westerville, Ohio. The foundation=92s purpose, which =
they
have followed all these years, is to increase the knowledge and practice =
of
scientific ceramic firing. I believe the foundations acquisition of the
Kiln Sitter production and parts fits very well within their history of
assisting ceramic firing in this country. There was, I suppose, no real
necessity for the foundation to do this, but aren=92t we glad that they =
did. =20
Both the Ortons served the public in various ways. Both were teachers =
and
both served as State Geologists. The elder was, as noted, president of =
the
university. The younger started pyrometric cone production in this =
country,
made sure it would continue after his death, and also helped found the
American Ceramics Society (something this list is grateful for). The
decision to continue Kiln sitter production was, no doubt, not entirely
philanthropic. The devices do, after all, consume the product the
foundation produces. On the other hand, assuring the continued =
availability
of a device many potters rely on and some use daily, is well within the
legacy of the Ortons, father and son.
Joe=20
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG.=20
Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.7.3/1694 - Release Date: =
9/26/2008
6:55 PM
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