Mary & Heather on thu 23 mar 00
Hi,
I'm trying to find out a few things:
1) when the electric kiln was first invented for use in
firing ceramics? the person(s) who invented it and in
what country this happened?
2) when computer programming was first used on kilns
designed for firing ceramics in the studio environment?
who invented this and which company first introduced
them into the marketplace?
If you can provide any or all of the info above, I'd really
appreciate it. I'd also like to know the sources where you
found this information.
Thanks, Mary
Janet Kaiser on fri 24 mar 00
> 1) when the electric kiln was first invented for use in
> firing ceramics? the person(s) who invented it and in
> what country this happened?
I do not know, Mary, but it must have been pretty late in the day for studio
potters. I know Lucie Rie was considered a "pioneer" in electric kiln use.
In industry, the price of electricity compared to other fuels, did not make
it the obvious choice outside of countries like Switzerland, Sweden and
Northern Italy where alternatives were costly to transport. According to
Ernst Rosenthal in his very comprehensive book, "Pottery and Ceramics"
(1949) Wedgwood were using an electric kiln recently developed by
Brown-Boveri Ltd. (Baden, Switzerland) for earthenware bisque and glost
firing. Size: 275 feet long!
He has a whole chapter on "A Visit to the All-electric Factory of Josiah
Wedgwood & Son Ltd, Barlaston". (Page 245):
"At the time of the author's visit to Wedgwood's new factory in spring 1947,
not only was the manufacture of earthenware carried out from the slip house
to the finished ware house, but in addition bone china, made in Etruria, was
glazed, glost fired and decorated. That part of the factory in which the
making and bisque firing of bone china will eventually be carried out was
still under construction and the foundations of the world's first electric
bisque oven for bone china were just laid down. Needless to say, the new
factory incorporated all the latest refinements for the manufacture of
pottery."
He mentions not only Switzerland but also Sweden as countries where electric
kilns were being developed, but except Brown-Boveri, he mentions no names.
In the comparison tables of various manufacturers, tunnel kilns made in the
USA (Swindell Dressler Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa and Allied Engineering,
Cleveland, Ohio) are mentioned, but appear to be coal, gas or oil burning.
Hope this helps?
Janet Kaiser
The Chapel of Art, Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales
Home of The International Potters Path
TEL: (01766) 523570
WEB: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
EMAIL: postbox@the-coa.org.uk
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