In a message dated 3/9/01 6:11:13 AM Pacific Standard Time, [log in to unmask]
writes:

<< think that in their discussion of 19th c. ceramics Alasdair and Ron have
 introduced a line of chat that has enormous potential for Histarch - a way of
 comparing data informally so as to encourage further research.  Comparing
 different preferences in dish styles among the members of different cultural
 groups  (be they class, ethnic, or whatever) situated in places and times is
 something that I  am really interested in and I think could be revealing
 about identity-- did you guys continue your discussion off-line? Or just give
 up?  If, Alasdair you did become more specific off-line, could I see some of
 your data? I have data about from assemblages from several different groups
 in New York City throughout lots of the 19th century which I would be more
 than happy to share either off-line or on, if anyone is interested - most of
 which has been published somewhere or other.

 To refer back to an exchange re dishes of a month or two ago, it is for this
 kind of comparison that I think mcd dates can be really useful,  as they give
 a general idea (a mean of median dates of manufacture, albeit burdened with
 assumptions) for dating when an assemblage was made and perhaps (a big
 perhaps) acquired, and of course tpq dates can give info re when assemblages
 were deposited in the ground.
  >>

Diana,

Um...why, yes we did continue the discussion in private. But this is not to
say we wanted to prevent others from reading our material. I find it
fascinating that vessel shapes do not seem to change from Wales to Scotland
to England, but design patterns do. Alasdair proposed some of this is simply
a result of availability, but I wonder? The Roeslein Homestead, CA-SDI-316,
seems to be atypical to the pattern of homes occupied in California during
the 1885-1917 period. And, you might be interested to learn there was ample
evidence of Chinese, Japanese, Native American craft ceramics, a few
ornamental glass vase ceramics, and all the tea/coffee cups were soft paste
English specimens (which I interpret to represent parlor pieces). However,
around here colorful transfer-print and hand painted English, American, and
French designs were far more plentiful in residential households than the
plain industrial white ceramics of the 1860s-1970s. Oddly, the Roeselein
Homestead yielded mostly the latter. I am wondering if this is not an ethnic
trait of German American immigrants? Any thoughts from the rest of the room?

Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.