There is absolutely no substitute for handling the original ceramic
object. I haven't the guts to smash examples, but over the years I
have accumulated a study collection from flea markets, auctions, etc.
You can get some really great study pieces with chips and nicks for
almost nothing.

You don't need museum-quality stuff for a study collection. Many
years ago, the Williamsburg Pottery was producing excellent
reproductions of slipwares and stonewares, and Mr. Maloney gave me
some wasters that I still have.

I'll buy any marked piece that is going for less than a dollar.  Just
stay clear of the collectibles like "Occupied Japan," and you can
quickly accumulate a personal reference collection for a very few
hundred dollars. Okay, you might not get the beauties that Hunter
suggests smashing, but the reference collection is out there.  A few
weeks ago, I went on a flea-market search for something sprigged
after trying to explain the process to some of my young helpers. Then
the local public TV station ran a piece about a Wedgwood executive,
in which one sequence showed people slapping sprigs on pots. I wish
the VCR had been handy.

Then there's our beer-can and canning-jar reference collection ...