Category Archives: Porcelain Manufacturers

Van Briggle Pottery

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(pronunciation: as spelled, rhymes with wiggle)

The Van Briggle Pottery has been producing Arts & Craft style pottery since 1900. Founded by Artus Van Briggle in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the products of this company include vases, bowls, book ends, candle holders, figures, paperweight, plates and plaques.

The tiles are available at local home improvement stores. The other products are available from the company or through secondary outlets (eBay, etc.)

See Van Briggle pottery.

My Opinion

If you are into Arts & Crafts styles, these products are for you.

Product Lines

bowls
candle holders
vases
mugs
animals
limited editions

Prices

from $20 to 2,000, the bowls, candle holders and animals are most reasonable.

Collector’s Society

Van Briggle Collector Society
call 719-633-7729

The Official Company Site

http://www.vanbriggle.com/

History

Artus Van Briggle worked for the Rookwood Pottery at the end of the Nineteenth Century, but his health forced him to move West. He established the pottery in Colorado Springs in 1900, and his early work sold out quickly. The Van Briggle Pottery, now including his wife Anne, won awards at the Paris Exposition in 1903-4, shortly before Artus died. Anne continued the work of the Van Briggle Pottery for another eight years, before the pottery was leased to Edwin DeForest Curtis, the first of several owners in the Twentieth Century. Through fire, flood and economic downturns, the company continued to make tiles and art pottery, as it does today.

Go to the Table of Contents to see all the topics covered so far.

Read more about porcelain collectibles in the Porcelain Collectibles Guide.

Fulper Pottery

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The Fulper Pottery was established in Flemington, New Jersey in 1805 by Samuel Hill. Initially formed to make utilitarian items like tiles, the Fulper family purchased the pottery in 1860 and expanded the products to include water, vinegar and pickling jars, butter churns, beer bottles and the Fulper Germ Proof Filter in its cobalt decorated stoneware jar that provided public drinking water in many places.

In 1909, Vasekraft art pottery was introduced using the heavy stoneware body, and vases, jardinieres, candle holders, book ends, cooking ware and mugs were added to the kitchen products already in the company’s product line. Further, Fulper made lamp bases and shades in many shapes and sizes, using finer glazes than the original products required.

Art Deco Items © by Artdecodude

Martin Stangl immigrated from Germany in 1910, and after a brief time at the Haeger Potteries, he returned to Fulper as general manager. He developed a series of rose glazes and further developed the Vasekraft line line of classical and oriental forms. Besides lamps and vases, the company made smoking paraphernalia like ash trays and cigarette boxes, and bowls. During World War I, the company made bisque dolls heads and one porcelain doll’s head, known as the Fulper dollhead.

Fulper also made dinnerware in a number of colors, the first of which was a solid green. The Fulper mark is a vertical lozenge shape with the word FULPER written vertically. Both stoneware, china and porcelain items are found in the Fulper catalogs, with the porcelain ones being hand decorated. Look for dresser items as well as vases and decorative items and kitchen stoneware.

Stangl bought the new production facilities in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1930 after a fire destroyed the old plant in Flemington. He changed the production to dinnerware with the Stangl name, then to bird figurines. The name of the Company was changed to the Stangl Pottery in 1955.

See Fulper pottery.

Go to the Table of Contents to see all the topics covered so far.

Read more about porcelain collectibles in the Porcelain Collectibles Guide.

Frankoma Pottery

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(pronunciation: as spelled)

Using a single firing and rutile glazes in many soft colors, the Frankoma pottery has a look all its own. Usually made into western styles, the Frankoma pottery made casual dinnerware and decorative pieces from 1933 until the 1990s under the direction of the Frank family. For those who love the carefree and rustic look of the Frankoma pottery, there is some hope that the product will continue to be made.

Fall centerpiece with Frankoma pot © by gohomekiki

My Opinion

This pottery is robust in style and function. You will either love it or hate it. I have seen some pieces I like, but generally it is not for me.

See Frankoma Pottery here.

Product Lines

dinnerware:
Mayan-Aztec
Wagon Wheel
Plainsman
Lazybones
Westwind

non-dinnerware:
figurines
annual Christmas plates
miniature ash trays, pitchers, vases, etc.
political mugs for the Republican and Democratic Parties
Bicentennial plates
Conestoga Wagon
plates for the Oklahoma Wildlife Federation
vases
toby mugs
bookends, vases, bowls, trivets, canisters, salt and pepper shakers
Will Rogers plaques

Prices

Very reasonable.

Collector’s Society

Frankoma Family Collectors Association (frankoma.org)

The Official Company Site

None.

History

Frankoma was established in 1933 by John Frank, then professor of ceramics at the University of Oklahoma. The pottery has moved to Sapulpa, Oklahoma, in 1936, where the local reddish clay became the body of the pottery. This clay, when combined with glazes made from local materials, was single-fired, and the clay body is visible through the glaze on the finished product.

Using glazes in green, gold, terra cotta, peach, blue and white, production included annual Christmas plates from 1965 with images from the Bible with a white semi-translucent “Della Robia” glaze.

New dinnerware lines were developed between 1936 and 1962 and most remained in production until the 1990′s. Miscellaneous decorative pieces were made throughout the lifetime of the company. The pottery has changed hands from 1991 until the latest sale in 2011. The name, molds and formulas remain available to a new purchaser as of 2011.

Go to the Table of Contents to see all the topics covered so far.

Read more about porcelain collectibles in the Porcelain Collectibles Guide.

Royal Doulton

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(pronunciation: roy-al doll-ton)

Royal Doulton has produced many dinnerware and figurine lines for the majority of the Twentieth Century. Among the 600-some china patterns, there are bound to be some you would be willing to take home. The same goes for decorative pieces and figurines: there are bound to be some you like, although you may find the price prohibitive.

My opinion

Select a piece or two, save your money and get them on sale.

Pensive Royal Doulton © by ozjimbob

Product lines

bells
book ends
busts
dolls
figurines, including literary and fictional characters, angels and personifications of the seasons, etc., Soldiers of the Revolution, symbols and animals, white, “bronze”, royalty, ship figureheads, etc.
giftware (vases, cups, plates celebrating events or people)
goblets
ornaments
plates, bowls
thimbles
table lighters
tea pots
character tankards
several lines of toby and character jugs

regular dinnerware, drinkware, flatware, serveware
home decor: vases (china, glass), clocks, candle sticks, bowls, kitchen textiles, picture frames
Minton china
Royal Albert china in rose patterns

See Royal Doulton.

Prices

some of the smaller figures, bowls etc can be found for under $100, but most
are more expensive, although they can be found for less than the MSRP.

Collector’s Society

None.

The Official Company Site

http://na.wwrd.com/ae/us/icat/royaldoulton

History

The Royal Doulton Company began life in 1815 as a three-person partnership: John Doulton, Martha Jones and John Watts. The original production location was Lambeth, London, and the original products were stone wares and salt glaze sewer pipes. The name was changed to Doulton in 1853.

A studio and artist designed wares were added in 1871 by Henry Doulton, son of John Doulton. In 1882, the company purchased a small pottery in Burslem, Staffordshire, an areas known as The Potteries. This factory purchased a royal warrant in 1901, and the figurines, vases, character jugs and decorative pieces became known as Royal Doulton. High quality bone china dinnerware was added to the product line in the first half of the 20th Century.

The Lambeth factory was closed in 1956, and now all production was located in Burslem until 2005. Now some products are made by parent company Wedgwood, and some are made in Indonesia. As part of Waterford Wedgwood, Royal Doulton is now in the hands of KPS Capital Partners (as of 2009).

Go to the Table of Contents to see all the topics covered so far.

Read more about porcelain collectibles in the Porcelain Collectibles Guide.

Lenox China

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(pronunciation: as spelled)

Lenox is well known for the fine bone china it makes, and the company has employed some of the best china designers throughout its existence. Both the attention to detail and the design of the Lenox china has led to displays of this china in museums in the US and abroad.

Both traditional and modern styles of dinnerware are made on the ivory and white translucent china bodies used by the Lenox Company. Only 24kt gold and platinum are used to trim those patterns that have metallic embellishment. Since the 1960s, additional companies have been added to Lenox itself to provide flatware (Gorham) and crystal to the Lenox table top. The modern mark is a wreathe around a large L, with the word “Lenox” beneath.

Lenox china: some has sold © by TheLivingRoominKenmore

My opinion

Beautiful china. Here the problem is to set boundaries on collecting, lest one have a house full of china and no place to live.

See more Lenox china.

Product lines

fine china, including L by Lenox
dinnerware, more casual than the fine china
holiday dinnerware
table accessories: S&P, cookie jar, table cloth & napkins, trivet, napkin holder, napkin rings, creamer and sugar bowl, spoon rest, canisters
figurines: angels, animated characters, carousels, unicorns, cats, dogs, Christmas, country animals, Snowbunnies, elephants, female figures, birds, flowers, Nativities
ornaments
drink ware
stainless flatware
bowls, frames, candle holders, vases
jewelry
lines by designer: kate spade new york, Donna Karan, Marchesa, Disney, Thomas Blackshear
Mario Batali cookware
Fenton, featured in the Lenox catalog
Dansk
Gorham
Department 56

Prices

fine china: place settings for $100-$200
ornaments: generally $20-$30
crystal: about $30 a stem, non-crystal: four for the price of one crystal glass

Collector’s Society

none.

The official company site

http://www.lenox.com/

History

The company began as Lenox’s Ceramic Art Company, so there are Lenox items from the 19th Century marked with a CAC and the name “Lenox”. These items, made from 1889 to 1918, include thimbles, parasol handles, inkstands, vases and other table items.

The company name was changed to Lenox Incorporated in 1906, and Walter Scott Lenox brought two Irish porcelain makers to Trenton, New Jersey, to make Belleek style wares. These are marked with a painters palette, a large L and the word “Belleek”.

At the turn of the Twentieth Century, most Americans bought European china services, and there were few made in the US. Lenox changed that trend by offering complete table services in a fine bone china. A complete dinner set was displayed by Tiffany and Company in New York in 1917, and the Lenox name has been associated with dinnerware ever since. Six presidents have selected Lenox for their White House china sets.

Lenox is available at gift shops, department stores, online and through their mail order catalog. Lenox is the last china manufacturer to keep its facilities in the US (Trenton, NJ).

Go to the Table of Contents to see all the topics covered so far.

Read more about porcelain collectibles in the Porcelain Collectibles Guide.

Haeger Pottery

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(pronunciation: hay-ger)

Haeger is best known for the clean lines of their art pottery, and the clear, saturated colors used to decorate it. Although some of the colors are pastels, they are strong in those shades as well as the pieces in non-pastel shades. Many styles and themes are available from this long=lived and successful company. There is bound to be an area of their production that you can like and/or collect.

SOLD: Turquoise Haeger cat © by TheLivingRoominKenmore

My opinion: You need only look at the companies production to fins something you will like. Prices remain reasonable. Look for a niche to begin collecting in, or the vast amount of Haeger available may overwhelm you.

See Haeger pottery.

Product lines:
regular Haeger lines
Royal Haeger line: all kinds of household items
Royal Haeger Lamps: lamps made using items from the Royal Haeger line
Studio Haeger, produced from 1947
Royal Garden Flower-ware, made from a body more resembling porcelain, with matte finishes and muted colors
dinnerware: tea sets, bowls, plates, children’s dishes
fountains, music boxes, radios

Prices:
Given the long life and production of the company, prices remain very approachable. This is an easy place to begin a collection.

Collector’s Society:Haeger Pottery Collectors Club of America, Antioch, CA. Not online.

The official company site is: http://www.haegerpotteries.com/

History
The Haeger Pottery was established in 1871 by David Haeger to make bricks and tile. Son Edmond added art pottery in 1914, and the company has made this pottery ever since. Martin Stangl was the art pottery designer from 1914 to 1918. before returning to the Fulper Pottery.

Royal Arden Hickman was the chief designer from 1938 to 1944, and his production are named the Royal Haeger line, which were very popular with the public. The longest lived designer at Haeger was Eric Olsen, who worked there from 1947 until 1972.

The company remained in Haeger family hands into thee 1980′s, giving this company a stable governance few American potteries can boast.

Go to the Table of Contents to see all the topics covered so far.

Read more about porcelain collectibles in the Porcelain Collectibles Guide.