Is It Pottery Or Porcelain?

Pottery is opaque. You can’t see through it. Porcelain is translucent. When a porcelain dish is held in front of a strong light, it is possible to see the light through the dish. If a piece of pottery is held in one hand and porcelain in the other, the piece of porcelain will be colder […]

Eva Zeisel

Hungarian-born designer and ceramicist Eva Zeisel (1906–2011) worked in ceramics factories in Budapest, Germany, Russia, Austria, and England before coming to the United States in 1938. She designed ceramics for many different clients and is best known for her dinnerware, including Stratoware designed for Sears Roebuck in 1942 and the elegant, all-white Museum dinnerware designed […]

Russel Wright – American Modern Dinnerware

Modern designs came into fashion in America in the 1930s. Hall China Company’s Airflow teapot, Raymor dinnerware by Roseville Pottery, and the American Modern dinnerware pattern designed by Russel Wright (1905-1976) were important examples of the modern look. American Modern was made by Steubenville Pottery Company of Steubenville, Ohio, from 1939 to 1959. During the […]

Viktor Schreckengost

Viktor Schreckengost (1906–2008) is a man of extraordinary creative powers, a genius. He has designed printing presses, oscillating fans, steam buses, comfortable metal chairs, lawn mowers, cab forward trucks, bicycles, and pedal cars, and he even helped develop radar for pilots during World War II. But he is best known for his work in ceramics. […]

Fitz And Floyd

Fitz and Floyd was founded in 1960 in Dallas by Patrick Fitz-Patrick and Robert Floyd. The firm imported high-quality ceramics from Japan. In the 1970s, Fitz and Floyd designed dinnerware in patterns and colors to be mixed and matched. The ware was made in Japan and sold in U. S. department stores. In 1981 the […]

Harmony House

Harmony House wasn’t a company; it was a mark used on dinnerware sold by Sears, Roebuck & Company. Harmony House dishes were made by Hall, Harker, Homer Laughlin, Laurel Pottery, Salem China, Universal, and other factories from 1940 until the early 1970s. During the last few years, the dishes were made in Japan. Photo: Replacements […]

Dinnerware Patterns

These dinnerware patterns are organized in alphabetical order.     Autumn Leaf Autumn Leaf pattern china was made for the Jewel Tea Company beginning in 1933. Hall China Company, East Liverpool, Ohio; Crooksville China Company, Crooksville, Ohio; Harker Potteries, Chester, West Virginia; and Paden City Pottery, Paden City, West Virginia, made dishes with this design. […]

Autumn Leaf

Hall China Company made the Autumn Leaf pattern as a premium for the Jewel Tea Company from 1933 to 1978. Soon Autumn Leaf serving pieces were made by other companies, including Crooksville China Company of Crooksville, Ohio; Harker Pottery Company of Chester, West Virginia; and Paden City Pottery of Paden City, West Virginia. The pattern […]

Plastic Dinnerware Manufacturers

This is a list of plastic dinnerware manufacturers or companies organized by alphabetical order. Aztec The Aztec Company was located in St. Louis, Missouri. The design of the medium-weight dinnerware line suggests the line was produced in the mid-1950s. Dishes are in deep colors, including Brown, Gray, Green, Mustard Yellow, Salmon, and Turquoise; and pastel […]

Plastic Dinnerware

Plastic dishes were first made in the United States in the late 1920s. American Cyanamid Corporation developed American Beetleware, which was used for dishes given away as premiums with products like Wheaties and Ovaltine. Beetleware dishes were inexpensive to produce, but faded and cracked easily. Another plastic, melamine, was used for dishes beginning in 1937. […]