Dinnerware Diary

Summer Fruits and Berries

 
Noritake Royal Orchard is rimmed, scallop-shaped, multi-motif china with wonderfully luscious peaches, cherries, grapes, plums, raspberries, or blackberries at the center of the plate and spilling onto the verge (where the center of the plate joins the rim). The center design is asymmetrical, and a geometric, intertwined leaf border on the rim completes the design. Noritake, which excels in producing magnificent fruit and floral designs like Royal Orchard and Azalea, was founded in 1876 as "Morimura Brothers" by Baron Ichizaemon Morimura IV and Yutaka Morimura. With offices in Tokyo and New York, the company exported curios, paper lanterns, and other items. Visiting the Paris World Fair in 1900, the baron formed the idea of producing fine dinnerware for export to the United States. Noritake manufactured and shipped its first china to the U.S. in 1910.

Noritake Crystal Sweet Swirl-Light Green is elegant crystal with a swirled stem and curved panels on the sides of a convex bowl that flares at the top.  Noritake produces many crystal patterns designed to complement Noritake dinnerware. The company's crystal and glassware collection includes handmade, mouth-blown, and machine-made stems. After World War II, Noritake focused on production reflecting the culture and design interests of the countries buying its wares, and by November 1947, Noritake was operating in New York. In 1948 Noritake ware again became available in the U.S. (supplies had been cut off during the war years).  For Noritake collectors there are many historical ambiguities surrounding the company and the Morimura brothers, and the destruction of company records during WWII means that some questions will never be answered.

Towle Hamilton is high-quality stainless steel with a satin finish. Featuring two geometric panels on the handle and finished at the end with a dot design, Hamilton is a substantial pattern that complements a wide variety of china and crystal. Towle is a silver maker recognized for the quality of its flatware since the 19th century. The company was founded on the craftsmanship and artistry of the Moulton family of England, who over six generations of silver making, raised their artisanship to a high art.  A young man named Anthony Towle would join William Moulton IV as an apprentice.  When Moulton decided to retire, Towle and a partner, William Jones, bought the Moulton family stock and formed Towle & Jones in 1857.  With such a long history and distinguished tradition, Towle's Hamilton is a pattern with a name that resonates with skill and pride in craft.

Great American Tableware

 
Lenox Provencal Garden is rimmed, scallop-shaped, multi-motif china featuring delightful "country" shapes and designs. A proud rooster struts on the plate shown here; other multi-motif designs include a lamb, a pig, and a cow - inhabitants one would be quite likely to encounter on a visit to Provence in the south of France. Lenox produced the pattern from 2003 to 2006, with many of the serving pieces resembling art pottery. Founded in 1889 by Walter Scott Lenox in Trenton, NJ, the "Staffordshire of America" of its time, the Lenox Ceramic Pottery Company produced art-quality pieces.  By 1897 examples of Lenox's work were displayed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.  In 1918 President and Mrs. Woodrow Wilson commissioned a set of Lenox for the White House, making it the first American china to grace a president's table.

Its wonderful blue color and curved panels make Imperial Glass-Ohio Old Williamsburg-Light Blue a truly distinctive pattern. With a knobbed, multi-sided stem and concave bowl flaring at the top, Old Williamsburg-Light Blue was produced from 1966 to 1975, yet harks back to earlier patterns made famous by Imperial Glass-Ohio in the 1930s. The company, founded in 1901 by Edward Muhleman, a riverboat captain and financier who had enjoyed success in other glass-making ventures, produced widely popular glassware designs for eight decades. Based in Bellaire, OH, Imperial Glass-Ohio was able to pull through the Great Depression due to the success of legendary patterns like Candlewick-Clear and Cape Cod in the late 1930s. Imperial Glass-Ohio pieces are highly sought-after by collectors. The clean elegance and subtle color of Old Williamsburg-Light Blue beautifully complement a variety of china and flatware.

Oneida Act I is stylish, glossy finish 18/10 stainless steel flatware (18/10 represents the ratio of chromium and nickel used in the stainless steel, which adds luster and durability to the pieces). It features an exquisite sculpted, scallop-shaped design that was produced by Oneida for 30 years, from 1977 to 2007 - quite a few years of culture and style changes for a flatware pattern to survive! The Oneida company grew out of the original Oneida Community founded in upstate New York by John Humphrey Noyes more than 150 years ago. This Christian communal society was based upon the principles of individual self-perfection and shared property. Women bore the same duties as men, and individual responsibilities varied from day to day. Many inventions were developed at Oneida - including some of the world's most recognizable, high-quality, and beautifully designed flatware.

Gorham Silver “Old Masters” Fish Serving Set

"Old Masters" is just one of the many creative flatware designs produced by the Gorham Manufacturing Company in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Designed by Antoine Heller, the "Old Masters" line depicts a variety of great artists, including Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Peter Paul Rubens, Diego Velazquez, Anthony van Dyck, and many others (twenty-five in all). The pattern comprises several different piece types; the artist depicted on a particular piece type is dependent on the size of the piece in relation to the size of the portrait. According to Gorham literature, "the size of each bust is carefully adjusted to fit the handle of the piece to which it is assigned. The bust of Velazquez, for instance, assigned to a Tea Spoon, would look ridiculous on a Soup Ladle, or vice versa."

 
The two-piece fish serving set featured here depicts Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, a Dutch artist most famous for his portraiture, landscapes, and illustrations of mythological and Biblical scenes. The "Rembrandt" fish knife measures 11 1/2 inches long, and has a handle tip sculpted in the shape of Rembrandt's portrait and graceful, intricate etchings along the length of the handle. The "Rembrandt" fish fork is 8 5/8 inches long, with the same design. Many of the opulent tableware patterns produced during the Gilded Age comprise hundreds of flatware and serving pieces. However, there are only six known "Old Masters" pieces featuring Rembrandt (many of the artists in the series only adorn one piece type). "Old Masters" pieces decorated with Rembrandt's portrait include: a crumb knife, a cheese scoop, a berry spoon, an asparagus fork, and the fish serving set showcased here.

 
Antoine Heller, the designer for the "Old Masters" pattern, was born in France in 1845. As a young man, Heller apprenticed with M. Chaplain, a well-known engraver. According to Charles Carpenter Jr. in "Gorham Silver: 1831-1981," Heller received a scholarship to study in Paris in 1864. There, he was trained in the Beaux Arts style, a highly ornate classical style that combines Baroque and Rococo elements balanced with a sense of precision and planning. In 1870, Heller received a Gold Medal from the Paris Salon. Heller came to America in the late 1870s to work for Tiffany & Co., where he helped design and cut their "Olympian" pattern. Gorham hired Heller away from Tiffany in 1881, and Heller's first work for Gorham, "Fontainebleau," debuted in 1882. In 1883, Gorham produced two more Heller patterns, "Medici" and "Cluny," followed by "Nuremburg" and "Old Masters" in 1884-85, "St. Cloud" in 1886, "Versailles" in 1888, "Coligni" in 1889, and "Marie Antoinette" in 1891. Heller's "Mythologique," regarded as one of Heller's most famous flatware designs, debuted in 1894. Although many of Heller's designs were hugely successful, he was just one of many noted designers at Gorham Silver, regarded as one of the preeminent silver companies in the world.

Jabez Gorham was born in 1792 in Providence, Rhode Island. At fourteen years old, Jabez gained an apprenticeship with New England silver patriarch Nehemiah Dodge. After his seven-year apprenticeship with Dodge, Jabez formed his own jewelry business with four other partners. This partnership dissolved after five years, and Jabez continued in business alone. From 1818 to 1831, Jabez and his small staff produced a number of jewelry items, and during this time he was the first to produce "French filigree" jewelry. In 1831, Jabez partnered with another silversmith, Henry Webster, and began producing coin silver spoons, which were gaining popularity in New England at the time. The enterprise was successful, and Jabez was able to retire comfortably within ten years, selling his jewelry business to investors while Webster maintained control of the silver business. Soon however, Webster offered to turn the silver company back over to Jabez. Jabez agreed, and brought his son, John, aboard to run the company. By this time, John was an accomplished businessman himself, and led the company's expansion into many sectors, including silver hollowware. Gorham soon became the world's leading force for silver, dominating American silver production during the Gilded Age of the 1890s.

 
Over their 180 years of production, Gorham has produced such treasures as the tea and flatware service purchased by First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln for the White House in 1859, the Century Vase created for the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibit in 1876, the monument of George Washington in the Capitol's Rotunda, and the Borg-Warner Trophy for the Indianapolis 500. The White House has used Gorham silver services during many administrations. Mary Todd Lincoln purchased an impressive tea and flatware service for use in the White House, Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant asked Gorham to commemorate the country's one-hundredth anniversary with a spectacular Century Vase that contained over 2,000 ounces of sterling silver, and Gorham "Chantilly" was used aboard Air Force One during the presidency of George H. W. Bush. Gorham's reputation for excellence endures today, and the company has expanded into other dinnerware product categories, making high-quality stainless steel flatware, as well as delicate yet versatile china, and high-quality crystal.

Lovely Floral Designs!

 
Spode Marlborough Sprays features an embossed, scalloped shape with pale, pink banding, along with blue-and-yellow forget-me-nots, yellow buttercups, and purple bellflowers on the rim of the plate. The center design catches the eye with a magenta-pink tulip spray in full bloom. This pattern is representative of the design genius of Spode. Spode China was started in 1780 by the son of a pauper, Josiah Spode I, who was a visionary in business and in tableware. The Spode factory, under the careful guidance of Josiah, was responsible for two of the most important breakthroughs in English ceramics: First, the formula for bone china that is used today and, even more importantly, he perfected the "underglaze" printing process for earthenware that is used today. The Spode museum, established in 1925 in Stoke-on-Trent, England to commemorate the Spodes' amazing achievements, became a charitable trust in 1987.

Tiffin/Franciscan Wistaria-Pink crystal features a delicately colored concave bowl that flares at the top, a multi-sided, notch-shape stem that is heavier at the bottom, and a round foot. The unique Wistaria-Pink color was developed about 1948 by Tiffin's Ellsworth Beebe. Beebe worked with chemists from India to create the formula, which he committed to memory. When Beebe died in 1963, Tiffin was never able to replicate the subtle and exquisite color. The crystal was marketed in conjunction with the appearance of actress Helen Hayes on Broadway in a play entitled, The Wistaria Trees. This rare crystal is highly sought-after by collectors, as is the Tiffin giftware that was produced in the Wistaria color. Crafted by Tiffin Glass Company, a firm that began production in a brand-new Ohio plant in 1889 - this is classic American crystal!

Gorham Silver Melrose is one of the most popular sterling silver patterns at Replacements, Ltd. Introduced in 1948, Melrose is scallop-shaped, with a scroll design on the edge, and combination of floral design and scrolls at the tip. Gorham Silver is been known as one of the preeminent silver companies in the world, its pieces valued for their quality, timeless style, and craftsmanship. Founded in 1831 by Jabez Gorham in a shop on Steeple Street in Providence, Rhode Island, Gorham has developed a reputation for uncompromising artistry and its silversmiths have gained fame for producing a multitude of exquisite patterns, including Chantilly, Strasbourg, Buttercup, Fairfax, and hundreds more. Melrose, also available in sterling hollowware, is a pattern that resonates with innovative design and quality craftsmanship.

Summer Strawberries

 
Wedgwood Wild Strawberry is fine bone china with delightful strawberry vine designs scattered over the well and rim of the plate. Introduced in 1965, Wild Strawberry is a wonderful pattern for summer! Company founder Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) often used organic shapes in the design and decoration of his dinnerware. An avid conchologist, Wedgwood collected and studied mollusk shells. In spite of a debilitating physical condition (his knee joints were so painful from a childhood disease that he could not operate the potter's wheel when he learned the trade, and therefore became a designer), Wedgwood was often seen on the beaches of England, collecting specimens.

With a convex bowl and gold trim, Lenox Crystal Monroe (Gold Trim) features a flower petal design connecting the bowl to the twist design of the stem, and a round foot. The clean design of this crystal beautifully complements the organic vine and berry shapes of Wedgwood's Wild Strawberry and the elegance of Towle's Old Master sterling. Founded in 1889 by Walter Scott Lenox in Trenton, NJ, the "Staffordshire of America" in its time, the Lenox Ceramic Pottery Company produced art-quality pieces. By 1897 examples of Lenox's work were displayed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. In 1918 President and Mrs. Woodrow Wilson commissioned a set of Lenox for the White House, making it the first American china to grace a president's table. Lenox introduced its line of hand-blown crystal in 1966.

Towle Old Master is one of the most popular sterling silver patterns at Replacements, Ltd. Introduced in 1942, Old Master is scallop-shaped, with a scroll design on the edge, a floral design on the center of the handle, and a fan/plume design at the tip. Towle is founded on the craftsmanship and artistry of the Moulton family of England, who over six generations of silver making, raised their artisanship to a high art. A young man named Anthony Towle would join William Moulton IV as an apprentice. When Moulton decided to retire, Towle and a partner, William Jones, bought the Moulton family stock and formed Towle & Jones in 1857. With such a long history and distinguished tradition, Towle's Old Master is a pattern with a name that resonates with skill and pride in craft.

Lovely Pink Patterns, Delicate Designs

 
In 1930 Johnson Brothers introduced Historic America, a multi-motif china pattern featuring American historical scenes. The pattern was a tremendous success from the beginning, and was eventually produced in five colors - blue, brown, brown multi-colored, green, and our featured pattern, Historic America-Pink. The scene depicted at the center of the dinner plate here is historic Boston, with its State House dome high on Beacon Hill, and the signature oak leaves and acorns and latticework trim of the pattern decorating the rim. Replacements, Ltd. carries a wide selection in this pattern, including pieces that depict San Francisco, the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., the Natural Bridge of Virginia, Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Central Park in New York, Niagara Falls, and many more historic American scenes.

Fostoria Jamestown-Pink is pink, pressed glass with a concave, squarish bowl that features swirling, spiral panels on the side. The twist stem echoes the shapes of the panels on the bowl, and the foot is round. Even with its square shape, the curves in this pattern are organic and elegant. Founded in Fostoria, OH, in 1887, the Fostoria company relocated to Moundsville, WV, shortly thereafter, because of that region's abundant natural resources. Jamestown-Pink, released in 1959, was another in a line of popular colored-glass stemware introduced by Fostoria in the 1920s. After meeting decades of stiff foreign competition with classic designs and innovative glass-making methods, Fostoria operations were shut down by its parent company, Lancaster Colony, in 1983. Fostoria glass is highly sought-after by collectors today.

Queen's Fancy is high-quality, satin-finish stainless steel with black accents.  Produced by International Silver from 1976 to 1982, Queen's Fancy features a scallop-shaped handle with a floral design at the tip; scroll designs outline the edges.  During the American Colonial period, New England was home to many artisans producing high-quality pewter, sterling, and silverplate, primarily in Connecticut. About 1808 Ashbile Griswold opened a pewter shop in Meriden. Through mergers with regional companies, Griswold's original shop comprised 14 silver manufacturers, including Holmes and Edwards (Bridgeport), Meriden Britannia (Meriden), and Rogers Brothers (Hartford). In 1898 the International Silver Company became truly "international," establishing offices in England and Canada.

Birds and Flowers

 
Fine bone china produced by Wedgwood from 1973 to 1995, Cuckoo is scallop-shaped, featuring large floral designs accented by a cuckoo perched on a stem.  The rim is finished with gold trim.  The shapes of the pieces, both place setting and serving, are exquisitely balanced.  The Wedgwood company was founded in Burslem, Staffordshire, the heart of England's pottery-making region.  Founder Josiah Wedgwood was a remarkable innovator.  One of his most important creations was black basalt, fine-grained English stoneware superior to any that had been previously produced.  Another watershed Wedgwood creation was creamware.  Fired at higher temperatures than traditional English earthenware, creamware was non-porous, extremely durable, and relatively inexpensive.  Wedgwood's crowning achievement was Jasperware, non-glazed porcelain featuring classical figures in bas-relief, now virtually synonymous with the Wedgwood name.

Persian Pheasant (Optic) by Tiffin/Franciscan is a crystal pattern of subtle beauty. Two pheasants are perched in the foliage of a flower-filled urn on the bowl of the glass, which also has a straight-line optic design. The stem of the glass is knobbed and ribbed, with a round, clear foot.  The pheasant etching is highly ornate, reminiscent of the intricate Persian designs we often associate with the magnificent carpets of the region (now Iran).  The Persian pheasant, often called the ring-necked pheasant, was introduced to the North American continent in the 1880s, and would have been familiar to outdoorsmen in Ohio, where Tiffin Glass Company was located. Tiffin/Franciscan, in its heyday one of the largest glass makers in its region, was long noted for the high quality of its crystal.  Shimmering, delicate Persian Pheasant (Optic) is a masterwork.

First produced in 1936, Gorham King Edward is scallop-shaped sterling silver with a fan/plume design at the tip; elegant scroll and floral designs highlight the design.  As would be expected from an older sterling pattern, King Edward features a wide array of place setting and serving pieces, including a tomato server, small sugar tongs, petits fours server, lemon fork, bon bon spoon, and jelly server, to name a few.  For more than 150 years, Gorham Silver has been known as one of the preeminent silver companies in the world, its pieces valued for their quality, timeless style, and craftsmanship. Founded in 1831 by Jabez Gorham in a shop on Steeple Street in Providence, Rhode Island, Gorham has developed a reputation for uncompromising artistry. Its silversmiths have gained fame for producing a multitude of exquisite patterns, including Chantilly, Strasbourg, Buttercup, Fairfax, Melrose, and hundreds more.

Magnificent Floral Patterns

 
Haddon Hall by Minton, introduced in 1948, is fine bone china that features spectacular floral designs covering the plate, with embossed, swirled flutes on the rim, and either gold or green trim on the outside edge (featured plate has green trim). Minton is one of England's oldest china makers. The company was founded in 1793 at Stoke-on-Trent, in the heart of England's Staffordshire china-producing region, by Thomas Minton, William Pownall, and Joseph Poulson. Along with the rise of the middle class in 19th century Industrial England - with greater attention to household finery and more discretionary income - came the rise of Minton. The company introduced patterns and manufacturing processes that made their high-quality china more attractive and affordable to the English middle class.

Clear glassware with etched camellias on the bowl, a wafer stem, and round foot, Fostoria Camellia was produced for more than 2 decades, 1952-1973. Founded in Fostoria, OH, in 1887, the Fostoria company relocated to Moundsville, WV, shortly thereafter, because of that region's abundant natural resources. The company is remembered for the remarkable array of colored glassware it successfully produced, but many of its clear, etched patterns, like Camellia, were equally successful. Be sure to have a look at the similar and equally beautiful pattern, Rose, produced 1951-1973. After meeting decades of stiff foreign competition with classic designs and innovative glass-making methods, Fostoria operations were shut down by its parent company, Lancaster Colony, in 1983. Fostoria glass is highly sought-after by collectors today.

Kirk Stieff Silver Stieff Rose is a magnificent example of repousse sterling, a style of silver craftsmanship so successfully introduced in America by Maryland silvermakers that collectors sometimes refer to repousse flatware and hollowware as "Maryland silver." The company Kirk Stieff Silver represents the culmination of two great Baltimore, MD, traditions. Charles Stieff founded Stieff Silver in 1892; the Stieff Rose pattern was introduced that same year. Samuel Kirk founded his firm much earlier, in 1815 (Kirk's firm is acknowledged as the oldest silversmith company in America). The companies were combined in 1979. From their inception, both were recognized for innovative design and master craftsmanship. Just before World War II, Stieff began to produce silver for Colonial Williamsburg that replicated American Colonial pieces.

Beauty, Power, and Romance

 
Spode Camilla-Blue (Scalloped, Older) features a center design of the lovely, rose-like flower, often spelled "camellia" in the U.S. Camilla was a popular pattern with both scalloped-shape and smooth-shape versions, in colors that included blue, brown, green, red, and purple. Spode founder Josiah Spode opened the doors of his porcelain factory in 1780 - under his guidance, it introduced two important breakthroughs in English ceramics. Using bone ash, Spode was the first English china maker to achieve higher firing temperatures, resulting in beautifully detailed, longer-lasting china. The company's second achievement was perfecting "underglaze" decorating. Intricate designs could be applied to china that would last for years without chipping or fading. These innovations were relatively inexpensive - making fine china accessible to the burgeoning English middle class.

Fostoria Versailles-Blue crystal, with its elaborate etched scrolls and plumes in an optic bowl and subtle twist at the base of its multi-sided, knobbed stem, calls to mind the magnificent eponymous palace of Louis XIV, the "Sun King," in all its glory. Designed to impress visiting heads of state with the power of France, the palace at Versailles is perhaps the most important repository of Baroque art in the world. Like Spode's Camilla, Versailles was produced in a variety of colors - blue, clear, green, pink, and topaz. Founded in Fostoria, OH, in 1887, the Fostoria company soon relocated to Moundsville, WV, because of the region's abundant natural resources. After meeting decades of stiff foreign competition with classic designs and innovative glass-making methods, Fostoria was shut down by its parent company in 1983. Fostoria glass is highly sought-after by collectors today.

The delicate floral designs on the edges of Towle Madeira sterling silver are redolent of the romantic Portuguese island sometimes called "the floating garden," or "the pearl of the Atlantic." Towle produced the Madeira pattern from 1948 to 2002, a testimony to the quality and popularity of its design! Towle is founded on the craftsmanship and artistry of the Moulton family of England, who over six generations of silver making, raised their artisanship to a high art. A young man named Anthony Towle would join William Moulton IV as an apprentice. When Moulton retired, Towle and a partner, William Jones, bought the Moulton family stock and formed Towle & Jones in 1857. With such a long history and distinguished tradition, Towle's Madeira is a pattern that resonates with skill and pride in craft.