Artful China

 

QUESTION: A friend of mine recently gave me a colorful vase that has two handles and a design of some sort of fruit on the front. The mark on the bottom says “Laughlin Art China” along with the image of an eagle. Can you tell me what company made this and when? 

ANSWER: Your vase is one of hundreds of pieces produced by the Laughlin China Company in the first decade of the 20th century. While the company made some of the pieces, such as soup tureens and platters, it made most of its pieces for display only.

At the turn of the 20th century, American potteries, formerly limited to the production of dinnerware and washstand toilet sets, took a cue from the vogue for American art pottery and began developing decorative "specialty ware" or art china.

Characterized by unusual decals surrounded by a background of solid color applied with an air brush or atomizer, these wares mimicked the standard glaze and hand-painted ware of such art potteries as Rookwood, Roseville and Weller. At first, manufacturers used a brown background but soon changed that to bright red, magenta, green, blue-green, pink and sometimes combinations of several colors. The first American pottery to popularize the style seems to have been the Warwick Pottery of Wheeling, West Virginia. 

Many potteries in the Ohio Valley quickly copied the art china concept. None, however, elaborated up on the idea with more verve and success than Homer Laughlin China of East Liverpool, Ohio, which began production if its art china in 1900. 

But neither Homer nor Shakespeare Laughlin, the founders of Homer Laughlin China Co., had anything to do with the development of Laughlin Art China. The brothers did develop a whiteware pottery on a subscription basis in East Liverpool in 1873, but Shakespeare dropped out in 1877. While Homer Laughlin expanded the company, beginning the production of semi-vitreous porcelain in the 1890s and incorporating the company in 1896, he retired two years later and moved to California.

During these early years, there was one notable and highly successful effort by Laughlin China to produce artistic china-ware. Around 1886, the company succeeded. Marked with the words "Laughlin China" in a horseshoe, workers frequently decorated it  using the French pate-sur-pate technique, with cameo-like white designs on a blue ground. But such ware is rare, as Laughlin only made it for three years.

Under new management, notably that of William E. Wells, the Laughlin pottery continued to expand, completing a second plant in East Liverpool's East End in 1900, soon followed by a third plant. In 1903,. it traded plants with the National China Co. and then enjoyed a combined capacity of 35 kilns.

Shapes that are known to have been used for Laughlin specialties include American Sweetheart, King Charles, Genesee, Hudson and The Angelus. A number of these shapes, notably Kwaker, continued in production as late as the 1940s, 

Beginning in 1903, Laughlin China marked its art china specialties with a gold stamp featuring an eagle trying its wings, over a script "Laughlin." The firm sold the first pieces that same year, but they didn’t appear in company sales literature until 1905. Actual production seems to have been limited to five or six years.

Laughlin produced more than 130 different shapes and sizes of its art china with a currant decal, the most common form of decoration. 

But the White Pets design, the best known, featured a series of dogs, cats and birds, the most common being a pair of pointers, usually shown amid a clump of cattails. The use of a decal showing a pair of white cockatoos may have been a response to Warwick China's striking use of white birds on a white ground.

Another popular Laughlin Art China pattern was Dreamland, bearing a variety of Kate Greenaway-like children's scenes, usually involving a goat, with a blended yellow, green and brown back-ground. Like White Pets, this line often lacked the Laughlin Art China eagle backstamp and simply bore the line name. Unlike White Pets, Dreamland was decorated not with a simple decal but by "pouncing," a process in which the design was enhanced by the addition of small particles of carbon pigment, particularly effective in the cartoon-like Dreamland and Holland decorations. Other cartoon-like decorative lines utilized a variety of frog decals, most likely inspired by Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows.

Other companies occasionally decorated Homer Laughlin blanks using different decals and decorating techniques. Perhaps most notable was the little-known McKean Pottery of Minerva, Ohio, which specialized in a faux wood grain decorative background, a line which they called Angora. 

With Laughlin art china, condition is very important, particularly in collecting art china decorated with the air-brushed background, since this type of decoration wears easily. Because Laughlin intended some of its art china to be used, the delicate nature of the decoration was a problem and may be part of the reason for its decline in popularity. However, some pieces are so rare that even substantial amounts of wear don’t rule out significant prices.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "folk art" in the 2023 Winter Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Crazy Fads Come and Go But This One Lingers On

 

QUESTION: I have a crazy quilt that once belonged to my great grandmother. It’s been lovingly cared for by her daughter and then her daughter’s daughter, my mother, who’s now getting up in years. When she downsized to move to a retirement home, she gave the crazy quilt to me. I love the intricate designs, but, otherwise, I don’t know much about it. Can you tell me more and perhaps tell me how I can take care of it? It’s in good condition, but I can see that it’s somewhat delicate.

ANSWER: Your crazy quilt is the result a fad that began in the United States nearly a century and a half ago, roughly from 1875 to 1900. As with many country quilts, it became a way for women to use up their extra scraps of cloth or fabric from worn-out clothes. But crazy quilts were also a form of self-expression, much like samplers were a century before. 

Victorian women created crazy quilts like giant jigsaw puzzles, made of irregular pieces of silk, satin, velvet, or plush fabric sewn onto a solid backing of a lighter material, then decorated with embroidery stitches. Many became sentimental diaries stitched with names and legends while others took on the look of nostalgic stitched scrapbooks filled with memorabilia commemorating events, story book characters, garden flowers, even family pets. Women often made them as gifts to a bride or to someone recovering from a severe illness. Others made them in memory of a loved one who had recently passed.

Scraps for these elaborate quilts often came from ball gowns, opera capes, or the parlor curtains. But women could also buy packages of scraps from the Montgomery Ward or Sears Roebuck catalogs. The Singer Sewing Machine Company used crazy quilts as a symbol on their trade cards. Women's magazines of the day offered directions for making crazy quilts as table covers along with patterns for decorating them. Silk manufacturers promoted the use of their scrap waste in making crazy quilts. Magazine publishers also offered booklets on making crazy quilts as premiums in exchange for subscriptions to their periodicals. 

The word crazy in this case actually means irregular, odd, bizarre, strange, or unusual, and perfectly describes these quilts. Some look like a haphazard collection of odd bits of cloth and memorabilia while others are more like abstract works of silk art in shimmering colors reflecting light.

Since crazy quilts are more often tufted rather than quilted, they should be called "throws." Victorian housewives often threw them over parlor tables and pianos, as well as sofas or beds. They were the perfect complement to the ornately carved overstuffed furniture and bric-a-brac of every sort adorning  table tops, etageres, and mantels in the Victorian parlor.

Some historians believe the Victorian crazy quilt may have originated as a result of the popularity of Japanese prints or screens after the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876. Others wonder if their fractured designs may have been taken from the pattern of an uneven pavement or cracked ice, a popular decorative border used from the late 1870s through the 1880s.

Likewise, women often copied the patterns painted and embroidered on crazy quilts from Japanese ones. Many crazy quilts display a cranes standing in pools of water, owls and peacocks perched on gnarled tree branches, kimono clad figures, butterflies and cherry blossoms, hanging lanterns and spider webs. 

And since not every woman was artistically talented, makers of crazy quilts could purchase pre-stamped patches or would trace designs from magazines. The Ladies Home Journal offered as a premium to readers bringing in 16 new subscribers a “Crazy Patchwork Outfit,” consisting of 12 pre-stamped pieces of silk, one box of stamping powder, twelve skeins of embroidery silk, and a glittering array of two dozen spangles and two yards of tinsel cord.

Women's magazines also offered how-to instructions for the three basic embroidery stitches---the outline, Kensington, and plush. The outline stitch, also known as the stem stitch, formed a thread line as in a drawing. The Kensington stitch enabled crazy quilt makers to fill in their outlines using various colors. And the plush stitch produced areas of cut silk thread like a pile carpet. 

Quilt makers used embroidery stitches not only along the edges of patches to decorate them and at the same time hold the edges under and in place but also to make designs. Those who lacked embroidery skills could purchase pre-embroidered appliques. Some crazy quilt makers further embellished their creations with painted designs on the fabric after they assembled their quilts. Sequins, beads, spangles, metallic braid, and ribbon were also popular forms of embellishment.

Crazy quilts aren’t as durable as regular quilts. They won’t survive daily folding and shouldn’t be used as throws where they’ll be handled a lot. But they can be mounted on a frame or encased in plexiglass and hung on a wall. Both dry cleaning and wet cleaning damages them, so the only safe way of cleaning them is to use a low power vacuum held well away from the fabric which has been covered with some sort of mesh screening—an old window screen will do—to prevent the fabric from being sucked up and damaged.

Unlike regular quilts, women who made crazy quilts usually signed them. Many have been passed down through generations in a family.

Prices for crazy quilts range from $50 for an average small one to as much as $1,000 for a large exceptionally stitched one. Because their prices are relatively low in comparison with fine 19th-century quilts, many most likely remain hidden away in attic trunks waiting to be discovered.

For more information on caring for old quilts, read “Caring for Antique Quilts” in #TheAntiquesAlmanac. 

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "The Sparkling World of Glass" in the 2021 Winter Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Birds of a Feather

QUESTION: My mother loved birds. She had a number of birdfeeders in our yard when I was growing up, and I used to sit and watch all the different kinds of birds flock to them. I guess her love of birds transferred to me because I started looking up the birds I saw to learn more about them. Besides encouraging a growing bird population in our yard, she also collected little knick-knacks of birds that she found at yard sales and flea markets. Now I have them. Most of them look pretty cheap, but there are several that look like they’re made of fine porcelain. I know very little about antique porcelain and was wondering if you could point me to some of the better companies pieces to collect.

ANSWER: Birds have been a favorite of many people for thousands of years. They kept them as pets and even worshiped them. Even today, there some Asian cultures that believe certain birds bring good luck.

Birds have been kept as pets for at least 4.000 years. Doves and parrots appear in Egyptian hieroglyphics. Indians have considered the mynah bird sacred for over 2,000 years. During feast days, oxen would carry these birds in processions through the streets. The ancient Greek aristocracy kept the mynah and parakeets as pets. And in wealthy Roman households, one slave had the responsibility of caring for the family bird, which was often a type of parrot. Apparently, watching the parrot talk and perform was an early form of home entertainment.



In 1782 the bald eagle was adopted as the national emblem of the United States. It was chosen because it is such a powerful, noble looking bird. And so it continued throughout history.

Birds have long appealed to Chinese and Japanese potters. A favorite mythological bird which appeared frequently on Chinese ceramics was the elegant ho ho bird or phoenix which was the symbol of happiness. It had the head of a pheasant, tail of a peacock and the legs of a stork or crane and symbolized beauty, rank and longevity.

White cranes in flight are often the subjects painted on Chinese Export items, Japanese Satsuma, Kutani and Banko ware. To the Chinese and Japanese, the crane means good luck and longevity. In Japan peacocks stand for elegance and good fortune and are often found together in design with the peony flower.



In Chinese mythology ducks and drakes denote conjugal bliss and made popular wedding gifts. Early Chinese potters made large soup tureens shaped as swans, ducks and other birds.

The largest category of bird collecting is figures and portraits in porcelain and pottery. And the English stand out in this category.

In l8th century England, the Chelsea and Bow Porcelain Factories copied the Chinese tureens and made them shaped as pheasants, pigeons, and a hen with her chicks. Early duck and partridge tureens are extremely rare and can sell for over $10,000 today. Chelsea teapots modeled as birds were also popular. One exquisite model, representing a guinea hen trapped in a rosebush, had a speckled white glaze and wonderful detail.

At the end of the 19'h century the four Martin Brothers, studio potters in Fulham, England, made some extraordinary pottery birds. They specialized in salt glaze stoneware and made humorously modeled birds with quizzical expressions. Their work was greatly influenced by the 19`" century Gothic Revival. Some of their most desirable pieces are figural tobacco jars with detachable heads. Martin Brothers pieces are clearly marked on the base with the incised signature: "R. W. Martin."

The Royal Worcestor Company also made magnificent bird figures in various colors and glazes. Regarded as one of the most notable sculptors of the era, Dorothy Doughty began her series of models of the Birds of America in the 1930s. From then until 1960, she created 30 different bird sculptures. Doughty, at her studio in Cornwall, worked from living birds. On an American field trip in 1953, she spent three weeks getting close enough to the elusive oven bird to study it. The birds, with their mounts of flowers and branches, were extremely elaborate and difficult to execute, requiring from 20 to 50 molds each. She sculpted them in correct size and color, and even modeled the foliage in which they sat true to nature. Every model, each made in limited edition, bears the artist's signature and marks of the factory. One of Doughty's rarest bird models, the Indigo Bunting on a Plum Tree, was made to be a cheap Christmas present, and its lack of flowers and foliage resulted in a market failure. Only six or seven were made, and today they are valued at $900-$1,200.

Royal Crown Derby produced many fine porcelain bird figures. Arnold Mikelson was a talented modeler who worked from 1939 to 1945. He designed over 60 different lifelike birds that are still popular, such as woodpeckers, pheasants, owls, goldfinch and fairy wrens. Royal Crown Derby artist Donald Birbeck studied bird and animal life in America in the 1930s. He designed many luncheon and dinner services with game subjects during his long stay at Derby.

Collectors get particularly excited about birds made by the Crown Staffordshire Company. J.T. Jones, decorating manager with the company until his death in 1957,  designed some of the finest. Jones carefully researched these bone china birds from nature.

He portrayed the lifelike songbirds in natural settings—perched on a tree branch or base surrounded with the lovely applied flowers for which the Crown Staffordshire Company is known. Today, the tradition continues with a range of wild fowl figures authenticated by Sir Peter Scott and modeled by John Bromley.

Birds in various colors and glazes have always formed an important part of the Royal Doulton collection. In 1902 the company produced its magnificent range of birds, including fledglings, ducklings, and penguins, in flambé glaze, which recreated the blood-red effects achieved by Chinese potters of the Sung Dynasty.




By 1920 Doulton's list of birds included pigeons, pelicans, eagles, kingfishers, ducks, penguins, and chicks. Designers created some in realistic detail and gave others human or comic characteristics, such as Charles Noke's Toucan in Tails.

In 1952, the company added a few large bird figures to its Prestige Series. In the 1970s Robert Jefferson produced some outstanding limited edition sculptures of birds for the U. S. market. An example is a pair of 8-inch white-winged Cross Bills perched on a branch with pine cones. Doulton's line of miniature character birds, including comic owls, puffins, penguins and toucans, are especially popular with collectors.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Article section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the other 18,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about western antiques in the special 2019 Spring Edition, "Down to the Sea in Ships," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques & More Collection on Facebook.  

19th Century Tupperware

QUESTION: I recently won a box lot at a local auction. Inside the box I found what looks like a cup with an attached saucer. It’s heavy and a bit crude. Can you tell me what it is?

ANSWER: What you have is a 19th-century grease lamp made of stoneware. Farmers used these lamps, fueled by animal fat, in their homes. They often threw away early, less refined versions, as better ones appeared on the market. 

Stoneware is one of the hardy perennials of the American antiques trade. Each year, auction houses, antiques shops, and flea markets sell thousands of pieces at prices from $25 to several thousand dollars. The record price stands at $15,000 for a rare 1773 stoneware inkstand. Only a handful of pieces fetch prices in that stratospheric range.

Stoneware is a heavy, hard pottery that resists odors and tastes and won’t absorb water. The first American stoneware appeared in the last half of the 18th century, and for more than 100 years people used stoneware vessels to store and transport foods and liquids. It was essentially the 19th-century version of Tupperware. When glass and metal containers came into common use, people stopped using it.

Generally, it’s difficult to date stoneware unless a piece has the name and town of the maker or the name of the company that used the vessel to hold its product stamped on the bottom. For this reason, many collectors like to buy pieces made in their areas. But stoneware that can be identified as the work of an early potter may be worth several hundred dollars. For example, a double-handled crock inscribed "Commeraw" sold for $800 because it was made by Thomas Commeraw, a New York City potter active from 1795 to 1820. At a Massachusetts auction, a jug with the initials J. F. sold for $600—it’s attributed to a 1790's Boston potter named Jonathan Fenton. Sometimes the initials on a piece belong not to the maker but to the original owner, which makes the piece attractive to collectors interested in genealogy.

As with many other antiques, age isn’t the main reason in determining the price of an object—its decorative qualities are far more important. An attractive late-19th-century jug will fetch more at auction than a homely Revolutionary-era piece. Most stoneware forms, such as jugs, crocks, jars, churns, and pitchers, are very simple and vary only slightly in shape and design. Decoration, if any, tends to be sparse. When a potter decorated his pieces, he often used simple floral, bird, or scroll motifs painted on the stoneware in three basic colors—blue, brown, or black. The most common stoneware style has a gray-glazed background with blue decoration. Such run-of-the-mill pieces, which represent about 90 percent of the stoneware available today, are generally worth less than $50.

Because many stoneware items look alike, the most valuable pieces are those with unusual or imaginative decoration. A rare form, such as your stoneware grease lamp, or an odd-sized piece, an exceptionally large crock, for example, can be worth several hundred to several thousand dollars.