Favorite Castleton Patterns
Belrose
Caprice
Carlton
Castleton Bouquet
Castleton Rose
Castleton Turquoise
Corsage
Dolly Madison
Gloria
Jubilee
Lace
Laurel
Ma Lin
Museum White
Peony
Sovereign
Sunnybrooke
Sunnyvale
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Castleton is a subsidiary of the Shenango China Company of New Castle, Pennsylvania. Shenango was a large company started in 1901 that produced all types of ceramics ranging from restaurant ware to fine china. When Castleton was launched in 1940 it was to be the top of the line product at Shenango much like Cadillac was the premium brand at General Motors.
The company came to be when Louis E. Hellman, the American representative for Rosenthal China, approached Shenango to manufacture some of Rosenthal’s patterns during the war. In addition to these patterns, Hellman wished to pursue some more contemporary shapes and patterns in fine tableware. From the beginning the aim at Castleton was to combine the traditional European craftsmanship (like at Rosenthal) with the efficient, modern American manufacturing technology (like at Shenango) to produce a superior, high quality, well designed product.
Hellman hired a number of world class artists to create new designs. Among these was a brilliant designer named Eva Zeisel who created for Castleton one of the most noted designs in modern production ceramics of all time. The pattern is called “Museum White” because it was supported by the approval of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The undecorated off white pattern is an extremely refined, bold, modernist fine china design, and is hailed in both Europe and America as a high point in ceramic history. Museum White by Zeisel can be found in the permanent collections of many major museums and is noted in countless books on important twentieth century design. For more information on Zeisel see "Eva Zeisel and the Industrial Design Revolution" , by Amanda Boyaki.
After 1951, Hellman sold his shares of Castleton to Shenango allowing for the parent company to control all the production and sales decisions that were made at Castleton. Although patterns at Castleton returned to more traditional designs after Hellman left, the company enjoyed continued success. In fact, Castleton was commissioned for the White House during both the Eisenhower and the Johnson administration. The quality at Castleton remained high until the very end when production of Castleton china ceased around 1970.
The pattern “Sunnyvale” was one of the very best selling patterns in the china matching business for many years.
Source
Lehner’s Encyclopedia of U.S. Marks on Pottery, Porcelain & Clay. Lois Lehner,1988. Collector Books, Paducah, KY.
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