Welcome to the edish encyclopedia Manufacturers   Aynsley John Aynsley and Sons LTD. was founded in Stoke-on-Trent in 1775. The prosperous china company that has now been in business for over 200 years grew from a small fledgling pottery that originated as a hobby! more... Baccarat Baccarat was a castellany in the Lorraine region owned by the Lord Bishop of Metz. A castellany was "an ensemble of lands belonging to a governor and under his jurisdiction". The land had too much silica in it's soil to be good for growing wheat, but it did have access to vast forests that could be utilized for fuel. more... Franciscan Lucy and Ricky Ricardo from the "I Love Lucy Show" had the Franciscan "Ivy" as their every day china pattern. more... Franciscan Desert Rose is probably the most collectible pottery pattern ever manufactured in the history of the U.S more.. Haviland My Haviland Pattern has pretty pink flowers. How can I identify the pattern name? more... There are markings on the back of my Haviland china that says "Theodore Haviland, Limoges and Leob Hermanos, Mexico". What does this mean? more... Hutschenreuther In 1814 Carolus Magnus Hutschenreuther founded one of the first private porcelain factories in Hohenberg, Germany. His son, Lorenze Hutschenreuther, opened another porcelain factory in 1857 in another German city, Selb. more... Iroquois Iroquois is probably best known for its association with the modern designers Russel Wright and Ben Siebel. Before these designers were hired, Iroquois produced mostly commercial or hotel-type ware. more... Johnson Brothers The Johnson brothers, Alfred, Frederick and Henry bought their first factory in 1882. The pottery had been operated by a series of many owners dating back to the original construction of the factory in the mid eighteenth century. more... Lenox In 1918, Woodrow Wilson ordered the first set of china that was made in the USA for the White House from Lenox. more... Limoges My china is made by Limoges, do you carry this brand? more... Metlox In spite of the Great Depression, there are still many success stories that have their beginnings in Southern California in the 1930s. The Metlox pottery factory was built in 1927, and was located in Manhatten Beach, a suburb of greater Los Angeles. more... Mikasa Although Mikasa is an American owned company, pieces are usually marked underneath with the various countries of origin, leading to the confusion about where Mikasa is actually home based. Over the years, many of their products were made primarily in Japan. Today, Mikasa products are made in factories located all over the world. more... Noritake Due to concerns over low quality of raw materials after World War II, Noritake elected to produce their wares under the pseudonym "Rose China" for several years... more... Pickard In 1894 Wilder Pickard founded the Pickard company in Chicago. The firm's specialty was producing hand decorated china. Plain white porcelain blanks were purchased from French or other European manufacturers because Pickard did not manufacture porcelain initially. more... Rosenthal Rosenthal, one of the largest porcelain producing firms in Germany was founded in 1889. A number of factories comprise the Rosenthal manufacturing operations including two that produce Thomas china a subsidiary company. more... Royal Doulton Long before producing china and collectibles, Royal Doulton was originlaly Doulton Potteries producing primarily high quality commercial and industrial stoneware articles (ceramic bottles and drainpipes)... more... Schumann Is Dresden a brand or is it a city? more... Shelley Shelley is one of those brands of china that has an unusually loyal and large collector following relative to the amount of wares that they produced. The firm's pieces are quite distinctive and this is probably the reason for such collector devotion. more... Spode Josiah Spode I was born in 1733 to a modest income family, and began apprenticing when he was only seven years old at a pottery near his home in Staffordshire. The young Spode worked for a brief period, from the time he was sixteen until the time he was twenty one, for an innovative potter named Thomas Wheilden. more... Syracuse Syracuse china is still producing china today, and has been since 1883! This makes it one of the oldest surviving china companies in America. A high quality product offered at a reasonable price is most likely the reason that the factory has been able to stay in business for such a long time. more... Waterford The Waterford company was originally in business from 1783-1851. After World War Two, a group of Irish glass enthusiasts and businessmen decided to revive the glass company synonymous with high quality Irish crystal. more... Wedgwood I am trying to place an approximate date on the Wedgwood china that I inherited from my mother, and I noticed some numbers on the back. Is this a date mark? more... Josiah Wedgwood had his first big success when he received a commission by Queen Charlotte to produce an extensive set of cream colored earthenware. This creamware became very popular and commonly known as Queen's ware. more...  Collector's Corner   Blue and White Blue eyes, blue jeans, blue birds, blue skies, and blue hair. Do you love amost anything blue? more... Chintz Chintzware patterns became popular the first time around in the 1930s and remained so through the 1960s. Indian textiles that were decorated all over with colorful flowers and birds were the influence for the lovely all over floral chintz patterns of china. In fact, the Indian word for the colorful fabric was "Chintes"! more... Collector Plates Many top quality manufacturers produce special plates to commemorate events or dates. Some of these plates are made annually for many years, some of them are part of a series and others are a single issue. more... Contemporary Patterns Contemporary patterns have a similar spirit as the modernist patterns , but were introduced much later. These postmodern patterns were introduced in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. more... Elegant Glassware Learn more about American handmade crystal collectively known as 'Elegant Glassware'. There is an abundant quantity of most of these wonderful, old elegant glassware patterns available to buy and actually use. Patterns can be selected to work well with antique or current dinneware and all will add a touch of American history and "elegance". more... Imari Imari is the general term that is used to describe porcelain wares exported from Japan, or the patterns that were made in the west to look like the Japanese wares. Since the term is used loosely, Imari can describe a multitude of porcelains spanning hundreds of years and originating from numerous countries. more... Modernist Patterns Like modern paintings, modern china patterns are the ones that resulted from breaking away from tradition and consumer expectations. After two hundred years of plates with flowers and gold bands on them, someone finally said "enough". more... Russell Wright Beginning in the 1930s, Russel Wright and his wife Mary sat at the drawing board trying to anticipate and fulfill the demands of America’s new casual living and entertaining style. Important designs in wood, aluminum, steel and especially ceramics flowed from their office. more... Raymond Loewy Raymond Loewy designed Y2K china long before his time. Called upon to liven up the Rosenthal china designs following WWII, his designs are some of the undiscovered gems of progressive modern dinnerware. Yes, he is famous for designing the 'Coke' bottle, but you can collect him while he is still affordable. more... More Designers More on Eva Zeisel and Emilio Pucci General Questions - DISH WITH DAVID Ask David Lackey your question   My china was made by Limoges, do you carry this brand? My Schumann Bavaria Empress pattern has different marks on different pieces. Why? What do the numbers on the base of my Wedgwood mean? How should I take care of my china and crystal? What are these scratches on my china? Why do manufacturers discontinue patterns that are still popular? My china is marked with the names of two different countries. Why? What is crazing and is there anyway to get the stains out? Is there lead in my china? How can I ship my dinnerware? Which plate is which? My crystal pattern has wheat bundles on it. Who made it? How many pieces are in a full set of china? What is the difference between rim and coupe shape? Is it safe to put my china in the dishwasher? Is there really bone in bone china? How valuable is "Warranted 22 Karat Gold" china? How valuable is hand painted "Nippon" china? Are china patterns names reused? What is "Paris" china? edish Op Ed   The Mugging of the Cup and Saucer The Cocktail Hour: One Man's Strong and Unyielding Opinions

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