Ohio River Pottery: H. R. Wyllie China Company Recently, I found a very old semi porcelain platter in less than pristine condition. I noticed that the gold trim was very very worn, in fact absent in some areas yet, the glaze was excellent, no cracks and only slight crazing on the bottom. On the bottom of…
Ohio River Pottery: H. R. Wyllie China Company
Recently, I found a very old semi porcelain platter in less than pristine condition. I noticed that the gold trim was very very worn, in fact absent in some areas yet, the glaze was excellent, no cracks and only slight crazing on the bottom. On the bottom of the platter was a mark unknown to…
The Gift: The Story of The Homer Laughlin Plate
Almost, thirty years ago, a package arrived postmarked from the Homer Laughlin Company, Newell, West Virginia quite unexpectedly. A few days before, we were at the International Housewares Exhibition in Chicago. It was a big deal, a really big deal. Now, as then, it was the biggest trade show in the country at one of the…
Lust and Vintage Linen
I am not sure how it happened. It all started in Missouri almost forty years ago . . . going to auctions and finding beautiful linens . . . looking for linens that were not polyester . . . finding vintage linens so soft, so detailed . . . handmade by women who cared about…
Pottery made in the Ohio Valley
I like restaurant china because it is built to last and tough to break in everyday use. Hitting it with a hammer will break it. But it is tough and durable. But I did not know anything about the history much less the economy of the along the broad swath of the Ohio River. For…
eclipse company town
We had been thinking of a storefront for awhile; well actually, since the first time that the barn leaked. Or maybe, it was the moment that I realized that critters like to eat cardboard. Two years later, we finally found a place that just seemed just right . . . restaurants, the bike path, plenty of parking and…