Brittany by Homer Laughlin
LaurelHollowPark.net, an informative website created and
maintained by Mark Gonzalez. Copyright © 2009-.
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The first pieces of
Brittany were created in November of 1935: a nappy, fruit cup, saucer,
teacup, 6", 9", 10", 13" plates, sugar and creamer. Most of these
pieces underwent revisions in January of 1936 and the 7", 8" plates and a
deep plate were added. Two sizes platters; 11" and 13" as well as
another nappy were added shortly thereafter.
Several
more shapes were added in February 1939; the demitasse cup and saucer,
sauceboat, and the sauceboat stand. In April of that year, the oatmeal
was modeled and in May both 8" and 9" nappies were offered
simultaneously.
The biggest change to Brittany occurred in June of 1939 when several
different models of sugar and creamers were considered to replace the
original versions. Shown are eight sketches of Brittany shapes that
appear in the modeling log. The piece on the top row and to the left a
covered gravy dish. There is no indication these were ever put into
production, but if they had, they would look like a larger version of
the original sugar. To the right is a Brittany creamer with a ringed
foot. The second row shows sugars which have identical bodies, but
different applied handles. The third row is a 15.25-oz creamer and a
17.25-oz. sugar. Finally, the forth row shows a 13.8-oz creamer and a
15.25-oz sugar. These last two sets of sugars and creamers are the
basic shapes used for the final product. In July 1939, the standard
Brittany sugar and creamer that is often found replaced the original,
smaller versions. It was also during this time the covers for the
nappies were restyled with finials that matched the new sugar cover.
Expect to find Brittany with a general HLC backstamp and date
code. The demitasse cups, saucers and rim soups were dipped in solid
colors to go with Rhythm, but these are rare.
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 Original style sugar and creamer |
 Restyled creamer with wider base from 1939 |
Most of the treatments on Brittany are of bold silk screen patterns on
the rim, some of which are in conjunction with
floral decal treatments. Any given pattern had to be drawn out for each
and every item in the assorment. Below are just a few of the many
original
drawings necessary to create the underlgaze treatments. Courtesy: The Homer Laughlin China Co.
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 November 1941 |
 January 1937 |
 January 1941 |
 June 1936 |
 April 1936 |
 May 1936 |
 June 1937 |
 July 1936 |
 April 1939: Constellation |
 May 1941 |
 August 1940: Blue Willow |
 Multiple patterns, undated |
 Trade ad from April 1936 |
 Trade ad from June 1936 |
 Round sauceboat and stand, B-1309 |
 Blue Willow example |
 Majestic Blue (W638) Red (W538) |
 "Majestic" on the first style sugar and creamer |
 "Majestic" on the cream soup cup |
 Chop plate with pattern B-1273 |
 "Majestic" on a Kitchen Kraft casserole |
 Original casserole with open finial. Pattern B-1323 |
 Restyled casserole with solid finial |
 "Colonial Blue" Platter, B-1335 |
 "Hemlock" Platter with decal |
 "Constellation" platter in red with its 1936 backstamp. This can be found in other colors, namely blue and green. |

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The teapot was added to the line in late 1952. All three pieces shown here are underglaze, silk screen decorations.
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 Blue Trees, pattern B-2113 |
 Underglaze coblat decoration with gold stamps |
 "Royal Splendor" B-1346 |
 Pattern B-1205, black and yellow plaid |
 Pattern B-1173, blue laurel |
 Rosebud print in black and red |
 B-1403, Lily of the Valley in green (The maroon version is B-1402) |
 Pattern B-1357 |
 Pattern B-1347 (The blue version is B-1326) |
 "True Love" gravy |
 "Sugar Pine" sugar and creamer, B-1437 |
 Nappy with W-538, fruit cup with B-1315, and a creamer. |
 Small plate with pattern GCM-52 and demitasse cup |
 Sears' advertisement for B-1316, Clive on the Brittany shape. |
 Cavalier flatware with Brittany teacups, early 1980s |
A sampling of Brittany treatments from company records.
Photos come from the research files of Joanne Jasper.
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Assortment of Items:
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- 13" chop plate
- 10" plate
- 9" plate
- 8" plate
- 7" plate
- 6" plate
- Teacup
- Saucer
- AD cup
- AD saucer
- pickle
- 11 1/2" platter
- 13" platter
- 15" platter
- Cable eggcup
- Teapot
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- Covered Sugar, first version
- Covered Sugar, second version
- Creamer, first version
- Creamer, second version
- 8" nappy
- 9" nappy
- Nappy lid, first version
- Nappy lid, second version
- Round sauceboat
- Round sauceboat liner
- Oval sauceboat
- Fruit cup
- 36s bowl
- Oatmeal
- Rim soup
- Cream soup cup
- Cream soup liner
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