Famous Old Ships by Homer Laughlin
LaurelHollowPark.net, an informative website created and
maintained by Mark Gonzalez. Copyright © 2009-.
|
 Famous Old Ships was a line of dinnerware from 1941 that did not go into production. It was intended to be made up of underglaze prints with different subjects, not unlike previous lines such as Americana and Early American Homes. Jo Cunningham noted in her book, Homer Laughlin China, 1940s & 1950s, that the ship subjects included: Santa Maria, Mayflower, San Martin, Bounty, and California Clipper.
To the right are two sample plates on display at the Grave Creek Mound Archeological Complex in Moundsville, West Virginia. The California Clipper print is in blue on Eggshell Nautilus and in red on Theme Eggshell.
The pieces shown below are from the collection of The Fiesta® Tableware Company. Unfortunately, the only ships found in their archives are the California Clipper and San Martin. From the samples, it is clear they had considered different shapes (namely Kwaker, Eggshell Nautilus, Theme Eggshell, and Swing Eggshell), at least three different colors (red, mulberry, blue, and green), and a few border patterns, one shell and at least two different floral.
The "R" numbers noted below are research numbers that were hand-written under the glaze so the art department could keep track of the combinations of pattern, shape, and color. Each piece was marked Famous Old Ships with the name of the ship at the bottom.
|
California Clipper on a Brittany chop plate, R-15-1815 |
San Martin on a Brittany chop plate, R-15-1929 |
California Clipper on an Eggshell Nautilus chop plate, R-15-1893 |
Eggshell Nautilus Covered sugar, R-15-1908 |
California Clipper on a Swing Eggshell 9" plate, R-15-1883 |
California Clipper on a Kwaker 9" plate, R-15-1929 |
California Clipper on an Eggshell Nautilus 9" plate, R-15-1918 |
California Clipper on a Kwaker 9" plate, R-15-1929 |
California Clipper on an Eggshell Nautilus 9" plate, R-15-1893 |
California Clipper on a Kwaker 9" plate, R-15-1809 |
California Clipper on a Kwaker 9" plate, R-15-1810 |
California Clipper on a Kwaker 9" plate, R-15-1928 |
San Martin on a Kwaker 9" plate, R-15-1929 |
San Martin on an Eggshell Nautilus 9" plate, R-15-1929 |
Charles Williams' drawing 2862 for the Nautilus Chop plate, dated March 4, 1941 |
|
|
