|
In the early 1900s, the Homer Laughlin China Company filled special orders using their hotel and dinnerware lines. These included orders from churches, college fraternities, hospitals, Masonic lodges, American Legion groups, various clubs, and some department stores celebrating anniversaries. The decorations often included an emblem with simple lines with no further ornamentation.
Many of the East Liverpool area potteries filled similar orders using the same decorations from circa 1900 to the mid-1940s.
 HLC 9" plate with Masonic Lodge badge in blue, dated 1927 |
 HLC Rocaille jug with the initals LAS in green, dated 1920. |
Below are just a few of the different orders the Homer Laughlin China Company completed from 1913 to 1940. They give a good overall presentation of the types of special wares made that would have been used in the various organizations' banquets and club meetings.
If an emblem like the Masonic symbol or the Order of the Eastern Star's monogram were used often, then there was no extra charge for creating an engraving to make the underglaze prints necessary for the treatment. On the other hand, if a new engraving had to be made, then there was almost always an added engraving charge. The same was true for gold stamps, however the cost to make a new rubber stamp for gold decorations was much lower than making a new engraving for underglaze prints.
In many cases, the customer didn't place the order. It was usually made through an approved vendor, either a retailer or a distributor.
Many of these images were cropped from the original scans to allow for the most amount of information in the smallest amount of space. Special thanks goes to the Fiesta® Tableware Company for making these vintage materials available.
|
