Hello, my name is Kimberly and I have been having a long standing affair with Homer Laughlin China and other floral dinnerware.
Well, no, I am not quite ready for an intervention, but these are a few of the items that started my love of antiques. It started when my mother shared one of the platters that was a gift to my great grandparents when they married in 1901. From then on I loved the simplicity and beauty of these florals that were frequently used between 1900 and 1950.
When I started digging I found that several of the pieces that I collected were manufactured by the Homer Laughlin China Company which actually best known for its line that started in 1936 - Fiesta Ware. The company actually started in 1871 by brothers Homer and Shakespeare Laughlin in East Liverpool, Ohio. Their goal was to manufacture high quality pottery that was made in America. By the turn of the century, they had grown so much that they were able to build a series of plants in Newell Farm, West Virginia where they still are today. During the Depression years, they expanded into restaurant ware.
You may be wondering if there is a way to determine how old your Homer Laughlin China is? From my research, the company had a system that was applicable to all of their lines, including the most popular original Fiesta Ware.
First look at their trademark stamped on the bottom of their pieces. Anything prior to 1890 had a horseshoe mark. During the following decade, they used an eagle carrying a lion. A variety of trademarks were used after 1900 with the one above being the most common.
As seem in the pictures above, Homer Laughlin also used a series of letters and numbers showing the date and plant number to show where and when the piece was made. This is a basic summary:
Manufacturing Dates Series of Letters and Numbers
1900 - 1910 2 Numbers + 1 Letter
1910 - 1920 3 Numbers
1921 - 1930 1 Letter + 2 Numbers
After 1931 1 Letter + 2 Numbers + 1 Letter
After 1921, they used the first letter to indicate which month the piece was manufactured in, with the first 12 letters of the alphabet corresponding to a month. For example A = January, K = November.
So with the platter, it is stamped with 27L, meaning that it was made between 1900 - 1910. The second number is the year, so 1907 and the letter references the plant.
The bowl is stamped H43N8 which has an extra number which my sources did not indicate, but if we go with Homer Laughlin's policy, it indicates that this piece was manufactured in August of 1943. These are general guidelines.
Below are a few more of the pieces I have collected. Yes, I also love yellow ware, but that is a topic for another day!
The bowl on the far right of this picture particularly intrigues me. It is made from the same pottery manufacturing process which is supposed to seal the piece with a glaze thus giving it the ability to hold liquids and be oven safe. However this one is distinctly darker and the crackling of the glaze is very obvious. The cause is generally from a variety of temperature changes; these dishes were not made like modern pyrex which can go from refrigerator to oven. Where an item is stored, like a garage or attic over the years, can also impact the color and glazing. The general consensus, though, is the old manufacturing process included lead so we should be very cautious about using pieces that have crackling like this because not only could it leach lead but also harbor bacteria. These are not pieces I use, though. I just love their look!
If you have any questions, comments or would love to share some pictures of your collections, I'd love to hear back from you!
Have a blessed day!
Kimberly
