Theodore Haviland was born in Limoges, France in 1842, the same year that his father David Haviland set up his company to create one of the finest porcelains every made. In 1865 his older brother took over management of Haviland & Company and sent Theodore, 23 years old, to America to market and sell the china that was sent from France. With the opening of the railway across the United States, he traveled across the country to all the china shops, hoping to convince every household in America that they could not live without this special dinnerware. He tried several marketing strategies to further his goals. If a large store would order so many different sets of Haviland china, he would have their company name printed along with the Haviland backmark. He would also sell them exclusive patterns (by adding a border or a special trim) to be manufactured just for their stores. These patterns are the most difficult to locate today as not many of them were sold around the country.
Because of these store markings, the Haviland Collectors Internationale Foundation is currently conducting research on the various backmarks atrributed to these individual stores, trying to ascertain how long the stores were in operation, where they were located, and what patterns they sold. This will be an ongoing project for many years, but should give us much information as it will narrow down dates of production on certain patterns and show the type of style that various communities purchased.
Theodore was primarily on his own in America, living and working in New York City, only returning to France during the summers, during slack sales times. He would spend his time in Limoges meeting with factory workers, maintaining contact with the foremen, and discussing new ideas and plans with his father and brother. When David died in 1879, Charles Edward, his older brother, called him home. However, when Theodore returned home with his wife, Julie, he found that moving to Limoges removed his independence and he was at the beck and call of his brother in all things, whether business or personal.
In 1891, Theodore and Charles Edward decided to dissolve the partnership. Haviland & company closed its doors on December 31, 1891, and reopened the following day under the same name, but with Charles Edward and his eldest son, George, running the new operation. Theodore purchased twelve acres on the Place David Haviland in Limoges and went about setting up his own company. It was in operation by August of 1893. He built it with the best and most modern equipment available. It contained new electric lithograph presses that could do four times more work than the steam-driven presses used in other factories.
There was much rivalry between the two companies for quite a few years and probably many lawsuits over rights infringements. Theodore began placing his decorative mark of Theodore Haviland, Limoges on the back of his porcelain. The two companies engaged in a war of price competition as each fought for their share of the public market. In a 1910 catalog from R.H.Macy Co., Haviland & Company offered a 56-piece dinner set for $20., while Theodore Haviland Company offered a 101-piece set of the same quality for the same price.
With his many years in America, Theodore had a keen business sense for creating ornate porcelain dinnerware that would please the American woman. His designs were delicate and beautiful, some with embossed edges and some with heavy gold scalloped edges. Where Haviland & Company made just one pattern to be sold as a Jewel Tea premium (Autumn Leaf), Theodore Haviland made four patterns for Jewel Tea.
In 1903, Theodore brought his son, William, into the company and made him a director in 1904. When Theodore died in 1919, William became chairman of the board and ran the company with his brother, Guy and his two brothers-in-law, H. de Luze and L. d'Albis. They built a strong company that was able to weather World War I and the Great Depression. In 1921, William started producing cleaner, pared-down styles of dinnerware, more suited to the fast past 1920s. In 1936 he opened a plant in New Castle, PA, and produced Theodore Haviland, Made in America china until 1957. The china was heavier and not as white as the French ware. However, this china was very popular during those years.
In 1941, the Theodore Haviland Company bought the rights to the name of Haviland & Company. As soon as production was able to resume in Limoges after World War II, Haviland & Company once again began manufacturing the fine white Porcelain for which it had been famous.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
The History of Haviland & Company
The history of Haviland & Company is a very interesting story.
David Haviland set sail for Limoges, France, in 1842 looking for the perfect porcelain dinnerware. Not finding some company that would create just what he was looking for, he started his own company. Porcelain had been made in the city of Limoges since the 1750s but had always sent their china into Paris for decorating. David had a fight on his hands when he decided to have the whiteware and the decorating studios placed under one roof. In the first years he had another company make the whiteware and then he decorated the pieces. He then shipped the items to New York to the store that he and his brothers owned. During the Civil War years his operation did not do very well as he was not able to ship product to the states very easily and in 1865 closed the doors. He then decided it would be a perfect opportunity to reopen under just his own name. Prior to that his brothers had been partners.
David had two sons: Charles Edward and Theodore. Charles Edward was 2 years old when his family moved to Limoges. Theodore was born in Limoges. In 1865, Charles was old enough to take control of the company when David retired. Charles was very creative and had many new ideas for production of fine china. He was very interested in Japanese art and design. As the trade doors to Japan opened in the 1870s everything in home decoration turned to Japanese art. Whereas dinnerware was fairly plain with just gold or color borders or handpainted flowers in the center of the plates, Charles hired impressionistic painters to create patterns in flowing designs and flowers. These patterns were very popular in America.
Theodore was sent to the United States to market the china. Haviland opened a store in New York City and he spent his time selling the dinnerware to jewelry stores, hardware and china stores. As a marketing tool, if a customer bought a certain number of sets for his store, Haviland would put the company name on the back of the plates. There are many sets out there today with store names such as Gump, Bailey Banks & Biddle, etc. With the opening of the railroads across the nation, Theodore was able to sell his wares from New York to California. With the gold strike in California, there were lots of very wealthy people who wanted the finest money could buy. New York was the hub of the wealthiest people in the world at that time. They all wanted fine china for their tables and dining was the main entertainment. (I will write about the Age of Elegance and fine dining in another blog later).
Between 1890s & 1910s, Haviland & Company shipped over 20,000 barrels of china a year to the United States. Haviland was sold in shops and in catalogs. They made very elaborate and expensive patterns for the very rich and also very plain patterns for the middle class. This meant that even the farmer in Missouri could purchase through the catalogs a fine quality of china. A Sears catalog from 1904 sold a couple of sets of Haviland, 100 pieces in a barrel, for $19.95. This may seem cheap but the lowest price in the catalog was $3.95 for a set of the same size in another less expensive brand. Haviland was still the most expensive china in the catalog.
In 1893, Theodore Haviland grew tired of working for his brother and opened his own firm in Limoges. (More on that at another time) Charles Edward died in 1921 and Georges, his eldest son, too over the running of the company. There were two major fires in the warehouses and archives which destroyed quite a bit of information regarding patterns. With the Great Depression looming, Haviland was not able to sustain and closed its doors in 1931. In 1941, Theodore Haviland bought back the rights to the Haviland name and became Haviland & Company once more. In 1972 the Haviland family sold the company to a conglomerate. Haviland china is still being made in Limoges, France today and can be found in high end china shops around the states.
If you would like to read more about Haviland, please read "Haviland China-Age of Elegance" and "Evolution of Haviland China Design" by Nora Travis. Both are published and available through Schiffer Publishing or through Nora Travis at Travishrs@aol.com.
Look for various articles on Terra Cotta pottery, Sandoz and the various Haviland families in coming blogs.
David Haviland set sail for Limoges, France, in 1842 looking for the perfect porcelain dinnerware. Not finding some company that would create just what he was looking for, he started his own company. Porcelain had been made in the city of Limoges since the 1750s but had always sent their china into Paris for decorating. David had a fight on his hands when he decided to have the whiteware and the decorating studios placed under one roof. In the first years he had another company make the whiteware and then he decorated the pieces. He then shipped the items to New York to the store that he and his brothers owned. During the Civil War years his operation did not do very well as he was not able to ship product to the states very easily and in 1865 closed the doors. He then decided it would be a perfect opportunity to reopen under just his own name. Prior to that his brothers had been partners.
David had two sons: Charles Edward and Theodore. Charles Edward was 2 years old when his family moved to Limoges. Theodore was born in Limoges. In 1865, Charles was old enough to take control of the company when David retired. Charles was very creative and had many new ideas for production of fine china. He was very interested in Japanese art and design. As the trade doors to Japan opened in the 1870s everything in home decoration turned to Japanese art. Whereas dinnerware was fairly plain with just gold or color borders or handpainted flowers in the center of the plates, Charles hired impressionistic painters to create patterns in flowing designs and flowers. These patterns were very popular in America.
Theodore was sent to the United States to market the china. Haviland opened a store in New York City and he spent his time selling the dinnerware to jewelry stores, hardware and china stores. As a marketing tool, if a customer bought a certain number of sets for his store, Haviland would put the company name on the back of the plates. There are many sets out there today with store names such as Gump, Bailey Banks & Biddle, etc. With the opening of the railroads across the nation, Theodore was able to sell his wares from New York to California. With the gold strike in California, there were lots of very wealthy people who wanted the finest money could buy. New York was the hub of the wealthiest people in the world at that time. They all wanted fine china for their tables and dining was the main entertainment. (I will write about the Age of Elegance and fine dining in another blog later).
Between 1890s & 1910s, Haviland & Company shipped over 20,000 barrels of china a year to the United States. Haviland was sold in shops and in catalogs. They made very elaborate and expensive patterns for the very rich and also very plain patterns for the middle class. This meant that even the farmer in Missouri could purchase through the catalogs a fine quality of china. A Sears catalog from 1904 sold a couple of sets of Haviland, 100 pieces in a barrel, for $19.95. This may seem cheap but the lowest price in the catalog was $3.95 for a set of the same size in another less expensive brand. Haviland was still the most expensive china in the catalog.
In 1893, Theodore Haviland grew tired of working for his brother and opened his own firm in Limoges. (More on that at another time) Charles Edward died in 1921 and Georges, his eldest son, too over the running of the company. There were two major fires in the warehouses and archives which destroyed quite a bit of information regarding patterns. With the Great Depression looming, Haviland was not able to sustain and closed its doors in 1931. In 1941, Theodore Haviland bought back the rights to the Haviland name and became Haviland & Company once more. In 1972 the Haviland family sold the company to a conglomerate. Haviland china is still being made in Limoges, France today and can be found in high end china shops around the states.
If you would like to read more about Haviland, please read "Haviland China-Age of Elegance" and "Evolution of Haviland China Design" by Nora Travis. Both are published and available through Schiffer Publishing or through Nora Travis at Travishrs@aol.com.
Look for various articles on Terra Cotta pottery, Sandoz and the various Haviland families in coming blogs.
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