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The
Homer Laughlin China. Co.
Stretching
for more than a mile along Hancock County’s Ohio River at Newell
is the Homer Laughlin China Company, one of the world’s largest
manufacturer of dinnerware. Laughlin’s claims to have
manufactured about one-third of all dinnerware that has ever been
sold in the United States.
Two brothers, Homer and Shakespeare Laughlin opened
their factory on September 1, 1874.
The special achievement of Homer Laughlin China Company has been
its ability for over a century to mass-produce wares not only
inexpensive enough for almost every family in the nation, but
often with outstanding artistic value as well. For the workers,
managers, artists and scientists laboring together in the huge
Hancock County plants have
brought art and production together in a spectacular way.
Moreover, they’ve made the combination a profitable one, building
in the process a company unparalleled in the worldwide history of
the industry. Homer Laughlin, who left two bottle kilns on the
banks of the Ohio, would never recognize the place today, but it’s
unlikely he would be anything but proud.
An American icon
for over 60 years, and one of the world's most-collectable
dinnerware designs. American-made Fiesta® dinnerware and
accessories by The Homer Laughlin China Company. Colorful sets and
accessories let you mix-and-match different colors, or keep a
uniform color scheme.
 The
Ameriwhite® Collection offers a neutral white body that provides
enhanced chip/impact resistance and superior heat retention. It is
finished in a abrasion-resistant mirror glaze.
The Homer Laughlin China Company
takes sculpted china to a new level with the ability to create
personalized embossment for a truly unique presentation. Let the
award winning Master Artisans at The Homer Laughlin China Company
design a personalized service plate, incorporating your logo into
the motif, or a complete, unique table setting to complement the
theme and interior design of your dining rooms. All brought to
fruition through our advanced decorating techniques and superior
manufacturing capabilities.
The
Homer Laughlin China Company might never have come into existence
had not the City Council in East Liverpool, across the river in
Ohio, decided in 1872 that the production of yellow ware in the
city’s dozen or more potteries was doomed. The future in ceramics
seemed to them not to be in the continued manufacture of dishes
from local clay which produced, when fired in a kiln, a bright
yellow, but in ware which fired to a stark white. The white ware
looked sanitary and bright, and it harmonized with all colors of
decoration. The Council offered $5,000, a huge sum at the time,
to anyone who would start a four-kiln factory for the manufacture
of white ware.
The winners of this competition were two brothers,
Homer and Shakespeare Laughlin. Homer, the elder, had served in
the Civil War and emerged, with the rest of the North, ready to go
into business in a big way. He tried “jobbing” yellow ware,
marketing the pottery which had been made in East Liverpool to
shops and department stores around the country. He invested some
money in oil wells; with his brother he tried selling china
imported from Europe; and he even tried operating a small pottery
in East Liverpool with a partner. Thus the Laughlin brothers
learned something about the ceramics business, something about its
markets, and something about the European competition. They
accepted the Council’s offer on September 1, 1873, broke ground on
October 1, and opened their factory on September 1, 1874.
The special achievement of Homer Laughlin China Company has been
its ability for over a century to mass-produce wares not only
inexpensive enough for almost every family in the nation, but
often with outstanding artistic value as well. For the workers,
managers, artists and scientists laboring together in the huge
Hancock County plants have brought art and production together in
a spectacular way. Moreover, they’ve made the combination a
profitable one, building in the process a company unparalleled in
the worldwide history of the industry. Homer Laughlin, who left
two bottle kilns on the banks of the Ohio, would never recognize
the place today, but it’s unlikely he would be anything but proud.
The Homer Laughlin China. Co.
672 Fiesta Drive
Newell, WV 26050
Phone: 800-452-4462
hlc@hlchina.com
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Made in the USA since 1871 Lead Free
Homer Laughlin China Green Statement
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