| Biography/History: |
In 1901, both the New Castle China Company and the Shenango China Company were organized near each other in New Castle, PA; Shenango made semi-vitreous hotel ware and dinnerware. Reorganized in 1905 as Shenango Pottery Company. In 1909 and entirely new group took over the property headed by James N. Smith, a novice in the pottery business. Shenango China purchased the plant of the New Castle Pottery Company in 1912, and they remained in continuous operation until December 1991. From 1909 until 1935, the entire production of Shenango Pottery was devoted to commercial china (hotels, restaurants, and institutions). The men who started the first potteries in New Castle did so, not because of any clay deposits in the area, but rather because of the soft coal available which was used to fire the beehive rims of that time. New Castle was at the center of the soft coal industry used in the making of steel. There was also money available for investment. Men in the steel industry had already seen the thriving pottery industry of East Liverpool, Ohio. With the beginning of World War I, the Company experienced sound and steady expansion. In 1936 Theodore Haviland came to Shenango seeking an American company to make the famous Haviland dinnerware. Many reasons have been given for the Haviland move to an American manufacturer - the impending war in Europe, high duties on imported china, and mounting costs. From 1936 to 1958, Shenango Pottery Company made china for the Theodore Haviland Company of France using their formula, blocks cases, decals, etc. This ware was marketed with the trademark “Theodore Haviland New York made in America.” A set of Haviland manufactured in New Castle for a dinner honoring King George VI and Queen Elizabeth was sold to the New York World’s Fair in 1939. When the Fair closed, this china, along with pieces of Lennox china, were shipped to the White House for the State Dining Room and used there during the terms of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. In 1939 Louis L Helleman, a former American representative for Rosenthal China of Germany arranged to have their shapes and patterns made at Shenango. This became the well-known dinnerware – Castleton China, incorporated under the laws of the state of New York on May 5, 1940. In August 1951, Shenango Pottery Company purchased the outstanding stock of Castleton. Mr. Helleman sensed a need for contemporary design in shape and decoration and commissioned outstanding artists to create fresh new design. One of the most notable achievements in ceramic art was Castleton’s Museum shape designed by Eva Zeisel under the auspices of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It was hailed across Europe and America as a new epoch in ceramic history. In 1956 Ervin Kalla, noted sculpture and ceramist redesigned place setting items in the Museum shape; the new shape in plain white with platinum trim was known as Symmetra. In 1955, Castleton was commissioned by Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower to create a formal design of gold service plates for the state dining room at the White House; William Craig McBurney Director of Design at Shenango designed this. To commemorate President Eisenhower’s First birthday in the White House, another studio design was created. This decoration of intertwined doves was a Pennsylvania Dutch symbol signifying love and peace. Shenango also created the china for Eisenhower’s plane “The Columbine.” In 1968, Shenango was commissioned by the White House of President Lyndon B. Johnson to make a new service, designed by the Tiffany Company of New York, featuring wild flowers of the United States. Shenango ceased production of Castleton in 1974. https://www.lawrencechs.com/museum/collections/shenango-china-collection/ |