Homer Laughlin China Co.
The Laughlin Pottery was formed in 1871 in East Liverpool, Ohio on River Road as a partnership between Homer Laughlin and Shakespeare Laughlin who left the pottery in 1879. The pottery was incorporated in 1896 and Homer Laughlin sold his interests to William Edwin Wells and Marcus Aaron who became President with Wells serving as Secretary-Treasurer and General Manager. The small River Road location was abandoned as business grew and the company moved to Laughlin Station, three miles east of East Liverpool. Two large plants were constructed and a third purchased and all were ready for production by 1903. A fourth plant was built in 1906 in Newell, West Virginia and a fifth plant was added in 1913. By 1929 the company had eight operational plants but the East Liverpool factories were closed, leaving the entire operation at the Newell, West Virginia site.
In 1936 Homer Laughlin China introduced a new line of Fiesta dinnerware at the Pottery and Glass show in Pittsburgh. Fredrick Rhead, an English Stoke-On-Trent potter, designed Fiesta. Fiestaware was a more casual line with accessories, which were compatible with any décor with its vivid colors. Originally the ware appeared with brilliant red, bright yellow, dark blue, and medium green glaze on a white talc body. The Fiesta dishes received a matte finish so that they lacked flashing highlights, but the colors themselves were enough to capture any buyer’s attention. The Fiesta red color was revolutionary in part because it was made from uranium and the resulting glaze was harmlessly radioactive. When the government started the atomic bomb project during World War II, Homer Laughlin’s uranium was no longer available, thus ending the production of the red color for the time being.
Almost as striking as the color was the molding of Fiesta’s shape, this line of Fiestaware looked handcrafted as well as streamlined in the tradition of Art Deco. The Fiesta cups have concentric circles inside and out, as though they had been hand thrown on the potter’s wheel. Similarly, Fiesta bowls and plates have concentric circles on the inside and out, as though someone had etched them while they were spinning on the wheel. In 1973 the Fiesta Ironstone, a Fiesta style change introduced in 1969, was discontinued. Fiesta and Fiestaware were reintroduced on February 28, 1986. |
