FEATURED BOOK FEATURED ARTICLE

The Laughlin Pottery Company opened its doors in East Liverpool, Ohio in 1871 . This company was one of the major forces in creating American Dinnerware. The quality of the Homer Laughlin Pottery was superb and the demand for their dinnerware grew. As a result the company expanded and soon the original plant was abandoned and the operation was moved to larger buildings located in Laughlin Station which was three miles East of East Liverpool. The Homer Laughlin Company was one of the first companies to add the revolutionary continuous tunnel kiln to its operation, which enabled them to take the first steps toward mass production of dinnerware. By 1927, Homer Lauglin was a huge success and the corporation had grown to include 7 plants.

In 1929 the old East Liverpool factories were abandoned leaving the entire Homer Laughlin operation in Newell, West Virgina, where it is still located today.

Homer Laughlin was instrumental in creating many beautiful dinnerware lines. Their vivid glazes and bright tints were responsible for their continued success. Their most famous dinnerware line was (and still is) Fiesta. Some of the other solid colored dinnerware shapes that are popular with collectors today include Harlequin, Riviera, Rhythm, and Serenade. Some of these shapes can be found with decaled patterns.

Homer Laughlin produced many decaled dinnerware patterns. Many decaled patterns were applied to a line shape named Virgina Rose. More then a dozen patterns can be found on this shape dinnerware and this is one of the most popular decaled dinnerware lines Homer Laughlin ever produced. Other shapes, still popular today that Homer Laughlin produced and decorated include Jade, Nautilus, and Swing, as well as the solid colored shapes listed above.

Homer Laughlin is still a major contender in the production of American Dinner Ware today.

Some of information for this brief history of Homer Laughlin were taken from the book "The Collectors Encyclopedia of Fiesta" by Bob and Sharon Huxford. Bob and Sharon have written many Books on American Pottery and Dinnerware. These books are well written and contain some of the best information available on the subject. All of their books can be obtained through Collector Books, located in Paducah, Kentucky.