The Hall China Company
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The Hall China Company was founded by Robert Hall in East Liverpool, Ohio in August 1903 following the dissolution of the two-year old East Liverpool Potteries Company.
Robert Hall died just a year after launching the company. One of his eight children, Robert Taggart Hall, took over the company and almost immediately began a quest for the single-fire process first developed centuries earlier by Chinese ceramists. With the help of staff chemists and ceramic engineers, Hall experimented until 1911 when he and his staff came up with a glaze recipe they felt would work. There was only enough glaze to coat half a teacup, but the results were encouraging and experimentation with both glaze and firing temperature continued.
Inadvertently, Hall China became the first pottery in the world to produce ware which was completely lead-free. This was due not to particular environmental or health concerns, but to the fact that lead was an expensive ingredient and wouldn't survive the high firing temperatures required by the single-fire process.
Hall China produced iconic teapots and water jugs during the mid-20th century, a number of which are considered avatars of modern design. These include the Ball and Donut jugs and the Nautilus, Donut and Aladdin teapots, among others.
Hall China attracted talented designers. Eva Zeisel concocted the curvaceous and enormously popular "Century" dinnerware design for Hall China, and Donald Schreckengost's witty output included cookie jars shaped like owls, casserole dishes shaped like ducks, and teapots shaped like Ronald Reagan and Sherlock Holmes.
Hall China celebrated its 100th birthday in 2003 with the publication of A Centennial History of the Hall China Company by Catherine S. Vodrey.
[edit] External links
Hall China Collectors * [1]
Hall China Company Official Site* [2]
