Lenox China

Lenox China is famous for the exquisite quality of its porcelain. This fact secured the United States' place in porcelain history as antique Lenox dinnerware was the only American-founded company to produce fine bone china in the country. Prior to the founding of the Lenox porcelain line, fine china hailed primarily from Europe. With perseverance and hard work, however, Lenox China overcame almost insurmountable obstacles to become a world renown supplier of porcelain dinnerware.

Walter Scott Lenox founded the predecessor of Lenox China, the Ceramic Art Company, in Trenton, New Jersey in 1889. Lenox co-owned the Ceramic Art Company with Jonathan Coxon, Sr, although Lenox was the more artistic of the two men. Before founding the Ceramic Art Company, Walter Lenox trained as an apprentice potter at ceramic studios in the Trenton area. He eventually secured the position of design director at Ott and Brewer and, still later, with Willets Manufacturing.

Walter Lenox began the Ceramic Art Company to prove that the United States could produce fine porcelain that rivaled the beauty, quality, and strength of that which originated in Europe. With its ivory hues and heavy glazing, Lenox dinnerware has shown the world that Lenox China can capture the eye of those people who can fully appreciate its beauty and style. For over four generations, Lenox dinnerware has graced the tables of the United States White House.

From the beginning, Lenox China faced obstacles that would have discouraged those less persistent. Having purchased Jonathan Coxon's share of the Ceramic Art Company in 1894, the Lenox china company was deeply in debt. In 1906, Walter Lenox changed the name of the Ceramic Art Company to that of Lenox China.

By the early twentieth century, however, Lenox China was beginning to enjoy a measure of success in spite of strong competition from the importation of porcelain from Europe. In the early 1900s, Lenox porcelain was featured in an exhibit at a museum in Sevres, France called the National Museum of Ceramics. Lenox China was the first company from the United States to have that distinction. In addition, Lenox dinnerware has been created for places such as the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City of Peking, China, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.

In 1917, the family of President Woodrow Wilson commissioned Lenox porcelain to fashion a Lenox dinnerware set. This Lenox porcelain set numbered at more than 1,700 pieces and it adorned the dining tables of the White House. This honor was a first for an American porcelain company. Since that time, Lenox China and Lenox dinnerware has been in residence at the White House. Lenox porcelain is also used by a number of Governor's residences as well as at the worldwide embassies of the United States.

The quality of Lenox China does indeed rival that of imported European porcelain. Lenox dinnerware is world renowned for its consistency in coloring, meticulous and detailed designs, durable construction, and the smoothness of the glazing. In addition, each piece of Lenox China is handcrafted to perfection before being offered for sale.

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