New York Haviland Porcelain was the last in a long line of porcelain factories that produced the highly sought out Haviland porcelain items.. David Haviland, the founder of the Haviland Porcelain empire, owned a successful shop in New York . After experiencing disappointing sales of imported French porcelain because of decorative differences, David Haviland moved to Limoges, France. He established a porcelain factory at a site in Limoges. This factory specialized in dinnerware designed and decorated in ways that would appeal to American tastes.
Haviland Porcelain was innovative at the time not only for manufacturing porcelain in the types of shapes Americans desired but also for its decorating process. Until Haviland porcelain was established, it was standard practice to produce porcelain blanks at the factory then send them on to Paris in order to be decorated. David Haviland decided to hire artisans to work in his factory instead. Haviland Porcelain produced porcelain blanks and decorated them in one factory. This approach saved both time and money as well as giving him more creative control.
After David Haviland's death, his sons, Theodore and Charles, disagreed about how the company should be operate. As a result, Haviland Porcelain was closed and the brothers each opened their own porcelain factories. Charles Haviland named his company Haviland & Co. and Theodore Haviland named his company Theodore Haviland. The companies engaged in fierce competition to be known as the supplier of Haviland porcelain until the death of their owners.
Eventually, control of Theodore Haviland porcelain passed on to Theodore's son, William Haviland. He renamed it New York Haviland Porcelain. In 1936, he decided to relocate the New York Haviland Porcelain factory to America. William Haviland thought that New York Haviland Porcelain would have a better chance at producing what Americans desired when purchasing fine porcelain dinnerware if the factory relocated to the United States. In addition, he was concerned about the hostilities displayed by the countries in Europe as the possibility of World War II loomed.
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William was able to obtain the rights to all Haviland designs and marks from Haviland & Co. in 1941. With this acquisition, Haviland Porcelain was, once again, a single entity. Although manufactured under the New York Haviland Porcelain name, the items continued to be imprinted with the Theodore Haviland name. A unique feature in the marks of New York Haviland porcelain was that, in addition to the Theodore Haviland stamp, each pattern within the dinnerware line received its own distinctive name that would distinguish it from all others.
By 1942, the New York Haviland Porcelain factory was established in Pennsylvania. From that year until 1957, Haviland porcelain saw enormous support for its domestic lines in the United States. Some of their most popular lines included “Rosalinde,” “Clinton,” and “Apple Blossom.” William Haviland retired from New York Haviland Porcelain in 1972.
Although no members of the Haviland family are currently involved in any aspect of the porcelain factories, the Haviland name continues to stand for high quality and tasteful porcelain. Haviland porcelain continues to be a very popular item among discerning collectors who appreciate the fine beauty that Havialnd pieces emulate.
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