Fifteen Facts About Hall China
Think you know Hall China? Or maybe you're just starting to learn about the company's products. Whether it serves as a brief review or introduction to something totally new, you should find this list of facts to be interesting, if not downright enlightening.
* Hall China Company began production in 1903 in East Liverpool, Ohio.
* Thanks to a single fire process developed by Robert Taggert Hall between 1903 and 1911, Hall China is durable, non-porous and it doesn't craze.
* The non-crazing process used to manufacture Hall pieces was designed to emulate the wares made in China during the Ming Dynasty.
* Institutional items made by Hall in the early days aren't as collectible as the company's later dinnerware, kitchenware and teapots.
* The word "HALL'S" within a circle marks most items the company made except kitchenware and dinnerware. "Hall's Superior Quality Kitchenware" and "Superior Hall Quality Dinnerware" identify those items respectively.
* Items found with "Hall" in a bulging rectangle stamped on the bottom were produced from the early 1970s onward.
* The Hall palette of colors included more than 36 different variations over the years.
* Although many people refer to Hall's most popular dinnerware pattern as "Jewel Tea," these dishes originally left the factory without a name. In 1943, the company began referring to the pattern as "Autumn." The name changed again in 1969 to "Autumn Leaf."
* Autumn Leaf dinnerware often made its way into American homes through "The Jewel Man," a door-to-door salesman employed by the Jewel Tea Company of Chicago.
* Unmarked pieces featuring "Autumn Leaf" decals were not made by Hall China and generally don't measure up to Hall's quality in comparison.
* In addition to Autumn Leaf, Hall has designed more than 15 other decaled dinnerware patterns since 1936.
* Hall produced novelty teapots shaped like cars, footballs and doughnuts that remain popular with collectors although they're quite difficult to find.
* More than 160 different shapes and color combinations of Hall teapots appear in The Collector's Guide to Hall China by Margaret & Kenn Whitmyer.
* Hall made advertising items for Old Crow, United Airlines and McCormick Tea Bags among others.
*Westinghouse, Hotpoint and General Electric were among the refrigerator manufacturers who often included Hall water jugs, leftover containers and butter dishes as premiums with their products.
