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What are the differences between the
groups?
Fine China
Lenox fine china is comprised of the finest ivory or bone china
bodies available in the market today. These timeless shapes are
made of extraordinarily lustrous materials, creating translucent
bodies that glow with an inner light. Usually banded in fine gold
or platinum, all patterns are dishwasher-safe. Whether for family
meals or formal entertaining, Lenox fine china sets a table with
exceptional style and beauty. Available in 5-piece placesettings
and open stock.
All-Occasion Dinnerware
Lenox all-occasion dinnerware takes the characteristics of our
fine and bone china bodies and translates them for everyday living.
Whether unbanded, or decorated with MicroSafeTM metallic banding,
our transitional patterns are appropriate for everyday living
and are both microwave- and dishwasher-safe. Lenox transitional
patterns are made of either fine bone china or porcelain and are
available open stock.
Casual Dinnerware
Lenox casual dinnerware allows you to set an elegant table under
even the most casual circumstances. Made of bodies from earthenware
to Chinastone®, most Lenox casual patterns are microwave-
and dishwasher-safe. Expanded serving accessories and open stock
availability provide exceptional ease for everyday meals.
About Lenox
Since 1889 the vision of Walter Scott Lenox has guided the company
he founded to set the highest standards for quality, artistry,
and beauty. Today Lenox is among the world's oldest and most respected
names in fine tableware and giftware — favored by presidents,
displayed in museums, honored with awards, and enjoyed in homes
across America. Come explore the story of Lenox as it grows from
one man's conviction into the country's foremost maker of china,
crystal and metal gifts.
Walter Scott Lenox was born in 1859 in the "Staffordshire
of America": Trenton, N.J. Laced with transportation lines
and located near sources of fuel and clay, the state capital became
the country's leading ceramics center in the 19th century, with
some 200 potteries. Little wonder young Walter was inspired to
devote his life to creating porcelain that rivaled the best in
the world.
Combining his talent for drawing and his fascination with clay, Lenox worked as a decorator and designer for several Trenton potteries beginning in 1875. Six years later he advanced to design director for Ott & Brewer, then Willets Manufacturing. Both firms produced a domestic version of Irish Belleek, the thin, cream-colored porcelain with a pearly glaze very much in vogue in Victorian times. Both firms eventually failed. The stage was set for Lenox to start his own business.
The Lenox Difference
Lenox's Ceramic Art Company, which opened in 1889, was different
from all other potteries. It was organized as an art studio, rather
than a factory, and offered one-of-a-kind artwares in lustrous
ivory china, rather than a full line of ceramics. The exquisitely
painted and modeled vases, pitchers, and tea sets, produced at
first by just 18 employees, were met with an enthusiastic reception
and carried in the most exclusive shops. By 1897 examples of Lenox's
work were included in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution.
The fashion for art ceramics was overtaken by another trend in
the early 20th century: fine home dining, often in a separate
dining room. Lenox began offering custom-designed and elaborately
decorated service plates to his discriminating clientele around
1902, despite the domination of European china. The plates, painted
by such acclaimed artists as William Morley, were so successful
that Lenox turned his attention increasingly to complete sets
of dinnerware and in 1906 changed his firm's name to Lenox Incorporated
to reflect the new direction from the Ceramic Art Company. The
tradition of customized placesettings continues today with the
monogrammed Eternal™ and Solitaire®
Classique and Tempo patterns.
As America's appetite for high-quality china grew, the company
satisfied it by producing dinnerware with standardized patterns
in addition to the custom-made pieces. After introducing a few
patterns in 1910 that were decorated with transfer prints enhanced
with hand-applied color, Lenox started using full-color lithographic
decals. The first two of these patterns — Mandarin and Ming,
introduced in 1917 — would be popular for 50 years. Decals
not only assured uniform decoration but also created an identifiable
pattern, which gave a hostess the silent satisfaction of knowing
that dinner guests would recognize the Lenox brand, as well as
her sophistication in selecting it.
Indeed, the Lenox name had quickly become synonymous with elegant
tableware, chosen for the "best" homes — including
the White House. President and Mrs. Wilson commissioned an official
state service of 1,700 pieces in 1918, making Lenox the first
American china to grace a president's table. It remains the only
American porcelain in continuous use at the White House for more
than 80 years, with new services created for four subsequent presidents:
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1934), Truman (1951), Reagan (1981), and
Clinton (2000).
The Talk of the Trade
Walter Scott Lenox died in 1920, having realized his dream and
founded a company dedicated to the "perfection of American
porcelain." The factory was expanded to double its size that
year and outfitted with an elegant, oak-paneled showroom that
was the talk of the trade. In addition to china patterns whose
names are legendary — including Lowell™ (1917) and Autumn®
(1918) — Lenox continued to offer custom-designed services,
often rimmed with elaborate gold borders or decorated in the center
with hand painting. Customers could also select from an array
of accessories, including lamps, figurines, vases, pitchers, even
a honey jar shaped like a beehive.
Lenox products were widely recognized for excellence in design,
in large part due to Frank Graham Holmes, chief designer from
1905 to 1954. He garnered numerous awards, such as the Craftsmanship
Medal of the American Institute of Architects (1927) and the silver
medal of the American Designers Institute (1943). His work was
among the 34 Lenox pieces chosen for display in 1928 by the elite
National Museum of Ceramics in Sévres, France — the
first and only American porcelain ever extended this honor.
Holmes possessed a remarkable ability to blend contemporary style
with timeless "good taste." His Fountain (1926) pattern,
for instance, bears the geometric lines and bright colors of the
Art Deco era paired with traditional floral ornament. In Rhodora
(1939) and Harvest (1940), Holmes captured the conservative mood
surrounding the Depression era in classic nature motifs: roses
and wheat stalks, respectively.
When America entered World War II, Lenox joined the effort. The
translucent ivory china had been used in lighting fixtures since
1910 and proved ideal for ship instrumentation, permitting dials
to be read even when lit dimly from behind. And although the Lenox
ceramic body had been certified by the Bureau of Standards in
1928 as one of the most durable ever made, the military required
a material stronger still. The company's master craftsmen developed
Lenoxite, a ceramic resilient enough to be cast into insulators,
resistors, and other specialized forms for use in radar and electronics.
In peacetime, an ever-increasing population clamored for stylish
home furnishings. Lenox responded with dinnerware patterns, such
as Westwind (1952), Kingsley (1954), and Jewel (1957), whose clear
colors and spare, often asymmetrical designs were in step with
the period's clean-lined décor. So treasured was Lenox
tableware that it became America's china of choice in mid-century
— a position it still holds. About half of all fine porcelain
dinnerware purchased since the 1950s in this country bears the
Lenox backstamp.
Equally sought after were boxes, vases, bowls, and other giftware
produced in both the traditional ivory body and the era's favorite
pastels, such as sky blue, primrose yellow, and sea green. Perhaps
the most outstanding achievement was by the artist Patricia Eakin,
who "dressed" her delicate figurines in costumes of
paper-thin porcelain that were painstakingly modeled and applied
by hand. To keep pace with demand, Lenox built the most advanced
ceramics factory of the time in 1954, in Pomona, N.J.
While traditional tastes could turn to patterns like Solitaire®
(1965) and Holiday™ (1974) — both best-sellers to this
day — Lenox broke the mold in the 1960s and '70s with daring
designs. Firesong (1970) and Fantasies (1971), for instance, in
the sleek Innovation shape (1969), carry the bold colors and abstract
designs of the Pop Art era. More restrained but still marked with
a modern edge was giftware such as the Fjord vase and Gourmet
cruet, both with the attenuated lines of the then-fashionable
Scandinavian style.
Lenox was committed from its earliest days to listening to consumers.
When customers wanted a coordinated look, Lenox complemented its
china with hand-blown lead crystal in 1966, followed by silver
flatware in 1991 — making Lenox the first American company
to offer the complete tabletop. When customers wanted convenience,
Lenox developed Temperware in 1972, one of the first ceramic tablewares
that could go from freezer to oven or microwave safely. And when
customers wanted heirloom-quality collectibles, it founded Lenox
Collections, which since 1981 has offered sculptures, plates,
serving pieces, jewelry, and decorative accents.
Contemporary Yet Classic
In 1989 Lenox celebrated its centennial — a landmark reached
by no other American porcelain company. Its luster remains undiminished.
Lenox china patterns, including Eternal™
(1965) and Federal Platinum™
(1991), consistently rank among the most popular nationwide. Newer
designs, such as Winter Greetings™ (1995) by the noted nature
artist Catherine McClung, have been hailed as contemporary classics.
And while Lenox is a leader in such current trends as transitional
china and mix-and-match placesettings, it continues to employ
centuries-old craft techniques, including piercing, jeweling,
and etching.
In addition to the White House, Lenox tableware is at home in
the vice president's official residence, more than 300 U.S. embassies,
and more than half of the governors' mansions. Its giftware has
been selected for presentation to dignitaries by the U.S. Congress
and U.S. Department of State, among others. Its products are in
the permanent collections of America's most prestigious cultural
institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
York, and have been the centerpieces in exhibitions of American
decorative arts. And most important, Lenox continues to be used
with pleasure and given with pride by families across the country.
Now flourishing in its second century, the company has never lost
sight of Walter Scott Lenox's original vision. In fact, Lenox
has come full circle, with artistic pieces for the table, the
home and all gift-giving occasions. From once-in-a-lifetime wedding
presents to seasonal holiday selections, gifts of Lenox are given
with great pride, received with genuine gratitude. And so have
earned the distinction as "Gifts That Celebrate Life."
Walter Scott Lenox was a man with a passion for his craft, a passion
for life. Which is perhaps exactly why his legacy endures today.
