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.
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