Salem China Company

At Salem China Company, we no longer consider the use of designers and having a design department, as a luxury, but as a necessity. We pay as much attention to the thoughts and ideas of our head of design as we do to our sales manager or our plant manager. -Harrison Keller, President, Salem China Company (1957)

A Brief Company History

Lured by Salem residents with the offer of both a site and $22,500, Standard Pottery Company (East Liverpool, Ohio) officials, including Patrick McNichol, John McNichol, and Dan Cronin, entered into a contract in the middle of October, 1898 to build a 5-kiln plant in Salem. Later that same winter, the Salem China Company was incorporated, capitalized with $100,000. The declared purpose was to manufacture decorated and undecorated earthenware, chinaware, and porcelain. Original incorporators were reported to be E. J. Smith, Patrick McNicol, D. P. Cronin, Cornelius Cronin, William Smith, and T. J. McNicol.

Construction on the Salem China plant began in 1898 with the original agreement requiring the completion of an operational plant by April 1899. The original building layout was said to be 398' x 136' with end sections of the building being three stories high and the middle section where kilns were located, one story. The foundation of the Salem plant wasn't started until January 1899 and by the end of March, the first 3 story section was under roof. In May, the three story ends were both completed and construction continued on the kilns. By the beginning of June, although a bit behind schedule, all kiln work was completed and all machinery had been installed.

By October 1899, the plant was fully operational except the decorating department which was not projected to be operational until November. The structure was described as being modern, amply sized, and well arranged. The name of Salem's first product was Excelsior.

The first officers of the company included T. J. McNicol as president and William Smith as secretary, treasurer and general manager. These two original founders, McNicol and Smith, withdrew from the company in 1913, selling their stake in the company to local businessmen. Smith and his three sons took over a small Perryville, Ohio pottery to produce cookware and concentrate their activities there. D. P. Cronin, another original founder, remained with the company and served as president.

Frank Harbison Sebring (1889-1934), a Yale University graduate and son of Frank A. Sebring, renowned pottery industry owner and leader, left as secretary of the Limoges China Company in 1919 to become president and general manager of the Salem China Company. Sebring remained with the Salem China Company until his unexpected death in December 1934. The senior Sebring assumed the role of president while Floyd W. McKee became vice-president and general manager. Two years after his son's death, Frank A. Sebring passed away and by 1937, McKee moved into the position as Salem China's president and general manager. About this time, the company boasted one periodic kiln for biscuit ware, one decorating kiln, and 2 glost circular tunnel kilns. McKee continued in his position until 1950, when management of the company was turned over to J. Harrison Keller, husband of Gretchen Keller, F. A. Sebring's granddaughter. Keller remained president of the firm well into the 1960s.

Like so many potteries, the Salem China Company continued to upgrade its facilities over the years. In 1930, plans to install a 50' x 150' building to house a new tunnel decorating kiln had been announced. Three years later, it was decided that a move from Salem to Alliance, Ohio, into the Saxon China Company's plant, idled by the insolvency of the American Chinaware Corporation in 1931, was in order. That move never materialized. Instead, plans were made to begin a $50,000 construction modernization program that included building a circular glost kiln. A $50,000 circular bisque kiln was completed in Spring 1938. The new gas-fired kiln had the capacity of five periodic kilns, with a capacity of over 30,000 pieces of ware per day.

A decade later, as the peak of the mid-century approached, Salem China celebrated its 50th year in business. The factory boasted 134,625 square feet and occupied eight acres of land on the Chicago-New York division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. At this time, the company reached production that exceeded an amazing 15 million pieces a year.

Mid-century Modern Dinnerware Highlights

Salem China's early answer to Art Moderne was Streamline ware. This modern dinnerware was featured in Gentlemen are Born, a 1934 Warner Brothers film starring Franchot Tone and Margaret Lindsay. Formal afternoon tea was served on this ultramodern service during a scene in a garden setting. This same year, Salem also marketed a luncheon service and a child's cereal set that featured Walt Disney cartoons-The Three Little Pigs, Minnie Mouse, and Mickey Mouse. Items were individually boxed and packaging displayed cartoon characters.

That same year, Don Schreckengost, younger brother of famed Limoges China designer Viktor Schreckengost, was tapped to design for Salem. One of Don Schreckengost's first notable ceramic dinnerware lines included the Tricorne shape, which featured quintessentially Art Moderne shapes: rounded triangular flatware and sharply angular handles on ample holloware. Tricorne was first introduced to the trade in October 1934 and was available in a variety of decorations, most notable being-Polo, Sailing, and Mandarin.

The Century shape [not to be confused with the later Century Style shape] was another early modern shape by early 20th century standards, but certainly not by mid-century modern tastes. A year later Salem introduced the Trend shape that brought even more modern styling to classic design. The line featured simplified shapes with handles that curled into a swirl near the tops of holloware. Serving pieces were simple & footed. Finials repeated the circular theme in the handles. Rimmed flatware was adopted from Century.

Salem continued its modern trend by introducing a more simplified mid-century modern shape in 1936, known as Bonjour. Early trade journal accounts referred to this shape as Esquire. While Bonjour sported terraced bottoms-not particularly a mid-century modern feature-bodies were less ornate, being rounded and rectangular. Handles and finials were prominent rectangles.

In the late 1930s, nationally lauded artist, sculptor, and industrial designer, Viktor Schreckengost (1906- ), signed on as Salem China's design director. Viktor Schreckengost was one of the 20th century's most awarded designer-artists (for a great video presentation about this remarkable designer, visit viktorschreckengost.org). His accomplishments stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the work of Russel Wright, Eva Zeisel, and other designers of towering genius and accomplishment. His tenure, though not always exclusive, continued at Salem well into the 1950s. Salem China's most characteristically mid-century modern shapes and patterns can be found during a period that extended from the late 1940s to mid-1960s. Important among these shapes designed by Viktor Schreckengost were: Tempo (1948), Ranch Style (1951), Flair (1951), Fortune (1951), Constellation (1954), and Free·Form (1955)-just to name a few. Salem introduced a large number of different shapes during this period, some modern, others traditional, and still others hybrids of both modern and traditional styles. Not all of the Salem shape names are known; prominent patterns on these shapes are used as placeholder names for the shape names until the shape names become known: [Biscayne], [North Star], and [Celeste]. For more information on some mid-century modern Salem shapes, see the Salem Shapes Quick Reference.

Many mid-century Salem dinnerware lines borrowed shapes from other lines. The Salem Free·Form line, designed by Viktor Schreckengost, was made more comprehensive by adopting Constellation shapes. It is also true that many Salem dinnerware lines that were produced over a period of years, often replaced old holloware shapes with new shapes. This was particularly evident in both Salem's North Star service and the Tempo set made by Salem for W. T. Grant under the Grant Crest TM label.

Additionally, the same or a similar decal might be introduced on different shapes-sometimes simultaneously-as was the case with Jackstraws which featured cross-hatches in various colors. Jackstraw Red was said to as "flame red, ebony and smoke gray on the Ranch Style coupe shape" and red, black, and white on the Constellation shape. Jackstraw Constellation was "chalk white, ebony and sky blue" on the Constellation shape. Some trade advertisements referred to a similar line as Jackstraw Blue on Constellation. Jackstraw Accent- "chalk white, canary yellow and chocolate brown"-was introduced on the rounded square Flair shape. While the Jackstraw decoration for Sears' Harmony House TM label was referred to as Finesse on the [Celeste] shape.

The Constellation dinnerware line was introduced to the market in January, 1954. This ware, designed by Viktor Schreckengost, was described as "distinctively new" and was suitable for both formal and informal dinners. Artistic and functional, Constellation featured an "appealing day and night art texture glaze…off-white flecked with dark grey-blue and charcoal grey which has the soft, dignified luster of rich ebony." The line mixed round, rounded square, and tabbed shapes while exploiting high color contrast to heighten the drama of modern dining. The pitchers were optionally lidded in contrasting colors and their handles were attached only at the top in an inverted "U". Handles on the covered casserole were strikingly similar to those on the Pebbleford service by Taylor Smith & Taylor, but the casserole body itself was shaped like a rounded rectangle. Items included a lidded pitcher with warmer and stand, round plates, tabbed plates, divided tab-handled vegetable, small single-handled covered casserole, a high and low rounded, rectangular salt & pepper, and a 3-tiered tidbit. The line targeted young homemakers, as did many of the modern lines. The line was marketed as ovenproof. A forty-five piece service for 8 ran $19.95. At least several Constellation patterns were sold under the Harmony House name for Sears: Dawn was an interesting chanticleer motif while Stardust featured the unembellished background speckled glaze. Grecian Keys featured a modern twist on the classic Grecian key motif.

Perhaps the most memorable mid-century modern Salem shapes are found in Viktor Schreckengost's Free·Form line. Widely hailed by collectors as some of Schreckengost's best dinnerware forms, the shapes were sculpted, free-flowing, ergonomic, and futuristic. The teapot posed on three legs, sweeping the air gracefully with its curvaceous finial. The teapot handle was reminiscent of the Constellation handle-an inverted "U". The creamer has two indentations for easy gripping as does the sugar. The creamer opens to the sky much like a blossoming flower. The sugar and the creamer also stand on three small legs. The sugar's finial is sibling to the teapot's. The salt and pepper, also footed, appear ready to blast off to the outer space when all rockets are firing. The cup was footed and sat in a ringed depression in the saucer. This cup was hailed as drip proof and was patented, as were many of the other innovative designs in this line.

Some of the more highly sought-after patterns in the Free·Form line include Primitive, Aquaria, Tepee, Hopscotch Pink, and Hopscotch Turquoise. Primitive was described in one trade journal like this: "tangerine Indians stalk a herd of grazing deer of tangerine and brown…action takes place on a tawny background speckled with Sun Tan and Spring Green." The scene actually seems to resemble cavemen on the hunt.

Hopscotch was available in two-tone reddish pink and charcoal gray or two-tone blue and charcoal gray. These patterns definitely added zing to modern homes. Today, collectors find Pink Hopscotch harder to find than Turquoise. The Hopscotch Turquoise decal is easily found in thrift stores today, on supermarket grade ware by Salem called North Star. Shapes are not on Free·Form and the lack of a flecked background makes the North Star line seem much less striking and dimensional than Hopscotch Turquoise on Free·Form. Even so, North Star is a great deal of fun to collect in all its variety, which include several types of creams and sugars, cups & saucers; decorated and undecorated versions; and even glass bakeware. It is also typically much less expensive to acquire than the Free·Form patterns.

Other patterns have been discovered on the Free·Form shape-some even traditional in styling. Two harder-to-find, wonderfully modern decorations on the Free·Form shape include Aquaria and Tepee. Aquaria featured elongated fish in turquoise, yellow, orange, gold, and black while Tepee geometrically displayed side-by-side Indian teepees in an abstract pattern of grey, reddish-orange, yellow, and black. Also of interest to modernists would be the fifties stylized scenes by Pat Pritchard including Showboat, Comstock, and Gloucester. Stylized florals by Viktor Schreckengost included Daybreak, Windblown, and Southwind. Strictly traditional decorations including Game Birds (1957) seem out of place on these great modern shapes.

For more information on mid-century modern Salem patterns, please refer to the Salem Patterns Quick Reference.

Welcome!

User login