Fine dining is about more than food

It was with great surprise that I recently learned that several of the leaders in fine dinnerware — Waterford, Wedgwood and Royal Doulton — had gone into bankruptcy. I wondered to myself whether these casualties of the economic world indicate the era of fine entertaining and dining is ending.

Is social elegance dead?

However, I was delighted to learn that there were negotiations in the works with KPS Capital Partners, a New York private equity partnership, to keep Waterford, Wedgwood (and Royal Doulton) in business.

For many years, Allan and I have had an interest in dinnerware, as we spent several years and many hours doing research and writing a book about the history of dinnerware. We visited most of the world’s china factories, primarily in Europe.

One of the trips in 1984 took us behind the Iron Curtain to visit Meissen in East Germany and also Herend in Hungary. My interest in fine dinnerware, at that time, was associated with my business of producing fine table linens.

In our travels into the world of potteries, as the china factories were called in England, Wedgwood was one of our favorites. Although some of the “potteries,” such as Spode were older, Wedgwood always has been regarded as a leader in the industry.

Family of potters

Wedgwood was founded by Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795), who was born into a family of potters. He was the 12th child. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather all had been in that business. His father’s early death in 1739 led young Josiah to an early start in the pottery of his eldest brother.

At the age of 12, Josiah was struck by smallpox, which left him with a weak knee and prevented him from operating the potter’s wheel. Instead he improved his skills at modeling and worked intensively with glazes.

On his own

After being refused a partnership in his brother’s business, Josiah worked for another potter and eventually started his own pottery business. An advantageous marriage to a distant cousin brought Wedgwood a large dowry and enabled Josiah to expand his business with a factory in Stoke-on-Trent (the center of the potteries in England).

Wedgwood greatly improved the pottery of the day by introducing durable and simple wares. His first success was cream-colored earthenware, which was named “Queen’s Ware” after Queen Charlotte (wife of King George III). She appointed him the queen’s potter in 1762.

Wedgwood was a constant innovator and designer. In 1782 he perfected a tool for measuring heat in kilns so that a constant temperature could be maintained. He experimented with barium sulphate and, as a result, produced the

famous Wedgwood Jasperware.

Most Jasperware was decorated in blue or green with white reliefs. It was even used to make a grand piano. Jasperware has been in production for more than 200 years with little change. Other wares included black basalts, enhanced with deep red decals to imitate Greek vases. And, of course, over the years there have been numerous patterns of dinnerware, including the beloved “Wild Strawberry.”

When Wedgewood died in 1795 he left a thriving business and a fortune to his children. In 1966 Wedgewood’s shares were introduced on the London Stock exchange and since then the company has acquired other “potteries” including Franciscan (U.S.) and Rosenthal (German). Wedgewood merged with Waterford in the mid-1980s.

For years the Irish have been superb artists in glass. In 1783 two brothers, George and William Penrose founded Waterford Glass House. They vowed to make elegant crystal as fine as any in Europe. The brothers knew the old secrets of mixing minerals and glass to make fine crystal.

A vast array of fine goblets, serving pieces and decorative glassware was produced at the Waterford Glass House for the nobility and affluent of Europe and America. However, in 1851, just as Waterford was at its peak, there was a financial crisis. The Waterford factory was forced to close because of crushing taxes.

Almost 100 years later, in 1947, a small glass factory with the name Waterford was set up a short distance from the original site. The designers and personnel have a strong link to their predecessors with regard to beautiful designs and high quality. In a few short years, Waterford Crystal reclaimed its place as a world leader in fine crystal.

Waterford Crystal has provided exquisite pieces to each American president from Eisenhower to Reagan. The company also makes major sports trophies, and rings in each New Year with the huge crystal ball at Times Square.

Another English china company is Royal Doulton. It, too, has a long family history of pottery and dinnerware. The firm was founded by John Doulton in the early 1800s. Doulton’s son, Henry, joined the firm in 1835 at the age of 15. He had a great aptitude for all aspects of pottery making, which put him ahead of his competitors.

By the 1880s, Doulton was producing world-class china for a large international clientele. Queen Victoria was so impressed with his wares that she knighted Henry Doulton in 1887 for his innovative contribution to ceramic art.

The company continued to add products in the first half of the 20th century while retaining its reputation as a prime manufacturer of high-quality bone china. The factory eventually moved near Stoke-on-Trent.

After World War II, production emphasis shifted to simpler designs, which could be mass-produced at more affordable prices. Part of the workshops eventually closed due to new clean air regulations that prevented some of the glazes from being used in urban environments.

Today the majority of Doulton pieces are made in Indonesia, although higher-quality items are still made in England at the parent company.

I am glad to see that even with the economic turmoil in the world, we still can acquire these these tradition-based bits of elegance.