I love china. Most of all I love the pieces which have belonged to my family, some for generations. Each one, whether I have others to match it or not, has a special place in my heart. The plate, cup and saucer of the Lenox “Harvest” pattern below belonged to my Great-Aunt Elsie, who grew up in rural Steuben County but moved away when she was married. I think she chose it because it reminded her of the farm.
Elsie’s mother, Maria (pronounced with a long i), had a soup tureen which passed into my mother’s hands and then mine. It is heavy, white stoneware. I can imagine holiday dinners when Great-Grandfather lifted the squash handle and dished out hot food to his strapping sons.
Delicate Depression Glass, like this fruit bowl of my dad’s mother’s, to me suggests a charmed life with tea parties and society ladies. Far from it. She did hard physical labor inside and outside the house. But she liked pretty things.
Because I inherited her name, my maternal grandmother’s place setting of her grandmother’s transferware came to live in my china cabinet. It traveled from England to America on a sailing vessel in 1843, according to a handwritten note taped to the bottom of the saucer. I photographed it (as well as the fruit bowl) on a linen tablecloth which Margaret Edith Beck tatted before she was married. The transferware pattern is Canova, named for a sculptor; in the center of the design is always a large urn.
Before I was married, I chose a china pattern. Had I been a little older I may have selected something different. But it was what I liked then, and so I cherish it because of those special days of looking forward to house and family and making more memories. Are brides today choosing good china? Is it practical to have a special set of dishes when time is so limited and schedules permit only the fastest ways to get things done, so time may be better enjoyed? I don’t know.
I had planned to include research about the source of Early American china, and how manufacture and sale of dishes have changed throughout the years. But I think I’ll leave these photos as they are, with their special owners attached, and let them speak for themselves. It is my history. That is enough for now.
The Amazing Bird Collection 
Your china is really pretty! I did choose china, and we use it (and have broken a few pieces), but I’m glad we are. I lived in Alabama right after college and worked part-time at a department store. Down there, brides often registered for fine china, everyday china, and Christmas china. Craziness! I love all your photos and really love that one of your daughters is decorating in a style that utilizes some of the old treasures.
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Judging from the popularity and longevity of the Antiques Road Show on PBS, I think that many people still value their families’ things. It doesn’t really matter what the appraisers say — if you love it, you find a place for it. I like looking at the First Ladies’ china patterns, too. At the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace in Manhattan, there is a delicate white and aqua child’s cup and saucer which TR’s mother brought home from Germany to give to Teedie’s little friend, Edith. He later married her!
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