Q: "I have my grandmother's wedding china. On the back it says J 42 N5. Do you have anything in this pattern?

A: The stamp on the back is actually the date and place the piece was manufactured.

In 1900 the HLC trademark featured a single number identifying the month, a second single numeral identifying the year and a number 1, 2, or 3 designating the point of manufacture as East Liverpool, Ohio. 1910-1920 the first letter indicated the month of the year, the next two numbers indicated the year and the third number was the plant. After 1920, the first letter is a month, the next digit (or two digits as the years progressed) was the year and again the last figures were the plant number.So, the above stamp, J 42 N5, is October, 1942 at the Newell (WV) #5 plant.

 Q: I have some plates with gold trim and a lovely floral pattern in the middle. Can you find me more pieces?

A: Almost every HLC decorated piece had a floral decal of some sort, although there are some quite sought-after patterns that have Mexican, Art Deco or Historical scenes on them.

The Shape defines the actual "blank" used for the dish. It may have a unique embossing, which is a raised area in the clay. There may be a distinctive finial (knob on a lid) or handles on your piece. Some shapes have the actual name of the shape stamped on the back in addition to the year made. All of these things are very helpful to identify what you have. Some shapes are so pretty that large amounts of further decoration are unnecessary.

The Pattern is the actual decoration, or decal used to decorate a Shape. Many patterns were used on more than one shape, and then given different names to confuse things even further! Virginia Rose (a shape) was primarily decorated with floral treatments. Century (the square-looking shape from the 1930's) had many different Mexican-style decals. Some, like the Eggshell Nautilus and Eggshell Georgian shapes, used heavy metallic trims and floral decals. Most of the time, the actual pattern number was stamped on the serving bowls (aka, the baker and the nappy) and sometimes on the inside of a casserole lid. JJ59 is the "Moss Rose" pattern that many call "Virginia Rose", but in reality, the Virginia Rose shape has close to (or maybe more!) 250 different treatments!

Q: I have a set of old Homer Laughlin china. Can you tell me what it's worth?

 A: Only a qualified appraiser of vintage china can provide you with this information. If you are interested in selling your china, you need to set an asking price for it. You can also get an estimated value by consulting a publication specializing in Homer Laughlin china. The Homer Laughlin Collectors' Encyclopedia by Joanne Jasper, is available through this site. The Huxfords' fine editions about Fiesta ware also have interesting sections about Kitchen Kraft, Oven Serve, the Mexicana Lines, and the other solid-colored wares made famous by the HLC company.

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