Hall China is not just for restaurants any more. This article provides the early history of the Hall China Company and some hints for new Hall collectors.
Hall China Company began in July 1903 when Robert Hall, a partner in the former East Liverpool Potteries Company, took the assets of the company and transformed it into the Hall China Company. Collecting Hall China is a popular hobby and due to the large amount of pottery available, it is a hobby that can be done quite easily.
Hall China History
Hall China, originally made in East Liverpool, Ohio, began with three kilns and backstamps (product stamps on the bottom of the china piece) that read, "Hall China." Hall ware is stamped with the company's "maker's mark" and is easy to identify for beginning collectors. The Hall China Company continues to produce restaurant ware, coffee and tea pots, and specialty items in a factory in East Liverpool.
The first product of the 1903 Hall China was hotel and utilitarian items. Bedpans were the largest sales. The company had a setback the next year when the president died, but the founders son, Robert Taggart Hall, took over direction of the company. R.T. Hall and co-worker Francis I. Simmers, transformed the company by developing and producing what would be called "sanitary ware." The new ware was made in 1911 by a one-fire glazing process. In place of firing, glazing, and firing again, the new Hall goods were fired only once. Dinnerware was produced in 1908 in limited quantity, but was discontinued a few years later. These early pieces are attractive to museums and hard-core collectors but are not easily found.
Teapots and Coffee Makers
Robert Taggert Hall died in 1921 and Simmers, who was an excellent business manager, expanded sales with the one-fired goods. For collectors 1919 was a turning point. This was the year that Hall China introduced their various teapot lines. The pots are the mainstay of collectors today. Online catalogs and books have been written on the shapes, glazes and decoration and, since the company has produced the teapots for over 80 years, serious collectors will need to develop a small library of research materials. As with all china items, condition is critical for collectible pieces. Avoid buying items with chips or fine line cracks. Test items with the "ping" test. Place china item on a hard surface and lightly ping the item using the thumb and middle finger. A ringing sound should be heard. If a "thunk" is heard, then the item is damaged in some way, or has a crack that has been repaired.
Backstamps
The backstamp of Hall China has been transformed as the company produced various lines and designs. Copies of these stamps are available from online and collector book sources. Since Hall goods were imitated and copied in the Far East, especially post-World War II, it is important to match backstamps with dates of production. As a general rule, Hall China Company stamped all items that were "saleable." Seconds or substandard items were not marked. The 1930s marked the high point of company production of decorated teapots, cooking china and coffee makers.
Canisters and Refrigerator Dishes
A large group of Hall collectors focus on kitchen storage items. This includes storage (called refrigerator dishes) and containers. Hall canisters are much sought after. Various lines had matching canisters with different glazes and decals. The key to collecting is to purchase canisters with matching lids. One other caution is to know which lid was manufactured for the set. Avoid buying canisters with lids that have been substituted. Hall China made ceramic (sanitary ware) dishes for refrigerators. When purchasing a new refrigerator, dishes were included as a premium. Westinghouse was one prominent company that included Hall China dishes. These dishes can be quite elaborate. The deco designed dishes are the most collectible. These also should have the original lid and be in excellent condition, without crazing (small cracks) in the glaze. These are easily found at tag and estate sales. Some collectors decide on one color as a basis for their collection. Chinese Red is the easiest color to find.
Hall China Produced Premiums
Another group of Hall collectors buy Hall China items made for other sellers. The Jewel Tea Company contracted Hall-made items. Complete Jewel Tea dinnerware has active collector groups who host local, state and nationwide conventions. Salesperson inventory lists of products are available for the Jewel Tea lines, although some of the items are more difficult to find than others. There are so many collectors that individual collector books have been published itemizing each line. Color photographs are available online and in books. A quality book is handy when attending auctions or for a day of tag or garage sales. Rarer pieces are usually photographed in these texts.
Restaurant Dishes
A new category of Hall China collector has developed over the last ten years. The Hall China Company produced restaurant service for many decades and it continues to be the largest product Hall China manufacturers today. Green, brown, white, yellow and black glazes are the most commonly found colors in restaurant ware.
Reproductions
Hall China Company regularly introduces reproductions of previously made company ware. Each is clearly marked with the new Hall backstamp. Since each piece has a new mark, collectors enjoy the new pieces, since the new items can be used without worrying about breakage. The new pieces also introduce Hall China to new generations. The most popular new items are the individual teapots and serving pieces. New reproduction teapots are introduced each year. During the 100 year anniversary celebration, limited reproduction teapots were manufactured. Many collectors purchased the reproduction teapots expecting the pots to be future collector items.
Teapots and pitchers, including ball, refrigerator, and donut shapes, were reproduced and sold in the 1980s in bed and linen stores. These used the same clay molds as the original Hall designs but were fired using new glazes. There is a separate collector market for these pitchers and teapots. The marks on these items uses the new Hall China design, which is a rectangular design with "Hall" typed in the middle. Color samples of the new glazes are available in books and online sites.
"Goalongs"
Go Alongs is a term used by collectors for licensed Hall China items created by other companies to accessorize Hall-made china. The Jewel Tea dinnerware line has numerous goalongs including napkins, toaster covers, napkin rings, and placemats. The goalongs are different for each Hall China line. Since some lines were produced into the late 1960s, it is possible to find some mint goalong items for these patterns.
Collecting
Hall China dinnerware, kitchen items, restaurant and commercial items are found quite easily, even for the most casual collector. If you develop the eye for china and dinnerware, you just might find yourself looking at the maker's mark on your dishes when dining at local restaurant. Who knows? You might just find a Hall China backstamp under that coffee cup!
