Franciscan Ceramics
Encyclopedia
Franciscan Ceramics are ceramic
tabletop
and tile
products produced by Gladding, McBean & Co.
in Los Angeles, California from 1934–1962, International Pipe and Ceramics (Interpace) from 1962–1979, and Wedgwood
from 1979-1983. Wedgwood closed the Los Angeles plant, and moved the production of dinnerware to England in 1983. Waterford Glass Group plc
purchased Wedgwood in 1986, becoming Waterford Wedgwood
. KPS Capital Partners
acquired all of the holdings of Waterford Wedgwood in 2009. The Franciscan brand became part of a group of companies known as WWRD, an acronym for "Wedgwood Waterford Royal Doulton." WWRD continues to produce the Franciscan patterns Desert Rose and Apple.
Trade names were Franciscan Pottery, Franciscan Ware, and Franciscan for dinnerware products. Trade names for tile products were Gladding, McBean, Interpace, Hermosa, Terra Tile, and Contours Tile. Ceramic production included terracotta garden ware, earthenware
tableware & art ware, porcelain
tableware & art ware, stoneware
tableware, stoneware & earthenware tile, and industrial ceramics. Currently only the trade name Franciscan is used by WWRD for tabletop products.
to multiple manufacturing plants throughout the Pacific West Coast producing clay products from sewer pipe to architectural terracotta.
In 1927, Gladding, McBean & Co. consolidated with Los Angeles Pressed Brick Company
solidifying the primacy of Gladding, McBean & Co. as the largest terra cotta manufacturer west of the Mississippi. Gladding, McBean & Co. retained ceramic engineer Max Compton from the former Los Angeles Pressed Brick Company’s plant in Santa Monica California. Compton, a 1922 graduate of Alfred University, studied under Charles F. Binns
. In 1929, Compton was sent to the Company’s Lincoln plant to work on glazes and shortly thereafter became the plant’s superintendent of the terracotta department. Compton would return to Los Angeles in 1937 to work in the glaze laboratory.
Due to the economic collapse of 1929, Gladding, McBean & Co. saw its revenue decreasing due to the cessation of new construction, the main source of the demand for its ceramic products: roofing tile, sewer pipe, architectural terracotta, and brick. To offset the loss of revenues from the sales of ceramic building materials, the Company began the manufacture of earthenware dinnerware and art ware in 1933 in the former Tropico Potteries
factory. Tropico Potteries was acquired by the company in 1923. The forty acre pottery, located at 2901 Los Feliz Boulevard in Los Angeles, California
, bordered the city of Glendale
. Gladding, McBean & Co. had two plant facilities in Los Angeles, so the former Tropico pottery was named the Glendale plant.
Company in Ohio, selling off his interest in the company. After becoming tired of touring around the country as a well known amateur golfer, he made up his mind to become active in business again. Mary K. Grant, prior to her marriage to Frederic, was the art director at R. H. Macy Co
. in New York City. The Company agreed to have Mary Grant style the pottery lines of tableware and art ware; however at this time she would not hold an official position.
The tableware and art ware lines were produced in solid color glazes
. Three other Southern California companies were already in production of solid colored dinnerware: J. A. Bauer Pottery Co
., Pacific Clay Products Co., and Catalina Clay Products Division of Santa Catalina Island Co
. Laboratory testing on the three competitive dinnerware lines revealed all three crazed in an autoclave
test.
Gladding, McBean & Co.’s ware would be produced in a new patented earthenware clay body known as Malinite . Dr. Andrew Malinovsky developed the high talc one-fire body using an amorphous flux in 1928 for Gladding, McBean & Co. Malinite was developed for use in the production of one-fire clay tile; however the Company made the decision to use Malinite for their dinnerware production. By using the Malinite and adjusting the kiln temperature for a one fire process, the Company solved the crazing problem in their own product. Glaze was applied to the unfired body, and the glaze and body matured together in the kiln, saving the Company the time and expense of separate bisque firing for the body. For the new line of pottery, Gladding, McBean & Co. decided to use Prouty tunnel kilns. The Prouty tunnel kiln patents were acquired in the purchase of the West Coast holdings of the American Encaustic Tiling Company
in 1933. Prouty tunnel kilns allowed for the continuous flow of ware through the kiln to fire pottery. Thus the Plant “combined mills, jiggering units, conveyors, dryers and kilns into a model of straight line output.”
After the successful introduction of Franciscan Ware to Gladding, McBean & Co.’s products, Mary K. Grant in 1936 became a paid employee as Lead Stylist and Manager of the Glendale Plant’s design department. Mary Grant designed many of the shapes and patterns for Franciscan Ware. The Company also purchased shape and pattern designs from contract designers, which would either be used or adapted by Mary Grant for use in the various Franciscan Ware lines of dinnerware and art ware. To sell and market the dinnerware, the Company first used the trade name of Franciscan Pottery. Later deciding the word pottery denoted an inferior product, the Company changed the trade name to Franciscan Ware.
In 1937, Max Compton transferred from Gladding, McBean & Co.’s Lincoln Plant to the Glendale Plant to work on Franciscan Ware glazes, and by 1939 he took over the development the Company’s glazes for all of their ceramic products. In an article for Popular Ceramics, Norris Leap wrote, “He produced glazes for art ware that possibly never could have been equaled by either moderns or ancients…One of them is an oxblood red used on large decorative bowls and vases. He experimented with that glaze in odd moments over a period of a dozen or fifteen years. The color comes out in the kiln. By control of heat he controlled the behavior of the coloring. Another unique glaze he produced was a Persian blue, a turquoise blue with pebble effect. Those were just two glazes of thousands he produced.”
Gladding, McBean & Co. acquired Catalina Clay Products
on Catalina Island in 1937. Production of Catalina pottery was moved to the Glendale plant with the shapes being integrated into the companies art ware and dinnerware lines. Gladding, McBean & Co. continued to use the trademark Catalina Pottery for art wares.
Gladding, McBean & Co. introduced Franciscan fine china in 1942. With a glaze developed by Max Compton, the shapes and patterns for the Franciscan fine china lines were designed by Mary K. Grant, the design staff, and by contract designers.
In 1942, World War II
curtailed the introduction of new dinnerware lines and shapes. The Company continued to produce ware already in production, however discontinued all art ware lines. After World War II, the Southern California ceramic industry was booming. From garages to industrial plant facilities, pottery was being made to satisfy demand from the decline of imports from Europe and Japan. Competitors and the biggest potteries in Southern California were Gladding, McBean & Company, J. A. Bauer Pottery Co.
, Vernon Kilns
, and Metlox Potteries
.
In 1948, the Company introduced Encanto, a new line of Franciscan fine china designed by Mary Grant. Encanto was introduced in a clear glaze, with or without platinum or gold banding. Encanto, in a clear glaze without banding, was chosen for The Museum of Modern Art 1951 Good Design Exhibition in New York. Also in 1948 the Company introduced Franciscan Ivy, a hand-painted embossed dinnerware pattern. Franciscan Ivy was designed and carved by Mary Jane Winans, a contract designer.
With a new President and Chairman of the Board, the company reorganized. A. Lee Bennett became vice president of the newly formed research and development division at the Glendale plant carrying out the company policy of product diversification to maintain its trade position. Under Bennett, Max Compton would continue as chief glaze
ceramic engineer and a new design department was created with Mary Jane Winans as the chief designer and stylist. Joining Winans in the newly formed design department were George T. James and Otto Lund. The tile department was managed and headed by Sheridan “Sherry” Stanton, son of architect J.E. Stanton architect of Honnold Library for the Associated Colleges at Claremont
. Gladding, McBean & Co. continued to produce their trademarked Franciscan Hermosa tile products at the Glendale plant.
Mary Jane Winans graduated with a degree in Design and Decorative Arts from the Vancouver School of Art, Vancouver B.C. She taught at Vancouver School of Art for two years. Winans became a dinnerware decorator for three years in the decorating department of Gladding, McBean & Co.’s Glendale plant. After her employment as a decorator, Winans worked as a freelance industrial designer in the ceramic industry in the Los Angeles area for twelve years. As a freelance designer for Gladding, McBean & Co., she designed the embossed hand-painted dinnerware patterns Franciscan Ivy and California Poppy. Also she modeled and carved the shapes for the embossed dinnerware patterns Franciscan Apple, Desert Rose, Franciscan Ivy, and California Poppy. George T. James, an Alfred University
graduate hired by Gladding, McBean & Co. in 1950 as a ceramic engineer was promoted to the design department. James, an admitted devotee of the Bauhaus movement, sought to bring this aesthetic to his design work. Otto Lund emigrated from Denmark in 1947. He was a pattern designer by trade and prior to his employment at Gladding, McBean & Co. he was the former director of Castleton China’s design and decorating department. Lund’s mastery was in the painting of flora and fauna, and he used this mastery in designing patterns for the Franciscan fine china lines. Besides designing surface patterns, Lund designed and participated in the development of dinnerware shapes.
The new design team was quickly put into action designing new earthenware dinnerware shapes and patterns to be included in the Gladding, McBean & Co.’s 1954 Franciscan Ware marketing promotion Modern Americana. The Modern Americana promotion included a group of seven new patterns on three different shapes, to compliment Franciscan’s popular hand-painted embossed dinnerware lines; Apple, Desert Rose, and Ivy. Two new lines with unique shapes were designed for Modern Americana; the 1800 Eclipse shape designed by George T. James and the 1900 Flair shape designed by Mary Jane Winans. The only shape not designed for Modern Americana was the Metropolitan shape. The Metropolitan shape was designed for Gladding, McBean & Co. by Morris B. Sanders to be included in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's
1940 Exhibition of Contemporary American Industrial Art. The shape was adapted into a dinnerware line sold by the company as the matt glazed Metropolitan Service from 1940-42. From 1948-54, the shapes were sold in gloss glazes as the dinnerware line Tiempo. Surface patterns for the Modern Americana dinnerware group were Eclipse White, Pomegranate, and Starburst on the Eclipse shape; Flair White, Echo, and Woodlore on the Flair shape; and Trio on the Metropolitan shape. Mary C. Brown, a contract designer, designed the surface patterns Starburst and Pomegranate for the Eclipse shape. For the Flair shape, Brown designed the surface pattern Echo and Woodlore was designed by the contract design group, The Millers. George T. James’ wife Esta James, a ceramist whose ceramics were exhibited at The Egg & The Eye gallery in Los Angeles, designed the surface pattern Trio for the Metropolitan shape. The Modern American group of dinnerware patterns was marketed in the company’s promotions in 1954; however the promotion of this grouping ceased in 1955 with all the patterns being folded into the general earthenware lines sold by the Company.
The late 1950s brought foreign imports flooding the American dinnerware market as well as the introduction of new competitive dinnerware manufacturing processes, melamine
used in the brand Melmac
and CorningWare
by Corning Glass Works, placing pressure on Gladding, McBean & Co. to manufacture and market lower cost dinnerware lines to compete in the lower price tier dinnerware market. The only lower priced dinnerware line, introduced in 1958, to be manufactured in the Glendale plant was the earthenware Family China line designed by George T. James. Two lower priced dinnerware lines were produced in Japan and introduced in 1959. The earthenware Whitestone Ware, designed by George T. James, was manufactured by Toyo Toki Kaisha, and the Cosmopolitan China, designed by Mary Jane Winans, was manufactured by Nippon Toki Kaisha.
Even with adding dinnerware lines to compete in the lower priced tiers, Gladding, McBean & Co. saw revenue fall in the dinnerware division. However, revenue was up in all other divisions. Aside from the dinnerware division, which was marketed throughout the United States and exported to other countries, the company was limited in all their other product divisions to distribution to the west coast states. To expand the market for all their products, the company made the decision to merge with an established East coast company to create a national and international corporation.
International Pipe and Ceramics Corporation’s corporate name was later changed to Interpace: from International Pipe and Ceramics. The former corporate headquarters for Gladding, McBean & Co. were moved to Interpace’s new corporate headquarters’ in Parsippany, New Jersey. Management in New Jersey began their new mandate to overhaul operations in all their divisions. Gladding, McBean's former Glendale plant was now Franciscan Ceramics, Inc., a division of Interpace.
was hired as a consultant to Interpace in 1963. One of his projects included the development of a new design staff for tile and dinnerware. George T. James resigned. Elliot House was hired as the manager of the dinnerware design department. Elliot House was formerly the design manager for the Southern California pottery Vernon Kilns
. In 1966, George T. James returned as the manager of design & development department replacing Elliot House. Hired on a contract basis for designing tile were ceramists Dora De Larios, Harrison McIntosh, and Jerry Rothman. Hired on a contract basis for designing dinnerware were ceramists Richard Petterson and Helen Richter Watson. Hired full-time as dinnerware designers were Rupert J. Deese
, and Francis Chun, joining Mary Jane Winans and Otto Lund. Ceramist Henry Takemoto joined Max Compton in the glaze department. In 1969, Henry Takemoto was hired as a full-time dinnerware designer. Notable ceramists hired on a consultant basis included Kenneth Price
in the research & development group and Chouinard Art Institute
graduates Mineo Mizuno and Elsa Rady were hired as trainee designers in 1968.
The tile design team innovated new glazes and methods for decorating 12" by 12" tiles for wall murals. Major ceramic tile wall murals completed and still in existence include: Jules Stein Eye Institute
outpatient clinic at UCLA, donated by Walt Disney
and designed by Mary Blair
(1966); North and South facades of the Honolulu Hilton Rainbow hotel
, designed by Millard Sheets (1968); Disney World Contemporary Resort
, Grand Canyon Concourse fourth floor lobby, designed by Mary Blair (1970); and Los Angeles City Hall East Family of Man West and East facades, designed by Millard Sheets (1972).
The dinnerware design team designed the Madeira line of patterns, an innovative studio potter shape dinnerware. One of the companies top selling pattern on the Madeira shape designed by Rupert J. Deese was the pattern Madeira designed by Jerry Rothman with a dark glaze developed by Kathy Takemoto. The company also introduced a new fine china shape. The 7000 shape was designed by George T. James. Francis Chun designed many of the patterns on the 7000 shape.
In 1969, Interpace purchased the Tiffin Glass
Company, Tiffin, Ohio
and began to manufacture glass to coordinate with their Franciscan dinnerware lines. Expanding Franciscan ware to the European market, Interpace bought the Alfred Meakin
company of Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, England
and Myott, Son & Co. Ltd. The Madeira line shapes were adapted to the existing equipment of the Alfred Meakin pottery by George T. James to produce the pattern Madeira and other Franciscan patterns for the European market.
Millard Sheets resigned as a consultant to the Franciscan Ceramics division in 1973. "In 1975, the division suffered from the adverse effects of the general economy. The nation's longest recession since World War II drained consumer confidence and led to lower real spending on consumer household durables." In 1976 Interpace sold Alfred Meakin to a group of investors and the former Gladding, McBean Lincoln plant to Pacific Coast Building Products
. In 1977, all fine china products were discontinued. Mary Jane Winans and Otto J. Lund retired, and George T. James and Mineo Mizuno resigned in 1977.
corporation, and Mayer China to a group of investors. The Tiffin Glass division of Interpace was sold to Towle Silversmiths
. All glassware sold through Franciscan was discontinued. Tiffin closed in 1980. Interpace corporation was dissolved in 1984. After the sale of Franciscan Ceramics to Wedgwood in 1979, the design group was reorganized.
In 1984, Wedgwood closed the Franciscan Ceramics division, what was the former Gladding, McBean & Co.'s Glendale plant in Los Angeles. The production of the Franciscan patterns Desert Rose, Apple, and Fresh Fruit were moved to the Johnson Brothers
division of Wedgwood in England. All other dinnerware and tile lines were discontinued. Archival examples of the Franciscan ware were packed up and given to the Wedgwood Museum.
In 1986, Waterford Glass Group plc purchased Wedgwood and the group was renamed Waterford Wedgwood. In March 2009, KPS Capital Partners announced that it had acquired group assets in a range of countries, including the UK, US and Indonesia, would invest €100m, and move a jobs to Asia to cut costs and return the firm to profitability. In the acquisition of the Wedgwood-Waterford holdings, the Franciscan brand was also acquired. The Franciscan brand is now a part of the WWRD - The Luxury Lifestyle Group. WWRD is an acronym for "Wedgwood Waterford Royal Doulton." The Franciscan patterns Desert Rose and Apple continue to be manufactured under the Franciscan brand.
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
tabletop
Tableware
Tableware is the dishes or dishware , dinnerware , or china used for setting a table, serving food, and for dining. Tableware can be meant to include flatware and glassware...
and tile
Tile
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops...
products produced by Gladding, McBean & Co.
Gladding, McBean
Gladding, McBean, LLC is a ceramics company located in Lincoln, California. It is one of the oldest companies in California, a pioneer in ceramics technology, and a company which has "contributed immeasurably" to the state's industrialization...
in Los Angeles, California from 1934–1962, International Pipe and Ceramics (Interpace) from 1962–1979, and Wedgwood
Wedgwood
Wedgwood, strictly speaking Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, is a pottery firm owned by KPS Capital Partners, a private equity company based in New York City, USA. Wedgwood was founded on May 1, 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood and in 1987 merged with Waterford Crystal to create Waterford Wedgwood, an...
from 1979-1983. Wedgwood closed the Los Angeles plant, and moved the production of dinnerware to England in 1983. Waterford Glass Group plc
Waterford Crystal
Waterford Crystal is a trademark brand of crystal glassware, previously produced in Waterford, Ireland, though the factory there was shut down after the receivership of Waterford Wedgwood plc in early 2009...
purchased Wedgwood in 1986, becoming Waterford Wedgwood
Waterford Wedgwood
Waterford Wedgwood plc is the former holding entity for a group of companies headquartered in Ireland, which specialised in the manufacture of high quality china, porcelain and glass. The group was dominated by Tony O'Reilly and his immediate family, and the family of Mr. O'Reilly's second wife,...
. KPS Capital Partners
KPS Capital Partners
KPS Capital Partners is a private equity firm focused on control investments in middle-market companies through special situations transactions such as turnarounds, restructurings, bankruptcies, and corporate divestitures...
acquired all of the holdings of Waterford Wedgwood in 2009. The Franciscan brand became part of a group of companies known as WWRD, an acronym for "Wedgwood Waterford Royal Doulton." WWRD continues to produce the Franciscan patterns Desert Rose and Apple.
Trade names were Franciscan Pottery, Franciscan Ware, and Franciscan for dinnerware products. Trade names for tile products were Gladding, McBean, Interpace, Hermosa, Terra Tile, and Contours Tile. Ceramic production included terracotta garden ware, earthenware
Earthenware
Earthenware is a common ceramic material, which is used extensively for pottery tableware and decorative objects.-Types of earthenware:Although body formulations vary between countries and even between individual makers, a generic composition is 25% ball clay, 28% kaolin, 32% quartz, and 15%...
tableware & art ware, porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
tableware & art ware, stoneware
Stoneware
Stoneware is a vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic ware with a fine texture. Stoneware is made from clay that is then fired in a kiln, whether by an artisan to make homeware, or in an industrial kiln for mass-produced or specialty products...
tableware, stoneware & earthenware tile, and industrial ceramics. Currently only the trade name Franciscan is used by WWRD for tabletop products.
Gladding, McBean & Co.
Beginning in 1875, as a partnership between Charles Gladding, Peter McGill McBean, and George Chambers, Gladding, McBean & Co. would expand from one factory in Lincoln, CaliforniaLincoln, California
Lincoln is a city in Placer County, California, United States located in the metropolitan area of Sacramento. The population was 42,819 at the 2010 census, with a growth rate of 282.1 percent since 2000 , making it the fastest growing city in the U.S...
to multiple manufacturing plants throughout the Pacific West Coast producing clay products from sewer pipe to architectural terracotta.
In 1927, Gladding, McBean & Co. consolidated with Los Angeles Pressed Brick Company
California pottery
California pottery is pottery produced in the northern and southern portions of the U.S. state of California. Production includes brick, sewer pipe, architectural terra cotta, tile, garden ware, tableware, kitchenware, art ware, figurines, giftware, and ceramics for industrial use...
solidifying the primacy of Gladding, McBean & Co. as the largest terra cotta manufacturer west of the Mississippi. Gladding, McBean & Co. retained ceramic engineer Max Compton from the former Los Angeles Pressed Brick Company’s plant in Santa Monica California. Compton, a 1922 graduate of Alfred University, studied under Charles F. Binns
Ceramic engineering
Ceramic engineering is the science and technology of creating objects from inorganic, non-metallic materials. This is done either by the action of heat, or at lower temperatures using precipitation reactions from high purity chemical solutions...
. In 1929, Compton was sent to the Company’s Lincoln plant to work on glazes and shortly thereafter became the plant’s superintendent of the terracotta department. Compton would return to Los Angeles in 1937 to work in the glaze laboratory.
Due to the economic collapse of 1929, Gladding, McBean & Co. saw its revenue decreasing due to the cessation of new construction, the main source of the demand for its ceramic products: roofing tile, sewer pipe, architectural terracotta, and brick. To offset the loss of revenues from the sales of ceramic building materials, the Company began the manufacture of earthenware dinnerware and art ware in 1933 in the former Tropico Potteries
California pottery
California pottery is pottery produced in the northern and southern portions of the U.S. state of California. Production includes brick, sewer pipe, architectural terra cotta, tile, garden ware, tableware, kitchenware, art ware, figurines, giftware, and ceramics for industrial use...
factory. Tropico Potteries was acquired by the company in 1923. The forty acre pottery, located at 2901 Los Feliz Boulevard in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, bordered the city of Glendale
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
. Gladding, McBean & Co. had two plant facilities in Los Angeles, so the former Tropico pottery was named the Glendale plant.
1934-1939
In 1934, Gladding, McBean & Co. hired Frederic J. Grant as a vice-president and the new Glendale dinnerware division’s plant manager. Frederic, a chemical engineer, had retired as president of the Weller PotteryWeller pottery
Weller Pottery was founded by Samuel Weller in Fultonham, Ohio, United States in 1872. The original pottery consisted of a small cabin and one kiln. The initial products produced by Weller included flower pots, crocks, bowls, and vases....
Company in Ohio, selling off his interest in the company. After becoming tired of touring around the country as a well known amateur golfer, he made up his mind to become active in business again. Mary K. Grant, prior to her marriage to Frederic, was the art director at R. H. Macy Co
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
. in New York City. The Company agreed to have Mary Grant style the pottery lines of tableware and art ware; however at this time she would not hold an official position.
The tableware and art ware lines were produced in solid color glazes
Ceramic glaze
Glaze is a layer or coating of a vitreous substance which has been fired to fuse to a ceramic object to color, decorate, strengthen or waterproof it.-Use:...
. Three other Southern California companies were already in production of solid colored dinnerware: J. A. Bauer Pottery Co
Bauer Pottery
Bauer Pottery, strictly speaking J.A. Bauer Pottery, was an American pottery founded in Paducah, Kentucky, however operating for most of its life in Los Angeles, California.-History:In 1885, J. A...
., Pacific Clay Products Co., and Catalina Clay Products Division of Santa Catalina Island Co
Catalina Pottery
Catalina Pottery, strictly speaking Catalina Clay Products, a division of the Santa Catalina Island Company, produced brick, tile, tableware and decorative pottery on Santa Catalina Island, California. Catalina Clay Products was founded in 1927. Gladding, McBean & Co...
. Laboratory testing on the three competitive dinnerware lines revealed all three crazed in an autoclave
Autoclave
An autoclave is an instrument used to sterilize equipment and supplies by subjecting them to high pressure saturated steam at 121 °C for around 15–20 minutes depending on the size of the load and the contents. It was invented by Charles Chamberland in 1879, although a precursor known as the...
test.
Gladding, McBean & Co.’s ware would be produced in a new patented earthenware clay body known as Malinite . Dr. Andrew Malinovsky developed the high talc one-fire body using an amorphous flux in 1928 for Gladding, McBean & Co. Malinite was developed for use in the production of one-fire clay tile; however the Company made the decision to use Malinite for their dinnerware production. By using the Malinite and adjusting the kiln temperature for a one fire process, the Company solved the crazing problem in their own product. Glaze was applied to the unfired body, and the glaze and body matured together in the kiln, saving the Company the time and expense of separate bisque firing for the body. For the new line of pottery, Gladding, McBean & Co. decided to use Prouty tunnel kilns. The Prouty tunnel kiln patents were acquired in the purchase of the West Coast holdings of the American Encaustic Tiling Company
California pottery
California pottery is pottery produced in the northern and southern portions of the U.S. state of California. Production includes brick, sewer pipe, architectural terra cotta, tile, garden ware, tableware, kitchenware, art ware, figurines, giftware, and ceramics for industrial use...
in 1933. Prouty tunnel kilns allowed for the continuous flow of ware through the kiln to fire pottery. Thus the Plant “combined mills, jiggering units, conveyors, dryers and kilns into a model of straight line output.”
After the successful introduction of Franciscan Ware to Gladding, McBean & Co.’s products, Mary K. Grant in 1936 became a paid employee as Lead Stylist and Manager of the Glendale Plant’s design department. Mary Grant designed many of the shapes and patterns for Franciscan Ware. The Company also purchased shape and pattern designs from contract designers, which would either be used or adapted by Mary Grant for use in the various Franciscan Ware lines of dinnerware and art ware. To sell and market the dinnerware, the Company first used the trade name of Franciscan Pottery. Later deciding the word pottery denoted an inferior product, the Company changed the trade name to Franciscan Ware.
In 1937, Max Compton transferred from Gladding, McBean & Co.’s Lincoln Plant to the Glendale Plant to work on Franciscan Ware glazes, and by 1939 he took over the development the Company’s glazes for all of their ceramic products. In an article for Popular Ceramics, Norris Leap wrote, “He produced glazes for art ware that possibly never could have been equaled by either moderns or ancients…One of them is an oxblood red used on large decorative bowls and vases. He experimented with that glaze in odd moments over a period of a dozen or fifteen years. The color comes out in the kiln. By control of heat he controlled the behavior of the coloring. Another unique glaze he produced was a Persian blue, a turquoise blue with pebble effect. Those were just two glazes of thousands he produced.”
Gladding, McBean & Co. acquired Catalina Clay Products
Catalina Pottery
Catalina Pottery, strictly speaking Catalina Clay Products, a division of the Santa Catalina Island Company, produced brick, tile, tableware and decorative pottery on Santa Catalina Island, California. Catalina Clay Products was founded in 1927. Gladding, McBean & Co...
on Catalina Island in 1937. Production of Catalina pottery was moved to the Glendale plant with the shapes being integrated into the companies art ware and dinnerware lines. Gladding, McBean & Co. continued to use the trademark Catalina Pottery for art wares.
1940-1951
In 1940, the Gladding, McBean & Co. introduced their first hand-painted embossed earthenware dinnerware line Franciscan Apple, and shortly thereafter in 1941, Desert Rose. Apple was adapted from the embossed pattern Zona, produced by the Weller Pottery Company of Ohio. Desert Rose was based on a pattern design by contract designer Annette Honeywell. Desert Rose would become one of Gladding, McBean & Co.’s bestselling dinnerware lines.Gladding, McBean & Co. introduced Franciscan fine china in 1942. With a glaze developed by Max Compton, the shapes and patterns for the Franciscan fine china lines were designed by Mary K. Grant, the design staff, and by contract designers.
In 1942, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
curtailed the introduction of new dinnerware lines and shapes. The Company continued to produce ware already in production, however discontinued all art ware lines. After World War II, the Southern California ceramic industry was booming. From garages to industrial plant facilities, pottery was being made to satisfy demand from the decline of imports from Europe and Japan. Competitors and the biggest potteries in Southern California were Gladding, McBean & Company, J. A. Bauer Pottery Co.
Bauer Pottery
Bauer Pottery, strictly speaking J.A. Bauer Pottery, was an American pottery founded in Paducah, Kentucky, however operating for most of its life in Los Angeles, California.-History:In 1885, J. A...
, Vernon Kilns
Vernon Kilns
Vernon Kilns was an American ceramic company in Vernon, California. In 1931, Faye G. Bennison purchased the former Poxon China pottery. Poxon China was located at 2300 East 52nd Street. Vernon produced ceramic tableware, art ware, giftware, and figurines. Vernon Kilns was one of the "Big Five"...
, and Metlox Potteries
Metlox Pottery
Metlox Pottery, strictly speaking Metlox Manufacturing Company, was a manufacturer of ceramic housewares, located at 1200 Morningside Drive, Manhattan Beach, California. It was founded in 1927 by T. C. Prouty and his son Willis Prouty, originally as a producer of outdoor ceramic signs. After the...
.
In 1948, the Company introduced Encanto, a new line of Franciscan fine china designed by Mary Grant. Encanto was introduced in a clear glaze, with or without platinum or gold banding. Encanto, in a clear glaze without banding, was chosen for The Museum of Modern Art 1951 Good Design Exhibition in New York. Also in 1948 the Company introduced Franciscan Ivy, a hand-painted embossed dinnerware pattern. Franciscan Ivy was designed and carved by Mary Jane Winans, a contract designer.
1952-1954
In 1952, a great change was occurring in the direction of the Gladding, McBean & Co., Atholl McBean, president from 1923 to 1938 and chairman of the board since 1938, decided to retire as Chairman though remaining on the Board of Directors. During his fifty four years of service, Atholl guided the company to a position of being one of the most important ceramic companies in the United States. Also in the fall of 1952, Frederic and Mary Grant resigned from Gladding, McBean & Co.With a new President and Chairman of the Board, the company reorganized. A. Lee Bennett became vice president of the newly formed research and development division at the Glendale plant carrying out the company policy of product diversification to maintain its trade position. Under Bennett, Max Compton would continue as chief glaze
Ceramic glaze
Glaze is a layer or coating of a vitreous substance which has been fired to fuse to a ceramic object to color, decorate, strengthen or waterproof it.-Use:...
ceramic engineer and a new design department was created with Mary Jane Winans as the chief designer and stylist. Joining Winans in the newly formed design department were George T. James and Otto Lund. The tile department was managed and headed by Sheridan “Sherry” Stanton, son of architect J.E. Stanton architect of Honnold Library for the Associated Colleges at Claremont
Claremont Colleges
The Claremont Colleges are a prestigious American consortium of five undergraduate and two graduate schools of higher education located in Claremont, California, a city east of downtown Los Angeles...
. Gladding, McBean & Co. continued to produce their trademarked Franciscan Hermosa tile products at the Glendale plant.
Mary Jane Winans graduated with a degree in Design and Decorative Arts from the Vancouver School of Art, Vancouver B.C. She taught at Vancouver School of Art for two years. Winans became a dinnerware decorator for three years in the decorating department of Gladding, McBean & Co.’s Glendale plant. After her employment as a decorator, Winans worked as a freelance industrial designer in the ceramic industry in the Los Angeles area for twelve years. As a freelance designer for Gladding, McBean & Co., she designed the embossed hand-painted dinnerware patterns Franciscan Ivy and California Poppy. Also she modeled and carved the shapes for the embossed dinnerware patterns Franciscan Apple, Desert Rose, Franciscan Ivy, and California Poppy. George T. James, an Alfred University
Alfred University
Alfred University is a small, comprehensive university in the Village of Alfred in Western New York, USA, an hour and a half south of Rochester and two hours southeast of Buffalo. Alfred has an undergraduate population of around 2,000, and approximately 300 graduate students...
graduate hired by Gladding, McBean & Co. in 1950 as a ceramic engineer was promoted to the design department. James, an admitted devotee of the Bauhaus movement, sought to bring this aesthetic to his design work. Otto Lund emigrated from Denmark in 1947. He was a pattern designer by trade and prior to his employment at Gladding, McBean & Co. he was the former director of Castleton China’s design and decorating department. Lund’s mastery was in the painting of flora and fauna, and he used this mastery in designing patterns for the Franciscan fine china lines. Besides designing surface patterns, Lund designed and participated in the development of dinnerware shapes.
The new design team was quickly put into action designing new earthenware dinnerware shapes and patterns to be included in the Gladding, McBean & Co.’s 1954 Franciscan Ware marketing promotion Modern Americana. The Modern Americana promotion included a group of seven new patterns on three different shapes, to compliment Franciscan’s popular hand-painted embossed dinnerware lines; Apple, Desert Rose, and Ivy. Two new lines with unique shapes were designed for Modern Americana; the 1800 Eclipse shape designed by George T. James and the 1900 Flair shape designed by Mary Jane Winans. The only shape not designed for Modern Americana was the Metropolitan shape. The Metropolitan shape was designed for Gladding, McBean & Co. by Morris B. Sanders to be included in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
1940 Exhibition of Contemporary American Industrial Art. The shape was adapted into a dinnerware line sold by the company as the matt glazed Metropolitan Service from 1940-42. From 1948-54, the shapes were sold in gloss glazes as the dinnerware line Tiempo. Surface patterns for the Modern Americana dinnerware group were Eclipse White, Pomegranate, and Starburst on the Eclipse shape; Flair White, Echo, and Woodlore on the Flair shape; and Trio on the Metropolitan shape. Mary C. Brown, a contract designer, designed the surface patterns Starburst and Pomegranate for the Eclipse shape. For the Flair shape, Brown designed the surface pattern Echo and Woodlore was designed by the contract design group, The Millers. George T. James’ wife Esta James, a ceramist whose ceramics were exhibited at The Egg & The Eye gallery in Los Angeles, designed the surface pattern Trio for the Metropolitan shape. The Modern American group of dinnerware patterns was marketed in the company’s promotions in 1954; however the promotion of this grouping ceased in 1955 with all the patterns being folded into the general earthenware lines sold by the Company.
1955-1961
In 1955, Gladding, McBean & Co. introduced a new art ware line. The company had ceased manufacturing all their earthenware art ware lines under the trademarks of Franciscan and Catalina in 1942. However, the Company continued until 1955 to manufacture fine china blanks for the Max Shoenfeld Company and earthenware lamp bases for outside companies to assemble and sell under their trade names. This new Franciscan line was named Contours by George T. James. The Contours art ware line was sold in one color or duotone glazes, with or without decoration. The Contours art ware line was the only art ware or dinnerware line the company allowed the designer to use their name on the promotion and marketing. Three Franciscan Contours bud vases were chosen for the Pasadena Art Museum’s second California Design Exhibition in 1956. Franciscan Contours did not appeal to the buying public, and was discontinued shortly after its introduction.The late 1950s brought foreign imports flooding the American dinnerware market as well as the introduction of new competitive dinnerware manufacturing processes, melamine
Melamine
Melamine is an organic base and a trimer of cyanamide, with a 1,3,5-triazine skeleton. Like cyanamide, it contains 66% nitrogen by mass and, if mixed with resins, has fire retardant properties due to its release of nitrogen gas when burned or charred, and has several other industrial uses....
used in the brand Melmac
American Cyanamid
American Cyanamid was a large, diversified, American chemical manufacturer, founded by Frank Washburn in 1907. It was the only United States firm manufacturing the polio vaccine of the Sabin type....
and CorningWare
Corningware
CorningWare was originally a brand name for a unique pyroceramic glass cookware resistant to thermal shock, that was first introduced in 1958 by Corning Glass Works. CorningWare is notable for the fact that it can be used directly on the stovetop.- History :In 1953, Dr. S...
by Corning Glass Works, placing pressure on Gladding, McBean & Co. to manufacture and market lower cost dinnerware lines to compete in the lower price tier dinnerware market. The only lower priced dinnerware line, introduced in 1958, to be manufactured in the Glendale plant was the earthenware Family China line designed by George T. James. Two lower priced dinnerware lines were produced in Japan and introduced in 1959. The earthenware Whitestone Ware, designed by George T. James, was manufactured by Toyo Toki Kaisha, and the Cosmopolitan China, designed by Mary Jane Winans, was manufactured by Nippon Toki Kaisha.
Even with adding dinnerware lines to compete in the lower priced tiers, Gladding, McBean & Co. saw revenue fall in the dinnerware division. However, revenue was up in all other divisions. Aside from the dinnerware division, which was marketed throughout the United States and exported to other countries, the company was limited in all their other product divisions to distribution to the west coast states. To expand the market for all their products, the company made the decision to merge with an established East coast company to create a national and international corporation.
Interpace
In 1962, West coast based Gladding, McBean & Company merged with East coast based Lock Joint Pipe Company merged, forming a new corporation: International Pipe and Ceramics Corporation. The Lock Joint Pipe Company, based in New Jersey, was the largest producer of pre-stressed concrete pressure pipe in the United States and one of the leading manufacturers of concrete sewer, culvert, and sub-aqueous pipe. The merged companies became one of the four hundred largest corporations in the United States with sales of over one hundred million. Allan M. Hirsh, Jr., the former President of Lock Joint became the President of the newly formed corporation. Atholl McBean would continue to give his guidance to the corporation and serve as a member of the board.International Pipe and Ceramics Corporation’s corporate name was later changed to Interpace: from International Pipe and Ceramics. The former corporate headquarters for Gladding, McBean & Co. were moved to Interpace’s new corporate headquarters’ in Parsippany, New Jersey. Management in New Jersey began their new mandate to overhaul operations in all their divisions. Gladding, McBean's former Glendale plant was now Franciscan Ceramics, Inc., a division of Interpace.
1963-1978
Millard SheetsMillard Sheets
Millard Owen Sheets was an American painter and a representative of the California School of Painting, later a teacher and educational director, and architect of more than 50 branch banks in Southern California.-Early life:...
was hired as a consultant to Interpace in 1963. One of his projects included the development of a new design staff for tile and dinnerware. George T. James resigned. Elliot House was hired as the manager of the dinnerware design department. Elliot House was formerly the design manager for the Southern California pottery Vernon Kilns
Vernon Kilns
Vernon Kilns was an American ceramic company in Vernon, California. In 1931, Faye G. Bennison purchased the former Poxon China pottery. Poxon China was located at 2300 East 52nd Street. Vernon produced ceramic tableware, art ware, giftware, and figurines. Vernon Kilns was one of the "Big Five"...
. In 1966, George T. James returned as the manager of design & development department replacing Elliot House. Hired on a contract basis for designing tile were ceramists Dora De Larios, Harrison McIntosh, and Jerry Rothman. Hired on a contract basis for designing dinnerware were ceramists Richard Petterson and Helen Richter Watson. Hired full-time as dinnerware designers were Rupert J. Deese
Rupert Deese
Rupert Deese was an American ceramic artist. He is known for innovative design and decoration of high fired ceramics...
, and Francis Chun, joining Mary Jane Winans and Otto Lund. Ceramist Henry Takemoto joined Max Compton in the glaze department. In 1969, Henry Takemoto was hired as a full-time dinnerware designer. Notable ceramists hired on a consultant basis included Kenneth Price
Kenneth Price
Kenneth Price is an American ceramic artist and printmaker who was born in Los Angeles, California in 1935. He studied at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, before receiving his BFA degree from the University of Southern California in 1956...
in the research & development group and Chouinard Art Institute
Chouinard Art Institute
The Chouinard Art Institute was a professional art school founded in 1921 in Los Angeles, California, by Nelbert Murphy Chouinard .-Founder:...
graduates Mineo Mizuno and Elsa Rady were hired as trainee designers in 1968.
The tile design team innovated new glazes and methods for decorating 12" by 12" tiles for wall murals. Major ceramic tile wall murals completed and still in existence include: Jules Stein Eye Institute
Jules Stein Eye Institute
The Jules Stein Eye Institute, founded by MCA founder Jules Stein, functions as the department of ophthalmology for the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.-References:...
outpatient clinic at UCLA, donated by Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
and designed by Mary Blair
Mary Blair
Mary Blair , born Mary Robinson, was an American artist who was prominent in producing art and animation for The Walt Disney Company, drawing concept art for such films as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Song of the South and Cinderella...
(1966); North and South facades of the Honolulu Hilton Rainbow hotel
Hilton Hawaiian Village
The Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort and Spa, formerly the Kaiser Hawaiian Village Hotel, has been a popular hotel in the Waikiki area of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States since 1957. It is the largest hotel of the Hilton chain, with 3,386 rooms and with 7 towers...
, designed by Millard Sheets (1968); Disney World Contemporary Resort
Disney's Contemporary Resort
Disney's Contemporary Resort is a deluxe resort at the Walt Disney World Resort. It opened on October 1, 1971...
, Grand Canyon Concourse fourth floor lobby, designed by Mary Blair (1970); and Los Angeles City Hall East Family of Man West and East facades, designed by Millard Sheets (1972).
The dinnerware design team designed the Madeira line of patterns, an innovative studio potter shape dinnerware. One of the companies top selling pattern on the Madeira shape designed by Rupert J. Deese was the pattern Madeira designed by Jerry Rothman with a dark glaze developed by Kathy Takemoto. The company also introduced a new fine china shape. The 7000 shape was designed by George T. James. Francis Chun designed many of the patterns on the 7000 shape.
1968-1978
In 1968, Interpace acquired its second largest company, Shenango China. Shenango was the owner and maker of Castleton China and was a large supplier of restaurant china. Shenango had acquired Mayer China in 1964 was included in the acquition. The design staff of each division was maintained separately. However, Shenango manufactured Franciscan's Gourmet line of stoneware dinnerware and cookware. Franciscan Gourmet was designed by Otto Lund and Jeffrey Tousley.In 1969, Interpace purchased the Tiffin Glass
United States Glass Company
The United States Glass Company was a trust formed by the combination of numerous glass companies. The factories were located from western Pennsylvania to Indiana.-History:...
Company, Tiffin, Ohio
Tiffin, Ohio
Tiffin is a city in and the county seat of Seneca County, Ohio, United States. The population was 18,135 at the 2000 census. The National Arbor Day Foundation has designated Tiffin as a Tree City USA....
and began to manufacture glass to coordinate with their Franciscan dinnerware lines. Expanding Franciscan ware to the European market, Interpace bought the Alfred Meakin
Alfred Meakin
Alfred Meakin is a retired track and field athlete, who represented Great Britain in the men's 100 metres at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan....
company of Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, England
Tunstall, Staffordshire
Tunstall is an area in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. It was one of the original six towns that federated to form the city. Tunstall is the most northern town of the city of Stoke-on-Trent....
and Myott, Son & Co. Ltd. The Madeira line shapes were adapted to the existing equipment of the Alfred Meakin pottery by George T. James to produce the pattern Madeira and other Franciscan patterns for the European market.
Millard Sheets resigned as a consultant to the Franciscan Ceramics division in 1973. "In 1975, the division suffered from the adverse effects of the general economy. The nation's longest recession since World War II drained consumer confidence and led to lower real spending on consumer household durables." In 1976 Interpace sold Alfred Meakin to a group of investors and the former Gladding, McBean Lincoln plant to Pacific Coast Building Products
Gladding, McBean
Gladding, McBean, LLC is a ceramics company located in Lincoln, California. It is one of the oldest companies in California, a pioneer in ceramics technology, and a company which has "contributed immeasurably" to the state's industrialization...
. In 1977, all fine china products were discontinued. Mary Jane Winans and Otto J. Lund retired, and George T. James and Mineo Mizuno resigned in 1977.
Wedgwood 1979-present
In 1979 Interpace sold the Franciscan Ceramics division in Los Angeles to Wedgwood, Shenango China Company to the Anchor HockingAnchor Hocking
Anchor Hocking Glass Corporation is a manufacturer of glassware. The Hocking Glass Company was founded in 1905 by Isaac Jacob Collins. That company merged with the AnchorCap and Closure Corporations in 1937. Anchor Hocking is primarily located in Lancaster, Ohio...
corporation, and Mayer China to a group of investors. The Tiffin Glass division of Interpace was sold to Towle Silversmiths
Towle Silversmiths
-History:Although Towle Silversmiths was not founded until 1857 and then 1873 ; its progenitors included several members of the Moulton family, whose silversmiths dynasty is claimed to have the longest continuous span of silversmithing of any American family...
. All glassware sold through Franciscan was discontinued. Tiffin closed in 1980. Interpace corporation was dissolved in 1984. After the sale of Franciscan Ceramics to Wedgwood in 1979, the design group was reorganized.
In 1984, Wedgwood closed the Franciscan Ceramics division, what was the former Gladding, McBean & Co.'s Glendale plant in Los Angeles. The production of the Franciscan patterns Desert Rose, Apple, and Fresh Fruit were moved to the Johnson Brothers
Johnson Brothers
Johnson Brothers, originally a British tableware manufacturer and exporter, was noted for its early introduction of "semi-porcelain" tableware. Some of its designs, "Dawn", "Old Britain Castles" and "Historic America", achieved widespread popularity and are still collected today...
division of Wedgwood in England. All other dinnerware and tile lines were discontinued. Archival examples of the Franciscan ware were packed up and given to the Wedgwood Museum.
In 1986, Waterford Glass Group plc purchased Wedgwood and the group was renamed Waterford Wedgwood. In March 2009, KPS Capital Partners announced that it had acquired group assets in a range of countries, including the UK, US and Indonesia, would invest €100m, and move a jobs to Asia to cut costs and return the firm to profitability. In the acquisition of the Wedgwood-Waterford holdings, the Franciscan brand was also acquired. The Franciscan brand is now a part of the WWRD - The Luxury Lifestyle Group. WWRD is an acronym for "Wedgwood Waterford Royal Doulton." The Franciscan patterns Desert Rose and Apple continue to be manufactured under the Franciscan brand.
Cultural references
- In I Dream of JeannieI Dream of JeannieI Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
, Captain/Major Anthony "Tony" Nelson's dinnerware is Apple Franciscan. - In I Love LucyI Love LucyI Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
, the Ricardo's dinnerware is Franciscan Ivy. Lucy also uses Franciscan fine china for special occasions, and Franciscan Tiempo for card games. - In Malcom in the Middle, season one, Franciscan Apple is the family's dinnerware.
- In GracelandGracelandGraceland is a large white-columned mansion and estate that was home to Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee. It is located at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard in the vast Whitehaven community about 9 miles from Downtown and less than four miles north of the Mississippi border. It currently serves as...
, home to Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
in Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Elvis' dinnerware is Franciscan Apple. - In 1962, the John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
administration purchased a special service of Franciscan fine china with the seal of the President of the United StatesSeal of the President of the United StatesThe Seal of the President of the United States is used to mark correspondence from the U.S. president to the United States Congress, and is also used as a symbol of the presidency. The central design, based on the Great Seal of the United States, is the official coat of arms of the U.S...
for Air Force OneAir Force OneAir Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft whose primary mission is to transport the president; however, any U.S. Air Force aircraft...
.
Further reading
- Chipman, Jack. Collector's Encyclopedia of California Pottery. Collector Books, Paducah, Kentucky (1999) ISBN 1574320378
- Chipman, Jack. California Pottery Scrapbook. Collector Books, Paducah, Kentucky (2004) ISBN 1574324071
- Snyder, Jeffrey B. Franciscan Dining Services. Schiffer Publishing, Atglen, Pennsylvania (2007) ISBN 0764315803