Lenox (company)

Last updated
Lenox Corporation
Company type Private
Industry Manufacturing
Founded1889
Headquarters Bristol, Pennsylvania
Products Tableware and giftware
BrandsDansk, Gorham, Lenox, Oneida, Reed & Barton
Parent Centre Lane Partners
Website www.lenox.com
Lenox "Ming" fired in 1929 (discontinued) Lenox Ming 1929.jpg
Lenox "Ming" fired in 1929 (discontinued)

Lenox Corporation is an American manufacturing company that sells tableware, giftware, and collectible products under the Lenox, Dansk, Reed & Barton, Gorham, and Oneida brands. For most of the 20th century, it was the most prestigious American maker of tableware, and the company produced other decorative pieces as well. Several Lenox china services were commissioned for the White House. By 2020, it was the last significant manufacturer of bone china in the United States, until the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of the company's only remaining American factory. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Lenox was founded in 1889 by Walter Scott Lenox as Lenox's Ceramic Art Company in Trenton, New Jersey. [1]

As Lenox's products became popular in the early 20th century, the company expanded its production to a factory-style operation, making tableware in standard patterns while still relying on skilled handworking, especially for painting.

Lenox blank band bone china with floral inlay cir. 1932 Lenox black band sugar bowl.jpg
Lenox blank band bone china with floral inlay cir. 1932

Two of the first patterns Lenox produced were introduced in 1917, the "Ming" and "Mandarin", which were eventually manufactured for over fifty years. Lenox products also became well known in the United States thanks to Frank Graham Holmes, chief designer from 1905 to 1954, who won several artistic awards such as the 1927 Craftsmanship Medal of the American Institute of Architects and the 1943 silver medal of the American Designers Institute. Lenox pieces were the only American porcelain chosen for display in 1928 by the National Museum of Ceramics in Sèvres, France. [3]

In 1983, Lenox was acquired by Brown-Forman Corporation. [3] Brown-Forman acquired Dansk International Designs and its Gorham Manufacturing Company division in 1991, which were incorporated into Lenox. In 2005, Brown-Forman sold Lenox, Incorporated, to collectible manufacturer Department 56 for $190 million. [4]

The Lenox company archives, not purchased by Department 56, were donated to several repositories. China-related archival documents were donated to the Rutgers University Libraries. The historical china collections were given to the Newark Museum and the New Jersey State Museum. [4]

Lenox Sales, Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008. [5] On March 16, 2009, Clarion Capital Partners purchased the assets of Lenox and renamed the company Lenox Corporation. [6] Lenox continued some manufacture of bone china dinnerware at its plant in Kinston, North Carolina, built in 1989. The 218,000-square-foot (20,300 m2) plant is situated on 40 acres (160,000 m2). Its manufacturing capabilities included enamel dot, etch, color, and microwave metals, and eventually became Lenox's only American factory until its closure in 2020. [7]

In a bankruptcy auction conducted in April 2015, the operating assets of Reed & Barton, a competing maker of flatware, were acquired by Lenox. [8]

Lenox's brands include Kate Spade New York, Marchesa by Lenox, and Brian Gluckstein by Lenox. [9]

Lenox ceased production at the Kinston factory on March 18, 2020, due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic; on April 17 the company announced that the closure would become permanent, with production expected to resume overseas. [2] [7] [10]

In July 2020 Lenox announced that they would permanently close all of their outlet and warehouse stores, also citing the COVID-19 pandemic. [11]

In October 2020, Lenox was acquired by private equity firm Centre Lane Partners. [12]

In June 2021, Lenox acquired its erstwhile competitor Oneida. [13]

Presidential collection

The Wilson service, introduced in 1918, was the first American-made presidential bone china service. Wilson-343.jpg
The Wilson service, introduced in 1918, was the first American-made presidential bone china service.
The Reagan service, introduced in 1982, was modeled on Woodrow Wilson's and selected by Nancy Reagan. Reagan-343.jpg
The Reagan service, introduced in 1982, was modeled on Woodrow Wilson's and selected by Nancy Reagan.

Lenox was the first North American bone china to be used in the White House, and the company has since made tableware for six U.S. presidents. They are officially titled:

Related Research Articles

Oneida Limited is an American manufacturer and seller of tableware and cutlery. Oneida is one of the world's largest designers and sellers of stainless steel and silverplated cutlery and tableware for the consumer and foodservice industries. It is also the largest supplier of dinnerware to the foodservice industry in North America. The company operates in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, marketing and distributing tabletop products, which include flatware, dinnerware, crystal stemware, glassware and kitchen tools and gadgets. The factory in upstate NY was sold to Liberty Tabletop, who is the sole manufacturer of US made flatware. The company originated in the late-nineteenth century in the Oneida Community in Oneida, New York.

Pickard China is an American porcelain decorating and manufacturing company in Antioch, Illinois, United States. The company was founded in 1893, and continues to produce ceramic tableware and art ware today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poole Pottery</span> British pottery brand

Poole Pottery is a British pottery brand owned by Denby Pottery Company, with the products made in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syracuse China</span> Defunct company in New York state

Syracuse China, located in Lyncourt, New York, was a manufacturer of fine china. Founded in 1871 as Onondaga Pottery Company in the town of Geddes, the company initially produced earthenware; in the late 19th century, O.P.Co., began producing fine china, for which it found a strong market particularly in hotels, restaurants, and railroad dining cars. Later changing their name to match their product line, the company closed in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown–Forman</span> American-owned spirit and wine producer and distributor

Very good brand Brown–Forman Corporation is an American-based company, one of the largest in the spirits and wine business. Based in Louisville, Kentucky, it manufactures several very well known brands throughout the world, including Jack Daniel's, Old Forester, Woodford Reserve, GlenDronach, BenRiach, Glenglassaugh, Herradura, Korbel, and Chambord. Brown–Forman formerly owned Southern Comfort and Tuaca before selling them off in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reed & Barton</span>

Reed & Barton was a prominent American silversmith manufacturer based in the city of Taunton, Massachusetts, operating between 1824 and 2015. Its products include sterling silver and silverplate flatware. The company produced many varieties of britannia and silver products since Henry G. Reed and Charles E. Barton took over the failing works of Isaac Babbitt in Taunton. During the American Civil War, Reed & Barton produced a considerable quantity of weapons for Union Army soldiers and officers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Worcester</span>

Royal Worcester is a porcelain brand based in Worcester, England. It was established in 1751 and is believed to be the oldest or second oldest remaining English porcelain brand still in existence today, although this is disputed by Royal Crown Derby, which claims 1750 as its year of establishment. Part of the Portmeirion Group since 2009, Royal Worcester remains in the luxury tableware and giftware market, although production in Worcester itself has ended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gorham Manufacturing Company</span>

The Gorham Manufacturing Company was one of the largest American manufacturers of sterling and silverplate and a foundry for bronze sculpture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Doulton</span> British ceramics manufacturing company

Royal Doulton is an English ceramic and home accessories manufacturer that was founded in 1815. Operating originally in Vauxhall, London, and later moving to Lambeth, in 1882 it opened a factory in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, in the centre of English pottery. From the start, the backbone of the business was a wide range of utilitarian wares, mostly stonewares, including storage jars, tankards and the like, and later extending to drain pipes, lavatories, water filters, electrical porcelain and other technical ceramics. From 1853 to 1901, its wares were marked Doulton & Co., then from 1901, when a royal warrant was given, Royal Doulton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnson Brothers</span> Defunct British tableware manufacturers

Johnson Brothers was a British tableware manufacturer and exporter that was noted for its early introduction of "semi-porcelain" tableware. It was among the most successful Staffordshire potteries which produced tableware, much of it exported to the United States, from the 1890s through to the 1960s. They were also important manufacturers of large bathroom ceramics. Some of its designs, such as "Eternal Beau", "Dawn", "Old Britain Castles" and "Historic America", achieved widespread popularity and are still collected today. The company's success was due in part to its ability to identify and follow trends that appealed to its customers in the United States, and in part to the high quality of its designs, produced by skilled artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anchor Hocking</span> Manufacturer of glassware

Anchor Hocking Company is a manufacturer of glassware. The Hocking Glass Company was founded in 1905 by Isaac Jacob (Ike) Collins in Lancaster, Ohio, and named after the Hocking River. That company merged with the Anchor Cap and Closure Corporation in 1937.

The Fiesta Tableware Company is a ceramics manufacturer located in Newell, West Virginia, United States. Established in 1871, it is widely known for its Art Deco glazed dinnerware line, Fiesta. In 2002, The New York Times called Fiesta "the most collected brand of china in the United States".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White House china</span> Patterns of china for serving and eating food in the White House

The White House china refers to the various patterns of china (porcelain) used for serving and eating food in the White House, home of the president of the United States. Different china services have been ordered and used by different presidential administrations. The White House collection of china is housed in the White House China Room. Not every administration created its own service, but portions of all china services created for the White House are now in the China Room collection. Some of the older china services are used for small private dinners in the President's Dining Room on the Second Floor.

The Fostoria Glass Company was a manufacturer of pressed, blown and hand-molded glassware and tableware. It began operations in Fostoria, Ohio, on December 15, 1887, on land donated by the townspeople. The new company was formed by men from West Virginia who were experienced in the glassmaking business. They started their company in northwest Ohio to take advantage of newly discovered natural gas that was an ideal fuel for glassmaking. Numerous other businesses were also started in the area, and collectively they depleted the natural gas supply. Fuel shortages caused the company to move to Moundsville, West Virginia, in 1891.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haviland & Co.</span> Porcelain manufacturer in Limoges, France

Haviland & Co. is a manufacturer of Limoges porcelain in France, begun in the 1840s by the American Haviland family, importers of porcelain to the US, which has always been the main market. Its finest period is generally accepted to be the late 19th century, when it tracked wider artistic styles in innovative designs in porcelain, as well as stoneware and sometimes other ceramics.

John Beswick Ltd, formerly J. W. Beswick, was a pottery manufacturer, founded in 1894 by James Wright Beswick and his sons John and Gilbert in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent. In 1969, the business was sold to Doulton & Co. Ltd. The factory closed in 2002 and the brand John Beswick was sold in 2004. The pottery was chiefly known for producing high-quality porcelain figurines such as farm animals and Beatrix Potter characters and have become highly sought in the collectables market. Pronunciation of Beswick is as at reads, Bes-wick. This information was from employees who worked at the original Beswick factory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dansk International Designs</span> American cookware company

Dansk Designs is an American distributor and retailer of cookware, tableware, and other home accessories based in Mount Kisco, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macbeth-Evans Glass Company</span>

The Macbeth-Evans Glass Company was an American glass company that created "almost every kind of glass for illuminating, industrial and scientific purposes," but is today famous for making depression glass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vernon Kilns</span> American ceramic company

Vernon Kilns was an American ceramic company in Vernon, California, US. In July 1931, Faye G. Bennison purchased the former Poxon China pottery renaming the company Vernon Kilns. Poxon China was located at 2300 East 52nd Street. Vernon produced ceramic tableware, art ware, giftware, and figurines. The company closed its doors in 1958.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo China</span> Chinaware Manufacturer

Buffalo China, Inc., formerly known as Buffalo Pottery, was a company founded in 1901 in Buffalo, New York as a manufacturer of semi-vitreous, and later vitreous, china. Prior to its acquisition by Oneida Ltd. in 1983, the company was one of the largest manufacturers of commercial chinaware in the United States.

References

  1. 1 2 "Lenox company history" . Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  2. 1 2 Zisko, Allison (2020-04-21). "Lenox CEO Discusses N.C. Factory Shutdown". Home Furnishing News. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  3. 1 2 3 "Lenox, Inc". Funding Universe. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
  4. 1 2 D'Onofrio, David A. "Inventory to the Lenox, Incorporated, records, 1889-2005: Introduction". Rutgers University. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  5. Larson, Eric. "Lenox, Fine China Maker Files Bankruptcy". Bloomberg. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  6. "News". Clarion Capital Partners. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  7. 1 2 Davis, Brandon (2020-04-20). "The beginning and end of Lenox in Kinston". Kinston Free Press. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  8. "Lifetime Brands outbid for silversmith Reed & Barton". Newsday. April 30, 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
  9. "Lenox factory closure leaves void in eastern North Carolina". 20 May 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  10. "Lenox closing Kinston plant, cites economic impact due to COVID-19". WITN. 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  11. Mt. Pleasant Lenox outlet to close after company cites pandemic-related struggles Megan Tomasic, Triblive.com, July 1, 2020
  12. Nicolaus, Fred (2020-10-19). "Lenox is acquired by private equity firm". businessofhome.com. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  13. Lenox Corporation (June 3, 2021). "Lenox Corporation, America's Leading Tabletop, Giftware and Home Entertaining Company, Announces Acquisition of Oneida Consumer LLC". PR Newswire.
  14. White House Lenox Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine

Books