For big city elegance, it’s Trenton, of course!

Only two of the top 10 most populated cities in the United States are within 100 miles of each other. Yes, you guessed them: New York and Philadelphia. New Jersey, of course, is smack dab in the middle of them both, and has made the most of its position since before the American Revolution.
It was from the 1850s to World War II, however, that New Jersey would offer those two cities, and the world, a whole century’s worth of the finest, most elegant ceramic wares ever made in this country, and all of it from the state capital in Trenton.
We start in 1853, when William Young and his son, William Jr. started Excelsior Pottery, specializing in Staffordshire-style pottery and ironstone. They marked their pieces “WYS” (William Young & son), with a lion and a unicorn, looking very much like a British royal seal.
In 1879, the Youngs were bought out by the Willets Manufacturing Company, which expanded the company’s product line to include two wildly popular fads of the day. The first was colorful Italian-style majolica, and the second was the ware that would make Trenton famous, its distinctive version of Irish-style Belleek wares.
By this time, scores of ceramic companies were springing up in and around Trenton, and among the finest was Thomas Maddock, whose fine British-style china was exhibited to much acclaim at the Philadelphia Centennial in 1876.
By the 1890s he had opened his famous Laberton Works factory, named after the Lambeth Works in England. Collectors look for his simple mark, “ML” over the word “china.”
So great was Thomas Maddock’s reputation, when his son John opened his own company, he called it “Thomas Maddock’s Son.”
This brings us to Lenox, the name that has been synonymous with fine American china for just over 100 years. Started as the Ceramic Art Company (CAC), the business soon fell into financial troubles until it was rescued by its enterprising secretary-treasurer, William Lenox, and eventually named Lenox in 1906.
The long version of the Lenox story can be found in my book, “The Antique Story Book.” It’s a fascinating tale involving Woodrow Wilson, the San Francisco earthquake, and the fact that Lenox was not only legally blind, but so handicapped that he would eventually be carried into work by his chauffeur each morning.
Today’s collectors are looking for Lenox decorative pieces from before 1946, or so-called “green mark” Lenox, as well as original CAC pieces.
Some other wonderful Trenton companies to look for include: Glasgow, Ott & Brewer, Yates and Titus, Millington, Astbry & Poulson, Trenton Art Ceramic (TAC) and Perlee.
Arthur Schwerdt is the author of “The Antique Story Book,” and co-owner of The August Farmhouse Antiques on Route 9 in Swainton. Send your comments and appraisal requests (with photo) to aschwerdt@cmcherald.com.