Limoges pottery

Limoges/ American Limoges of Sebring

Sebring Ohio Historical Society
126 North 15th Street
Sebring, Ohio 44672
330-938-6920

Check to see if this is right.

Back stamps all include the work Limoges. By 1946, more likely
to be called American Limoges.
Frequently has the name of the pattern and/or number on stamp.
Marks are numerous for this company: American Limoges,
Sebring, Ohio, Limoges of Sebring, American Limoges on a shield
and Candle Light above the shield.
Triumph/AmericanLimoges/Sebring, Ohio, Peach Blow by
Limoges, Limoges China, Limoges/USA/Cina Company

First established in East Liverpool, Ohio in 1887, briefly moved to East Palestine.
Looking for more space, the Limoges China Company was founded in 1900 in Sebring,
Ohio on East Georgia Ave. Formerly Sterling China, the name was very shortly changed
again to the Limoges China Company as the Sebring China Company also already
existed. F.A. Sebring started the company in order to create thin porcelain products like
they were available in Europe. They created mostly semi-vitreous pieces. A trained
superintendent from Central Europe and materials necessary to produce thin china were
imported, at great expense. A devastating fire destroyed ambitions three years later.
The ceramics expert died, and all records, formulas and most of the equipment were
gone.
Rebuilt by Evis Sebring, and managed by Frank's brother Fred, Limoges began
producing earthenware and semi-porcelain and used decals rather than hand painting
methods. The one-story plant site covered ten and one half acres, with 125,000 square
feet of working space. They had the first industrial ceramic laboratory with graduate
ceramic engineers in charge. They developed one of the first of the tunnel kilns,
replacing the old periodic 'beehive' type of kilns, which had been in use for hundreds of
years, and revolutionized dinnerware. They were also among the first to use the
services of a full time artist and designer to originate and create a line of American ware.
Limoges ended the belief that only English raw materials could be used, and showed that
American raw materials was equal or superior to other earthenware products.
They operated under this name until the late 1940's when they were threatened with a
lawsuit by the Limoges Company in France. This was due, once again, to their use of a
name, in this case Limoges, which was already in use by an established company. At
that time, they started to call their products American Limoges and the name was
changed to the American Limoges China Company. They also occasionally used the
name Lincoln China Company. In the 1940's, the well known designer Victor
Schreckengost worked for them at times. He designed six scenes from Virginia done in
blue, brown, mauve with a celadon rim and copper edge line. He also designed for the
Salem China Company and the Sebring Pottery Company who were all under the same
management as the Limoges China Company. Because of this, you can find duplication of
patterns and designs made during this time by the different companies. Had the first
Industrial ceramic lab. Very shortly into 1955, the American Limoges China Company
went into bankruptcy and closed their doors.