The family story has always been that my Grandpa bought this set of Haviland & Co. Limoges from a lady in the mountains of Colorado. That she painted the design on a blank set of china for my Grandpa. I love the china and have looked for more pieces in antique stores. Several years ago I found a couple pieces in an antique shop in Wyoming. This is the only place I have seen pieces with this pattern. After researching in china books and talking to the antique dealer in Wyoming I found that the family story was not correct. The china pattern was created for the Burlington Railroad and in fact is not hand painted, but a decal. I still love the violets and daisies, but it has a new story to tell.
Come sit a spell and have tea with me. We can share stories of time gone past and learn more of what makes our heart sing.This china now belongs to me and when the holidays come each year my family enjoys our holiday meals on violets and daisies.
9 comments:
Don't you just love the beauty,the daintiness, the history behind some of these pieces? I have an antique china cup and saucer collection, and use them for special teas. Each one has a story to tell, and I'd love to find them out!
Laurie
Lovely story just the same....I enjoyed your blog!
Your Haviland china is so pretty. What a fun story behind it. Did you learn the pattern name in your research?
The only name I could find was Violets and Daisies.
Wow, it's beautiful, Marilyn! My grandfather was a Conductor on the Burlington Railroad. He worked on the "Denver Zephyr" which ran between Chicago and Denver, but his part of the trip was only between Chicago and Burlington, Iowa. That "golden age" of train travel is something I would have loved to have experienced!
Beautiful china and a wonderful story!
It is beautiful, with a very special history! I still have my grandmother's china, although it's not nearly as grand (and doesn't have an interesting story behind it). :)
O! how stunning, violets bring a twang!! to my heart strings as they remind me of my grandfathers garden.
Your teaset is stunning and I would be honoured to have a cup of tea with you........seeing as the sunshine is beautiful here on a summers day in Australia you bring the teaset and I'll make a delishious fresh orange cake to have with it.
What a pleasure it has been to visit with you today I will be visitng you often in 2009 and know I will enjoy them all.
Lee-ann
Hey,
I'm Lu and I have also inherited the Haviland Violets & Daisies from a beloved cousin....several years ago. I have done a little research and found the Haviland Company produced our china in porcelain, some of it dating back to the 1800s. However, they "loaned" the pattern to the RR during the heydays of the railroad and a couple of companies made it in the sturdier, pottery version, suitable for the movements of the trains. The RR version was produced by a couple of companies, the one I see most is "Syracuse" pottery in NY. Your porcelain version looks like the Schleiger #453 (google it to confirm). Schleiger was a lady who set out to identify the different Haviland patterns and she assigned a numbering system which has become highly respected (you can check out the book at your local library, probably). Hope you find this helpful. I am still researching after several years but find that even "Replacements.com" doesn't have anything on them, other than references. Enjoy your china!
I have begun collecting a few of the RR pieces that I feel more comfortable using (sturdier). In all the years I have searched, the only time I have found anything "Violets & Daisies" in an antique store was a cup & saucer demitasse, a set that had a jewelry store name along with the Haviland stamp. It seems that "in the day", if a dealer purchased enough from Haviland, they were given the demitasse cups as a premium.......so they are probably pretty rare. The best bet (for replacement pieces) is ebay, I have found. At the moment, there are about a half dozen items listed in both the porcelains and the pottery version.
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