Lenox Gilded Cobalt Demitasse Cup & Saucer
Since 1889 the vision of Walter Scott Lenox has guided the company he founded to set the highest standards for quality, artistry, and beauty. Today Lenox is among the world’s oldest and most respected names in fine tableware and giftware — favored by presidents, displayed in museums, honored with awards, and enjoyed in homes across America. Come explore the story of Lenox as it grows from one man’s conviction into the country’s foremost maker of china, crystal and metal gifts.
Walter Scott Lenox was born in 1859 in the “Staffordshire of America”: Trenton, N.J. Laced with transportation lines and located near sources of fuel and clay, the state capital became the country’s leading ceramics center in the 19th century, with some 200 potteries. Little wonder young Walter was inspired to devote his life to creating porcelain that rivaled the best in the world.
Combining his talent for drawing and his fascination with clay, Lenox worked as a decorator and designer for several Trenton potteries beginning in 1875. Six years later he advanced to design director for Ott & Brewer, then Willets Manufacturing. Both firms produced a domestic version of Irish Belleek, the thin, cream-colored porcelain with a pearly glaze very much in vogue in Victorian times. Both firms eventually failed. The stage was set for Lenox to start his own business.
