Blue Ridge China

Blue Ridge China is a type of Chinese porcelain of early 20th-century American origin. It was first documented back in 1916 when the Carolina, Clinchfield, and Ohio Railroad Co. built tracks through Erwin, Tennessee. In 1917, The Southern Potteries Workshop was built and the potters started producing Clinchfield China. The Clinchfield pieces of the China are somewhat rare today, most likely due to the age of them. In 1938, Southern Potteries hired several artists to improve the look of the China. Some of the original pieces of Clinchfield China had a form of decoration applied to them.

The Pottery Studio rapidly expanded in size, reaching the 1000-employee mark in 1946. It is estimated that the company was now producing over 17 million pieces of china per year.

The "Quaker Apple" dish was advertised on Quaker Oats Oatmeal containers for some time in the early 1950s.

Southern Potteries was forced to shut down in early 1957, due to imported China from occupied Japan and the advent of plastic dinnerware. It remains a popular collector's item today, with some dishes fetching thousands of dollars in auctions.

External links

* [http://www.blueridgechina.com Blue Ridge China]
* [http://www.antiquemaster.com Collector's Site]