Reference Books

Summary: Reference Books: Arranged alphabetically by author or title.

Reference books kept by Lenox staff, pertaining to porcelain and the pottery industry in general, typically with only limited mention of Lenox, Incorporated, specifically. Topics covered by the books include porcelain pricing and identification, history of the porcelain industry, White House china, biographies and specific museum exhibits, as well as general bridal reference and (in one book) New Jersey in general. Included are price and identification guides, exhibition catalogs, coffee table style pictorials, essays, a biographical encyclopedia and a wall calendar.

Among the books in this series are exhibition catalogs for the Lenox centennial exhibit "Lenox China: Celebrating a Century of Quality" (1989) and "The Pottery and Porcelain of New Jersey" at the Newark Museum (1947), as well as American Porcelain, 1770-1920 (1989), published in conjunction with an exhibition of the same name at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Magazine Articles: Arranged chronologically by date of publication.

Articles, dating from 1908 to 2000, from trade publications, consumer and collectible magazines, and to a lesser extent, newspapers, relating to the history of Lenox and to the pottery industry in general. The articles pertain to several subjects, including the general history of Lenox, Incorporated, and china production in America; the production of specific Lenox products, such as figurines, jewelry, lamps and candles; White House China, produced by Lenox and other potteries; biographical material on Lenox personnel, including Walter Scott Lenox and President of Lenox China and Crystal Bill Bracy; design trends, such as the use of floral patterns; and other topics such as merchandising strategies, financial performance and the Brown family of Brown-Forman. Included are magazine tear sheets, entire magazine issues, reprints, press clippings and photocopies of articles.

Scrapbooks: Arranged chronologically by title.

Two scrapbooks, containing material dating from 1923-1985, covering various aspects of Lenox, Incorporated's history. The first scrapbook, "History of Lenox" compiled by Isabel Brooks (1950-1960), pertains to topics such as the construction of new facilities in Pomona, the use of Lenox in exhibits and installations (such as at Strawberry Mansion, Philadelphia), the purchase of Branchell of St. Louis (later Lenoxware) and the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Walter Scott Lenox, as well as a basic company chronology, lists of officers and employee profiles, including profiles for Frank Graham Holmes, William Clayton, Paul Hedt, Leslie Brown, John M. Tassie and Robert J. Sullivan. The second scrapbook, "Lenox History: Notes and Clippings" compiled by Linda Iraca (1985-1989), borrows heavily from Brooks' scrapbook, and includes additional material pertaining to the construction of new facilities in North Carolina, the buyout of Lenox by Brown-Forman, the installation of Lenox china at the National Museum of Ceramics at Sèvres, France, in 1928, the introduction of the Washington-Wakefield pattern and key personnel changes, as well as a basic history of pottery production beginning in 1683. Included in the scrapbooks are news clippings, photographs, newsletters, press releases, postcards, advertisements, pamphlets, letters, typed notes and chronologies.

Also included in this sub-series are several loose pages, similar to those in the scrapbooks, pertaining to White House china, table setting and crystal.

Vertical File Material: Arranged alphabetically by topic or author.

Miscellaneous documentation of the history of Lenox, Incorporated, spanning from 1916 to 2004. The documents in this sub-series pertain to various topics, including the Lenox Centennial, White House china services produced by Lenox, plant openings and operations, advertising, Brown-Forman, Inc., acquisitions of subsidiaries (including those purchased by Brown-Forman), china exhibits (Lenox and non-Lenox sponsored) and specific Lenox products. Included are press clippings, magazine tear sheets, pamphlets, essays, incoming and outgoing letters, memoranda, event invitations, product catalogs and catalog excerpts, directories, certificates and printed web pages, as well as several paperback books.

Among the miscellaneous employee files is a brief memoir of Hobart Leslie's tenure at Lenox.

Subsidiaries represented in this sub-series include Gorham, Kirk Stieff, A. H. Pond (Keepsake Jewelry), ArtCarved, Paragon Products and Athalon Products (purchased by Brown-Forman to complement Hartmann Luggage). Occasional documents predate a subsidiary's acquisition by Lenox or Brown-Forman, as is the case with the material for Gorham and Kirk Stieff.