FAQ Page
1. I want to complete a set in the Old Grist Mill pattern, but can only find dinner plates, why is that?
First of all, the "The Old Grist Mill" designation is NOT the name of the pattern. These dishes come from the "Currier & Ives" pattern by Royal China of Sebring, Ohio. Each size piece of dinnerware in this pattern has it’s own image based on C&I prints. The name "The Old Grist Mill" refers to the name of the C&I print from which the image was taken to put on the dinner and luncheon plates. Therefore all soup bowls will be of the scene “Early Winter”, all Salad Plates will be of the scene “
The Birthplace of Washington”, all saucers “Low Water in the Mississippi”, all teacup “Star of the Road”, etc. The only exceptions are the pie bakers, which come with eight different images. So although they all may have different images, they all are part of the same pattern called “Currier & Ives”.2. My item does not have a backstamp, is it a reproduction?
Not all Royal China items have backstamps. As a matter of fact, on most items it is more
common to have no backstamp than to have one. Some pieces never carried any
backstamps, some always carried backstamps, but most are known to exist with and without
backstamps. Not having a backstamp does not mean the item is a
"reproduction" or in any way not "original". Value of items
without backstamps is therefore not any less.
3. What do the markings such as B54 in the backstamp mean?
Harry Rinker states early marks on this pattern (C&I) were dated coded according
to Curt Fahnert, director of dinnerware design development at Royal China until
1986. It
is fairly certain the numbers indicates the year of production. The numbers range from 52 to 56. This would correspond to the period between 1952
and 1956. The meaning of the letters is still
being debated. Some believe they refer to time periods, but
not necessarily months. I believe they
indicate months. I have seen letters range
from A to N, with no G’s or I’s. I
believe the reason for the missing “G” is that it could be confused with a
“C”, and the “I” could be confused with a numeral “1”. This leaves 12 letters which I surmise indicate:
| A | January |
| B | February |
| C | March |
| D | April |
| E | May |
| F | June |
| H | July |
| J | August |
| K | September |
| L | October |
| M | November |
| N | December |
There is a report of an O 53 backstamp, but I am not sure that it may not be a deformed D 53 or C 53.
4. What is meant by "scrolling" on the handles?
Scrolling refers to the designs that were put on some of the handles of the hollowware pieces during the early production years. It has been found on teacups, salt & peppers, sugar & creamers, casseroles, teapots. There are variation on the type of scrolling and they have been found reversed.
5. My item has a gold "S" on the back. What does that mean?
There is much debate about the various examples of the gold “S” on Royal China items. Some think it indicates a salesman sample, other think it indicates a defective piece. Some think it would indicate items made for a specific company such as Sears. My guess is that it indicates items that require inspection due because of quality controls issues. A very high percentage of items with a gold “S” have some type of production flaw, such as an incorrect marking, clay flaws in the bisque, etc. Because Royal China produced inexpensive dinnerware it does not stand to reason that they would bother marking items that were to be simply discarded, as compared to just throwing them out. If they were to be salesman samples, we would not find these items in large multiples, as is often the case. Also that would not explain the number of mistakenly marked items with a gold “S”.
6. What is crazing?
Royal China dinnerware items have a clear outer glaze coating. When the glazing was applied and it cooled too rapidly, there could appear fine cracks in the clear coating. These are not cracks in the dinnerware itself, but only in the clear coating. This crazing does not necessarily take place right away but can take place years after an item was produced. It is very hard to see sometimes. Many people find crazing to be unacceptable while to others it makes no difference at all. There is however a greater health hazard presented by items with crazing, in that dinnerware with crazing in which there is contact with food has a higher chance of lead compounds leeching out of the clear glaze into the food. The clear coating was made from a material that contains lead. Although this potential risk is quite minimal, some people will not take any chances with it. To other people who only display these items, crazing does not necessarily present a big problem outside of the fact they are considered flawed.
7. What can you tell me about the Royal China blue and white casserole dish with angled handles with the all-white dome lid?
There is still dispute about the originally of this item. Some say it is original and to others the lid appears to be the one for the Futura patterns which were manufactured by Royal China. The first lids for this casserole with scrolls on the handles were flat and the pictures on the lid were adjacent to the handles. The scrolls disappeared from the handles and the lids were tapered with the pictures 90 degrees away from the handles. In addition to the all blue lid, there is a same shaped tapered all white lid, as well as a blue and white lid with an all white knob.
8. Is there lead content in Royal China Dinnerware?
All glazed dinnerware from the time period in which Royal China produced there items contain some lead. I have never heard of any reported cases where this lead contents has caused any health problems though. If your dinnerware is to be used daily and in a microwave you may want to avoid using items that have crazing, just to be sure. For more information see the following two informational links:
http://www.potters.org/subject04928.htm
http://www.frogpondpottery.com/glazestability/stableglazes.html
9. Have you confirmed that the mug with the print "The Express Train" was made by Royal China Co.?
Yes, a 16-piece service for 4 American blue and white set, including this mug, has been found in the original box. This is the first proof that the "Train Mug" was manufactured by Royal China Co.
10. Why is there only one Royal C&I blue and white pie baker with a white side slope?
This was the first of the pie bakers, on which the C&I print is "A Snowy Morning." Royal at the time was unable to apply color to the slope and keep it in place until the finished product. Shortly thereafter a discovery was made and the next 10" blue and white pie baker with C&I prints had colored side slopes. All OCS pie bakers are of this white side slope variety.
11. On eBay there is green C&I dinnerware with the plow and oxen yoke on the rim. They say it is manufactured by Royal China, but there isn't any back stamp to verify the maker.
Many sellers on eBay do not describe their items accurately, not to be misleading but from a lack on knowledge. The old adage "Buyer Beware" certainly applies here. This pattern was made by Scio Pottery and the pattern name is "Currier & Ives".
12. What does the 'H' with the small 'A' under the crossbar of the 'H' mean on the bottom of some of the milk-white dinnerware?
The symbol is for Hazel Atlas (not Anchor Hocking which uses an anchor).
13. Have there been any reproductions of the Royal China patterns?
There have been no reported reproductions of Royal China items. However the Folckemers and others have finished off some "Maple Sugaring" pie baker bisques that they found in a warehouse. They have the original Royal China backstamps on them which were applied by Royal. These did not have any additional identifying markings, but they can be identified by very careful scrutiny of the positioning of the 3 stilt marks left by the drying rack. Originals are near the outer edge on the slope and the other pie baker marks are near the center on the flat bottom. The Folckemers did create other items related to Currier & Ives items by Royal, but those have an identifying letter "F" added to the backstamp.
13. What is meant by the term "hollow ware"?
Hollow ware refers to dinnerware such as cups, mugs, teapots, sugar bowl, creamer, casseroles, gravy boats, etc.
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