Porcelain production in the Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) region of western Bohemia is featured here. American importers of the New York firm Larzarus Straus & Sons financed the creation of the Marx & Gutherz factory in 1884. It later became known as the Oscar & Edgar Gutherz Royal Austria factory. Over 1000 color photographs and illustrations demonstrate the rich variety of porcelain items produced by the factory between 1889 and 1918.
The Gutherz factory exported factory-decorated ware and large amounts of undecorated porcelain, known as “whitewall” to satisfy interest in amateur porcelain painting in America. The methods used to decorate and market Royal Austria porcelain are explained and American hand-decorated pieces are presented, making the book an invaluable reference for those who purchase, sell, or have inherited this fine tableware.
The plate blanks are identified, categorized, and illustrated in over 100 patterns. Many shapes of dinnerware, cups and saucers, and hollowware handles are shown for the first time. A list of the numbered molds used to create hundreds of shapes is unique.