Haviland, one of the best-known companies making dinnerware, dates its founding to 1842, but the history of porcelain began long before that – more than 1,000 years before, in fact. Historians think the first porcelain was made in China during the Tang dynasty (618 – 907) by ceramicists who discovered that, when fired at extremely high temperatures, the mixture of kaolin, a pure white clay that forms when feldspar breaks down, and petuntse, a type of feldspar found only in China, resulted in this beautiful and delicate but strong ceramic. Not surprisingly, porcelain’s origins in China are why we use the word “china” today to refer to this type of porcelain.

Although there are there are three main kinds of porcelain – hard-paste porcelain, soft-paste porcelain and bone china – hard-paste porcelain is considered by many to be the “true” or “ideal” porcelain and has always been the type that porcelain makers prefer. This is the type that was first developed by the Chinese.

Bone china, in case you’ve ever wondered, really is made with bone or, to be precise, bone ash (burned animal bones). In the mid-18th century, English porcelain makers discovered that by adding bone ash to porcelain’s other ingredients, they achieved a ceramic that is more durable than soft-paste porcelain although not as hard as “true” porcelain. The addition of bone ash makes bone china — almost all of which is produced in England to this day — more translucent than other porcelains.

For hundreds of years, the Chinese made the world’s finest porcelain. Of particular note, the porcelain bowls and vases of the Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644) and the Qing dynasty (1644 - 1912) are still greatly sought-after today. Early in the second millennium, ceramicists in Korea had discovered the secret of making porcelain and, by the 1500s; the Japanese had also mastered the process.

Although traders brought Chinese porcelain to Europe almost from the moment it was first being made, it was extremely rare and, therefore, very expensive. It wasn’t until the 1600s, by which time trade with the Orient had grown considerably, that porcelain became more broadly popular. By this time, the custom of drinking tea, coffee and chocolate had also become popular and European manufacturers tried to make hard-paste porcelain themselves, but could not discover the secret the Chinese had known for 500 years. The Italians did succeed, however, in making soft-paste porcelain starting in about 1575.

By the 1700s, soft-paste porcelain manufactured in France, Germany, Italy and England began to compete with Chinese porcelain. As the 1700s unfolded, France began to take the lead with factories in Rouen, St. Cloud, Lille and Chantilly. But in the mid-1700s, kaolin deposits were discovered near Limoges and Europe’s hard-paste porcelain industry was born. By the 1800s, the Limoges region had become one of Europe’s most successful producers of porcelain.

And that is when Haviland enters the story. According to the Haviland Collectors International Foundation, David Haviland, who owned a china shop in New York City, traveled to France in 1840 to meet with a local manufacturer to create porcelain pieces for the American market. Eventually, Haviland settled in Limoges and established his own company in 1853.

Although there were many companies making porcelain in Limoges at that time, David Haviland was the first to see the wisdom of having artists at the same place the porcelain was being made to do the decorating. In other words, says Grace Graves of Grace Graves Haviland in Milwaukee, "it was the combination of technology and artistry that really set Haviland apart. They always hired the best artists of the day."

Why do people collect antique Haviland today? Grace Graves thinks “the pleasure is derived from the feeling that it is a family heirloom. It’s the memories of special family occasions and the people who have used it before you.”

For collector and dealer Cathy Margolin of Havilandonline in Newport Beach, CA, The reason to collect Haviland today is “because it is very, very gorgeous porcelain. Just hold it up to the light and you’ll understand. Today’s makers can’t afford the hand crafting that went into the earlier pieces. It was very labor intensive.”

And, according to Margolin, people today value that Haviland because it is “graceful, genteel and elegant dinnerware that everyone of a certain class wanted. People enjoy setting an elegant table and that’s what Haviland gives us.”

Zenna Inness, customer support specialist at Rubylane.com – an online consortium of antique dealers including specialists in Haviland – believes “people have a magnetic attraction to the past and owning things that people have owned before them makes them feel connected.”

After the Civil War, David Haviland’s sons – Theodore and Charles – became active in the company and together the family became known for the beauty and quality of their products. No doubt that’s why Haviland china was designed for use in the White House by presidents including Lincoln, Grant, Harrison and Hayes. According to Grace Graves, Mary Lincoln chose a pattern in royal purple – her favorite color.

The Haviland International Collectors Foundation estimates that more than 30,000 patterns and variations were produced and 6,000 of these have been identified. Long-time Haviland collectors often use a kind of shorthand to describe the patterns. They’ll say, for example, that they’re looking for a Schleiger #19 or a Schleiger #266G. When collectors use this term, they’re referring to the work of Arlene Schleiger of Omaha, Nebraska.

Along with her son, Dick, a student at the University of Nebraska, who sketched the patterns, Arlene Schleiger began to catalog Haviland patterns in the 1930s and ‘40s and, according to Cathy Margolin of Havilandonline, “the significance of Mrs. Schleiger’s contribution to the world of Haviland cannot be overstated.” The first book, Two Hundred Patterns of Haviland China – Book I, was published in 1950 and the final one, Book VI, in 1991. [Arlene Schleiger died in 1983, but the work was continued by her son and his wife, Dona.] “Without her work,” says Cathy Margolin, “we would still be describing patterns in terms such as ‘that little one with the pink rose and green leaves’ instead of Schleiger Number…”

[Help identifying patterns and finding where pieces can be purchased can be found in the Resource Guide.]

Zenna Inness of Rubylane.com knows there are as many reasons people collect antiques as there are people. But one that’s important to many is the “investment potential. Thanks to the Internet, Haviland collecting has really taken off. In fact, over the last 10 years, it’s exploded. Most antique dealers will tell clients ‘don’t buy to invest, buy something because you love it.’” Of course, that’s all the encouragement some people need. After all, what could be better than getting enjoyment from something and then selling it for a profit.