Coxon Belleek China Company

Coxon Belleek China Company

Former type	China tableware
Industry	Manufacturing
Fate	Dissolved
Founded	Wooster, Ohio (January 3, 1927 (1927-01-03))
Defunct	September 1932 (1932-09) Factory closed November of 1931 and Company Dissolved in September of 1932
Headquarters	Wooster, Ohio, United States
Number of locations	1415 E. Bowman St., Wooster, Ohio
Key people	J. Fred Coxon; Edward B. Coxon; Edward Coxon, Jr.

On January 3, 1927 the Coxon Belleek China Company was established on E. Bowman St., where the Akron Brass Company was once located, in Wooster, Ohio by J. Fred Coxon, his brother Edward B. Coxon, and Edward Coxon Jr. The elder Coxon brothers were the sons of Jonathan Coxon of Trenton, New Jersey who along with Walter Lenox had established the Ceramic Art Company in 1889 which later became the Lenox China Company.

From the start, the quality of Coxon Belleek china matched that of Irish Belleek, and the Wooster business soon had accounts with the largest and most prestigious department stores in the country. In 1929 the Coxons sent a 24-piece platinum-decorated set of dinnerware to President Herbert Hoover at the White House. It is likely that this set was actually ordered by Mrs. Hoover as the first lady's grandparents, the William Henrys, lived in Wooster and she visited them often. She may well have seen Coxon Belleek during the course of one of her trips to the city. Presently, the whereabouts of the Hoover Coxon Belleek platinum-decorated set of dinnerware is unknown.

Some china collectors believe the Coxon Belleek product represents one of the finest examples of Belleek America has ever produced. It is noted for its shell-like, iridescent or translucent qualities. Most pieces carry the Coxon Belleek logo on the back of the ware. Because Coxon used the term Belleek, he had to pay a trademark-like royalty to the Irish Belleek company. <See Comprehensive History for more details>

Locations

• 1415 E. Bowman St., Wooster, Ohio 44691

City Directories

• 1928 Wooster Directory - Coxon Belleek China Company - 1415 E. Bowman St., Wooster, Ohio - J. Fred Coxon, President; Norman G. Stone, VP; Edward B. Coxon, Secretary; William Harris, Treasurer

Comprehensive History

Coxon Belleek China Company was incorporated in Wooster, Ohio in 1925. On January 3, 1927, the owners -- J. Fred Coxon, his brother Edward B. Coxon, and Edward Coxon Jr. -- bought a one-acre plot of land on East Bowman Street where they established the factory for the company. The elder Coxon brothers were the sons of Jonathan Coxon of Trenton, New Jersey who along with Walter Lenox had established the Ceramic Art Company in 1889 which later became the Lenox China Company.

From the start, the quality of Coxon Belleek china matched that of Irish Belleek, porcelain with a creamy, iridescent surface yet a tough resilience to stand up to daily use. The Wooster business soon had accounts with the largest and most prestigious department stores in the country, from B. Altman and Company of Paris and New York to the locally-owned Shibley & Hudson. In 1929 the Coxons sent a 24-piece platinum-decorated set of dinnerware to President Herbert Hoover at the White House. It is likely that this set was actually ordered by Mrs. Hoover as the first lady's grandparents, the William Henrys, lived in Wooster and she visited them often. She may well have seen Coxon Belleek during the course of one of her trips to the city. Presently, the whereabouts of the Hoover Coxon Belleek platinum-decorated set of dinnerware is unknown.

Some china collectors believe the Coxon Belleek product represents one of the finest examples of Belleek America has ever produced. It is noted for its shell-like, iridescent or translucent qualities. Most pieces carry the Coxon Belleek logo on the back of the ware. Because Coxon used the term Belleek, he had to pay a trademark-like royalty to the Irish Belleek company.

Nearly 60 different Coxon Belleek dinnerware patterns have been found and identified. The one most commonly found in the Wooster, Ohio area is D-1025. However, many of the patterns do not carry any number at all. Only two patterns have names: "Boulevard" and "Iota", the latter supposedly named for Fred Coxon's secretary. The company also sold some of their dinnerware without any pattern decoration and contrary to popular belief these were not "seconds", but were produced and intended to be simple unadorned pieces. Furthermore, many of the department stores that sold the dinnerware had their own names imprinted on the backs of the pieces.

At the peak of production, the Coxon company employed 75 workers, of which about 12 were artists employed to decorate the dinnerware. Most Coxon Belleek patterns were made from decals, which were touched-up by hand as needed.

The Coxon Belleek China Company was the last of 11 American potteries that tried to duplicate and market a fine dinnerware comparable to Irish Belleek. The company operated in Wooster from 1927 to 1931 before going out of business because of a combination of poor management, the onset of The Great Depression, changing fashions in home furnishings, and a lack of advertising.

Timeline

• 1925: Coxon Belleek China Company incorporated in Wooster
• 1927: Land bought for factory on East Bowman Street
• 1931: Factory closed, property sold back to Wooster Board of Trade
• 1932: Corporation dissolved
• 1932-1935: After the Coxon-Belleek Corporation dissolved in September of 1932, two companies tried to continue the business, one of which was the Wooster Vitrified China Co. headed by Joseph R. Flanagan. This company made restaurant china but it did not last long and quickly went out of business. Next, Herbert Cruise resumed operations at the plant making mostly vases. He also folded soon after he began. In 1935 the Wooster Board of Trade sold the china plant property ending this type of business in Wooster.

Gallery

Maps

• 

  Sanborn Maps 1930

Plate Stamps

• 

  Image of original brass die used to stamp chinaware.

• 

  Image of back of china dinner plate stamped with Wooster Vitrified China Wooster, Ohio

Newspaper articles

Newspaper citations with no attached images

• December 22, 2008: "Wooster Was Home to Fine China Company" by Paul Locher, The Daily Record, p. ?.

References

• Konkle, Ward. "The Coxon-Belleek Company" Wayne County Historical Society of Ohio Winter Quarterly Newsletter Jan.-Mar. 1998: 1-2.