Mystery Maker Marked J-I France

Designer	Not known
Maker	Not known
Marks	Painted to base “J-I France
Material	Wheel-thrown Earthenware
Description	Shallow bowl with widened lip rounded handle and flat base.  Double glazed to interior of bowl. Sgrafitto leaf design through top glaze.  Dark matte contrast colour applied to inside top of rim
Condition	Very good for age, some chips to rim of one bowl.
Number
Production Date	1960s
Width at rim	110mm
Width at Base	80mm
Depth	33mm
Length (with handle)	177mm
Weight	205gm
Volume	200ml
Acquisition	Vinnies, Edithvale, Victoria 5th June 2012
Rameking Reference Number	JIF 001-002

Seemingly made for fondue, they are made from earthenware, which is a porous ceramic, usually hand-made clay (inorganic non-metallic solid) fired at a low heat, (1000-1150 degrees Celsius) usually glazed to the interior of a bowl to retain contents by making it impervious to liquids.  Majolica, Delft and Faence ware are examples of Earthenware.  Particle size can vary.  Firing temperature may vary depending on the type of material used.

These ramekins have been double glazed so that a leaf pattern can be seen by exposing the darker underglaze.  It is likely that because of the hole in the handle, they form part of a rustic style fondue set so popular in Europe in the 1960s and 70s.  A fondue is a dish of Swiss origin, also popular in France and northern Italy.  It is shared from a single pot that is heated over a small flame.  Usually the contents are either cheese mixed with white wine, or chocolate, although other items can also be used.  Food, such as bread or fruit on long forks is dipped into the pot containing the melted cheese or chocolate. 

Rameking Romance tip; Gentlemen who wish to improve their chances with the ladies would be well advised to resurrect a fondue set.  Not the cheese dip that will have them run a mile, but with melted chocolate.  If you have got her to your place, she is already interested.  Get her to dip strawberries into hot melted chocolate and you on a winner.  Ladies love a man that cooks, and they love chocolate even more.  Team it with fruit, preferably strawberries, and they think it is healthy.  Team it with a mug of hot chocolate on a cold winter evening.  In ladies, the chocoholic gene is far more developed and responsive than in gentlemen.  Gemutlichkeit in German means cosiness or feeling pleasure in a comfortable environment and a fondue for two does that in spades.

Try this recipe;

http://www.toblerone.co.uk/toblerone1/page?siteid=toblerone1-prd&locale=uken1&PagecRef=638

Fris (N.V. Keramik Industrie Fris) Edam

Designer	Willem Hendrik DeVries
Maker	NV Ceramic Industry Fresh
Marks	Stamped “Made in Holland Fris Edam” to base
Material	Porcelain
Description	Press moulded straight-sided bowl angling outwards to top.  Bottom half with vertical fluting. Short curved handle angled upwards from fixing at center of bowl. Grey gloss glazed interior with single varied colour to exterior.
Condition	Very good for age, slight chip to footring of one bowl with slight discolouring to interior.
Number
Production Date	Late 1960s
Width at rim	117mm
Width at Base	85mm
Depth	60mm
Length (with handle)	143mm
Weight	180gm
Volume	370ml
Acquisition	Salvo Store, Noble Park, Victoria
Rameking Reference Number	FRI 001-004

Designer	Willem Hendrik DeVries
Maker	NV Ceramic Industry Fresh
Marks	Stamped “Made in Holland Fris Edam” to base
Material	Porcelain
Description	Press moulded straight-sided bowl angling outwards to top.  Short flat curved handle angled upwards from fixing at center of bowl. Off-white gloss glazed interior with single varied matt colour to exterior.
Condition	Very good for age, slight discolouring to interior.
Number	No number
Production Date	Late 1960s
Width at rim	110mm
Width at Base	65mm
Depth	55mm
Length (with handle)	152mm
Weight	195gm
Volume	375ml
Acquisition	Salvo Store, Noble Park, Victoria
Rameking Reference Number	FRI 005-011

At the height of the Second World War, Gerrit Fris and his son, also named Gerrit began the “NV Art Pottery” Like many others before and since with no experience in ceramics, they bought in the talent.   They hired Willem Hendrik De Vries as their “Aesthetic Consultant”.   He remained with them until 1967.  From 1938 to 1968 he was teaching ceramics at the Institute of Applied Art in Amsterdam and joined NV Ceramic Industry in 1943, then located in Gouda.

They moved from Gouda to Edam in 1947 because of the post-war labour shortage in Gouda to premises formerly occupied by the staff canteen of the Fokker aircraft factory in Holland.  With the help of government grants and a pool of unemployed fishermen caused by the damming of the Zuider Zee, they opened a new works there on the 3^rd of January 1947.  In 1951, demand exceeded supply.

From 1946 to 1969 Willem de Vries held the post of Director in design, which from 1947 was located in Edam, and with his talent, the pottery soon became a leading maker.  Other designers were Nel Bruynzeel, Dick Gerrits, Hannie Terpstra, Emile Truyen, Jan Lucassen and Floris Meydam as his deputy.  They made dinnerware and vases inspired by the Bauhaus with an emphasis on utility, quality and design; colour was important.  De Vries continued teaching during his time with Fris.

These ramekins are typical of his design influence and although missing the underplates, they hark back to the tea sets that were their first products in 1947.   The NV Ceramic Industry Fresh existed from 1947 to 1969.  Part of their design philosophy was that decoration was impractical and detracted from the design, diverting attention from the form.  They are a form of “Missing Link” with fluting making an appearance before the disappearance of the handle.

Pride of place had traditionally been the china cabinet.  Rows of plates, bowls and jugs stood proudly on shelves in dressers in most Dutch homes.  This trend tapered off as tastes changed in the sixties and as a result, ceramics production and sales in The Netherlands fell to only a fraction of that of the industry at its height.  If you see their dishes displayed at home then it is understandable that the utilitarian lack of decoration of Fris is not an asset.

Their stylish and balanced pottery is little known outside the Netherlands but is now collectable and some of their work is expensive.  By 1969, the company was bankrupt and was taken over by the Triangle Pottery.  Triangle changed its name in 1970 to “The Pottery House” and moved production to Lelystadt in 1988 where it continues as “New Land Pottery.”

 

Holly Hobbie

Designer	Holly Hobbie
Maker	WWA inc.
Marks	Stamp to base “Holly Hobbie Country Living Collection Stoneware and Ovenproof  WWA Inc MCMLXXXI Cleveland USA 44144 Made in Korea”
Material	Stoneware
Description	Heavy stoneware lozenge bowl with knob handled lid and long perforated closed ended knob handle Cream glaze to interior and exterior, unglazed flat base. Decal of Holly Hobbie character to exterior side of bowl with various homily sayings on side.
Condition	Very good
Number	No number
Production Date	1980
Width at rim	110mm
Width at Base	110mm
Depth	50mm
Length (with handle)	185mm
Weight	Ramekin 415gm, Lid 160gm.
Volume	375ml
Acquisition	1 on E-Bay 1 Jun 2012, 1 at Vinnies Oakleigh 30 May 2012
Rameking Reference Number	HOH-001-003

These ramekins were made for Holly Hobbie, a creation of Denise Holly Ulinskas born in 1944.  In 1964 she married author Douglas Hobbie and now lives in Conway, Massachusetts, USA.  She began drawing profile views of a little girl in a bonnet and rural style dress around 1968.  For many years she was a contract artist at the curiously named Humerous Planning Department at American Greeting Corporation Incorporated based in Brooklyn Ohio.  The character became very, very popular and a line of greeting cards soon followed.  Later the character was marketed under license in many ways by dozens of different companies, hence these ramekins.  She also authored the popular “Toot and Puddle’ series of books.  Holly Hobbie merchandise is now very collectable.

Look up Wikipedia for the (almost) full story and for much more detail, go to   www.hollyhobbieworld.com  For their ramekins, read on because they are part of their Country Living Collection that included various Canisters, a Teapot, Milk Jugs, Casserole Dishes, Tea & Coffee Cups, Egg Cups; Lidded Butter Dish, Salt Cellar, Salt & Pepper Shakers, (the ramekins also came with soup tureen (crock))

It appears that their range of this type of dinnerware was made between 1973 and 1982. As mentioned earlier, like many companies in America at the time, Holly Hobby licensed their products.  Anchor Hocking for their Ironstone and glassware, Chilton Globe for their cookware.  Anchor Hocking is still around, but Chilton Globe had a number of brands associated with them that have now all lapsed.  Chilton Globe (Far East) Ltd.  Hong Kong was established on the 4^th of August 1971 and dissolved on the 11^th of April 2003.  The Chilton Globe trademark is now owned from 30^th May 1992 by Strombecker Corporation.  I think that their stuff was actually manufactured by the Chaozhou Chinaware Factory, Fenxi, Chaozhao, China.

These ramekins were made by WWA Incorporated.  It appears that they were sub-contracted yet again to a Korean maker as the design and making is similar to other Korean or Japanese ramekins.  The backstamp says “Made in Korea”.  The premier Korean manufacturer at the time was Haeng Nan who also made for Ji Stoneware.  The slip appears similar.

WWA inc stands for “World Wide Art Incorporated” an American company from Cleveland Ohio, USA who manufactured for Hollie Hobbie in the Republic of China, Japan and Korea during the 1970s and 80s, producing a variety of collectable ceramics including these ramekins.