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Miss Kennedy: "The personal estate consists of $82.06 which has been turned in by
Laura N. Berrien, who was the committee for the estate of James H.
Taylor, incompetent."
Auditor
:
"Did the deceased have any other personal property?"
Miss Kennedy:
"Nothing at all."
Auditor
:
"Any household furniture?"
Miss Kennedy: "No, nothing.
On July 9, 1952, Mrs. Mabel Walker, housekeeper at the White House, was contacted
and through Mr. Crim, arrangements were made to have SA White of the Protective Re-
search Section photograph a breakfast plate of the Cleveland china. Copies of the
photographs are attached to this report.
A monograph entitled "White House China" by Abby Gunn Baker was reviewed but no
specific information on the Cleveland chinaware was obtained.
Miss Margaret Brown, Department of History, Smithsonian Institute, was inter-
viewed on July 10, 1952, but could supply no information on Cleveland chinaware,
except to state that Haviland and Company, manufacturers of this plate, are still in
business and have a New York address at 26 West 23rd Street, New York City. Miss Brown
also suggested a recent treatise on china, titled "Haviland - Limoges China Classics II,"
by Serry Wood, copyright 1951, Century House, Watkins Glen, New York, as a possible
source of information on this subject.
The reporting Special Agent reviewed this book at the Library of Congress on
July 14, 1952. Nothing pertinent to this investigation was found, but the story of
the founding of the Haviland China Firm is worth a brief digression:
-
In 1834, Edmund and David Haviland set thenselves up in New York as importers of
English China. At that time, English China enjoyed a virtual monopoly in the United
States.
One day a customer brought a broken tea cup into David's shop for replacement.
David
was both attracted and puzzled by the delicate, thin, light weight of the cup
and the pure translucent quality of its clay. He knew it to be French, but had no
idea where or when it had been made.
Determined to identify it and locate its source, Haviland told the customer that
if she would leave it with him, he would go to France -- a long, tedious and costly
voyage in those days -- and see what he could uncover.
Arriving in France, there were many "false starts" and "blind alleys" leading to
disappointment. Still he persisted, until he came to Foecyand Limoges where china
had been manufactured for 75 years. There he found the match for his cup. With much
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"ocrText": "CO-1-3264\n-4-\nMiss Kennedy: \"The personal estate consists of $82.06 which has been turned in by\nLaura N. Berrien, who was the committee for the estate of James H.\nTaylor, incompetent.\"\nAuditor\n:\n\"Did the deceased have any other personal property?\"\nMiss Kennedy:\n\"Nothing at all.\"\nAuditor\n:\n\"Any household furniture?\"\nMiss Kennedy: \"No, nothing.\nOn July 9, 1952, Mrs. Mabel Walker, housekeeper at the White House, was contacted\nand through Mr. Crim, arrangements were made to have SA White of the Protective Re-\nsearch Section photograph a breakfast plate of the Cleveland china. Copies of the\nphotographs are attached to this report.\nA monograph entitled \"White House China\" by Abby Gunn Baker was reviewed but no\nspecific information on the Cleveland chinaware was obtained.\nMiss Margaret Brown, Department of History, Smithsonian Institute, was inter-\nviewed on July 10, 1952, but could supply no information on Cleveland chinaware,\nexcept to state that Haviland and Company, manufacturers of this plate, are still in\nbusiness and have a New York address at 26 West 23rd Street, New York City. Miss Brown\nalso suggested a recent treatise on china, titled \"Haviland - Limoges China Classics II,\"\nby Serry Wood, copyright 1951, Century House, Watkins Glen, New York, as a possible\nsource of information on this subject.\nThe reporting Special Agent reviewed this book at the Library of Congress on\nJuly 14, 1952. Nothing pertinent to this investigation was found, but the story of\nthe founding of the Haviland China Firm is worth a brief digression:\n-\nIn 1834, Edmund and David Haviland set thenselves up in New York as importers of\nEnglish China. At that time, English China enjoyed a virtual monopoly in the United\nStates.\nOne day a customer brought a broken tea cup into David's shop for replacement.\nDavid\nwas both attracted and puzzled by the delicate, thin, light weight of the cup\nand the pure translucent quality of its clay. He knew it to be French, but had no\nidea where or when it had been made.\nDetermined to identify it and locate its source, Haviland told the customer that\nif she would leave it with him, he would go to France -- a long, tedious and costly\nvoyage in those days -- and see what he could uncover.\nArriving in France, there were many \"false starts\" and \"blind alleys\" leading to\ndisappointment. Still he persisted, until he came to Foecyand Limoges where china\nhad been manufactured for 75 years. There he found the match for his cup. With much"
}