Willets Manufacturing Company
Trenton, New Jersey. United States.
Hersteller / Manufacturer
Known dates: 1879 - 1909
In 1879, three brothers, Joseph, Daniel and Edmund R. Willets, bought out the Excelsior Pottery built by the William Young and Sons Company. The company started with four kilns, and by 1882, it had expanded to fourteen kilns and hired about 300 hands. Around 1884, William Bromely, Sr., after successfully helping Ott & Brewer make Belleek wares, went to help Willets do the same. As a result, Willets began producing Belleek wares around late 1884 or early 1885. During that period, they hired many competent artists, including Walter Scott Lenox, to design their wares. In less than ten years since they first made their white eggshell wares, Willets' American Belleek was compared favorably with industrial leaders in both America and Europe. After the industry as a whole began to decline due to many factors, Willets stopped its production in 1909, ending their 24 years of making American Belleek.
Reference: Loman & Petula Eng.
