China and Silverware

About Betty's China, Silver, Stemware, Jewelry, Etc.
(By Ted Hine - April 2005)

Betty, like many women of her generation, had a collection of China, Silver, Stemware, and the like which had been accumulated over the years. While this collection didn't have a substantial monetary value that I am aware of, she always considered it among her most prized possessions. Much of it is believed to have been passed on to her from previous generations as opposed to purchased by her or obtained as presents from her husbands or friends.

I recall that any number of times over the course of my life mother mentioned which ancestor various components of her collection came from but, I'm embarrassed to say, neither I nor my brothers can definitively remember most of what we were told.

Much of her collection was prominently displayed in and on dining room furniture and regularly used by the family during the course of her life on special occasions (such as Thanksgiving and Christmas). In a few cases some of it was put into service for everyday use and in other cases was almost always stored away. During the years I was growing up in New Jersey mother prominently displayed most of her silver collection (candelabra, tea sets, etc) in our home and it was regularly "polished" to keep it looking nice (silver tarnishes easily over time when exposed to normal atmospheric conditions) by the maid who came in weekly to do various housework. Later in life when Betty was living in Hermann less of the silver was prominently displayed and it was polished much less frequently.

When Betty passed away in 1996 her collection was boxed and taken to son Henry's home in Brentwood, TN for storage in his basement till her sons could get around to organizing and distributing it. As of Christmas time 2004 when I visited Henry and his family for the holidays the collection had still not been distributed. I took this opportunity to photograph Betty's collection as a means of documenting it. I unpacked each stored box and photographed the contents including, in some cases, notes on the packing cartons which might help serve to determine where Betty had obtained the contents. Most (but not all) of the photos below were taken in Henry's basement in December of 2004. The comments accompanying the photos include my best recollections of the history of the items shown. Click on the photos to enlarge them.

China & Dinnerware


Wedgwood in use in 2004.	In storage in 2004.	Closer look.	Wedgwood logo.

The above photos show Betty's Wedgwood collection. It was literally the family "everyday" dinnerware during her life after her 1962 divorce when she lived in St. Louis, after marrying John, and through out the Hermann years. (In the 1950's as I was growing up in New Jersey the family used inexpensive plastic dinnerware which was unbreakable by us kids.) In 2004 some of the Wedgwood was in use by the Henry Hine family and some of it was in storage so Betty's entire collection is the sum of that shown in the 2 left most photos above. It is not clear how or when Betty obtained her Wedgwood and it's possible that it came from several sources. Wedgwood was popular dinnerware and Betty may have accumulated some during he first marriage and John may have brought some with him into the second marriage. I do not have any specific recollection as to whether any Wedgwood might have been passed down from Betty's ancestors. I note that not all of this collection was genuine Wedgwood as some pieces were another brand which looked identical and was likely purchased over the years to replace broken items.


The large serving platter had at some point been broken into two pieces and glued back together.	Plates, cups, and saucers.	Closer look.	The identifying logo.

The above gold trimmed china, identified on the back by the letters "H&C", was, for as long as I can remember, used for special occasions such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter or when Betty did more formal entertaining. I have no particular recollection of where it came from but my brother Greg recalls that some of mother's china came from the Hine side of the family (during her first marriage) and believes that this may have been it. If it was originally Hine family china it likely came from the old Hine homestead in Poland, Ohio (the birthplace of Kirt Hine's father) and not from Kirt's parents in Seattle as his mother did not pass away and her possessions distributed till 1967, five years after Kirt and Betty were divorced. In 1955 Kirt's aunt "Nell" (Ellen Louise Hine who never married) passed in away in the Poland house which had continuously been occupied by Hines for about 90 years. A month or so after Nell's death (and while the house was being cleared out and organized for sale) my family visited Poland (I was 10 years old at the time) and I've recently found a photo taken on this trip which shows some of Nell's china dinnerware spread out on the dining room table. While there is much in the photo that I clearly don't recognize as ever being in Betty's collection (and which could have gone to other Hine descendents) the photo does show some plates which MAY have possible gold trim similar to the plates in the above photos. If Betty's china did in fact come from the Poland house, she did not get all of it. Click here to view and compare photos:

		The china at the left has a similar but slightly different pattern from that above and was made in Japan. Perhaps it was obtained to augment the above set. I know nothing else about it.
Made in Japan.	Closer look.


Hulburd china and packaging.	Closer look.	Another Hulburd pattern.	Closer look.

I recall mother mentioning on various occasions that she had some "Hulburd" china passed on by her parents but I never gave much thought to exactly what it was or where it was. The two photos at the above left show china which was stored in a box clearly labeled in Betty's handwriting as being "1 Set China Hulburd". Likewise the different patterned plates in the two photos at the right were packaged in a box labeled "12 Gold Trim Service Plates Hulburd". I don't recall ever seeing either of these patterns on display in any of Betty's homes so I suspect that they spent most of the time over the years in storage. The wide gold trimmed plates (right photos) were stored in the shipping box in which the Hine family stereo turntable (for playing phonograph records) had been delivered in about 1959 to our home in New Jersey. When I opened the box to photograph the contents it was clear that the carton had likely not been opened since Betty moved from New Jersey to St. Louis in 1963 following her divorce. I suspect that at one point Betty's parents owned a rather substantial china collection however the valuable and complete china sets were likely sold to help pay restitution after her father was sent to prison for embezzlement in the late 1930's. The china pictured above is likely that which was left over after most of the Hulburd family assets had been sold off.


Some miscellaneous cups and saucers that I can't identify. The 6 candle holders were used by Betty for decades.	Some more cups and saucers of unknown origin along with plates I don't recall ever seeing before.	A pottery tea set which I recall being at the Hermann Farm. I suspect these were purchased by Betty and John or given to them as a present.	A serving dish which I remember being at the Hermann Farm. Origin unknown.

Stemware and Glassware


Stemware & packaging.	Stemware from the carton.	Left side close up.	Right side close up.

The stemware above (along with some silver platters - see below) was stored in the box shown at the left. The box is hand labeled "Hine crystal glasses....." suggesting that the contents might have been of Hine origin but a close look at the box shows a factory date stamp of 08/27/96 indicating that the box came out of the factory only about two week before Betty passed away in 1996. This leads to the conclusion that the box was obtained locally after her death and that whoever labeled it with "Hine" was likely referring to who was to get the contents rather than the origin of the contents. Thus, without better information, I have no idea as to where the items in this carton originally came from. Based on the different designs contained, it's possible that this stemware came from several different sources.

More stemware stored in an unlabeled carton. Some is same as that in the previous photos. Original source unknown.

Silver


The small silver tray and a gravy boat were stored in this box.	Complete tea/coffee silver service.	Candelabra with a pattern possibly matching the silver set at left (Betty had 4 of these.)	Miscellaneous silver pieces of unknown origin.

Like some of the stemware (above), the "Hine" label on the carton (above left) initially suggests that this could be silver of Hine origin but the factory date stamped on the box (08/27/96) suggests that the written Hine label was probably the intended destination of the box and not the source of it's contents. There are no customized inscriptions on any of these silver pieces which could suggest their origin and thus I cant say where this very ornate and solid silver set came from. The pattern on the candelabra appears from the pictures to be the same as that on the tea/coffee silver service. Betty had a total of 4 of these candelabra. As I write this 2 are in storage at Henry Hine's Brentwood, TN home and the other 2 are at the Boulder, CO home of Greg Hine. The photo at the above right contains silver items of unknown origin.


Miscellaneous Silver. (Possibly Hulburd)	Silver salt & pepper shakers.	Engraved with "EHH". (Elizabeth Hulburd Hine)

The miscellaneous silver in the photo at left was stored in an unlabeled box and I don't recall seeing any of these pieces around Betty's homes over the years suggesting that perhaps these pieces were in storage for quite some time. The circular tray at the center front (left photo) has an inscription on it which is so ornate that I find it hard to read. My best guess is that it reads "ESH" which are the initials of Betty's maiden name, Elizabeth Seward Hulburd. This would suggest that she obtained this piece prior to her marriage and also that the other silver stored with it could have been of Hulburd origin. The circular platter at the left front could be a piece belonging to the ornate silver tea/coffee set shown above (previous serious of photos) as the pattern looks similar, at least from the photos. The center photo (above) is of small silver salt and pepper shakers which I have a vague recollection of seeing once or twice over the years, likely when mother was hosting a formal dinner. The right hand photo is of a 3 piece silver tea set engraved with the letters "EHH" (short for Elizabeth Hulburd Hine) which Betty must have purchased or been given during her marriage to Kirt Hine. She gave this 3 piece set to son Henry and daughter-in-law Cindy sometime before her death. As I write this the set is displayed in the Hine dining room in Brentwood, TN.


Silver flatware.	Note in Betty's handwriting stored with silverware at left.	More silverware.	Souvenir spoons.

I recall using some of the silverware shown in the above pictures over the years. A note in Betty's handwriting was included in the unmarked carton containing the silverware in the left-hand photo. It identifies some (but not all) of contents as having belonged to her paternal grandmother, Ella Knowles-Hulburd, and her maternal grandmother (Mary) Margaret Caroline Seward-Coudy. The right hand photo shows a set of "Souvenir" spoons which I recall well and which the 3 Hine sons used regularly as children growing up in New Jersey. The Indian design (top row, second from the right) was my personal favorite as a child and I ate many a meal with its help. Each spoon (on the rack at left of photo) depicts a person, place, or an event and were purchased as souvenirs when traveling. Most, if not all, of these souvenir spoons were collected by the Hine family or given to us as gifts when I was very young. As I write this the collection hangs in the home of Greg Hine in Boulder, CO.

Miscellaneous


Copper items.	Pewter plate	Misc. items.	Misc. items.

The copper items in the left-hand photo were around for a number of years though I don't think they had been passed on to Betty from previous generations. The cow bell (probably made of brass) in the center back of the left photo I believe had been around since Betty's New Jersey days and the wooden salt and pepper shakers (back center) I clearly remember using when I was a child growing up in New Jersey. The pewter plate I remember sitting on the living room coffee table in New Jersey in the 1950 but I don't know where is came from nor it's significance. It is currently displayed above the fireplace in Henry Hine's Brentwood, TN home. The third picture from the left contains miscellaneous items. The only items in this photo I recognize are the butterfly and clamshell ashtrays which I do recall seeing around the house on occasions when extra ashtrays were needed. The items in the right hand photo were included in one of the packing boxes and I have no idea of their history or significance.

Jewelry

Betty accumulated a lot of miscellaneous jewelry over the years but, particularly in her later years, didn't wear most of it often, if at all. Most of her jewelry didn't have a significant monetary value and I have no way of knowing which pieces, if any, were passed on to her by her ancestors though there was likely some. The above photos shows much of her collection.