Bone China
By Josh Weaver
Bone china is not just another white salt and pepper!
What is Bone China?
There are three types of porcelain (china) - soft paste, hard paste and bone china. They vary depending on the composition of the paste and the materials used to form the body of the object produced.
Bone china is 50% bone ash (white, powdery ash left after burning [calcination] bones and calcium phosphate), 25% china clay and 25% china stone.
Why bone ash? It has high whiteness, translucency, and strength. It does not chip easily.
History
Bone china was first developed in Britain in the 18th century to compete with the imported Oriental (China) porcelain.
An English potter, Josiah Spode (1733-1797) is where the story begins. He was born in Stoke-on-Kent, Stadffordshire, England. The county of Stadffordshire is renowned for its ceramics and porcelain. He apprenticed there to Thomas Whieldon then left to join Josiah Wedgwood. He opened a factory in 1767 that is still in operation today.
He passed the factory on to his son, Josiah Spode II (1754-1827) who opened a London gallery to showcase his father's porcelain. In 1800, Josiah Spode II created bone china by adding bone ash to the formula for porcelain. The result was the hardest, most durable porcelain available.
Competitors quickly spread in Minton, Coalport, Davenport, Derby, Worcester, New Hall, Wedgwood and Rockingham. It is now worldwide, although there is only one USA producer - Lexox.
Markings
You can identify bone china by it's markings. Here are some samples:
QuickLinks to the Shakers
Series
Here are some of the popular bone china series of salt and pepper sets. Note, not all in the series may be shown.
Animals in Tree Stumps
Animals on Tree Stumps
Flowers
Animals with Pink Flowers
Dogs Holding S&P Signs
PIA Flowers
Canadian Provinces
Each of the 10 Canadian provinces inspired bone china shakers.
New Brunswick is one of three maritime provinces. It is the only constitutional bilingual province (English and French).
The provincial flower is the Purple Violet (Viola cucullata). It is native in eastern North America and can be found from Newfoundland, west to Ontario and Minnesota, and south to Georgia.
Markings
Newfoundland and Labrador was the 10th province to enter the Canadian confederation (1949) as Newfoundland. Labrador was added to the official name in 2001.
The fishing industry makes up $440 million of the GDP in the area.
The provincial flower is the Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia pupurea). It is a carnivorous plant. Their prey fall into the pitcher and drown in the rainwater. The prey items are then digested by mosquitoes and midges. This process creates nutrients that are absorbed by the plant.
British Columbia is famous for its natural beauty, as reflected in its national motto, Splendor sine occasu ("Splendor without Diminishment"). It is 75% mountainous.
The provincial flower is the Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii). It is a deciduous tree found south to California and east to Idaho.
Nova Scotia is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. It's also the second smallest province. The capitol is Halifax.
In 1867 it become one of the founding provinces, along with New Brunswick and the Province of Canada (which later became Quebec and Ontario).
The provincial flower is the Mayflower (Epigaea repens), also known as the trailing arbutus. It is a low, very fragrant, spreading scrub that is pink fading to nearly white.
Quebec is the largest province (in terms of area) in Canada.
The Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor) is the provincial flower. It's also known as the Harlequin blueflag or larger blue flag. It grows all over Quebec. It replaced the Madonna Lily (Lilium candidum) in 1999 because the Madonna Lily was not native to the province. The Madonna Lily symbolizes purity to Roman Catholics. Medieval depictions of the Virgin Mary show her clutching these flowers.
Manitoba has over 110,000 lakes. It's major lakes are Lake Manitoba, Lake Winnipegosis, and Lake Winnipeg, the 10th largest fresh water lake in the world. Manitoba's lakes cover approximately 15.6% of its surface area.
The provincial flower is the Pasque (Pulsatilla vulgaris). It's also known as prairie crocus, wind flower, Easter flower, and meadow anemone. The flower first blooms in spring, often before the winter snows have thawed. It is also the state flower of North Dakota.
Saskatchewan is a prairie province. It is named after the Saskatchewan River.
The provincial flower is the Western Red Lily (Lilium philadelphicum). It is also known as wood lily, Philadelphia lily, prairie lily and western red lily. It is protected under the Provincial Emblems and Honours Act and cannot be picked, uprooted or destroyed in any way.
Alberta is a landlocked province. It borders British Columbia, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories, and a single U.S. state to the south - Montana. It's one of Canada's three prairie provinces.
The provincial flower is the Wild Rose (Rosa acicularis). It is also known as the prickly wild rose, prickly rose, bristly rose, and Arctic rose. It is a species of wild rose with a holarctic distribution in the northern regions of Asia, Europe and North America.
Ontario is the largest Province by population and second largest by size. It is the only province that borders the Great Lakes. Toronto is the capital of Ontario. Ottawa, Ontario is the capital of Canada.
Along with New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Quebec, Ontario is one of the four original provinces of Canada when the federal nation was created July 1, 1867, when the British North America Act (BNA) came into force. Upon achievement of full independence from the United Kingdom in 1982, the BNA was re-christened the Constitution Act.
The provincial flower is White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum). It is also known as the great white trillium and the white wake-robin. It is a member of the lily family. Its seeds spread through ant-mediated dispersal (myrmecochory). It is also the state wild flower of Ohio.
Prince Edward Island is the smallest Province by population and size. It is named after Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, who was the fourth son of King George IV and Queen Victoria. It is also known as "Garden of the Gulf" and "Birthplace of Confederation" (referring to the Charlottetown Conference of 1864).
The provincial flower is Pink Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium acaule). It is of the orchid genus.
Irene's Favorites
The late Irene Thornberg, author of several salt and pepper shaker books, an avid salt and pepper shaker collector, and an active member of the Novelty Salt and Pepper Shakers Club, enjoyed the following bone china series.
Jubilee Swans
Royal Adderley Swans
Aynsley Flowers
Animals
Horses
Owls
Birds
Ducks
Fish
Cats
Rabbits
Dogs
Deer
Pigs
Miscellaneous Animals
Most Well Known
Noah's Ark Bone China Animals
Noah's Ark bone china animals are some of the most well known bone china shaker sets. There are 24 sets of animals with each pair consisting of a male and a female. They can be identified by their paper label that reads "Bone China - Salt Pepper - Japan".
Another series of animals can be easily confused with the Noah's Ark bone china animals. The way to differentiate the two is by the labels.
versus 
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The 24 sets of animals:
Miniature Bone China Nursery Rhyme Series
The Miniature Bone China Nursery Rhyme series was offered for sale in Heather House News (Parkcraft's mail order division) in the Winter 1962 issue. They were originally sold in two groups of six sets each. Their paper label reads "Bone China - Salt Pepper - Japan".
Little Red Riding Hood & Cat and the Fiddle
Old Woman in the Shoe & Old King Cole
Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater & Jack and Jill
Little Miss Muffett & Little Bo Peep
Humpty Dumpty & Little Jack Horner
Mary and her Little Lamb & Little Boy Blue
Interesting Sets
Blue Boy and Pinkie
The portraits Blue Boy (by Thomas Gainsborough ca 1770) and Pinkie (by Sir Thomas Lawrence 1794) are on display at Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. Henry Edwards Huntington, a wealthy, successful, American businessman purchased both portraits in 1920 and they have been inseparable ever since.
Punch and Judy
Punch and Judy is a traditional, popular English puppet show featuring Punch and his wife Judy. Their performance consists of a sequence of short scenes involving Punch behaving outrageously, struggling with Judy and triumphing in a series of encounters with forces of law and order (often supernatural). It is performed by a single puppeteer, known since Victorian times as "professor."
Why Collect Bone China?
- The sets are small. Most sets are 2"-2.5" and rarely greater than 3.5".
- They are cute.
- They are delicate.
- The series have a limited number of sets to collect. There are large series (Canadian Provinces, Noah's Ark Animals, and Nursery Rhymes) and small series (Animals in Stumps, Animals on Stumps, and Flowers).
- Sets are inexpensive. Most are $5 to $10. The most expensive are $20 to $40 (Noah's Ark Animals, Nursery Rhymes and Royal Albert*).
- They all look good together.
- Bone china is not just another white salt and pepper shaker!
