Pickard China - History

History

Pickard China was incorporated in Edgerton, Wisconsin, in 1893. Wilder Austin Pickard (1857-1939) started the company in 1894 by offering his customers hand-painted giftware, artware, and eventually dinnerware of the highest quality. He moved the company to Chicago in 1897. The company was originally called Pickard China Studio and it specialized in hand decorating dessert and tea sets.

Pickard assembled a group of exceptionally talented men and women china painters, many emigrating from Europe, to create this uniquely American style of hand-painted china. Many of the original artists were from the Art Institute of Chicago. At first all the porcelain was manufactured in Europe. Pickard would import the blank plates and decorate them in their studio.

Wilder Pickard's son Austin Pickard began to work at the company and made the decision to begin manufacturing the blank plates and dishes themselves. In 1930 the first experimental china was made. Pickard also worked on making its own glazes. In 1937, after the experimentation was complete, a production facility was opened in Antioch, Illinois.

Austin's son, Henry A. Pickard, aka Pete Pickard, was the third generation to enter the family business and served as president from 1966 until his retirement in 1994. Pete's brother-in-law, Eben C. Morgan II, succeeded him as the president of the corporation and remained at the helm for 16 years, until shortly before his death in June 2008. Richard E. Morgan and Andrew Pickard Morgan, the founder's great grandsons, both joined the company and represent the fourth generation of the family in the business.

Pickard, Inc., remains a family-owned business proudly producing high quality, hand-crafted china. The company's sales are primarily in fine china dinnerware, decorative accessories and collectibles for individuals, government and corporate organizations, both domestic and international.