Porcelain production in the Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) region of western
Bohemia is featured here. American importers of the New York firm
Larzarus Straus & Sons financed the creation of the Marx & Gutherz
factory in 1884. It later became known as the Oscar & Edgar Gutherz
Royal Austria factory. Over 1000 color photographs and illustrations
demonstrate the rich variety of porcelain items produced by the factory
between 1889 and 1918. The Gutherz factory exported factory-decorated
ware and large amounts of undecorated porcelain, known as "whitewall" to
satisfy interest in amateur porcelain painting in America. The methods
used to decorate and market Royal Austria porcelain are explained and
American hand-decorated pieces are presented, making the book an
invaluable reference for those who purchase, sell, or have inherited
this fine tableware. The plate blanks are identified, categorized, and
illustrated in over 100 patterns. Many shapes of dinnerware, cups and
saucers, and hollowware handles are shown for the first time. A list of
the numbered molds used to create hundreds of shapes is unique.