Edwin R. and Harriet Pelton Perkins Memorial Fund 1988.10
Location
not on view
Tucker Factory
The first American porcelain factory of note, begun in 1825 by William Ellis Tucker (d. 1832) in Philadelphia. It became Tucker & Hulme in 1828 Tucker & Hemphill in 1831. From 1833 to 1836 the factory was run by Joseph Hemphill (1770-1842) with Tucker's brother Thomas (1812-1890) as manager. It closed in 1838. Early wares were decorated with painted scenes in sepia and dark brown, similar to blue-and-white Staffordshire wares: later, during the Hemphill period, they became much richer, often derived from Sèvres patterns, with heavy gilding and brightly painted flower decorations.