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Lu-Ray Pastels Dinnerware

by Les Stewart

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Back Left/Right - Curved Spout Teapot, Flower Vase (Epergne), Vegetable Bowl Front Left/Right - After Dinner Cup & Saucer, Oval Baker

When the local Colorado Springs depression era glass show began 11 years ago, we asked our adult daughter to select a Depression Glass pattern as her pattern. We fully expected her to pick one of the basic patterns of Depression Glass between Adam and Windsor. We planned to get her pieces of her new Depression Glass pattern as presents for Christmas and birthdays over the future years. We were surprised when her selected pattern was Lu-Ray dinnerware and not a Depression Glass pattern. But, considering our daughter grew up using Fiesta in our home maybe we shouldn’t have been so surprised. The Fiesta that was found in garage sales while she was young possibly influenced her choice as it did the creation of Lu-Ray.

The Taylor Smith & Taylor Company, located in Chester, West Virginia, began making semi-porcelain dinnerware in 1899. They continued in business making many different patterns and shapes of dinnerware. In the thirties, various companies like Bauer, Franciscan, and Homer Laughlin China Company brought out their many types of bright colored dinnerware. The new brightly colored dinnerware like Homer Laughlin’s Fiesta were quickly accepted by the American housewife. The art-deco dinnerware was right for the time and it was in big demand. The Taylor Smith & Taylor Company jumped on the bandwagon with their own brightly colored Vistosia pattern in January of 1938. Vistosia was made in lesser numbers than some of the more collectible bright colored dinnerware, as it was only produced from 1938-1942.

Egg Cups in 4 Original Colors

The Taylor Smith & Taylor Company made their own bold move by introducing a line of similar dinnerware to the hugely popular bright color lines, but in pastels. The Lu-Ray Pastel line was introduced in the fall of 1938 and it was continued with minor changes until 1962. The Lu-Ray name did come from the company’s lead salesman having recently visiting the Lu-Ray Caverns located in Lu-Ray, Virginia. Lu-Ray was marketed differently than the bright colored dinnerware lines. Advertising in the spring made the Lu-Ray Pastels spring like colors seem perfect for the traditional June brides. They realized many new brides wanted to be stylish without having the bright colors of a Vistosia type table setting. The four original pastel colors were named Windsor Blue, Surf Green, Persian Cream, and Sharon Pink. The Persian Cream is actually a soft yellow color.

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Many individual pieces in Windsor Blue Back Left/Right - Four Plates sizes with somewhat rare grill on right Front Left/Right – 30s bowl, nappy, cup & saucer, larger nappy, egg cup

The early years after conception in 1938 were highly successful years for Lu-Ray sales. But, tinkering with the concept could not be resisted so some items had incredibly short runs. The after diner coffee set was straight sided for one year and then replaced with the more common rounded Empire shape. The straight-sided set is sometimes now referred to as the chocolate set. The water jug lost the foot at this time. And the curved spout teapot replaced the flat spout original design. The original designs were made for very short periods making them harder to find and more valuable. Some continued experimentation was made with items like a handle-less sugar being reported. After the end of WWII, American manufactures were again facing heavy competition from foreign manufacturers. In response, many items (21) were dropped from the Lu-Ray line at that time. Dropped items include pieces like the mixing bowls, vase/urn, fruit juice jug & tumblers, tumblers, epergne, and the list goes on. The Lu-Ray line saw the only color change with the introduction of Chatham Gray in 1947. At that time many of the serving pieces became only available only in the most popular Persian Cream. This explains why items like the teapot, salad bowl, water jug, chop plate, and fixed-stand sauce boat are much more common today in Persian Cream than the other colors. Chatham Gray had disappointing sales so it was discontinued in 1952.

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Many pieces in Persian Cream Back Left/Right - Oval Platter, Relish Dish, Salad Bowl Front left/Right – Covered Butter, Curved Spout Teapot

Many people find what they consider odd ball Lu-Ray pieces. Lu-Ray continued to be the main moneymaker for the Taylor Smith & Taylor Company so they made attempts to grow the line. Those attempts produced many items that confuse people today. A line of Chatham Gray Lu-Ray was brought out with platinum rings in the middle of that color’s short existence. A complete set of Chatham Gray Lu-Ray with applied flowers also has been seen. Many different combinations of applied flowers and rings can be found on Lu-Ray. In addition to the size, shape, and color references, many Lu-Ray pieces have a useful mark. The Lu-Ray mark on the back/bottom identifies T.S.&T. as the manufacturer with the Lu-Ray Pastels identifying the line. In addition to the U.S.A. country of manufacturer there are identifying marks like 2-40 to identify the date of manufacture. The smaller pieces just received the U.S.A. mark. By the fifties the bulk of Lu-Ray was no longer marked. Taylor Smith & Taylor continued making dinnerware into the early seventies when the company was sold to Anchor Hocking. The only confusion I was unable to clear up is why the salesman handouts for Lu-Ray Pastels list East Liverpool, Ohio as the company location Collectors of Lu-Ray have enjoyed the double-sided curse of its recent discovery by Martha Stewart. When our daughter discovered Lu-Ray it was relatively common and easy to find. Since Martha Stewart recently featured Lu-Ray in April of 1996 the demand for and value of Lu-Ray has skyrocketed up and the location of Lu-Ray has become nearly impossible.

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Four pieces in Sharon Pink Left/Right – Covered Sugar, Salt/Pepper Shakers, Creamer

The Internet with Ebay auction and American Online Collector’s Corner for Lu-Ray collectors have become valuable sources. The Collector’s Guide to T.S.&T. Lu-Ray Pastels by Kathy & Bill Meehan has proven to be an outstanding aid to our daughter’s collection. There is also a Lu-Ray collectors annual convention with the next event scheduled for May in Ohio. There is a Lu-Ray newsletter that is available by sending a self-addressed envelope to The Lu-Ray Relay, 204 S Veitch #3, Arlington, VA 22204. For Colorado Lu-Ray collectors the two club Depression Glass shows each year are tremendous sources. The Rocky Mountain Depression Glass Society show is April 25 & 26, 1998, located at the Holiday Inn at I-70 and Chambers Road in Denver. The Pikes Peak Depression Glass Club show is September 26 & 27, 1998 at the Colorado Springs City Auditorium located, at Kiowa and Weber streets in Colorado Springs.

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Salesman Handout
Back/Front (folds in middle) (reprint)

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