| Management number | 232350346 | Release Date | 2026/06/21 | List Price | $5.28 | Model Number | 232350346 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | |||||||||
Gladding McBean was founded in 1875 by Charles Gladding, Peter McGill McBean and George Chambers. Originally they manufactured clay sewer pipes. Peter McBean became president of the company after Charles Gladding's death in 1894. During the 1920's there were several mergers and acquisitions as the company continued to grow. During the Great Depression all construction stopped & demand for building materials was low, the company looked for new products and in 1932 expanded into tableware. In 1934, Gladding McBean introduced the now famous "Franciscan Pottery" line of dinnerware and art ware, (named after the Franciscan friars who established missions throughout California in the 18th and 19th centuries). The company introduced fine china dinnerware in 1942 and due to World War II, discontinued all artware lines. For a time they were known as the "World's Largest Ceramics Manufacturers". A very little known fact about Gladding McBean, as part of their clay business, products were used to decorate thousands of buildings, including most major structures on the campus of Stanford University. The red roof tiles and architectural terracotta they created is seen on many Spanish Colonial Revival style homes in California even today. There are still some great examples of their work in buildings throughout the west coast such as: San Diego's Spreckels Theater and the Ventura County Courthouse.
If you notice any omissions or errors in the product information on this page, please use the correction request form below.
Correction Request Form