Monday 31 May 2010

N. S. & S. HB Quimper. Do you know the name of the store??

We were recently asked by a fledgling collector if we could tell her more about a small HB Quimper jug that had been passed down through her family.

She had always understood that it was bought by her grandmother at Macy's department store in the1930's.
However, a quick glance told me that it wasn't a piece from that department store as it didn't have the Macy's star mark that they used.

In the December 2006 issue of the QCI Journal there is a very interesting piece about the many department stores that commissioned Quimper items and there I found photographs of a yellow plate decorated with a rooster and a small dish with a variation of the Petit Breton decor.
Both of these pieces bear the same mark as the jug.

In the 1930's the Grand Maison de la Hubaudiere did create pieces marked with the letters N. S.& S. but which store they were destined for is information no longer available and has baffled Quimper experts and collectors for years.
If you can shed any light on this mark please leave a comment, I know that not only the jug's owner but many other Quimpernuts would be very happy indeed to have this mystery solved once and for all..

4 comments:

  1. Maggie, hope someone can offer some more information on this store.
    Hope you are having a great day! Beautiful here in TX for Memorial Day. ~ Sarah

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  2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_defunct_department_stores_of_the_United_States

    The list above of defunct department stores in teh US is pretty comprehensive and none of the stores have the initials N.S.& S. the mystery continues...

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  3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Straus

    Though it seems that Nathan Straus and SOns owned a company that sold crockery to macy's and they even owned Macy's at one time. so this seems possible as it matches the mark and the history of the piece.

    trisha johnson

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  4. Very interesting...hope you find out more info....sure is pretty!

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