MRS. HENRY FORD'S HOBBY

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 273, 18 November 1936, Page 16

MRS. HENRY FORD'S HOBBY

There are two tastes which Mrs Henry Ford learned from her English mother. One is for gardening and the other is a fondness of fine china. Ever since the early days of their marriage, Mr Ford has encouraged her in these propensities and thus, himself, acquired a discriminating taste in tho same things.

One of the reasons fur Mrs ford’s unusual collection of china is the iact that whenever she expresses admiration for anything beautiful, her husband tries to give it to her. There was an evening when they were strolling in London. In a shop window was an old cream and ye.low and gold tea set that brought an exclamation from her. Quietly, Mr Ford went out the next day, bought it and it arrived as a surprise on her birthday. Another day in London they visited an antique shop. They found some of the beautiful tables and chairs .which they have now. On one table was a set of china so exquisite that the temptation to buy it was too great to resist. It is of Crown Derby with wide applegreen bands outlined in scrolls of gold. The set is complete with almost every conceivable size and variety ... of dish, plate, bowl, platter and tureen, including a pair of quaint small tureens. A dozen plates of solid green old Wedgwood, lotus and w.cker design, were rescued from the murk and dust of a high cupboard shelf in England by Mr Ford. He had to climb on top of a table and sideboard to get them. One of Mrs Ford’s unusual sets of plates in three sizes is of Leeds—a oeautiful dear-cream colour with patterns of delicate perforations and raised paste on the edges. From Mr and Sirs Edsel Ford one Christmas she received an old Royal Worcester tea set, all of a warm, pinkish beige colour, with an. elaborate de-

Collection of Rare Dishes

sign of gold. Each plate ai ifs centre has a landscape in colours.

If any set were to be distinguished as the most beautiful in her collection, it probably would be the. ChamberlainWorcester .made by a factory founded in 178 G. Mrs Ford’s set is a fine example of the process of ground-laying with colour and with superimposed decorations. In laymen’s language it ha» panels of gold foliage on a “rosedewberry” (which is Mrs Ford’s name for tho indescribable colour) ground with floral medallions in the white centres of all the pieces. All this old china is distinguished by the original shapes and styles of tho dishes. set, there is a boat-shaped compotier on a graceful pedestal and gold feet, two oval dishes, two shell-shaped, two rectangular ones, and plates and bowls of many

shapes. . Of the same make, Mrs Ford has a set decorated with gold bands and borders of flowers. It has two ’large vase-like urns with ornamental, covers and a reccptable in the bottom for either hot or cold water held around the removable bowl within. ' There is a great bowl of Chinese porcelain which has a story connected to it. Mr and Mrs Ford were going through an English castle when she saw the bowl and she exclaimed, “If there is another liko that in England I’d like to take it home.” Although Mrs Ford pointed out tbe impossibility of its being sold, Mr Ford left an offer for the great bowl with an agent. Six ,months later the offer was accepted with the request that the name of the castle be kept secret. Tho great bowl, with its rare colouring and the innumerable flowers and figures covering its surface, is cherished by the Fords not only for its beauty but also because it came from the girlhood home of Mrs Ford’s mother.