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 Florence Ceramics are collected for their inherent charm and sense of movement. You can
tell a mermaid created by Florence Ceramics in an instant - their eyes were very unique with just one lash going out to the side. Very sleek in design! Florence Ward started producing
ceramics in her home's garage in Pasadena when her husband, Clifford, enlisted in the USMC and went off to war.... in 1942 the Florence Ceramics Company was born. After the
end of World War II, her husband and son joined the company. By 1946, the distribution of Florence Ceramics figurines had expanded not only to major cities in the United States
including Chicago, Dallas, and New York, Florence figurines were being sold in South American and Europe. The end of World War II marked the beginning of the end for Florence Ceramics as it had with so many
other domestic pottery and ceramics producers. The United States government encouraged the growth industries in Japan and
there were no tariffs imposed to protect domestic industries. Japanese factories started copying Florence mermaids - Florence
Ward was one of the few small pottery companies that actually brought suit against the Japanese company that was making
reproductions of her things. The reproductions have about the same shape but their eyes are done much differently, some had
lining around the top of the outfit, none of them had the Florence Ceramics Copyright, and they are at least 1" shorter than the
originals. There were even reproductions of the shell dish, but again it's easy to tell the repro as it is not as finely done as the
Florence shell, has a dark edging on the top of the shell, and isn't as large as the original. Unfortunately Florence ran out of
money and had to let the suit drop. No doubt there may be US reproductions floating around too. But you have to give it to
Florence for trying to sue Japan! In 1964, Clifford Ward Sr. died. Florence Ward and her son Clifford Jr. sold Florence Ceramics to Scripto.
Florence Ceramics mermaids are just gorgeous and SO feminine. They are called the Merrymaids - Jane, Betty, and Rosie and
came with a big shell dish. Each one came as a blonde and as a brunette. Jane is the one with the gloves that sits on perch of the
shell. Betty is the one in the middle. They always had the Florence Ceramics Copyright on the bottom and each one had the same type eyes and lips. These are just gorgeous and can be quite expensive.
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