Italian Holiday by Mikasa
Holiday Spirit by Lenox Crystal
French Shell Stainless by Wallace Silver

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Mikasa Italian Holiday features a poinsettia, a spray of mistletoe tied with festive ribbon, and a brass horn decorated with holly. This beautiful whiteware is completed with an embossed fluted rim accented with scroll designs and green trim. The Italian Holiday pattern wonderfully represents the craftsmanship and production excellence associated with the Mikasa company. In the early 1930s, Mikasa was established as an international trading company based in Secaucus, New Jersey. The company, while wholly American, looked to Japan for inspiration. Named in honor of Prince Mikasa, the youngest brother of Emperor Hirohito, Mikasa soon established itself as one of the most recognized Japanese brand names in the West. Importing merchandise produced by a network of over 150 manufacturers worldwide, the company itself never attempted to make any of the dinnerware it sold. Rather, the Mikasa branded items were imported from Japan, Ireland, England, France, and Germany. Business exploded in the 1950s, and tableware became the staple business for Mikasa. Customer requests were pouring in from all parts of the country, and department stores including Bloomingdale's and Macy's could not keep enough stock to meet demand. Consumers found Mikasa ceramics to be very strong, versatile, and stylish. Today, Mikasa continues to leverage the momentum it has built over the decades since its inception.

Lenox Crystal Holiday Spirit features a smooth stem, a round foot, and a convex bowl adorned with a charming holly and berry motif. Since the 1950s, about half the china set on dinner tables in this country has borne the Lenox backstamp. Responding to consumer demand, Lenox introduced a line of hand-blown crystal to complement its china in 1966. In 1991, again responding to consumers, Lenox began to produce silver flatware, making it the first company in America to offer the complete tabletop.

Wallace Silver’s French Shell is an alluring stainless steel flatware pattern. Showcasing a graceful and understated shell design, French Shell is eye-catching flatware that perfectly complements the elegant embossed elements of Italian Holiday china and the classic design of Holiday Spirit crystal. Wallace Silver, established in Connecticut nearly two centuries ago, has long been recognized for excellence in tableware craftsmanship. The founder of the company, Robert Wallace, was born in 1815 into a family of silversmiths who had immigrated to New England from Scotland. Apprenticed to William Mix, a renowned Connecticut spoon maker, Wallace, after mastering his trade, purchased a dilapidated grist mill and began to produce his own silver flatware in 1833. French Shell is just one of many examples of Wallace Silver’s high-quality work.

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