Dinner was serious business when the Young family dined at Locust Grove! In 1901 a new and much larger dining room was added to the house to accommodate the grand parties the family would host. The adjoining Butler's Pantry and China Room made it possible to store and maintain nearly 2,000 pieces of porcelain collected by Martha Young between the 1880's and 1930's. Here you will see pieces from the Meissen, Sevres, Limoges & Cauldon factories, and more! This exhibit includes the twelve largest services belonging to the Youngs.
Chinese Export "Ribbon" Dinner Service. Made in Canton, China, 1820-1830, most likely for export to France. This enormous service includes settings for 48 people, has more than 350 individual pieces.#0963
Sevres "Napoleonic" Dinner Service. Manufactured in Paris, France at the Sevres factory, 1854. This service for 12 guests bears the Imperial monogram of Napoleon III, Emperor of France from 1852 until 1870.#1091
Limoges "Wedding" Dinner ServiceManufactured in Limoges, France at the Limoges factory, c. 1880. This service for 24 guests appears to have been ordered by William and Martha Young shortly after their marriage in 1883, and bears their "Y" monogram in gold.#1064
Chinese Export Dinner Service.Manufactured in Canton, China for export to the United States, 1840-1850. These blue and white plates and serving pieces, sometimes called "Blue Willow Pattern" were popular collectibles. This group of more than 70 pieces was purchased in the 1890's by Martha Young.#1089
Sevres "Louis Phillippe" Dinner Plates. Manufactured in Paris, France at the Sevres factory, 1846-1848. Bearing the golden monogram of Louis Phillipe, King of France from 1830-1848, the 14 plates in Locust Grove's collection are part of a larger service originally commissioned for the Chateau de Saint-Cloud.#1092
Meissen "Bird" Dinner Service. Manufactured in Dresden, Germany at the Meissen factory, c. 1875. Each of these 18 plates are decorated with a different bird perched on a branch in the center, with scattered golden insects on the border.#1098
Meissen "Sprigged" Dinner Service. Manufactured in Dresden Germany at the Meissen factory 1850-1870. Martha Young loved this pattern and added additional pieces whenever she could. By the 1930s she had accumulated nearly 250 pieces, and could serve 30 guests at a time.#1101
Meissen "Rose" Dinner Service. Manufactured in Dresden Germany and the Meissen factory, 1850-1880. The garden at Locust Grove originally featured hundreds of roses, and these beautiful plates most likely reminded Martha Young of their beauty, even when they weren't in bloom. The service has more than 100 pieces, for lunch, dinner, and tea for up to 20 guests. #1149
Cauldon "Exotic Birds" Dinner Service. Manufactured at the Cauldon factory in Stoke-on-Trent England, c. 1910. Each plate in this set of 12 plates is lavishly decorated with a different exotic (or imaginary) bird set in a landscape, and set off by a border of gilded leaves. Retailed by Gilman, Collamore & Co. of New York City - one of Martha Young's favorite shops for porcelain.#1168
Meissen "Compass" Dinner Service. Manufactured at the Meissen factory in Dresden Germany, c. 1900. This smaller Meissen service, with just 12 plates, is much simpler in design than the larger floral services. #1169
Hylah Bevier Hasbrouck Service.
Transferware Dinner Service. England, 1825-1830.Transfer decorated plates were widely produced in the early 19th-century, often with scenes of contemporary events or popular buildings and landscapes. Martha Young collected more than three dozen plates with the popular scene of the Marquis de Lafayette landing in New York Harbor in 1825 for a visit to United States.#0544