French Porcelain Inkwell – Wm Guerin & Co

This hand-painted porcelain inkstand is adorned with flowers in pink, purple, blue, and orange, and finished with gilded edges. The inkstand features an inkwell with an unattached lid on the left side. The shape of the inkstand is irregular and ornate, serving as a pen tray with a scalloped edge. There is also a built-in branch-like pen holder on the rear side of the tray. The piece is marked on the underside with “WG&Co France” (William Guerin) and “Wm Guerin & Co France / Fabrique Pour J Seth Hopkins Co. Baltimore, Md”. J. Seth Hopkins was a porcelain importer in Baltimore.

William (Guillaume) Guérin founded Wm Guerin & Co in 1836, initially renting a porcelain decorating workshop in Limoges, France. In 1872, he acquired the porcelain workshop of Lebon & Cie, and five years later, he bought the porcelain factory belonging to Utzschneider. The company was joined by Guérin’s sons, William and Andre, in 1903.

In 1911, Wm Guerin & Co merged with the Pouyat factory, creating “anciens établissements J.Pouyat, William Guérin et Cie”. William Guérin passed away in 1912, and his sons took over the company. The company was taken over by Bawo & Dotter Ltd in 1920, and the new name of the firm became Guérin, Pouyat, Elite Ltd. Unfortunately, due to increasing competition from Czechoslovakian and German manufacturers and the financial crisis of 1929, the Guerin factory closed in 1932.