In 1872 New York–born Ephraim Offner, a crockery salesman in New Orleans, partnered with other experienced ceramics dealers to sell china, glassware, crockery, and other “house furnishings” at low prices under the firm name E. Offner & Co. By the late 1870s, Offner was an agent for Haviland & Co., the largest exporter of French porcelain to the American market in the South. In 1885 the store had a special display of china in the window, showcasing a porcelain dinner service decorated specifically for the king of Carnival and an elaborate game service bearing the pattern Haviland custom designed for President Rutherford B. Hayes.
![Postcard depicting interior of E. Offner’s](https://www.hnoc.org/sites/default/files/virtual-exhib/1981.317_recto_web_0.jpg)
Postcard depicting interior of E. Offner’s
ca. 1910
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of Charles L. Mackie, 1981.317
![Dinner plate (2015.0254.6)](https://www.hnoc.org/sites/default/files/virtual-exhib/2015.0254.6_web.jpg)
Dinner plate
between 1894 and 1915; porcelain
by Haviland & Co. (Limoges, France)
E. Offner & Co., retailer (New Orleans)
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of Catherine Capdevielle Musso, 2015.0254.6
![Dinner plate (2016.0208.1.1)](https://www.hnoc.org/sites/default/files/virtual-exhib/2016.0208.1.1_001_web.jpg)
Dinner plate
between 1888 and 1896; porcelain
by Haviland & Co. (Limoges, France)
E. Offner & Co., retailer (New Orleans)
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of an anonymous donor, 2016.0208.1.1
![Dinner plate (mark; 2016.0208.1.1)](https://www.hnoc.org/sites/default/files/virtual-exhib/2016.0208.1.1_002_web.jpg)
Dinner plate (mark)
between 1888 and 1896; porcelain
by Haviland & Co. (Limoges, France)
E. Offner & Co., retailer (New Orleans)
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of an anonymous donor, 2016.0208.1.1
![E. Offner & Co. receipt (93-12-L.1)](https://www.hnoc.org/sites/default/files/virtual-exhib/mss405.556_E_recto_web.jpg)
E. Offner & Co. receipt
1906
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of William W. Rosen, 93-12-L.1