Circa 1891 China Painting Kit and Painted Porcelain Plates, Photographed at Henry Ford Museum in 1960

China painting was an important pastime for many American women. They painted over the glaze of fired, undecorated pieces of white porcelain called "blanks." China painters learned and shared decorating techniques through manuals, classes, and regional and national associations. China painting peaked around 1900, but it remained a major feature of some women's lives through the first World War.