19th Century Hand-Painted French Plate by Louis Martin Lebeuf & Co. is an example of porcelains and ceramics identified as Criel-Montereau which is a generic term used to describe French faience produced in the French towns of Criel, Osse, and Montereau, Seine-deMarne.  Robert Bray O’Reilly, a Paris glass merchant, founded a ceramic factory in Criel in 1797. It lasted just over a year. A second factory was established in 1801. A group of British-born directors and owners managed the company. Jacques Bagnall, born in Burselm in 1762 and who previously worked at Doual and Chantilly, became director in 1802. Bagnall copied the neo-classical styles of Wedgwood and other English ceramic manufactures.  Charles Gaspard Alexandre Sein-Circq Casaux succeeded Bagnall in 1811. He purchased the Montereau factory in 1819. In 1840, he merged the two operations. At the time, the Criel factory employed 900 workers.  Louis-Martin Lebeuf (1792-1854) and Jean Baptiste Garften Millet (1797-1875) purchased the combined factories in 1841. George Vernon, the father, served as art director until 1849. His son George was his assistant. In 1849, they introduced the production of soft paste porcelain. Henry Félix Anatoie Barluet succeeded the Vernons. He created a worker city to house his employees.  After a disastrous 1895 fire, production at the Criel factory ended.
Circa 1890
Measures 7.5 in diameter