Restaurant Ware Archives

Posted on January 1, 2026January 1, 2026 by Putnam & Speedwell

Nostalgia: Breakfast Memories

There are breakfast people. And, there are those who shun breakfast.

I am one of those who skip the early morning meal of the day. I trace this preference back to my grade school days. . .. Back then, we fasted to join in the ritual of Communion. We brought breakfast to school . . . before the “invention” of the breakfast sandwich. Cold toast was my breakfast of choice. Habits are hard to break . . . now, Breakfast is coffee and toast. Except for weekends or holidays. . . .I confess that here and there I had friends that encouraged a more wholesome meal. They were worried; not really scornful. Many years later, I asked Aunt Nettie how she managed to keep her health and beauty. Her advice, “Every morning, I have one cup of coffee and toast.” This does not work for everyone; but, this breakfast worked for her.

Strong Boys and Girls

Today is one of those cold winter days – below freezing with ice and a frosting of snow. Hot Oatmeal or Cream of Wheat with brown sugar sounds like a good start. It is not an accident that we have been eating these grains for over 100 years. Geography is the best indicator of foods that we eat for any meal of the day . . . indeed, it is the most important indicator.¹ The Midwest is one of the “breadbaskets” of the world. In the Midwest, Corn is king. Wheat and Oats aren’t far behind. If not Quaker Oats, then Wheatena or Cream Wheat. Over time, the simplest of breakfasts is one simple ritual that connects us all. Even if, we did not eat breakfast. Even if we hated oatmeal. Memories of time past in the everyday of life.

The Breakfast of Champions

“But Dad, everyone else . . .” Marketing turned Breakfast Flakes into a favorite for children. Boxes filled with sugar coated flakes, fruity loops, marshmallow bits tucked in a box of colored flakes. Small shoppers found their favorites on the lowest shelves in the grocery store. My Dad was not convinced. The everyone else argument was a certainty in these situations. “If everyone else jumps off the bridge would you?” he invariably responded. He used the cold truth of a logical fallacy.

Cereal Flakes appealed to busy working families. Corn Flakes, Wheaties, Rice Krispies and Cheerios are a few of the original cold cereals. These are sweetened but not sugar coated so they passed the Dad test in our family. Fill a bowl and add some cereal flakes. Voila! Breakfast for all.

Celebration Breakfast

The morning of high holidays is marked by friends and family. They gather around a table laden with a grand breakfast. French Toast, Pancakes, Muffins along with assortments of fruit. Some add ham, sausage or bacon. Many times, these are planned as buffets. Guests arrive with a family favorite recipe presented on a beautiful serving dish.

This is the time when the tablecloth is unfolded and placed on the table, napkins, silverware and the best plates. These are wedding gifts or a family heirlooms . . . . there are layers of family traditions brought to this table. The heritage of a family grows over generations along with the memories. Charles Dickens said it best.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us.

Links:

Carr China Bowl Green Lines | Vintage Americana

FOOTNOTES

https://pressbooks.pub/humangeog/chapter/thinking-geographically/ ↩︎

Posted on August 21, 2017August 12, 2022 by Putnam & Speedwell

Every Plate Tells a Story: Horn and Hardart

At the turn of the last century, the potteries along the Ohio River were working overtime to fulfill rapidly increasing orders – bricks for streets, clay products for drainage, durable toilet wares, and dinnerware. American potteries had developed new production methods and, importantly for consumers, the china produced was equal to the wares produced in England. There was a celebratory air in the potteries as described by editors in business journals.

In Beaver Falls, the annual holiday loaf was brief. Indeed, the customary holiday inactivity which extended from December 24 to January 3 gave way to a short holiday break. The economic boom was no less evident on the streets of cities. Two entrepreneurs, Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart, opened a luncheonette in Philadelphia automated equipment imported from Germany. City workers with little time for lunch filled the restaurants – they claimed one out of sixteen people ate once a day in a Horn & Hardart.

Two entrepreneurs, Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart, opened a luncheonette in Philadelphia with automated equipment. City workers with little time for lunch filled the restaurants. Soon, Horn & Hardart prepared food for carry-out by the consumer.

Messiers Horn and Hardart did not cut corners – they offered fresh food prepared carefully. In The Automat: Birth of a Fast Food Nation, Christopher Klein writes:

While Horn & Hardart Automats delivered food quickly, meals were made from scratch using fresh, high-quality ingredients. Items were prepared shortly before they were eaten, and food was not allowed to linger overnight. Freshly squeezed orange juice that sat for two hours was poured down the drain.

Back along the Ohio River, Mayer China was producing Marion for the new automats in New York. Marion is an Art Deco teal transferware pattern. The simple design is charming, but not cloying. It is warm and comfortable not commercial.

Marion by Mayer China

The resplendent surroundings of the Horn & Hardart Automats—with marble counters and floors, stained glass, chrome fixtures, ornately carved ceilings and Art Deco signage—more resembled Parisian bistros than sterile, dingy fast food outlets. Food was served on real china and eaten with solid flatware. Automat: Birth of a Fast Food Nation

Posted on August 2, 2017July 8, 2018 by Putnam & Speedwell

Classic Americana: Heavy Old Diner Coffee Mug

Classic, curvy, heavy and durable coffee mug. The kind used in the local diner for years. From that rather humble beginning, mugs like these have become icons of the past. It is still possible to find great old mugs that are simple, heavy and durable in shades of white. Rarely do they bear any signatory other than a makers mark on the bottom. But very old ironstone mugs like this are not always marked. But we can find them because they were made to endure. In short, they don’t make them like this anymore.
– The lines were hand drawn – no two mugs are the same.
– The oldest mugs were not poured into a mold – they were hand-fashioned on a wheel.
– Vitrified by high temps, twice fired at 2200 degrees. The heat is so high that the glaze fuses with the clay to form glass – resistant to stains, safe for the dishwasher.
– Because of the weight and thickness, this mug will keep your hot beverage warm for just a bit longer.

The classic white coffee mug on the red and white check tablecloth was produced by Hall China in East Liverpool, Ohio, circa 1925. Fortunately, Hall China remains a fully operational pottery. At present, Hall is geared to the professional cook, they produce pieces that will go into the freezer, the dishwasher on sterilize, into the oven or the broiler for au gratin.

This beauty was produced by Sterling China in Wellsville, Ohio in the 1930s; the stamp is very early.

The double pin stripe lines are especially appealing. So clean and cool. What is even more remarkable is the glaze – still bright with lots of sheen. Heavy? Yes, this Sterling coffee mug weighs 1.25 pounds.

Available at http://etsy.me/2f9xlKg

Posted on July 29, 2017July 29, 2017 by Putnam & Speedwell

Classic Restaurant Ware – The Green Crest Border

If there is one pattern that defines restaurant ware then perhaps, a green crest border would find a place in the top three patterns. But still, it is not easy to find in quantity these days. But sometimes, a tall stack of these old diner dishes appears in a dusty old basement or the back room of a restaurant. Like these. . . . stacks and stacks of plates.

Posted on May 1, 2016 by Putnam & Speedwell

Bailey-Walker China: Blue and White Ironstone

Blue and White Ironstone, Bailey-Walker China, ca. 1930s

Sometimes I look through a stack of plates with amazement. Really? Seventy-five years old? These plates are really that old? How in the world did they produce millions of plates, literally in the case of Bailey-Walker China Company and at the end of the day, have a quality product. As one writer has put it, the plates are “bullet proof.” I believe it might have something to do with the fact…

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Posted on May 1, 2016 by Putnam & Speedwell

Vintage Restaurant Ware: A Sentimental Journey

Hotel Lafayette, Warwick China

Certainly restaurant ware was not produced to fill emotional needs. In fact these wares fulfilled highly practical needs for commercial accounts such as durability including chip resistance and heat resistance. The rounded edges of restaurant ware resisted chipping unlike dinnerware produced for homes. Later, large manufacturers like Syracuse developed dinnerware that saved space as kitchens…

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Posted on April 22, 2016 by Putnam & Speedwell

April Showers, Spring Flowers and Dandelion Bouquets

Already April. Spring. Since the last post describing the world as our marketplace, we have been a little overwhelmed with the response. Such an honor it is. The wares produced here in the Ohio Valley that once moved up and down the mighty Ohio River are now making their way across the globe via our little post office and then onto planes and trucks. Already it is spring. It is raining – April…

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Posted on July 19, 2015 by Putnam & Speedwell

Restaurant Ware: Warwick China Company, Wheeling, West Virginia

Warwick China Company enjoyed a long history – over sixty years producing decorative pieces, fine dinnerware and finally, vitrified china. According to their catalog ca. 1940s, they produced “Vitrified China for Hotels, Clubs, Restaurants, Institutions, Steamships, Railroads, and Hospitals.” No doubt, their entry into china production for commercial accounts was one way in which the Warwick…

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Posted on July 19, 2015July 19, 2015 by Putnam & Speedwell

Restaurant Ware: Warwick China Company, Wheeling, West Virginia

Warwick China Company enjoyed a long history – over sixty years producing decorative pieces, fine dinnerware and finally, vitrified china. According to their catalog ca. 1940s, they produced “Vitrified China for Hotels, Clubs, Restaurants, Institutions, Steamships, Railroads, and Hospitals.” No doubt, their entry into china production for commercial accounts was one way in which the Warwick China Company hoped to keep the kilns firing and so many residents of Wheeling employed. After all, Wheeling was one of the great manufacturing centers in the nineteenth century. Sadly, this manufacturer closed in doors in 1951.

Warwick had produced some of the most beautiful china – highly decorated and complex pieces. They were one of the few American potteries to attempt the manufacture of flow blue. Their expertise was well known in the pottery world. Wheeling of course possessed all of the natural assets necessary to produce, market and ship wares. The chamber of commerce of Wheeling announced that Wheeling was at the crossroads for manufacturing and shipping. Most American pottery was manufactured in the Ohio Valley along the mighty Ohio River. And as a consequence, Wheeling certainly played an important part in the history of Ohio River Pottery.