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.…
Classic Americana: Heavy Old Diner Coffee Mug
Classic, curvy, heavy and durable old diner coffee mug . . . they don't make them like this anymore.
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…
Bailey-Walker China: Blue and White Ironstone
Bailey-Walker China: Blue and White IronstoneSometimes 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…
Vintage Restaurant Ware: A Sentimental Journey
Vintage Restaurant Ware: A Sentimental JourneyCertainly 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…
April Showers, Spring Flowers and Dandelion Bouquets
April Showers, Spring Flowers and Dandelion BouquetsAlready 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…
Restaurant Ware: Warwick China Company, Wheeling, West Virginia
Restaurant Ware: Warwick China Company, Wheeling, West VirginiaWarwick 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…
Restaurant Ware: Warwick China Company, Wheeling, West Virginia
The top of plate is equally fascinating . . . this platter produced by Warwick China has double black lines. Not the classic double green line that I admire.