Possible Mid Century Dishes?

[sarahsmidcentury]

Need help figuring out anything about these…. The only mark I could find was on the bottom of the sugar bowl is stamped USA. I can’t find this pattern anywhere. I think it is mid century, but something to help me find the pattern name or a comp price would be super helpful. Thanks!

http://imgur.com/a/DjULW

[Ryanne]

lots of china from WWII era is marked just USA. almost impossible to find a maker. but you can just write up a title that generically describes it like–
Vintage Mid Century Gold Diamonds 4 Cups Saucer Cream Sugar Set

[MDC Galleries & Fine Art]

Ryanne is correct but you can zero in a little bit more from there. First thing that came to my mind was Fuller or Ransbottom but then I looked at one of our older sold pieces and discovered we had found Shawnee [McCoy] we listed. Seems they were the ones who used the USA a lot. There is more detail as to the reason for this below, but if you stay generic as Ryanne suggest there also may be some good keywords or partial description within this.

If you are familiar at all with pottery, you will notice a large number of pieces that are marked with only “USA”. There is not a USA Pottery Company that produced these wares. For a sufficient explanation of why pieces are marked like this, lets start in the 1800’s. Back then, most pottery was created to be used in everyday life by an individual that probably lived near you. The makers rarely marked these pieces because beyond there usefulness, the items weren’t much to look at. (imagine an old, brown stoneware crock) As pottery techniques matured around the turn of the century, many larger potteries were formed. (think industrialization) Many produced artistic works that the creator would want recognition for his efforts. Anyway, every company had their own rules about marking their wares. Marks would sometimes include company name, logo / symbol, an artist signature, mold number, initials, country, state, city, what they had for lunch, etc., etc. Many companies would include no mark at all. Or, they opted for a simple paper / foil sticker instead. The stickers rarely stayed on the pieces long, and they’d wind up unmarked. Around the time of WW I, many businesses felt a patriotic need to include USA on their goods. This may have been also due to their exporting items overseas. Later on around WWII (I think?), the US government passed a law that all imported goods had to be marked with their country of origin. Some American companies saw this and decided that they no longer needed to include USA mark, because the imports would be stamped “Japan”, “China”, or whatever and people would know an unmarked piece was made here. Other companies continued to use the USA mark. Others continued to use it, on some types of pottery. Other businesses decided to use it sporadically. Some potteries were only going to use it on Thursdays. (you get the point! 😉 Basically, if you are going to find out who made your nifty green planter, your going to have to do some research. To start off with, the most prolific of the USA markers was Shawnee & McCoy.

Also maybe visit the Kovels.com website. They have a lot of information on old and antique items of all types. We have had a subscription for years.

mike at MDC Galleries in Atlanta

• This reply was modified 9 years, 4 months ago by MDC Galleries & Fine Art.

[Ryanne]

hey mike
can you please make sure you attribute text when you copy and paste vast pieces of it? it’s helpful for other people in research.

http://www.oldantiquepottery.info/usa-pottery.htm

[MyCottage]

Hard to tell from the photo…is that home dinnerware, or is it the heavier stuff used in diners and restaurants back in the day?

[sarahsmidcentury]

Thanks all so much for your responses. Sometimes it’s even helpful to know that I should just list it and stop searching for answers too much…

@MyCottage – I believe it is home dinnerware. Not as heavy and sturdy as restaurant ware.

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