China used as dinnerware in a restaurant is
not advertising china, even if the foodservice concern's name or logo is topmarked on the
ware. The definition itself financially hurts dining establishments by suggesting that
people have permission to remove this expensive china, telling themselves they are
advertising or promoting, rather than stealing. Theft discourages the top marking of
commercial china which is detrimental down the line to collectors. Thus the use of this
misnomer is problematic to both restaurateur and china hobbyist.
Greenbrier Hotel, White Sulphur Springs, West
Virginia
Restaurants
and transportation lines top mark their china to show that they care, that
they take pride in their dining areas, and to upgrade the atmosphere.
Consider the difference in impression made by plain white china and
attractively decorated dinnerware, especially if it is topmarked with the
restaurant name.
And if the purpose was advertising, why would dining establishments use initials that most
people could not decipher once it was removed from the premises? The difficulty becomes obvious when we try to identify a pattern which
includes a single or multi-lettered topmark. It took two years to identify the ADC topmark
(see Volume 2, page 453) which we now know is Downtown Athletic Club (verified by
chance in a book of yacht club burgees..... who'd have ever thought to look there????).
There are
exceptions to this rule. Restaurant ware manufacturers did produce salesmen
samples for giveaways at trade shows or customer calls. These were usually
topmarked with the company name or manufacturer's mark. Also beverage
companies (e.g. Nestles [see example in this page header], Maxwell House, and so forth) ordered cups and mugs
from restaurant ware manufacturer's for advertising purposes. These were
presumably given to foodservice establishments who served the products.
Beyond the
exceptions, topmarked matches and ashtrays, swizzle sticks,
paper napkins, and the like are meant for promotional purposes. These are considerably
more effective because they commonly find their way out the door and include the location
more often than china. They are also part of the restaurant's advertising budget...... china
is not.
