The Significance of Hotel-Ware Ceramics in the Twentieth Century

Corporate Branding and Collegiate Coats of Arms as Logos: Marked Ceramics and the University of Cambridge

“…Developments of corporate branding on Cambridge collegiate ceramics have been discussed in isolation, but in many instances reflect broader changes in ceramic decoration. The use of a small monochrome coat of arms on the marly in the late 19th-early 20th century, for instance, closely parallels what was taking place on hotel-ware (Myers 2016) and on ceramics used by the military (Demers 2009) and university fraternities (Wilkie 2010, p. 184-92) during the same period. The concepts of corporate branding and logos are equally applicable to a wide range of other ceramics and could usefully be applied to them.…”

Ocean-Liner Ceramics: A Red Star Line Assemblage in Antwerp, Belgium

“…Marks of John Maddock & Sons describe the vessels as “vitrified” or “royal vitreous,” while E. F. Bodley & Sons repeats in both printed and embossed marks the “genuine ironstone china” found in their paper advertisements. The terms “vitrified,” “vitreous,” or “ironstone” were all associated with the “virtue of being less absorptive of moisture, odors, or bacterial contamination” and, consequently, with cleanliness, “as the vitrified ware was seen as more safe and sanitary than other ceramics” (Myers 2016 :112). Cleanliness was similarly promoted for washbasins and compactoms.…”

Moving in mysterious ways: the use and discard of Cambridge college ceramics

“…These ceramics are, however, generally found in relatively small quantities and at anticipated sites linked almost exclusively to their prime locale of usage. Marked ceramics linked to hotels (Myers 2016) and shipping lines (Laister 2006) have been found in greater quantities, but again largely at anticipated sites. In contrast, Cambridge collegiate ceramics have been found in abundance at a variety of sites, many of which can be classified as proximate, contingent or delayed—that is, locales beyond the colleges and often without any direct link to them (Table 1).…”