Syracuse China
Vitreous China tableware, earthenware & bone china | |
Subsidiaries | Country Ware Corp. (1975) |
---|
Syracuse China, located in Lyncourt, New York (a suburb of Syracuse), was a manufacturer of fine china. Founded in 1871 as Onondaga Pottery Company (O.P. Co.) in the town of Geddes, the company initially produced earthenware; in the late 19th century, O.P.Co., began producing fine china, for which it found a strong market particularly in hotels, restaurants, and railroad dining cars. Later changing their name to match their product line, the company closed in 2009.
History
In 1841, W. H. Farrar started a small pottery business in the town of
Popular taste demanded a finer
Under President James Pass, O.P.Co. developed a new china body and won the medal for translucent china at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Around 1888, Pass developed the a vitreous, translucent, and non-absorbent clay body. It was released to the public after 1890 as Imperial Geddo, and made the company the industry leader. The company also manufactured electrical porcelain circuit breakers and insulators.[1]
In 1897 production turned to the vitreous china body. Its first colored china body, "Old Ivory," appeared in 1926. The company thrived with its hotel and railroad sales. The narrow-bodied "Econo-Rim" was tailored for the cramped table space of dining cars. Highly sought after collectible patterns sell regularly on eBay and at estate sales.
Onondaga officially changed their name to Syracuse China in 1966 after their most popular line of products.[2] The company was renowned for its fine china designs until 1970 when it limited its production to mostly restaurant dinnerware.
Syracuse China of Canada
In 1959 the Syracuse China Corp. acquired a controlling interest in Vandesca Pottery, Ltd. of
End of production
On April 9, 2009, after 138 years of production, the Syracuse China factory was shut down by Libbey, Inc. and all production of Syracuse China moved from North America. At that time, the plant had 275 employees.[5]
On the last day of production, each employee was given a commemorative plate with a montage of images from throughout the company's history and eight of the company logos used over the course of the company's history. The face of the plate states, "Though the world may change around us, our history remains the same."
The back of each plate was stamped "38-A," the last date stamp to appear on a Syracuse China product made in Syracuse. The "38" is code for the year it was made (1971, the company's centennial year, plus 38 years). The "A" stands for the first quarter of the year. The back of each plate also has text indicating it was one of the last "pieces to be made in Syracuse, N.Y."
The archives and china collections were donated to the Onondaga Historical Association.
The "Turner-Over Club"
Syracuse China sponsored the Turner-Over Club (later the Turn-Over Club) as a promotion for decades. The company gave out membership cards, with the idea that wherever members traveled, they would "turn over" their dinnerware to see if it was Syracuse China; witnesses to this curious behavior would then be treated to the story of the club and thus introduced to the brand name.[6]
References
- syracuse.com. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Onondaga Pottery Name Changed to Syracuse China". American Ceramic Society Bulletin. 45 (3): 8a. Mar 1966. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
- ^ "SYRACUSE CHINA OF CANADA LTD. (Corporation Overview)". OpenGovCA. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
- ^ "Syracus China Acquires Canadian Plant". American Ceramic Society Bulletin. 38 (7): 390. Jul 1959. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
- ^ "Syracuse China plant clatters to a close today". Syracuse Online LLC. 2009-04-06. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
- Syracuse Post-Standard. Syracuse Newspapers. 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
Further reading
- Syracuse China Company History, Onondaga Historical Association, April 2020.
- Reed, Cleota and Skoczen, Stan. Syracuse China. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1997.
- Syracuse China Corp. History of Syracuse China. Syracuse, NY. 1970.