Universal Potteries' 20th Century Modern Dinnerware

As I see it, the shape or design of the ware proper is emerging from an era of blind groping to achieve something radically new regardless of its appearance and adaptability to a period in which most serious designers are striving to come up with something that…meets the requirements of a well-designed piece: namely, utility, style, lasting beauty and coordinated components. -Alf R. Robson, 1956 in China, Glass & Tablewares

Early Company History

Universal Potteries was said to have been founded for the reorganization of Oxford Pottery Company of Cambridge, Ohio and the purchase of the Atlas-Globe China Company. The Atlas-Globe China Company was a company formed by the merger of the Atlas China Company of Niles, Ohio and the Globe China Company of Cambridge, Ohio in November, 1926. Early in 1934, Universal Potteries, Inc. was formed to consolidate the closed Atlas-Globe and Oxford Pottery Companies. The new company was incorporated with one million dollars in capital. Hailed as the successors to the Oxford Pottery Company and the Atlas-Globe China Company, Universal Potteries in a trade ad announced "it is now ready to serve with Confidence, Stability, and Continuance." At the same time, the pottery reported the introduction of a traditional Mount Vernon Dinnerware shape that was to accompany the "now popular" Mount Vernon Oven-Proof Kitchenware. By 1936, Universal Potteries, which was also producing the "Oxford" line of brown and white cooking ware, was purchased from A. O. C. Ahrendts and R. A. Ahrendts by Paul T. McClelland and H. D. McClelland, both Cambridge, Ohio business men. H. D. McClelland became president.

Mid-century Dinnerware

A streamlined line, on the cusp of mid-century modern, Stratoware, was marketed by Sears, Roebuck and Co. from 1942-1943. This stylish service was designed by Eva Zeisel and the Industrial Design Department of Pratt Institute. The concept was built around a covered pitcher, designed by Pratt student, Francis Blod. One Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog entry for Stratoware comments: " Modern design as new as tomorrow, as streamlined as [TWA] Stratoliners." The highly successful Ballerina line of dinnerware was introduced to the public in 1949. According to advertisements, it was available in "modern sets." The 16 piece Barbecue Set consisted of eight French casseroles and eight coffee mugs; the 17 piece Beverage Set had one ice lip pitcher and eight tumblers with eight coasters; the 18 piece After Dinner Coffee Service had one after dinner coffee server with lid and eight after dinner cup and saucers; and finally the 18 piece Tea Set was comprised of one covered teapot with eight tea cups and saucers. For items in the Ballerina line, see the Ballerina by Universal Quick Reference.

While Ballerina was an incredibly popular set of dinnerware, its design, with modern coupe shaped flatware, was graced with lacey handles that were more ornamental than the simplified styles appreciated by today's mid-century modern collector. Nevertheless, Ballerina's color schemes such as Pink and Charcoal, when mixed and matched, allowed for dramatic modern table presentations. This combination, which had been introduced to the public in 1955, was foreseen by Alf Robson, the line's designer, as having a short life span. Reviewing dinnerware design during 1955 and forecasting for the coming year, Robson remarked "Charcoal and pink as a combination are definitely out as a volume item." The image to the left displays one of the modern decorations that can be found on Ballerina. The pink teapot shown above is from the Ballerina Kitchenware line, discussed below.

Charles Cobelle (1902-1994), noted artist and ceramic designer, created five new modern patterns for Universal that were used to decorate Ballerina-Painted Desert, Mermaid, Passy, Gloucester Fisherman, and The Fountain. Each pattern was a colorful stylized scene that appeared to be individually hand-painted on the plate. These modern, almost abstract designs, which appeared in 1950, breathed life into short sets of Ballerina. Even so, Cobelle's patterns, as exciting as they are, are difficult for the collector to find today.

Heralded as the "hottest dinnerware line since Ballerina", Universal Potteries would introduce a new line of dinnerware in 1954, Carousel. The Carousel line came in four soft pastel shades-Caribbean Blue, Jamaica Gray, Nassau Green, and Bermuda Pink. Shapes were simple and flowed easily without sharp contours. Flatware was a modified coupe shape, with an easy edge roll that created a flowing rim that was said to resist breakage. This aesthetically pleasing and modern line never seemed to dance off the shelves quite the same as did Ballerina, as evidenced by the relative ease with which one may find Ballerina as opposed to Carousel.

Universal Potteries introduced the Vogue dinnerware line in 1952. Flatware was in a distinctive modified horseshoe shape, being flat on one end and rounded on the other end. The line was originally available in two glazes, Coffee Brown and Mist Green. The shapes were also available in six modern decorations each based on a popular old song. Collectively known as the Melody series, the patterns included: Betty Co-ed, Moonlight & Roses, My Blue Heaven, Red Sails in the Sunset, Stairway to the Stars, and Stormy Weather.

A line was made for Harmony House that appears to have combined Carousel flatware with the Vogue shaped cream and sugar. The Sears line, advertised in the Fall/Winter 1954 catalog was known as Forecast and came in four colors: Opal Green, Seafoam, Azure Blue and Amber Rose.

An alliance was formed with Richards Morgenthau for the production of a line of dinnerware designed by Ben Seibel. The mid-century modern line carried a Raymor-Universal label. A trade journal announcement in December 1956 introduced Constellation and all white. The line became available to the public in 1957. By April 1957, Raymor-Universal's Golden Burst had won 2nd Prize in the earthenware category of the B. Altman Fine Tableware Design Competition, a competition where customers voted for their favorite lines. Interesting themes from the line included Boutique White, the undecorated version which emphasizes the line's form. Sans Souci, a relatively difficult to find decoration, sports a particularly fun swirl of blues and lavender, outlined in gray. Golden Burst is much easier to find and always a favorite among modern dinnerware collectors. Constellation and Choreography are geometric patterns and Cornucopia is a stylized autumnal motif, but again, these are harder to find. Shangri-La and Festive Leaves are modern adaptations of more traditional leaf themes.

Fascination was another shape & line designed by Alf Robson that displayed mid-century modern styling. "The most brilliantly modern shape in dinnerware today!" one Crockery & Glass Journal advertisement from 1958 announced. Plates were coupe-shaped and holloware serving pieces displayed an interesting asymmetry with an elongated lip that could be found on the covered casserole, covered sugar, bowls, teapot, and coffee pot. Salt and peppers mirrored the almost flame-like silhouette of the coffee pot that was pictured on the backstamp. A new finish, developed for the use on tiles, was adapted to the Fascination shape. The line was called Stardust and was available in four soft textured colors-Cloud White, Shell Pink, Turquoise, and Dove Gray. Highly stylized traditional patterns also were used on the line most notably Orchard, Windward, Plymouth, and Highland while Alpine and Park Avenue were designed for more traditional taste. During spring 1960, company president G. D. Agnew announced that Universal Potteries would discontinue the manufacture of its dinnerware lines effective September 1st, 1960, citing increasing foreign competition and rising domestic manufacturing costs as reasons for closure. The company continued to manufacture ceramic tiles.

BALLERINA KITCHENWARE

Many people aren't aware that there is another Ballerina line that was designed to be used alongside Ballerina. The line is known as Ballerina Kitchenware. This writer finds the shapes of these items a great deal more compelling. Perhaps the later introduction of the line in 1954 contributed to its simplified styling. Originally the line appears to have been available in the Ballerina colors of Forest Green, Burgundy, Chartreuse, and Dove Gray. These colors are not as compelling as a set of pastel colors the author occassionally finds: pink, blue, and green. The author suspects that the colors may be the same as the colors found on Carousel, which are pastel shades of pink, blue, green, and gray. The author is still hunting for pieces of Carousel to make the comparison. Over the years I have only found a few examples of this grouping. The first item was the teapot which I located in Broad Ripple, Indiana about a decade ago. The teapot body was the color pink, similar to the salad server above. The lid was a cream color, also similar to the above toothed salad server. The interesting thing was the the teapot was marked Ballerina, but didn't look anything like the frumpy shapes I would encounter with the actual dinnerware set.

It wasn't until years later, that I encountered a pastel green grease bowl. The lid is particularly interesting in that there is no finial--reminiscent of a Russel Wright lid in White Clover by Harker, yet very different. It is a gently curved oval with a small tab projection in the front for lifting. It is well styled. In the last week, I have found the lidded casserole in a pastel blue, my first citing of this color. I had never seen the shape or color in person before, but knew with certainty what I would find when I turned over the piece, a Ballerina backstamp. Unfortunately, the casserole was stained, crazed, chipped, and priced beyond what I consider acceptable. So I reluctantly left the piece behind. While at a flea market this week, I found the toothed utensil above. While I haven't been able to identify this with 100% certainty, I strongly suspect that this is the toothed utensil server that is one part of the Salad Set (see listing to the left). The piece is in grade C2 condition with crazing and a tiny fleck off of one tine. Nevertheless, considering the difficulty with which I have had in finding these pieces in these colors, I gladly bit the bullet for $5.