Airbrushed Restaurant China

By Robert W. Paschal

Sterling China’s hard-to-find Fong’s Garden dinner plate.

Airbrushing has been a common method of underglazing and decorating commercial china since the 1920’s.  It was particularly useful for banding rims of plates, cups and saucers as an accent.  In the pottery, a compressor supplied air to either an airbrush or a spray gun that was used to spray a fine mist of color (ceramic glaze) onto green ware, bisque or glaze-fired ware.  This was a quick and convenient way to achieve a smooth application, particularly when developing a fine color gradation for a soft effect.  The airbrush was also used to create a heavy, solid coverage of opaque color.

Large platter, Jackson China’s Velvet pattern from the Maitre d’ Collection.	Notice how the soft blending of color is applied with a freehand airbrushing.

Late in the 1920’s, the Onondaga Pottery  introduced an airbrush process they called “syratone” that consisted of spraying solid colored bands and overall solid decorations to the face of flatware (plates and dishes) and the outer surfaces of hollow ware (bowls, platters, etc.).  (The Onondaga Pottery was established in 1871; in 1966 it became Syracuse China Corporation; and today it’s known as the Syracuse China Co., established in 1993) 

Three major china companies used airbrushing extensively.  The Syracuse China Company began a stenciling airbrush technique called “shadowtone” in 1937.  Other manufacturers followed, producing commercial china that is now highly prized among collectors.

This is an example of Syracuse China’s shadowtone saucer.  This style is sometimes called “Fish Bowl.”	This is an example of Syracuse’s Millbrook pattern, cup and saucer, commonly used in luncheonettes.

Jackson China’s Lobster design serving platter is a highly sought pattern seen on cups and saucers, plates and bowls.	Notice in this close-up how a simple stencil was used in the development of the lobster image.

The Jackson China Company was originally known as the Jackson Vitrified China Company that started in business in 1917 and continued until 1987.  Today, this airbrushed china is in high demand by collectors.  Jackson China did airbrushed pieces of cowboys on bucking broncos for steak houses; elk, deer, fish and pine trees for mountain resorts; palm trees for seaside restaurants; and the now hard-to-find lobsters for seafood restaurants.

This Jackson China cup and saucer with a pine tree and mountain motif might be found in restaurants in the Adirondack or Rocky Mountains.	Notice how the stencil conformed to the shape of the saucer to develop the image.	A lead stencil was wrapped around the cup to create the design.

 

In Sterling’s Fong’s Garden, the lettering for the name was developed by spraying around lead letters.

The Sterling China Company, East Liverpool, OH, went into business in 1917 and still produces china today.  One of the pieces produced by Sterling was Fong’s Garden—for an oriental restaurant in the Kingston, NY, area.  Note that when the name of the restaurant is included on the china, it becomes more valuable to collectors.

This airbrushed decoration of restaurant china was especially popular in the 1950’s and 60’s and could be found in diners throughout the United States.  The glazing was usually done on heavy, durable pottery that held up well to usage.  It was inexpensive for the restauranteur and could be easily customized with a specific scene or logo.  The china could be ordered through restaurant supply houses. 

The banding technique was applied freehand using the airbrush; but whenever an image was required, the color was sprayed onto the surface using a stencil.  Most of the stencils were made from lead sheets because lead was easy to cut, pliable and held the shape, i.e., the curved shape of a cup, the bottom of a bowl, etc.  Most designs required several stencils and some were sprayed with a number of colors.

For more information on collecting restaurant china, refer to Barbara J. Conroy’s Restaurant China, Volume 1.