Trenton’s Pottery Past

Three capital city museums exhibit china that illustrates the history of dining.

See related story:
Trenton Makes
By: Anthony Stoeckert
   There’s artistry to be seen in the china on exhibit at the Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie Mansion. The designs and logos on plates, saucers and cups were created by craftsmen who took great care in making each piece a thing of beauty. Yet these items weren’t made to be decoration. Rather, the china made at Lamberton Works was made to be used… and used, and used.
   "So many people talk about Lenox, but if you went anywhere in America between 1922 and 1960 and you ate in any hotel, restaurant or diner, you ate on Lamberton," says Ellarslie Director Brian O. Hill of the Trenton-based manufacturer. While Lenox made expensive china for wealthy homes and heads of states and countries, Mr. Hill adds, Scammell China Co., which produced china in Trenton from 1923-1954, targeted "everything else," primarily the service industries. These pieces of Trenton history are on view at Ellarslie in the exhibit Dining Out on Trenton: The Maddock & Scammell Companies of Trenton, N.J.
   Lamberton Works opened in 1869 with its pottery located on Third Street between Landing and Lalor streets in the Lamberton section of Trenton. In 1888, Thomas Maddock purchased the works so that he could continue production while his main plant was rebuilt following a fire. In 1923, the Scammell brothers (including D. William Scammell, who had worked in the Maddock offices) purchased the business. The brothers expanded the china aspect of the business and soon had clients throughout the country, including the Waldorf-Astoria, the William Penn Hotel, the Miami Hotel, Macy’s and Gimbels.
   The exhibit showcases pieces like plate covers used in upscale restaurants (most of today’s are made of metal), service plates (known as "charger plates" today, these fancy dishes are situated on restaurant tables when diners arrive, then removed when food is served), and celery plates (those longish dishes filled with celery and radishes on Thanksgiving, and then stored away for the other 364 days of the year). It’s a virtual history lesson on how Americans dined throughout much of the 20th century.
   Renderings of hotels, family crests, logos and festive images — including a playful and colorful Santa Claus — decorate many of the pieces, thanks to the craftsmanship of the artisans who were employed by Scammell.
   Scammell-created designs were available for many plates, but companies or hotels provided logos and images for their plates. Plates commissioned by Sardi’s and RCA, among others, can be seen in the exhibit. The images were put on the plates via thin decals that were soaked in water, placed on the plate, then peeled off. The process was somewhat similar to how kids apply tattoos from a Cracker Jack box, though Scammell’s decals obviously were of higher quality and great care was used in applying them. Gold trim on the edges of the plate were put on by hand as the plate was spun.
   Each color on a plate required its own decal, and in most cases, the process was repeated by hand for every plate. After the plates were coated and heated, gold paint was applied by brush as the plate was spun. Evidence of this hand-done work can be seen in some the pieces on display. Take a look at the upper left-hand side of the Anthony Wayne Hotel’s service plate and you’ll see brushstrokes.
   "Just like any artist, you dip in and when you first touch the plate, you get a thicker amount of gold on the plate," Mr. Hill says. "It goes around a couple of times and you do it a couple of times until it looks right."
   Of particular interest is the section devoted to railroad plates. These were heavier and stronger than ordinary plates because the risk of breakage was more likely on a moving train. Railroad china also includes espresso cups, butter plates, bread plates and soup bowls, harking to the days of overnight train riding and fine meals in the dining car. The artwork, naturally, features images of locomotives. Scammells’ railroad clients included the Pennsylvania, the New Jersey Central, the Union Pacific, the New York Central and the Baltimore & Ohio railroads.
   The Scammells took great pride in the durability of its china. Mr. Hill says that he was told by Scott Scammell, a grandson of D. William’s, that a piece of the railroad china could be thrown across a lawn as hard and as far as the thrower wanted and that, "you could pick up that plate and eat off it tonight."
   The railroad china is of special interest to collectors who, according to Mr. Hill, also value the rarer service plates and tests of logos and patterns that were not put on the market.
   Scammells’ presence is certainly felt on eBay, where recent listings have included Scammell plates made for the Boss Hotel, a creamer used at the Waldorf Astoria and a plate made in 1929 that was used at the New York Athletic Club. (Its listing features names of the club’s famous members with the tantalizing question: Who has eaten off this plate?)
   Many of the pieces featured in the exhibit are from a 900-piece collection of Lamberton products from the Larry Paul collection. Mr. Paul, a Maryland native, was a leading authority on restaurant china and the Lamberton companies.
   The Scammell family donated many pieces as well, including a porcelain inhaler supposedly used by a New Jersey legend. The story goes that a guest staying at the Plaza Hotel in New York called D. William, asking that an inhaler be put aside to be picked up. A limo soon arrived at the factory to take the inhaler, which was later returned (again by limo) after its user, Frank Sinatra, got over his cold.
   "He didn’t buy it," Mr. Hill says, "he returned it."
   China produced at Lamberton Works it was purchased by the Scammell Family also is on view. One cabinet is filled with pieces made by Maddox Lamberton, including a piece that looks a lot like Lenox (which, Mr. Hill says, the Scammell family refers to as "The L Word").
   The museum is using new display cases for this exhibit, one of which is sponsored by Lenox.
   Mr. Hill says the exhibit signifies what America was about following the industrial revolution: making something better. He adds that while the people who used this china didn’t see it as art, the people who designed and made it did.
   "These folks weren’t just factory workers," he says. "They absolutely were artists and painters and highly skilled craftsmen who put this together. And that’s what we’re celebrating — the craftsmanship of Trenton, and what we had to offer. Because this is, ‘Trenton Made and the World Took.’"
Dining Out on Trenton: The Maddock & Scammell Companies of Trenton, N.J. is on view at the Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie Mansion, Cadwalader Park, Parkside Avenue entrance, Trenton, through the winter of 2008. Hours: Tues.-Sat. 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Sun. 1-4 p.m. Admission is free; (609) 989-3632; www.ellarslie.org