Included in this lot are two (2) Vintage Union Pacific Railway Syracuse China Demitasse cups and matching saucers, and one (1) Vintage Great Northern Railway Syracuse China Small Relish Platter, "Mountains and Flowers" pattern. Syracuse China Corporation, located in Syracuse, New York, was a manufacturer of fine china. Founded in 1871 as Onondaga Pottery Company (O.P. Co.) in the town of Geddes, New York, 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, diners/restaurants, and railroad dining cars. One demitasse cup and saucer is the extremely rare "Old Ivory" - the first coloured Syracuse Chinaware. The Great Northern Railway Syracuse China small relish platter, "Mountains and Flowers" pattern, is circa 1960s. Railroad china, like railroad silver, was a product of the boom in comfort offered to train passengers in the last part of the 19th century and first part of the 20th. Collectible railroad china is different than railroad silver, however, in that china designs are often specific to a single railroad company—stamps and markings are generally the only differentiators for silver. When Frederick Henry Harvey took the job as manager of the depot restaurant at the Topeka, Kansas, train station, he began serving good, warm food on clean dishes, a welcome change to food service in 1876. It didn’t take long before Harvey’s innovations had become obsolete, as rail companies decided to pamper their riders by improving the dining experience. One way they did this was through the use of very fancy china in their dining cars. Some railroad companies used production china that could be bought anywhere and simply had their logos stamped on them—such pieces are less collectible today. Most of the better railroads had custom china patterns and styles made for their dining cars. These pieces often depict scenes along the particular route the train ran on—desert scenes for the Santa Fe, etc. Such custom pieces are especially popular with railroadiana collectors. Most rail companies copyrighted their proprietary designs. Union Pacific had its Herriman Blue, The Great Northern had Mountains and Flowers. The cups, saucers and platter are in very fine condition, chips and other marring not observed. "Old Ivory" demitasse is 3.25"W including handle, 2.25"H with saucer 4.5" diameter. Other Syracuse demitasse cup is is 3.25"W including handle, 2.5"H with saucer 4.75" diameter. Great Northern relish platter is 7.25"W x 9"L

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