A Monticello for Steubenville teacup

I was in a new antique store in Dallas over the weekend, the Dali and Davinci Marketplace, when I spotted a new teacup for my growing collection of blue models. This one was the prettiest soft shade of a blue that had a touch of periwinkle in it, and the scalloped edges, rosy interior, and $6.95 price tag (and to my surprise, 20 percent off that) made this one a winner. But you know what another of my favorite features is on this teacup?

 

The backstamp! I'd heard of Steubenville but not Monticello made by Steubenville. That's got to be one of the most detailed backstamps I've ever seen, and I decided I had to do a little research. Steubenville Pottery Co. of Steubenville, Ohio, was in business from 1879-1959. The Monticello pattern was produced in the late forties and early fifties, and pieces were marked with a special backstamp listing the distributor, Herman C. Kupper of New York. I found an old ad for Monticello pieces, and it called these wares "Monticello—America's distinguished dinnerware" and said it was available at "better stores everywhere." I suppose so-called snob appeal has always been a selling tactic, yet how ironic that years later, I would purchase my Monticello secondhand.

But then again, if they'd just said "American's pretty dinnerware," that wouldn't have been much of a slogan, would it?