Sterling
aka. Sterling China Company
The Sterling China Company was established by B.E. Allen in 1917 with a factory in Wellsville, OH and later had offices in East Liverpool, OH. In the early years production consisted of small items such as cups, bowls, coffee mugs, ashtrays, etc. as the years went by new wares, shapes and designs were added to the line. From the very beginning the primary customer base of the Sterling China Company were hotels and the company continues to operate today as a major supplier of hotel dinnerware. During WWII they supplied a tremendous amount of china to the military and also manufactured china for a few railroad companies. Over the years Sterling China acquired other hotel ware factories such as Scammell, Lamberton, the Puerto Rico factory of Iroquois and Wellsville. It is not unusual to see Sterling China marks that include one of the above names. Shortly after WWII, Russel Wright designed a few styles for Sterling China and MOST of these pieces are clearly marked. If the backstamp includes "East Liverpool, Ohio" or "Wellsville, Ohio" then it too was made by the Sterling China Company. Frank A. Sebring opened a factory in Sebring, OH around 1918 under the name of Sterling China Company. It did not operate under this name for very long due to the already existing company in Wellsville and it was changed to the Sebring China Co. This name went bust pretty quickly too due to the similarity in name to the Sebring Pottery Co. in East Liverpool, OH. Mr. Sebring once again renamed the company to Limoges China Company. In the late 1940s the company was threated with a lawsuit from the Haviland interest in Limoges, France over use of the word "Limoges" and was settled when Mr. Sebring successfully renamed his company the "American Limoges China Co." Wares made by Sebring under the Sterling name are marked very simply with Sterling Co. and sometimes include a crown. To further add to the confusion, Colonial Pottery Company of East Liverpool, OH which was in operation from 1902 – 1929 also had a mark with the word "Sterling" above a wreath which encircles stylized initial for Colonial Pottery Co. beneath the wreath is the word "Porcelain." Homer Laughlin also used the "sterling" work on backstamps early in his career.
12 Tiki Mugs
