History of US Navy History, Naval Customs, Naval History of China late 1800's through WWII for sale call 800-326-5051

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Un-official US Navy History of Official US Naval Insignia Topmarks used on US Department of the Navy China, Navy Tableware, and Navy Dinnerware from mid 1800's through the 1970's

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Prior to the late 19th Century there appears to be only miminal consistency and limited selections to the type of Navy Dinnerware and Navy Tableware used by both enlisted and officer alike. Though functional with a Naval flair, the selection and grade of dinnerware used by sailors and officers left alot to be desired and consisted mostly of enamelware porcelain plates, bowls and cups! Additionally, there does not appear to be much of any official Naval history or documentation (anecdotal or otherwise) of what either the enlisted crew or officers used in the way of dining utensils or tableware up until the early 1890's and very early 1900's.

However, through old photographs obtained by The Pirate's Lair of sailors eating on their respective mess decks, wardrooms and galleys it appears that the white to off-white porcelain covered enamelware metal plates, bowls and cups incorporating "USN" or "US Navy" were pretty much standard from the Civil War up until the 1890's. Though this enamelware used as standard Navy dinnerware and Navy tableware was sturdy and utilitarian to hold up to salty seas and repetitive heavy industrial cleanings, it certainly was not made for elegant fine dining.
The photo to the left is of a US Navy porcelain covered metal plate (enamelware) ca 1860's to 1890's. It is believed that this was the type of plate along with similarly produced and marked cups and bowls were used by both enlisted and junior officers. Quite possibly this type of plate was even used by enlisted sailors well into the early 20th century. As can be seen the plate has USN in light blue lettering along it's flat rim with the rim edge being highlighted in a dark blue. All in all a very handsome plain porcelain enamelware plate.

Just prior to the turn of the 20th Century (in the late 1880's to be exact), it appears that the United States Government was about to embark on a major entrance into World Affairs and was appropriately going to use the US Navy to do it by transporting our diplomats and dignitaries to wave the flag! Part of this plan was to build a great armada of first line dreadnaughts including armored cruisers, battleships and other supporting vessels to be used in what was termed our "Great White Fleet" which sailed around the world from 1907 to 1909. This was to be a first for any global circumnavigation by an all-steam all-steel major fleet or armada.

Suffice it to say that before the turn of the 20th Century the United States was not much interested in what was happening geo-politically around the world and nor could it after our devastating Civil War. We did not necessarilly pay much attention to some of the finer or more refined aspects of what our sailors ate from. We have to keep in mind that in the 1860 to 1890's the United States was either in a Civil War or in a major reconstruction and consolidation effort. So our focus in the late 1870's to the 1890's was all about rebuilding the country's basic infrastructure. During this reconstruction period we are quite sure that individual Captains and Admirals of our ships and fleets each had their own exquisite personal china and tableware which they used for everyday and on formal occasions. However we have not been able to identify any official US Navy-issued "fine dining" tableware prior to 1894. The below illustrated demitasse cup is the earliest piece of Official Navy-issue China we have ever found, and it is dated 1894.

1944 Shenango China Advertisement
WWII US Navy China by Officer Rank Insignia Topmark
Click Photo! Hard Published Prima Facie Evidence of Naval Rank Insignia's used on US Navy China during WWII Shows USN-Warrant Officer, Squareknot-Junior Officer, Fouled Anchor-Wardroom Officer, Burgee Pennant-Captain, 2 Star, 3 Star and 4 Star-Admirals Priceless!

The United States government in it's preparation for entrance onto the world's political stage at the end of the 19th century realized that if our "first-class top-of-the-line" first-ever all-steam all-steel Navy Fleet which was then being built to circumnavigate the world (while waving our flag and transporting our diplomats), the Navy also needed to have "world class" second-to-none Naval Dinnerware and Naval Tableware along with appropriate manners and customs so as to entertain Kings, Queens, Emperors, Presidents, other Heads of State and Diplomats. We have documented much of the Naval History of silverware and flatware used by the US Navy from the 1890's through the 1970's and this can be reviewed by Clicking Here.)

Towards this end it appears that the US Navy began training its Officer Corps in a standardized proper meal etiquette beginning in the Naval Academy. The US Navy also contracted with various china manufacturers and their distributors to produce top-of-the-line worldclass china and tableware with official US Naval insignia "topmarks" to denote the specific rank of the Officer's mess or wardroom. It appears that the very first formalized Naval insignia (or topmark) initially consisted of a gold Eagle with a federal shield emblazoned across its breast and clutching a fluked fouled anchor. This first official topmark was later transformed into two separate topmarks one consisting of a "fluked anchor with a steel stock" and the second into the "Department of the Navy Seal".

While it is our understanding that the Navy began purchasing this elegant china on or about the late 1890's and very early 1900's we have only been able to absolutely date and document a single china demitasse cup dated 1894, a Candy Dish or Receiving Plate bearing the date of September 1909 made by Shenango China for the L Barth & Son Company using the Department of the Navy Seal with 2 Stars.

The Naval insignia's (or topmarks) originally designed along with the specific china pieces themselves, were standardized with very specific specifications by the Navy so that any china manufacturer wishing to sell dinnerware to the Navy would only need to ensure that basic size and design standards were met along with having the standardized Naval insignia on the piece.

In this manner the Navy promoted open competition among china manufacturers while getting the best made china available in a common design that would span many years of ship and shore station use alike. The Navy only slightly modified these designs over time, sometimes almost imperceptably so, however even the most minor design change has helped in allowing collectors of militaria and antique china to date the piece when there is no other manufacturing marks or date codes to go by, or any official Navy history documenting its dinnerware and tableware.

It is the desire of The Pirate's Lair to attempt in documenting and identifying to the best of our ability the various types of Naval Insginia and when and why they were used. Due to a lack of official Navy documentation much of the information is circumstantial, anecdotal, and/or relying upon china manufacture's marks, date codes and marketing/business information.

Note that the photo image to the left is of a US Navy China Demitasse Cup with a topmark illustrating an Eagle with Federal Banner clutching a Fouled Anchor with Stripe Highlights above the Eagle with feathery stripes extending out from below the Eagles wings. Also, the Eagle has a Federal Banner across it's breast. There are also 2 Stars to the left and right of the Eagle which represent the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

We believe that this is evidence of the very first official "Navy Seal" that was the forerunner and basis for the later designed Department of the Navy Seal established pre-WWI in the early 1900's! With some very slight modifications made on/about 1941 it is still being used today over 100 years later! Something to be said for Naval Customs and Tradition!

Interestingly enough this very fine high-grade china demitasse cup was actually manufactured in Limoges, France by the Haviland & Co (H&Co) and was made for the James M. Shaw & Company which was a well known china distributor based out of New York, NY. The James Shaw Co was a large enough distributor that it actually commissioned various patterns of china from leading china and pottery manufacturers and marketed these commissioned pieces under the James Shaw brand. It has been absolutely verified that the James Shaw & Co provided china to the US Navy in the early 1900's, and actually manufactured by Shenango and other US Pottery and China producers.

The US Navy demitasse cup illustrated here is as far as we know the very time that James Shaw & Co used a foriegn china producer to make china for the US Navy. The Haviland & Co of Limoges, France was a perfect choice since it arguably produced the finest china (known the world over as Limoges china) in the world at that time. We have reviewed over 1000 photographs of H&Co china and have yet to find the name of the pattern used for this US Navy china! The bottom of this fine bone white demitasse cup with a decorative handle is marked "H & Co., L, FRANCE" in green and measures 2 1/4" H x 2 1/4" W (excluding the handle). It is further marked "JAMES M. SHAW & Co. NEW YORK, 1894" in an orange. The Pirate's Lair will give a $50. credit towards any purchase to any person who can positively identify this H&Co pattern.

Additionally, this 1894 topmark configuration appears to be used as the basis of the Eagle, Banner, Anchor and Highlights used ca 1900 - 1940 for the new Department of the Navy Seal. Obviously the Navy took this original 1894 design, encircled it with an outer circle of rope and inner circle of anchor chain with the words Department of the Navy sandwiched between the two concentric circles. Also note the 2 stars representing the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans from the 1894 design also were incorporated into the newer Department of Navy Seal ca early 1900's.

Navy Seal to the Left is ca 1905 to 1941 Navy Seal to the Right is Ca 1941 to Present Day

The above Department of the Navy Seals are both very similar with each using two concentric circles (inner circle of chain, outer circle of rope) with Department of the Navy sandwiched within them. However the topmark on the left was used from about 1900 through 1940, while the one on the right was used from 1940 through to present day.

The differences between these two topmarks while slight clearly shows the topmark on the left having gold stripe highlights below the wings of the Eagle, the Federal Shield clearly emblazoned over the Eagle's breast, and the differences between the Fouled Anchor's which the Eagle is clutching.

The Navy Seal on left has the earlier original version that included gold stripes below the eagle's wings, had an "open" Federal Shield showing a blank top field and vertical stripes, and the Fouled Anchor used a Twisted Steel Stock. This particular version of the Seal was used on Naval china from the late 1890's through 1941.

The Navy Seal on the right eliminated the gold stripes below the wings, made the Federal Shield "solid" almost being unseen over the body of the Eagle, and the Fouled Anchor now had a Straight Wooden Stock. This particular version of the Seal was used from 1941 through the 1970's.

Without any further information or identifying manufacturing marks these very slight changes will help collectors of Naval China to determine whether the piece was produced and used pre or post WWII.

The above two candy dishes, receiving (reception) or calling plates for personal cards both use the original and older Department of Navy Seal. However each of these pieces also have a manufacturer's date code on the bottom indicating 1909 production, so as to provide us with a specific date of manufacture which helps to date the topmark. Note that both use the pre-WWII Department of the Navy Seal with the one on the left showing 2 Stars denoting that this was used by a Rear Admiral.

The 10" Square Plate is dated 9/09 representing September 1909 and was made by The Shenango China Co for L. Barth & Sons of NY which is glazed on the bottom of the piece. Barth & Son was a well known china distributor who apparently used Shenango to actually make this square candy dish. Obviously Barth received a Government Contract for this candy dish and they had Shenango produce it. Of even further rarity is that "Shenango China, New Castle, PA" is actually imprinted right into the clay which is rarely seen. Additionally, the Department of the Navy Seal has two stars to the left and right denoting a 2 Star or Rear Admiral. So, this particular plate was made in 1909 to be used by a 2 Star Rear Admiral.

The 8.5" Oblong Plate is actually dated 1918 and was made by Mayer China for the James A. Shaw & Co of NY. Again, we can easily surmise that it was the Shaw Company who was a knonwn china distributor which received a Government Contract to provide the Navy with Oblong Candy Dishes. Shaw happened to use Mayer China to produce this piece.

The Pirate's Lair actually has two of these Oblong Candy Dishes, (or Receiving or Reception Plates) which are virtually identical to each other! The first Oblong Dish is by James A. Shaw while the second one is bottom marked as being produced by Shenango with a 10-18 date code! We can readily see that standardizing on both a topmark design and a china pattern certainly helped the Navy to achieve competition from two different manufacturer's while also getting tableware which could sit side by side virtually indistinguishable from each other.

We have a number of pieces of the older Department of the Navy topmark from different china producers all showing dates of 1909, 1918, 1919, 1928, 1929.

The two photo's above represent the two different fouled anchors the US Navy used as topmarks for the Wardroom Officer's Mess from the early 1900's to 1970's. The older gold fouled anchor topmark on the left was used from about 1900 through 1940. The newer blue anchor topmark on the right was used from about 1940 through 1970's.

So far it appears that from the early 1900's through to WWII the US Navy used 2 basic topmarks for its official Naval china: the Gold Fouled Anchor and the Department of the Navy Seal. The Navy Seal itself was further differentiated by having 2, 3 or 4 Stars each denoting Admiral Rank.

Note the very intricate, detailed, and elegant design of the older fluked anchor! One can clearly see the links in the anchor chain. Properly producing this older topmark certainly took more time, skill and money, but it is certainly quite elegant and beautiful. The newer blue fouled anchor represented the Navy's change in it's official fouled anchor insiginia and was demonstrably plainer and less detailed. While nice, this new blue fouled anchor topmark could not compare with the older one.

It is unclear and so far undocumented if the Navy prior to WWII used different topmarks other than the Gold Anchor and Navy Seal. During WWII the Navy designed specific topmarks for the CPO's, Warrant Officer's, Junior Officer's, Wardroom Officer's, Captains, Rear/Vice/Full Admirals and the Department of the Navy, Click Here to Review Official US Navy China and the Topmarks used for specific Naval Officer Rank .

The above demitasse cup and butter pat plate clearly illustrate the original Wardroom Officer's Mess topmark of the gold Fluked Fouled Anchor Insignia. The anchor presented is properly called a "naval fluked fouled anchor with twisted steel stock with chain fouling the anchor", and was used from the very early 1900's through 1940 in the Wardroom Officer's Mess and most likely in the Captain's Mess as well. Worthy to note, each type of fluked anchor design was also incorporated into the Department of the Navy Seal of the same era.

The Pirate's Lair has various china pieces using the above old anchor topmark with dates of 1933, 1935 and 1939 produced from a number of different china manufacturer's.

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