An Oddball for Hotel Del Monte

[Traintime]

While there was a hotel in West Virginia and one for Preston Springs Canada, in addition to the Del Monte Foods company, we can confirm the location here of California by the same lettering applied to Gorham hollowares back/bottom marks which carried the shield emblem as a top or side mark. Both early wood structure hotels (1883-86 & 1887-mid1920's) were consumed entirely in fires. Gorham hollo and flat wares are normal finds and some are datable for the third hotel (ex. plain creamer crested and marked with airplane code for 1927). The ornate flatware patterns are harder to date as they were introduced during the era of the second hotel but could have remained in production to the later era. Along comes this. A simple Windsor pattern in only A-1 grade produced with the 1910-on "1881 (R) Rogers (R)" make. It's possible that it could have come after 1929 as part of Oneida's attempt to penetrate commercial supply lines, but wouldn't we be seeing more pieces surface? Anyone got a guess as to why this famous resort might have employed such basic flatware?

[MsJMoody]

Hotel Del Monte was requisitioned by the Navy at the beginning of World War II and used as a pre-flight training school. I would imagine that had something to do with this basic design or perhaps just a basic kitchen tasting spoon marked so it was not stolen?

[Traintime]

Service pieces, employee pieces, and war emergency supplies do hold some possibilty, but I suspect probability might lie with Hotel II and Gorham may have continued the established name logo. A-1 might have still been acceptable for commercial standards up through WWI, but perhaps not in the main dining halls. These big hotels often had specialty rooms or nook ventures where a lesser grade may have been satisfactory. And the chosen supplier held final access to the makers of choice. So far, we don't know who that was but Dohrmann is the top suspect. Anglo-American was on the way out.

[Traintime]

Oneida mid-century advert. directing Windsor pattern toward certain possibilities for select classes of commercial clients: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=51699&p=160808&hilit=oneida+pattern#p160808