page_title: Restaurant ware
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Restaurant ware / History
caption_attribution_description: Syracuse China - Oakleigh - airbrushed stencil design on bread and butter plates
context_page_description: Restaurant ware, or most commonly hotelware is vitrified, ceramic tableware which exhibits high mechanical strength and is produced for use in hotels and restaurants. Tableware used in railway dining cars, passenger ships and airlines are also included in this category.
  Collectable hotelware was usually made of stoneware or ironstone china during the early to mid-20th century. Examples from the 19th century are also collectable, but rarer.
context_section_description: Hotelware was produced by the same potteries that produced domestic ware. As the middle class grew during the late 19th century, dining out became an affordable option for more people with disposable income. The number of restaurants, and mass transportation such as ships and railways with dining facilities, led to a greater demand for hotelware. Stoneware and ironstone ware were popular choices for restaurants for their ability to withstand heavy use. Transfer designs also enabled some restaurants to set their tables with pieces bearing the business name or emblem. By the early 20th century, hotelware expanded into diners catering to road travellers, and airlines also introduced on board meals served on hotelware.
caption: The "Oakleigh" airbrushed stencil design on side plates by Syracuse China.
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