Manufacturer: Maddock Pottery Co.
Distributor: Albert Pick & Co.
User: Boston Oyster House
Date of platter: 1918-24
Notes: According to "Dining in Chicago," by John Drury (1931), in 1875, Col. John S. Wilson, who was the first caterer to serve live lobsters in Chicago, founded Wilson's Oyster House in the basement of the old Morrison Hotel at Clark and Madison Streets in Chicago. He later changed the name to the Boston Oyster House.
In 1899, Harry C. Moir became manager of the Boston Oyster House and the eight-story Morrison Hotel above it. Under the direction of Moir, the old hotel was torn down and replaced by the much larger new Morrison Hotel.
Drury noted that in 1925, Gus and Fred Mann opened a new Boston Oyster House located at 21 South Clark St. However, the Mann brothers were unable to get a return on their investment and the Boston Oyster House once more fell back into the hands of Moir.
According to The Taro Leaf (Vol. 3, No. 4, August 1950), the Boston Oyster House survived until the early 1950s. And the Larry Paul Hotel Database notes that the Chase Tower has occupied the hotel's site since 2006.
The 12-inch platter has a black and orange line on the rim broken by the logo of a lobster hanging out of a steaming black pot with flames below, and Boston Oyster House in all caps.
See also:
Boston Oyster House 2 by Bauscher
Boston Oyster House 3 by unknown manufacturer
ID and photos provided by dbstoneware