Manufacturer: Maddock Pottery
Distributor: Mitchell Woodbury Co.
Name of customer: Cafe Bova – Boston, MA
Name of border pattern: #5040 Indian Border
Date of examples: circa 1908-1918

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Notes: L. E. Bova was a prominent Boston caterer. In 1901, he was operating the 800-seat restaurant in Norumbega Park, near Boston. He also operated the restaurant and cafes in the Boston Food Fair exposition, which the Boston Retail Grocers Association ran for four weeks in the Mechanics Building.

By 1902, Bova was operating the Pacific House, a summer hotel at Nantasket Beach.

The earliest newspaper article mention of the Café Bova is in 1908, but a Cafe Bova advertisement from the same year mentions the opening of the new Sala Italiana dining room, with "more room for our guests." This suggests that the Cafe Bova, at 96 Arch Street, was operating prior to 1908. There was an orchestra balcony in the cafe.

By 1913, it was advertising itself as "The leading Italian restaurant of Boston." On April 15, 1917, Charles F. Reilly advertised that he had taken over as sole owner of the Cafe Bova. L. E. Bova had moved on to operating the Cottage Park Hotel in Winthrop Center. In 1918, L. E. Bova was the managing director of The Lorraine on Tremont Street.

As late as Jan. 28, 1928, however, a mention of Cafe Bova was found in the Boston Globe as the location of a lost purse in a lost-and-found ad. Prior to that, on Dec. 7, 1927, the Boston Globe ran an ad for Cafe Bova at "11 Bosworth St., opp. Tremont Building. SHOPPERS' LUNCHEON-65 CENTS Steak, Chicken or Lobster Dinners from 3 to 8-$1.25. Tel. Hubbard 9353 L. E. BOVA." And on Sept. 28, 1927, another ad in the Globe advertised "NEW CAFE BOVA" and Dancing, again with L. E. BOVA as owner.

The Lamberton China that Maddock produced for the Cafe Bova is crested with a multi-color decal depicting a woman seated at a table and a man standing under a red, white and green, canopy. The man appears to be holding noodles above a bowl. "Cafe Bova Boston" is below the illustration. The crest is in the center of the well on large plates. The decal border is shown in the Maddock pattern sample book as #5040 Indian Border. This china service was supplied by Mitchell Woodbury Co.

Contributor:
Larry Paul: author