Manufacturer: Syracuse and Sterling
User: Casino Club
Date of Sterling cup: 1977
Date of Syracuse plate: 1975
Notes: The Casino Club is located under the shadow of the Hancock Building in Chicago at 195 E Delaware Place and was founded in 1914. It is quite a private social club that seems to relish its unmarked exclusivity and has no relation to what we think of as a gambling casino.
A May 5, 1993, story in the Chicago Tribune describes it: "… since it was established in 1914, the most absolutely, utterly, excruciatingly exclusive club in Chicago has been the Casino, and I can think of nothing short of a major earthquake to render it otherwise."
Decorated in Art Deco style (which perfectly fits the design of this china), "It is not, as its name could suggest," the Tribune article states, "some racy gambling den …. Like the tennis Casino in Newport, R.I., it draws its name not from Monte Carlo but from the principal definition of the word 'casino': 'A building or room used for social amusements.'"
The article goes on to refer to the "slim little yellow book that says, 'The Casino, Members and By-Laws,'" and this would be one clue that associates this bold yellow pattern with the club. In addition, the same logo is embedded in brass of the terrazzo of the club.
The sadistic designer of the club's logo is not known, with its black sans serif letters of varying sizes that are interlocked against the yellow ware to spell CASINO.
See also:
Northmoor Country Club, by Bauscher, with unusual logo by presumably the same designer
Sources:
Yelp
Chicago Tribune
Contributors:
Photo: Matt Hanne
ID: David McGrann
Ashley Guill