Manufacturer: Shenango China
User: Childs Restaurant
Date of mug: 1920s – early 1950s
Notes: Founded in 1889 by brothers William and Samuel Childs, the first Childs Restaurant opened on Cortlandt Street in Manhattan, New York with $1,600 and second-hand furniture. To convey cleanliness, the Childs used white-tiled walls and floors, white marble table-tops and waitresses dressed in starched white uniforms. By 1899, the Childs had ten profitable restaurants and the company incorporated in 1902. By 1925, the company had 107 restaurants in 33 cities located in the United States and Canada. That same year, Samuel Childs died and William Childs was removed from governance of the company three years later in 1928. The company was purchased by Lucky Stores in the early 1950s and the Reise Brothers acquired it in 1961.
Click here for more information about the Childs' Restaurant chain and its historic Coney Island location. Click here for early Childs' Restaurant menus from various locations.
Shenango sample mug. White body with light brown airbrushed rim and handle, topmarked "Childs" in blue and marked on the inside "This is Childs Coffee" in black & light brown. Bottom-marked with the sample code: 4-80-46 and the number 89.
For other Childs' Shenango sample mugs:
Childs Restaurant
Childs Restaurant 3
Photos contributed by kathleen