Manufacturer: Maddock Pottery
User: Chisca Hotel
Distributor: Albert Pick & Company
Date of china: 1914
Notes: The nine-story Chisca Hotel in Memphis Tennessee, opened December 25, 1913. It advertised 400 rooms and 300 baths, but actually it had closer to 350 rooms and 250 private baths. It was named for Chisca, chief of the Chickasaw tribe.
The Chisca closed in 1973. It was sold to the Church of God in Christ and was converted into headquarter offices for the church. In the late 1990s the church relocated, and the building remained empty for more than 20 years. Around 2013 it underwent a $20 million renovation and conversion to 161 apartments, which opened in 2016.
On May 26, 1914, The Memphis Rotary Club held a banquet in the Hotel Chisca. Each guest at this dinner was presented with a souvenir service plate containing a coin gold logo in the center. These plates contain an ornate border featuring peacocks and coin gold trim. Albert Pick supplied these Lamberton China plates. Although no examples have surfaced, it is likely that this border is what was used on the regular Hotel Chisca service plates. This border was used on service plates made for other customers.
Sources:
Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation website
Gibson Companies (Renovation into apartments)
The Chisca on Main website (apartment rental info)
Cardcow.com
For more info:
Chisca Hotel by Maddock Pottery
Chisca Hotel 3 by Scammell China
Contributor:
Author and photos: Larry Paul