Manufacturers: Shenango China and Tepco China
User: Colombia Pavilion – 1939-1940 Golden Gate International Exposition
Date of Shenango cup: circa 1927-1948
Date of Tepco cup: circa 1940s-1950s

Shenango China

Shenango China

Shenango China

Tepco China

Front of pamphlet about coffee from the Colombia Pavilion

Back of pamphlet about coffee from the Colombia Pavilion

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Notes: From Wikipedia: "The Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) (1939 and 1940), held at San Francisco's Treasure Island, was a World's Fair celebrating, among other things, the city's two newly built bridges. The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opened in 1936 and the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937. The exposition opened from February 18, 1939, through October 29, 1939, and from May 25, 1940, through September 29, 1940.

"The idea to hold a World's Fair to commemorate the completion of the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge started from a letter to The San Francisco News in February 1933. Architects W.P. Day and George Kelham were assigned to consider the merits of potential sites around the city, including Golden Gate Park, China Basin, Candle Stick Point, and Lake Merced. By 1934, the choice of sites had been narrowed to the areas adjoining the two bridges: either 'an island built up from shallow water' north of Yerba Buena Island which would go on to be named Treasure Island, or the Presidio, which had previously been used in 1915 for the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. Yerba Buena Shoals was chosen as the site in February 1935. August 1935, a $10 million proposal using federal WPA funds for construction work was advanced, and in October of that year, Leland W. Culter, president of San Francisco Bay Exposition, Inc., announced that President Roosevelt had approved US$3,000,000 (equivalent to $59,290,000 in 2021) to help fund the cost of reclaiming land at Yerba Buena Shoals. San Francisco Bay Exposition was incorporated on July 24, 1934.

"Initial schedules called for the fair to open on February 18, 1939, and to close on December 2, 1939, hosting a projected attendance of 20,000,000 people. Construction would employ 3,000, and running the fair would require a workforce of 10,000.

^"Built by the federal government, Treasure Island was intended to serve as the municipal airport for San Francisco, an idea which had first been advanced in 1931. Air service would have included Pan American's transpacific flying boats, like the China Clipper. Due to wartime needs, it was taken over by the US Navy as Naval Station Treasure Island from 1941 to 1997."

From an article in Archive.Org about the Exposition: "Colombia presented exhibits from its land of coffee, gold, and emeralds. Visitors were served Colombian coffee in a pleasant patio."

Tan body demi cup and saucer with a yellow, navy, and red stripe around the top of the demi cup, which are the colors in Colombia's flag. On the left side of the cup is a stylized drawing of a globe with the words "COFFEE from COLOMBIA" in block letters. The word "COLOMBIA" is placed within the tip of an arrow pointing to the location of Colombia in South America. At the bottom of the globe in smaller block letters are the words "the best in the World."

Sources:
Wikipedia – history of the Golden Gate International Exposition
Archive.Org – story about the Colombia Pavilion

Contributors:
Tepco demi cup photos: Keith Marantz
ID and research: Roland Burritt
Author: Ed Phillips