Coleman House Asbury Park NJ c.1900

[jerseygirl]

Hit some good yard sales this morning and found a really old RW bowl from the Coleman House. CH was one of the earliest hotels built in Asbury Park, NJ. CH was built some time around 1875 and was the largest hotel in Asbury Park at the time. A.M. Sexton was the proprietor at the time, and his name is on the bowl. I didn't know they put proprietors names on RW back then.

No maker, but says Steinbach Company, Asbury Park, NJ. Steinbach was THE dept. store back then and has been around since the late 1800s. I wonder who would have made the bowl?

It's a good entry for the IDwiki which I'll get to hopefully soon.

Any thoughts on this?

[Leontiev]

FAB Find and GREAT Info Steph...let us know when you list it.

[dbstoneware]

Hi Steph.......

The Coleman House is listed in the 1894 Hotel Red Book. Rooms were $4 to $5 (a high price for then) and J. Davis was the manager.

A.M. Sexton is listed in in HRB's from 1909 to 1925. In 1927 it is H.W. Sexton.

Hope this helps??

[Susan Phillips]

Steph, have you had a chance to check Larry's database? He talks about the same monogram/laurel wreath/bow and Coleman House, Asbury Park, N.J. in blue green on a 1904 Syracuse sample plate, with the addition of Frank B Conover. He has Conover as the owner/operator around that time, and shows A.M. Sexton around 1915.

[jerseygirl]

Thank you Dick and Susan for narrowing the time frame down!! That does help a lot. Susan, I hadn't checked the database yesterday but was going to do it to see if there was an entry. Thanks, I'll check it out.

I'm always fascinated by what RW survives, why some survives, why virtually none survives, etc. The only Coleman House-related merchandise on eBay are postcards.

I picked up this bowl (and a matching small platter) at a townwide sale in Pine Beach, NJ. Pine Beach is a tiny waterfront town on the Barnegat Bay. Even though it's only 30 minutes from me, I've never even been through the town. I don't usually do the townwides, too much driving around and not as many sales it seems. Anyway, the town is .6 square miles, so I figured I'd get the most bang for my buck with so many houses in such a little town. It was the most fun I'd had in a long time, going from house to house, digging, chatting with the homeowners, etc.

From what I remember what the woman was telling me, the house where I bought the RW was built in 1910, and she bought it along with a lot of "stuff" left behind, so she's been gradually having sales and selling off various items. I imagine the bowl was taken from the hotel by a resident of the house around that 1915 time frame, and basically sat in the basement for nearly 100 years. Wow.

I guess that's the hook with any area of collecting. The history is fascinating, touching things that people 100 years ago used and touched. I love this hobby.

[apPaul]

Steinbach was a customer of Maddock/Scammell - I suspect your piece was made by Maddock/Scammell

[reddygal]

Love the backstories too. We went to an old house sale in FL and I scooped up 2 demi cups from a place in biz there from 1923-1936. The lady of the house said her sister was a waitress there and that's how she came by the cups.

[jerseygirl]

Steinbach was a customer of Maddock/Scammell - I suspect your piece was made by Maddock/Scammell

Thanks Paul. That makes sense.

[denniscmcgrath]

I can;t say apPaul's wrong or I'm right, but there are elements of the dish that make me think Greenwood, not Maddock (the pin striping, the verrrry heavy body, are very Greenwoody).

Either of those should be marked, though, so it not being mrked except with Steinbach's name is unusual.

Easily from before 1900, IMHO.

-d

[denniscmcgrath]

Okay, from circa 1909 now that I've read the thread more closely.

[apPaul]

Steinbach distributed several china patterns for several Asbury Park hotels that were made by Maddock & Scammell

[apPaul]

Oh, it could have been on the Trenton China Base....

[denniscmcgrath]

I don't know that you're wrong, apPaul ... not saying you are. But it looks very similar to a properly marked Greenwood baker I have, esp. the striping and the colors used, and the heft of it makes me think Greenwood. If I were identifying it for a listing, I would say Maddock or Greenwood. Surely it is one or the other.

[denniscmcgrath]

File it under the Maddock patterns in the IDwiki and if a similar one marked Greenwood ever shows up, then we make the necessary adjustments.

[jerseygirl]

I can;t say apPaul's wrong or I'm right, but there are elements of the dish that make me think Greenwood, not Maddock (the pin striping, the verrrry heavy body, are very Greenwoody).

Either of those should be marked, though, so it not being mrked except with Steinbach's name is unusual.

Easily from before 1900, IMHO.

-d

Dennis, I know what you mean about the heft in Greenwood pieces, but the bowl actually is not as thick as most Greenwood pieces I've come across. Also, a lot of those early Greenwood pieces have the completely flat flush bottom (no foot). This has the rim.

I too think it's unusual that only the Steinbach name is on the bottom.