Spaulding Ware Mystery Box

This box is marked "Spaulding Ware."

Hello, what's this? Paper Franks PICKOHIO Etsy Shop was really sweet to let me use this super cool picture of this box, marked "Spaulding Ware" to find out if any of you out there knew what it was.  At first glance it looks to me like a sewing novelty box.  Paper Franks reports when they bought it, the inside had canning lids/supplies in it and as you can see a bit of paint on the lid.

Spaulding Ware made lots of melmac and plastic ware, and here on my Spaulding Ware history page I did find a set of spice shakers which I thought was odd. I heard rumors they made kitchen ware, but this doesn't explain a sewing style box.

As with most plastic companies it is not uncommon they did contract jobs for others, aside from melmac dinnerware. However, what was this contract for? A sewing company? A craft box? A novelty box? A canning jar box?

You never know, do you? It never ceases to amaze me that out of the blue or woodwork something will come up that you just don't see everyday, even after all these years of collecting. For now PaperFranks is enjoying the box but sooner or later it may end up in their PickOhio Etsy shop so keep looking.

Any ideas?

More Spaulding : Found in the Original Box by Junk and Howe Etsy Shop Melmac and Melamine Lover's Dream

Spaulding Ware Melmac

Chad over at Junk and Howe sent me these great pictures to share with you all, of an amazing IN THE BOX Spaulding Ware set he has stumbled upon. These dishes were MADE IN THE USA and of course you know how much I adore vintage, and reuse, and items that were made here!   Originally, the set was featured in LIFE magazine and retained for $66.40 for a 55 piece set. Amazing.

Chad says, "I stumbled across your very interesting post about Spaulding and thought I'd at least tell you about a recent Spaulding find of mine: 49 pieces of a 55-piece set, still in the original box."  Chad explains, "Unfortunately, the stamp on the box was been smeared and duct-taped over, so I can't make out a date of delivery. "

He continues, "However, the inventory sheet is on the box, and it has the price of the set: $66.40. 'Advertised in Life Magazine' is also printed on the box, among other copy. "   Chad notes, "It's also a different style than all the other Spaulding stuff I've seen - this set's cups have flat bullet-hole handles."

This sure is a rare find, and gives us hints and clues about Spaulding. Advertising in LIFE magazine was not cheap but proves that from Chicago they would have reached target audiences all over the USA.  Their box design was clever--and well thought out. The colors seem  60's to me, but we know (in reference to my previous post on Spaulding)  that in 1962 the company was kaput or in huge trouble so this has to be earlier than that --I know for a fact they advertised in 1956 because I have an ad from Life.  Chad is right, the design is somewhat off from the other Spaulding ware you see--how clever for them to have different styles, lines and options.  Many melmac manufacturers offered a "premium" line,  and a "non-premium" line which would be not as fancy and be priced less.

Chad's best point is this, "The crazy thing is that with inflation, that set would cost almost $500 today!"      WOW!


Thanks Chad & Julie.  They used to sell on Etsy under Junk and Howe, but when I revisisted them in November 2018 their shop was closed.  Here's just a few things they had featured at one point:

Byrd Tranquil Ware Plastic Set, $18 so great in RED!

King Seely Thermos Set, $24, Atomic!

Find Junk and Howe Here:

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Article Updated 11.22.18, Thank you for reading RetroChalet , my melmac  and vintage blog.  Please LIKE  Melmac Dinnerware  on Facebook!  

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Rise and Fall of Spaulding Ware Melmac Dinnerware in Chicago Land

The Dilemma:

Hello, what's this? Spaulding Ware Creamer in Color-Flyte Colors?

It doesn't matter how long you collect something there will sooner or later be things that pop up that mystify you or are unexplainable. Imagine my surprise when I find this creamer marked Spaulding Ware, Chicago, but is a dead ringer for the designer  Kaye Lamoyne's "Glow Copper" color of the Branchell Color-Flyte line.

Mottling in Color-flyte colors as shown on the Branchell History Website by Dennis Teepe.

So my question was which came first, the chicken or the egg?  Relatively little is known about Spaulding Ware company history, I looked in some old Modern Plastics Encyclopedias and didn't see any Spaulding listed in Chicago in the forties.  I then found them listed in a 1953 Registered Corporations book of Illinois, however under "A-A Housewares, Inc." At the same address was the offices of  Spaulding at 3520 N Spaulding Avenue, Chicago 18 Illinois wherein respective representatives were  Harry Wohl and Dorothy Pollenz.

The original building where Spaulding Ware offices' were still stands in Chicago. 

Spaulding Ware Galore as offered in dadadish!

Just when I thought this "glow copper" creamer dilemma could be an uncommon fluke, melmac collector Ken Whittington of North Caorlina tells me there were other colors done in the other Color-Flyte colors as well! I was baffled!  

What is the Connection?
Sadly I cannot form any connection what so ever between Branchell and Spaulding, no matter how much sleuthing I do. Branchell, according to Dennis Teepe's Branchell History site lists them in business circa 1952-1958 at which time it was sold to Lenox.  Branchell's factories in St. Louis and Puerto Rico do not explain how during the same era the colors of the Color-Flyte designs would have gone to Spaulding. I believe Spaulding's dinnerware was produced elsewhere in Chicago, so definitely NOT in St. Louis!

There are of course only four possibilities that I deduce: 

1)  "Maybe Laymoyne worked for Spaulding."    I don't think so. Certainly he was under contract at the time and to leak a top secret formula would have been a huge no-no with legal ramifications.

2) "Maybe Spaulding had the color first and Laymoyne bought it."   Doubtful, he was a great designer.

3) "Perhaps Spaulding acquired it after Branchell's demise."  This would have meant the dishes had to be produced circa 1958 when Branchell closed.  Spaulding would have had a four year window to do so, from 1958 to 1961 because they were still offering melmac in 1961 as listed in a Supermarket Merchandising Magazine under "Melco-Ware".

4)  "Perhaps they duplicated it and used it without permission with no one ever catching them."   It wouldn't be the first time, I've seen examples of  Residential by Russel Wright and Daileyware using the same formula, but these were also produced in the same factory.  Being that ColorFlyte was produced in Missouri and Puerto Rico, this didn't seem a viable solution.

A full set of hard to find Spaulding Ware recently sold on Etsy at PomDecor's shop. 

If you look closely at the photo above the creamer and sugar would indeed be a more rigid feel.   I always thought that some of the creamer and sugars like the styles above were indeed polystyrene. We will find out soon, that Spaulding was using "less melamine" in some of their pieces which would explain why the pieces in the same set may feel or look differently (and perhaps not wear as well.)


The Answers, or Not?
The more I read on Spauldingware, the more I think the latter two possibilities may indeed apply to the latter years window.  In this May 1956 ad, Life Magazine shows Capri (regular color palette) and Decorated (patterns) as the two "styles."  They were also showing "Melco-Ware" at the Housewares Show in Chicago according to Modern Plastics Magazine. "Melcoware" is also traced back to their office address.  I can only assume that Melco-Ware stands for (Melamine - CoPolymer - Dinnerware). 

Ironically, in June 1960, the Spaulding Corporation (then containing the names of Gilbert B. Fern and the same Harry Wohl and Dorothy Pollenz from above) were being charged both as a whole and individually by the Federal Trade Commission. Essentially scamming the public as melamine co polymer did not exist, and it was in their print ads, guarantees, and advertising. By December the same year they were in huge trouble.

Guess I'll never know why or how these Spaulding Ware Spice Containers came to be.

It's no wonder by the early 60's they were gone. No doubt legal fees and loss of production time would drive them into their ultimate demise.   ~Poof, just like that~  We may never know the beginnings or the end of this company, or half the inner workings, but I can't help to find it odd that they would go to a housewares show and brag and advertise their wares as Melamine Co polymer only to become quickly indited. Did a competitor get a whiff of this infraction and turn them in?  Was this a sneaky way to avoid the inflating costs of melamine?  Did they cross the line too many times and operate shadily before (hence eluding to the Colorflyte dilemma)?

I'd like to think the wide world of melmac production full of mobsters and loan sharks, because , after all, this was Chicagoland.  I guess we'll never know.

Back in the day in Chicagoland, Postcards Available at VintagePlum's shop.

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Melmac Galore

Melmac Dinnerware, piled in boxes, makes for a good retirement plan someday. Back before no one wanted Melmac collectors were stashing it in their storage units and containers. Some of these boxes were given to me by Derek Schultz, a fellow collector I once knew, now deceased. He was attempting to collect it to write a Melmac book, as were several people I know.  These samples were collected from all over North America on outings.  Do you see any Melmac or melamine that you collect in these boxes?

Much older Melmac contains knife marks and needs a good cleaning.  I like to use a blend of comet paste and hot water and a toothbrush for scrubbing the dirt out of knife marks on most light surfaces.  Melmac was labeled as indestructible but over time it did lose it's sheen thanks to washing in hot dishwashers.

Some have yucky sticker residue on them.  Peanut butter helps remove the sticker good.

Rare Watertown Butter dishes in Olive green were found. Was this a mistake or did Watertown Ware come out with this fugly green?  Sorry grandma, I hated the 70's.

So where can you find all this Melmac for sale? RetroChalet.etsy.com look for it soon! I had went through and sorted it on the driveway once. The neighbors looked a bit puzzled. I put it in order by sets, and ended up donating a plethora of badly scratched examples to Goodwill. 

Derek Schultz, owned the collection, and I tried selling some of the best pieces and sending his wife some of the profits.  Unfortunately, sending melmac via the USPS turned out to be not profitable when postal rates soared and much has to be packed well in large oversize boxes. 

So some still remains, sitting in a dark and dusty place, perhaps, until the time is right.  

FURTHER READING:

You may wish to read more about Watertown Ware here on the Watertown Page!

OTHER PROJECTS I AM WORKING ON: 

White Witch Magazine is my new project.  It's for modern day nature lovers, and good witches! Hope you will check it out! 

This page last updated November 16, 2024.