Southwestern Dinnerware Pattern
Made especially for the Super Chief Railroad and is still used today
During the Golden Age of train travel in the 1930s, a special dinnerware pattern was researched and designed for use only in the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe (AT&SF) Railway’s Super Chief dining cars. The Mimbreno Pattern was designed by the architect that designed many buildings at the Grand Canyon, Mary Colter.
Santa Fe Railway’s Super Chief was a diesel train exclusively for first-class passengers with large picture windows, air conditioning, plush interiors and meals by Fred Harvey. It had five Pullman cars, a diner, lounge and could accommodate 104 passengers and twelve crew. Each car was named after a different Indian pueblo and were decorated with murals of the Southwest. The service ran from Chicago to Los Angeles from 1936 to 1974.
Architect Mary Colter (1869-1958) worked for the Fred Harvey Company and was tasked with designing tableware for the exclusive Super Chief. She wanted something unique and wanted to feature Native American art.
Colter based her designs on ancient pottery decorations made by the people who inhabited the Mimbres River Valley in southern New Mexico and in southwestern Arizona from the late tenth century to about 1130 CE (common era or AD). Colter’s friends Harriet and Cornelius Cosgrove excavated many pots at the Swarts Ruin in New Mexico from 1924 to 1927 and introduced her to the Mimbres culture.
The pottery from the ancient Mimbres people featured geometric patterns as well as figures of animals painted in black and red. Colter had previously used some Mimbres designs on the walls of her 1932 Desert View Watchtower on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. She visited museums to study further examples before creating thirty-seven designs based on ancient artifacts. She then had a ceramicist translate the patterns into designs suitable for dinnerware. The patterns would be reproduced in black or red on white and Colter insisted that the patterns must look like they could have been painted with a twig with a chewed end just like the original potters used.
The result was Mimbreno China produced by the Onandaga Pottery Company (later became the Syracuse China Company) and was used from 1936 through 1971 when the Super Chief service was discontinued.
Authorized reproductions have been manufactured and sold to the public for household use since 1989. There are two companies that I know of that are authorized to reproduce the designs. Instead of a stamp on each piece reading “Made expressly for Santa Fe dining car service” the stamp mentions that the piece is a reproduction.
Mimbreno China Today
Original pieces are rare, but some can still be found and purchased on sites such as Ebay. The two companies authorized to reproduce the china are Pipestone China in Freeland, Maryland and H. F. Coors who manufactures and sell these fine pieces here where I live in Tucson, Arizona.
Today, you can be served on Mimbreno china in the El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. The famous dining rooms serves all its meals on the pieces designed by Mary Colter. It was a bucket list item to have a meal at the El Tovar and did so for breakfast last month. The vintage dining room was the perfect place to be served a lovely meal on this iconic dinnerware.
Next Time
During this week prior to Christmas, I will be baking Biscochitos cookies which are the state cookie of New Mexico. My next post will be about these traditional and tasty cookies. A taste of the Land of Enchantment.
Wonder article! We arrived in Chicago at Union Station. That's where my love of architecture was first ignited I believe. And traveling cross country via train on a luxury trip is number 2 on the bucket list after visiting Israel.
Precious gems! When I was a child we took the Suoer Chief from California to Chicago to visit family in Minnesota where we'd rent a car and visit the Wisconsin dells. Fond memories I hold dear to my heart.
I’d love to have a set of this China because we eat a lot of Mexican food, they’d be perfect to serve our guests. I love their simplicity in design. Thank you for sharing another intriguing piece Jan!