Vintage Greenbrier China Tablescape
If you love Dorothy Draper interior design, here's a table set almost entirely with china and serving utensils collected either directly from the Greenbrier, or inspired by her designs for the Greenbrier, in White Sulphur Springs, WV. Dorothy Draper stamped her bold colors and oversized florals on almost every surface at the Greenbrier when the famed resort was redecorated after World War II. The rhododendron, West Virginia's state flower, took center stage on everything from fabrics to china. See blog link at bottom for more Greenbrier history!
The restaurant ware china most notably known as the Greenbrier's - white with green rim and rhododendron transfer on the plate's center as one example - was commissioned into production and made by several companies as part of the branding strategy. The companies which have made the Greenbrier hotel china include the Homer Laughlin China (HLC) company of Newell, West Virginia, as well as Syracuse (NY), Mayer, and Shenango China companies (both PA).
There are many variations in the Greenbrier china over the years since 1947 when it was first introduced: some have gold edging on the plates, some do not; some have rhododendron transfers within the cups vs. the saucer centers; some plates are green rimmed, some are pink.
Pink rimmed dinner plate. Homer Laughlin china.
The silverplate flatware on my tablescape is vintage Oneida, made specifically for the Greenbrier, stamped on the back with the hotel's logo and maker's names. Service for eight flatware was obtained at a special auction held in 2011, whereby much of the original, post-WWII Greenbrier furnishings were being auctioned off to make way for the hotel's renewed excellence and 5-star status.
The front side of the flatware is engraved with the letter "G", in Greenbrier logo, script style.
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