Images(9)

Set, Cup and Saucer

Object number2017.94.32 a,b

Manufacturer McNicol China

Date1930-1957

MediumCeramic; Glaze; Paint

Credit LineGift of Robert Thomas

DescriptionCup and saucer set. White ceramic cup with handle. Circular bowl. Bowl exterior has gold painted rim above navy blue and maroon bands that border maroon beer brand name. Handle has gold painted line. Inside bowl is maroon beer brand name. Circular foot with black maker's marks at center. White circular ceramic saucer with shallow circular depression at center. Gold painted rim above navy blue and maroon bands that border maroon two beer brand names on opposing sides. Circular foot with black maker's marks at center.DimensionsHeight x Diameter (a,b): 2.5 × 6.125 in. (6.4 × 15.6 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (a): 2.25 × 4.75 × 3.813 in. (5.7 × 12.1 × 9.7 cm)
Diameter x Depth (b): 6.125 × 1.063 in. (15.6 × 2.7 cm)
Inscriptions(a)
Maroon text on exterior of bowl "ForT PITT Beer".

Maroon text on interior of bowl "Old Shay Ale".

(b)
Top edge of saucer has maroon text "ForT PITT Beer" and at opposing edge "Old Shay Ale".
Marks(a)
Black text at center of foot "McNICOL CHINA / U 101".

(b)
Black text at center of foot "McNICOL CHINA / K 101 / X".
Historical NotesFort Pitt Beer and Old Shay Beer executive china cup and saucer. This fine china was used at formal brewery functions. Part of a collection of Fort Pitt Brewing Company artifacts that was collected by donor Robert Thomas to document the time his family ran the company (1930s through the 1950s). The donor’s great uncle, Michael Berardino, became president of Fort Pitt Brewing Company two years after one of the original owners and founder, Samuel Grenet, died suddenly in 1935. Grenet had started the business in 1906 with Herman Hechelman. They built a brewery in the suburb of Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, survived Prohibition and were set to be the number one brewery in the state when Grenet passed. Berardino began an aggressive sales campaign to turn the company around after lagging sales the year before. The company also bought the Victor Brewing Company of Jeannette, Pennsylvania, but continued to produce their signature Old Shay beer. In the early 1950s due to local strikes and an increase in national brand popularity, Fort Pitt struggled. After Berardino died in 1957, the company stopped brewing at the Sharpsburg plant and expanded into other products and became the newly incorporated Fort Pitt Industries. The rights to the brand were sold to Gunther Brewing of Baltimore. In 2010, the Fort Pitt name was purchased by Mark Dudash who began producing Fort Pitt Ale.

Related institution Fort Pitt Brewing Company (1906 - 1957)

Related person Michael Berardino (died 1957)

Collector Robert M. Thomas

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