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Offered for your consideration is an extremely rare 1922 era – top logo and bottom marked 7” x 9 ½” wide by 3 ½” tall silver plate oyster stand – combination oyster cracker condiment tray made for the Alamac Hotel that was located in New York City. This is the first such oyster server I have ever seen from the Alamac Hotel, and only the 4th piece of silver plate I’ve seen in the past 15+ years I’ve been collecting. If you collect New York City or Hotel Silver items, you truly might want to consider this stunning piece for your collection.

Historically, work on the Alamac was started in 1922 and officially opened in 1923 as an impressive 600 room, 19-floor hotel at 71st and Broadway in New York City. Considered as one of the city’s “skyscrapers” when built, the hotel provided wonderful amenities and modern comforts to its guest. Additionally, many baseball teams while in New York stayed at the hotel. One of the hotel’s most famous sport celebrities of the time was New York Yankee’s player Babe Ruth (George Herman Ruth, Jr.) who actually took up residency and lived at the hotel. Who knows, this coffee may have seen service in Ruth Room when he was staying there, or he may have even used it while dining in the hotel’s dining rooms. It should also be noted that also in 1923, this was the same year that Yankees also moved from Polo Grounds to the new “Yankee Stadium”.

The hotel had many entertainers, such as the Paul Specht Orchestra, perform there over the years also. I also believe Specht fulfilled the duties as being the hotel’s primary orchestra in 1923. The hotel also was host to the Manhattan Chess Club’s 1924 tournament were many of the finest chess players of the day gathered for “elite chess competition”.

The Alamac also had its famous “Grill Room” and “Rooftop Congo Room. In 1923, the hotel commission artist Winold Reiss, to complete several mosaic three dimensional murals on the walls of the restaurant and the Congo Room that were very popular amongst visitors to the hotel. Reiss also designed the same murals at the Longchamps Restaurant, the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago, Illinois; the Cincinnati Union Terminal Railroad Station, and the Santa Fe Depot in Kansas City, Missouri. Also, the Alamac was conveniently located to the New York City Subway system and advertised as having a “Subway at the Door” – “3 Minutes to Times Square”.

By 1929, the hotel was under the management of Knott Hotels. The hotel was part of the “Knott Chain of Metropolitan Hotel” that was originally the Allerton Group of Club Hotels. Some of the other hotels included the Hotel Wellington, The Great Northern, St. Hubert, Chelsea, Ogden, King’s Crown, Berkeley, Judson, Van Rensselar, and the Kew Garden Inn, to name just some of them. Knott’s Executive Offices were located at 271 Madison Avenue in New York City. Today, the Hotel Alamac’s structure still stands and operations I believe as the Hotel Alamac Apartments.

This oyster tray would have been used in the hotel’s dining rooms, café, restaurant, or for room service, and used in connection with the Alamac Hotel china and glassware for table service. It is the heavyweight type Steamship, Lunch Room, and Railroad silverplate.

It is marked on the side with the hotel’s circular logo that is applied and looks great! On the bottom it is marked in larger letters “ALAMAC”. It was made by the Jos. Heinrich’s Co. in New York City and Paris, France. Heinrich made some of themost desirable and highly collectible hotel silver. Many of the company’s clients where that of New York City Hotel, Restaurants, and even clubs.

The piece also has Heinrich’s signature outer hammered design that looks absolutely spectacular! It has three holders for bottles or containers for sauces. The well area would have been where oysters on or out of the half shell would have been placed for guest to enjoy. It has some silver plate wear showing the copper underneath in many places (very common for Heinrich pieces), the usual light usage scratches, a few minor indentations, etc. It rest o...

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