WHILE West 33rd passes the Empire State Building as it nears 5th Avenue, I was more fascinated by the Bawo and Dotter Building across the street at #20 West 33rd, for the weird escutcheons that appear to be showing aliens or strange plants. As the Latin number indicates it was constructed in 1912.
Bawo & Dotter was established in New York City in the 1860s to import porcelain, especially from Limoges, into the USA. In the early 1870s they established The Elite Works in Limoges to decorate porcelain made by other factories. Their production included table china, decorative pieces and trinket boxes. Some of their marks incorporated St. Martial from the seal of the City of Limoges. Porcelain production was interrupted during WWI. Shortly after the war, they bought the William Guerin company, and the mark changed to “Guerin-Pouyat-Elite, apparently continuing use of all three company marks. The company closed in 1932. Bawo & Dotter also had large operations in Austria and Czechoslovakia, with completely different marks. [The Detroit News]
No doubt, the name “Bawo and Dotter” was at one time famed among collectors, but only this building, long since converted to other uses.
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5/16/24