1991.55 Eva Zeisel, “Tomorrow’s Classic” shape pitcher with “Fantasy” pattern

Eva Zeisel designed Tomorrow’s Classic around 1950, following the success of her Museum and Town and Country tableware lines. However, it languished until it finally found a champion in Charles Seliger of Commercial Decal, who was in search of a contemporary shapes upon which his firm could place its decals. Hall China Company agreed to produce the line, and from 1951 to about 1960, Tomorrow’s Classic was available in various glazed and printed decorative schemes. Zeisel’s contract stipulated that she supply nine decal patterns initially and an additional three each following year. Some, such as Dawn and Arizona, were created by Seliger, while others, like Frost Flowers and Fantasy, were designed by Zeisel’s studio assistants or her students at the Pratt Institute. 

Charles L. Venable, China and Glass in America 1880-1980 (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art: New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2000), 462. 

Until 1991: Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Venable [1]

From 1991: Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the above [1]

[1] See Dallas Museum of Art Acquisition Record (dated June 25, 1991, copy in Collections Records Object File). 

Apply to objects where number equals 1991.55