FOOD & DRINK
Classic Diner Mug.
By Jonathan Campbell
Like so many classic designs, the mug was created to answer a military brief. During World War II, the U.S. Navy sent a call out for bids to supply coffee mugs. It had to be durable, heavy and, crucially, not tip over in stormy seas. On top of that, it had to keep your coffee hot for as long as possible. The winning design came from the Victor Insulation Company […]
Back in the 1990s, whenever anyone in my friendship group visited New York, we would pop into the delicatessen Dean & Deluca and buy a couple of their branded Diner mugs, it was a thing. The mugs were so different to the mugs we used here in the UK. They were thick, heavy and looked cool. They had a neat uniformity to them too, which meant they looked great stacked in your cupboard.
Like so many classic designs, the mug was created to answer a military brief. During World War II, the U.S. Navy sent a call out for bids to supply coffee mugs, the brief being that they had to be durable, heavy and, crucially, not tip over in stormy seas. On top of that, they had to keep your coffee hot for as long as possible.
The winning design came from the Victor Insulation Company, established in Victor, NY, in 1893 by Fred M. Locke. That’s why the original name was the Victor mug.
The Victor company won the pitch by developing a bowl and dual-wall coffee mug with the same porcelain used to make insulators. The company no longer exists, but its iconic design lives on – even though most coffee shops in New York now use the Anthora disposable coffee cup, invented in 1963.
Available to buy from Coffee Hit
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Images. The Obsessive, Dean & Deluca
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