American Historical Ephemera and Photography Featuring the Civil War and American Militaria Collection of Bruce B. Hermann

Ten (10) Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei [German Zeppelin Shipping Company] porcelain salad plates, ca 1936-1937. Each 7 1/2 in. diameter. Gilt and blue rim decorated with the logo of the Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei. Marked in red "Heinrich-Elfenbein-Porzellen/ Eigentum Der Deutschen/ Zeppelin Reederei" next to green Henrich & Co. factory marks.

Nine (9) Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei porcelain dinner plates, ca 1936-1937. Each 9 1/4 in. diameter. Gilt and blue rim decorated with the logo of the Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei. Marked in red "Heinrich-Elfenbein-Porzellen/ Eigentum Der Deutschen/ Zeppelin Reederei" next to green Henrich & Co. factory marks.

Nine (9) Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei sherbet glasses, ca 1936-1937. Height 4 in., 3 3/4 in. diameter. Each with fine etch work, marked "D Z R" and decorated with the logo of the Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei.

This collection of Zeppelin china comes from the family of McKendree B. Hutchins (1916-2009), who was inducted into the US Army Air Corps on 6 January 1942. He trained in the US and Iceland and was assigned to the Ninth Air Force Service Command after arriving in England. Hutchins landed at Omaha Beach on 12 June 1944, D-Day +6. During his time in the Army, he rose to the rank of master sergeant, receiving four silver stars and a purple heart. Hutchins' service took him from Normandy, to St. Mere Eglise, Bastogne, and the Battle of the Bulge, and he was in Ulm, Germany when the war ended. Because of his rank in the Quartermaster Corps, Hutchins was often in a position to help others, and in one case, he was offered porcelain dinnerware and crystal sherbets in return for his assistance. Hutchins turned the gift down, however, the man was so grateful that he searched out Hutchins' address in Chicago and shipped the gift to his wife at home. Hutchins only found out about the thank you gesture when he returned home in October 1945. The Zeppelin pieces remained in his family until his death in June 2009.

Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei (DZR) operated zeppelins in transatlantic commercial flights, including the famous LZ 129 Hindenburg. After the crash, DZR stopped international service, and operations ceased at the outbreak of World War II.