The swastika was considered a good luck symbol prior to the rise of Nazi
Germany and is frequently seen on U.S. dinnerware of the 1910-1930 period,
in association with four-leaf clovers, horseshoes, etc.  I once found a
Sebring Pottery plate dated 1927 or thereabouts labeled "Hitler's personal
china" and priced accordingly.

Jim Murphy
Ohio State University
1858 Neil Avenue Mall
Columbus OH 43210

At 01:21 PM 7/10/01 -0800, Larry E. Buhr wrote:
>In regard to swastikas being used in instances other than Nazi and
>neo-Nazi contexts, our downtown post-office in Reno, which I believe was
>built in 1937, has small swastikas as decorative elements on some of the
>interior trim.  Some of them have the arms bent counter-clockwise while
>some are bent clockwise like the Nazi versions though all rest flat
>unlike the Nazi-type, in which the central arms form an 'X'.  This
>building is a well-preserved example of Deco-influenced Federal
>architecture, suggesting that in the pre-WWII period, swastikas were a
>basic element of American design repertoire.
>
>Larry Buhr
>University of Nevada, Reno