A Day of Pretty Vintage Plates

Though I’ve never considered myself a “plate” person, I will admit when I’m thrifting I am drawn to the small ones used for bread and salad. To me these are such a handy size and an easy way to add a bit of style to a table. Though it’s not a big niche for me, over the years I have bought and sold a number of plates, most of them purchased at my neighborhood thrift store.

These antique Minton & Boyle were a delightful find and I was shocked to discover how old they were. (I paid $6.59 and they sold for $112 on sale.)

While not as lucrative these vintage Caribe Casual plates had such a fun mid-century vibe. I bought eight and put them into two sets.

I thought this stack of Highland Florals stoneware plates were ’70s adorable, but packaging eight heavy plates for shipping was no fun. And as it turns out, this type of plate is fairly common.

But to the main story–yesterday I was in the thrift store and of course had to peruse the dish aisle and it didn’t take long to spot this bundle of eight porcelain bread plates by Queen’s (est. 1795). Such a striking pattern and they appear absolutely unused. I thought these were quite something.

Turns out the Kyushu pattern is discontinued and Google Lens only revealed ONE exact match–an out-of-stock dinner plate on Replacements.com that gave no information about pricing. Hmmmm. I couldn’t find any currently for sale. Not a one. So I looked up other Queen’s plates to get a general idea of pricing, but had to take into account that there were quite a few for sale in all these patterns. In the end I listed my scarce plates in sets of four for $80.

But whilst doing my research I came across this Queen’s Imari pattern which I really, really liked. While also discontinued, there are quite a few for sale online in a variety of price points.

And I wasn’t “in trouble” until I found these salad plates by an Ebay seller for $10.66 each in mint condition. Oh boy.

And I had a moment.

I had a serious moment because I have never bought myself china. When I got married I lived in a studio apartment in a janky part of San Francisco and registering for a china pattern was the last thing on my mind. And somehow, over the decades, my husband and I never got around to buying fancy china. We have nice wine glasses, but no china, and we use our everyday white plates every day, for every occasion.

Frankly I am always amazed at estate sales when I’d see a full set of beautiful china (sometimes for 12 settings) and then another full set just for Christmas (usually Spode or Lenox) and sometimes even a third set for spring. And I think, how many times do you actually use all this china in a year? I know in my own family growing up the “best” china was maybe used four times a year if that.

But when I saw these beautiful plates at that price and condition I thought “If not now, when?” And even though I’m downsizing these days, I realized I would enjoy using these plates, not only for holidays and company but for days we decide to make special.

So of the 12 salad-sized Queen’s Imari plates this seller was offering I bought 8. I figured that was enough for us and occasional company.

Still in a weird way this purchase makes me sad too. Sad because I realize my mother never got to use her fancy china much. She acquired it piece meal years into her marriage. I remember my grandmother giving her various pieces at Christmases, birthdays and anniversaries well into my teens. And probably about the time she had a full set, she and Dad sold their house and moved into a tiny rental in preparation for a retirement move to Florida. So no real entertaining there. And I know she didn’t use it much in Florida either.

But to end on a happier note, I am looking forward to arrival of these plates and “creating” a special occasion to use them!

Wishing you happy hunting,

Karen

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What I Look for in Vintage/Antique Plates

Condition matters when buying plates that people will use. They have to be in darn-good condition. I avoid plates with crazing, chips, cracks, utensil marks and too much loss to gilding or images. (Last week I turned down Villeroy & Boch hot-air balloon plates at the thrift store because of the knife marks.)

Brand names matter. People look for names like Wedgwood, Villeroy & Boch, MacKenzie-Childs, Meissen, Herend, Noritake, Lenox, Portmeirion, Spode, etc. I discover brands I’ve never heard of all the time. Queen’s was a new one for me.

Patterns matter. Certain styles remain popular with buyers. Chinoiserie designs are still hot with their “fantastical landscapes, tiered pagodas, mythical dragons, bamboo, and exotic birds” as are clean mid-century modern pieces with starbursts and atomic designs.

I tend to avoid what I consider “fussy florals.” Though that may be a mistake on my part. I’ve discovered a lot of Etsy sellers list mismatched floral plates and they do sell. And “gramma-core” is a trending design aesthetic. But most don’t excite me so I’ll leave those behind for other sellers.

If you are curious as to the popularity of various china patterns, you can check out this page on Replacements.com to see their top sellers. I was surprised to see that some of their Top Ten patterns are ones I find insipid!