Collecting Oyster Plates

Book excerpt: Oyster plates, platters, and servers produced in porcelain, majolica, faïence, English ironstone, and French stoneware are displayed in over 475 beautiful color photographs. Ranging from the elegant to the everyday, these plates date from the mid-nineteenth through the late-twentieth century. The informative and interesting text includes histories of the major oyster plate manufacturers (including Minton, Wedgwood, Haviland, and the Quimper potteries, among others) whose wears are on display. Also included are an examination of manufacturer's marks, a discussion of the ceramic and glass oyster plate forms and decoration, current market values in the captions, an extensive bibliography, and an index.