Vintage B&W Willow Pattern Platter

1947/Newell, United States

The Homer Laughlin China Company was founded in East Liverpool, Ohio, by brothers Homer and Shakespeare Laughlin in the late nineteenth century. They produced vast quantities of affordable domestic tableware, eventually moving their main manufacturing operations to a massive plant in Newell, West Virginia. The company used a sophisticated system of backstamps containing letters and numbers that pinpointed the exact month and year of manufacture for each piece of pottery.

American households bought these durable ceramic sets for everyday dining and special occasions throughout the middle of the twentieth century. The plates were served at family dinners, holiday meals, and church gatherings across the country, forming the backdrop of daily domestic life. Eventually, changing dining habits and a shift toward casual, mismatched dinnerware led to the decline of formal set collecting, leaving these mid-century pieces in cupboards and thrift shops.