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A Collector's Guide to Souvenir Plates |
By Arlene Burgess |
| Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 77 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, Pa., 19310, 1996, pp. 221, $19.95, paperback. |
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| Ms Burgess, an Alton, Ill. collector and dealer in Nineteenth Century English and American ceramics, offers an excellent reference on her subject, using 564 color photographs to illustrate plates dating from the 1880s to contemporary times. "All of these plates, especially the earlier ones, are collectible," she writes in her introduction. "Many of the buildings and landmarks pictured no longer exist. Old city halls and courthouses, once the hub of almost every city of any size, are now centered in almost deserted downtowns. The architecturally ornate [buildings]...have been replaced by indistinguishable box-like structures." Souvenir plates, then, are also a record of what we have lost, which may be perhaps the most rewarding aspect of collecting them, beyond a love of their design or particular subject. A chapter on potters is followed by plate patterns organized under a description of their maker, which includes the company's location and dates of operation, history and other data. In the list of views, the company name is given, along with the border design, unusual features, color, size and value.
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