Every piece has a history. That's what always fascinated my Granddad about old things. He was a brick and stone mason for a living, and he loved to collect old bricks from buildings that he helped demolish.
The interesting thing, which you may not know, is that old bricks were always stamped on the back with their place of origin, and sometimes a date. My granddad had bricks from all over the southern U.S., many marked "Oklahoma Territory" "New Mexico Territory," etc. In case you don't know what that means, it dates those bricks to pre-statehood days, when the populations of these states were still so low that they hadn't even earned full statehood and voting power under U.S. laws. Oklahoma, for instance, earned statehood in 1907.
I wish I could show you one of these bricks, but I haven't been able to find the Oklahoma Territory one that he gave my mother. I'm sure it's somewhere in my parents' garage. Whenever I do, I might revisit it.
My latest vintage history adventure has been researching two pieces of fine porcelain I am planning to list soon. I found them both at a thrift shop, and instantly realized they were something very special.
The plate is marked on the back, "Jyoto. Made in Occupied Japan." I know that dates it to the postwar years, between 1945 and 1952, when Japan's industry was being rebuilt and large amounts of pottery and porcelain products were produced for a U.S. audience. I am having a great deal of trouble uncovering more information about this plate. One source seems to identify it as "pattern 58," by Jyoto, but I am feeling very uncertain. I'm still waiting for better confirmation of my information.
Here is the mark on the back. I know it doesn't seem to read "Jyoto," but I realized that is the correct company name after an entire exhausting evening of research. If you have any information you could add, to help me along in my research and identification, I would really appreciate it.
The other plate is more of a platter. It, too, bears the hallmarks of fine work. It is very heavy, with a supporting ridge down the middle of the underside of the platter, to prevent cracking under heavy use. It is so large, I think a gigantic turkey might look a little lonely without some dressing or rice pilaf around it. I love this plate!
The interesting thing, which you may not know, is that old bricks were always stamped on the back with their place of origin, and sometimes a date. My granddad had bricks from all over the southern U.S., many marked "Oklahoma Territory" "New Mexico Territory," etc. In case you don't know what that means, it dates those bricks to pre-statehood days, when the populations of these states were still so low that they hadn't even earned full statehood and voting power under U.S. laws. Oklahoma, for instance, earned statehood in 1907.
I wish I could show you one of these bricks, but I haven't been able to find the Oklahoma Territory one that he gave my mother. I'm sure it's somewhere in my parents' garage. Whenever I do, I might revisit it.
My latest vintage history adventure has been researching two pieces of fine porcelain I am planning to list soon. I found them both at a thrift shop, and instantly realized they were something very special.
Here is the mark on the back. I know it doesn't seem to read "Jyoto," but I realized that is the correct company name after an entire exhausting evening of research. If you have any information you could add, to help me along in my research and identification, I would really appreciate it.
The other plate is more of a platter. It, too, bears the hallmarks of fine work. It is very heavy, with a supporting ridge down the middle of the underside of the platter, to prevent cracking under heavy use. It is so large, I think a gigantic turkey might look a little lonely without some dressing or rice pilaf around it. I love this plate!
