Fascination with commemorative plates

I'm not sure why I am fascinated with commemorative plates. You know the ones I mean. Your grandmother may have had a few displayed on the wall in one of those metal, spring things... Or maybe they were in the back of the china closet. My grandmother had a few that I have inherited. Some I may not keep because I don't really have a connection to them, but others will be bound for display.

The Village of Greenwich Sesquicentennial committee decided to have a commemorative plate made for the 1959 event. It was produced by Kettlesprings Kilns in Alliance, OH. Kettlesprings Kilns began in 1950 to create a plate for Alliance's bicentennial, & grew from there. They still produce commemorative items like plates, mugs, tiles & bells (http://home.earthlink.net/~kettlesprings/products.html).

Greenwich Sesquicentennial plate 1959

Our plate is green, of course, with the sesquicentennial logo in the center. Around the outside are various buildings in the town. Notice the tiny witches between each building.

• White Swan Hotel (1851)
• Upper Dam (1860)
• Stevens & Thompson Mill
• Mowry-Blandy House
• Dorr Park & Van Ness House
• Greenwich Central School (1927)



Typical toile (in my favorite- red)

• temporary home of Susan B. Anthony*

You might think that I like these plates simply because of my interest in local history, but I think it's more than that. There is the sentimentality associated with my grandmother, but there is also the design element. I love toile^, a French fabric, usually linen or canvas with pastoral scenes printed on using one color. My favorite is red, but more often found in blue or black. These plates remind me of toile.

Well, I guess I do know why these plates fascinate me after all!


* I'm assuming this is the house the Anthony's moved to after the Panic of 1837, when they lost their home in Battenville.
^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toile or http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toile