In most homes where you find good judgment, good taste, and artistic surroundings, you will find beautiful china has been selected to match the environment... (from a 1919 advertisement for Syracuse O.P.Co dishware) 

{HISTORY}

Hand-painted in shades of teal and celadon, this set of antique salad plates was made by Syracuse O.P.Co in Syracuse, NY, between 1912 and the 1930s. With shimmery, gold swags, petite florals, and two sets of stripes, this pretty pattern originally came in two variations - one with pink flowers and one with these teal blue flowers.

Ginkgo-shaped leaves and three-petaled flowers make up the botanical arrangement, while classic stripes in two thicknesses highlight the rim, giving each plate a lovely Art Nouveau style aesthetic.  

Bearing the O.P.Co Syracuse mark, which stands for the Onondaga Pottery Company located in Syracuse, NY, the pottery was named for the local Iroquois tribe, the Onondaga, who lived near Lake Erie. First founded in the 1870s, O.P.Co worked to refine its skill throughout the 19th century, overcoming fires, company changes, financial setbacks, product losses, name changes, and reinventions. Eventually changing their name to Syracuse China, in addition to making dishware for the domestic market, they also created serving pieces for the hotel, restaurant, and railroad industries, becoming one of the country's largest producers of hotel and restaurant ware during the 20th century.

With only a pattern number known as 64401 (blue flowers) and 64402 (pink flowers), we may never know if this specific design was created for a specific hotel or restaurant or was simply a stock pattern available for personal and professional use. It's fun to imagine that this set might have been in service in a 1910-era hotel dining room, or they have been riding the rails from city to city across the country on a tarin powered by steam,  or perhaps, they were simply on display in a pretty home ready to entertain a tablefull at any moment, That's the fun thing about collecting vintage O.P.Co. Syracuse dishes. So many stories abound when it comes to detailing the possible places from which they came.

History aside, these five are absolutely lovely in their shimmery golden color palette, hand-painted details, and elegant aesthetic. Sized for salad, they moonlight just as well for serving small nibbles like tapas, desserts, snacks, and bread, too. 

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

 - Matching set of five

 - Each plate is stamped on the back with the maker's mark

- An impressed triangular mark on the back of each plate suggests that these plates were made between 1912-1919 although the pattern also appears in a 1930s Syracuse catalog. 

{CONDITION}

In beautiful antique condition, these plates contain no cracks, chips, spots or staining. 

{SIZE}

Each plate measures 8" inches in diameter and weighs 11 oz.