{HISTORY}

 Sometimes when you are collecting, you do it in search of a pattern, or a color, or a style that matches your aesthetic, or perhaps inspires a new one. And sometimes you do it for the sentiment. That moment when you spot a once obviously well-loved item that bears its imperfections clearly with pride and joy. And in seeing this perfectly imperfect heirloom far from its past home place, you can tell that it could use that same level of care and attention and happiness once again. This platter is one of those pieces.

Made by Homer Laughlin in 1947 in Newell, West Virginia, and featuring a beautiful loose floral bouquet of tulips and wax flowers, this platter was made in their Virginia Rose shape with lacy scallops and plumpy embossed handles. It's a pretty design from the front, but the real story lies on the back. There are numerous chips along the edge and lots of staining that signify a life well lived and a dish well utilized. Based on the authentic age marks on the back, we suspect this platter once hung in a cook space, perhaps above a stove, where it was subject to the hot and cold temperatures of an active kitchen and all the meals prepared over eighty years of life. 

Small in size at just 11.5" inches in length, it's delightfully petite but big enough in spirit to add some brightness to a small space and ideally shaped to serve non-culinary purposes like a mail catchall or a fruit holder or a small tray to carry drinks or snacks from one place to another. 

The finder of this flawed platter will not be in search of perfection but instead in search of sentiment and a real kitchen worker touched by time. 

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• Virginia Rose shape
• Colors include pale pink, tangerine, pumpkin, pale blue, celadon, spring green, and butter
• Stamped on the back with maker's mark, shape name, and date code
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{CONDITION}

Please see condition notes above and all photos. This platter contains no cracks but quite a few chips. There are seven pencil point-size staining marks on the front. The floral bouquet is bright and crisp. 

{SIZE}

Measures 11.5" inches (length) x 8.75" inches (width) and weighs 1.3 lbs.