Manufacturer: Wedgwood China

Very nice college plate made by Wedgwood, England. This is likely from a set of plates made to show buildings at the University of Delaware, likely from the main campus in Newark, DE. The plate is white or ivory colored china or ceramic (it is not porcelain as it is not translucent) with a raised rayed line pattern surrounding the central graphic on the lowered center portion. Beyond the line pattern is a raised ridge having a two leaf "V" design prior to the round outer edge. The central building graphic is of the front columned entrance of the Memorial Library on campus, with a tree directly opposite, all done in an engraved type picture in a darker, medium red to maroon red color (it is not a bright red). The plate is fully marked on the backside with "Memorial Library, University of Delaware." under which appears two circular marks. On the left is the Wedgwood of Etruria & Barlaston, Made in England insignia. On the right is the insignia of the company which imported the plate for sale, marked "Sole Importers, Jones McDuffee & Stratton Co., Boston" with a lion holding up a ball or globe in its paw at the center of the circular mark.

The antique round plate measures just under 10 1/2 inches in diameter and sits about 3/4 inch in height. We've provided 5 images to show close-ups of the building graphic and the backside markings. Please note that the white "hot spots" are reflections from the camera lighting on the high gloss surface. We shot the plate at an angle since head-on the camera lighting reflection marred view of the central image too much. This creates a shadow which looks like a bit of darkening at the lower part of the curve under the building picture...rest assured there is no dirt or darkening here, that is a shadow. The plate weighs about 1 1/2 pounds unpacked, so this would ship via U.S.P.S. Priority Mail within the U.S. We are not certain of the age of this vintage plate, but guess that it may have been made in the 1950's or 1960's from other similar pieces we've seen.

While in very nice, very usuable and displayable condition, this piece is not mint. There are no chips or cracks, but the plate is very crazed, not quite all-over crazing but well on its way to that. On the topside there are black pin dots and some black pin dot wear and other slight dark wear on the raised surface, particularly on the outermost raised rim prior to the plate edge. This is not bad but you will see it when you go looking. It looks to us as if something else might have been stored sitting on top of this plate in a closet over the years causing a bit of surface wear (this is not anything you would likely notice hanging on a wall on display or just sitting on a table awaiting use). There are a few very light topside surface scratches or rubbed marks, but nothing bad, and you need to look closely at an angle in bright light to see these. There is a touch of light brown staining among the tree and its limbs and leaves, nothing bad and very hard to see in certain light, but we looked very closely. On the backside there is also a bit of light staining in the center as well as a more noticeable small brown circular stain. The backside has a touch of other age/expected wear, nothing unusual. Overall, this piece has aged well.

A neat older piece which will draw attention on display or hanging on a wall. Would certainly be a great addition for use in a set of these dishes relating to U Delaware. Would make a a great present for anyone who graduated from this terrific university, or currently works or attends there. Could also be a nice addition to a general collection of memorabilia related to Delaware, the First State.

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