Old Roman was developed in 1928 and was made primarily in the green and a light yellow glazes commonly used in the Depression era. In the article "Old Roman Dinnerware" by Jeff Kolodey appearing in The Dish Vol. 13, No. 2, a patent date of an Old Roman plate is revealed as March 5, 1929.

The flatware is very similar to the Newell shape except it has added embossing along the rim. Teacup, sugar and creamer were specially created for Old Roman. The square plate comes from the Wells shape. It was given the heavy decorative embossing, but not the familiar rope edge that originated with the Newell shape.

Pieces are marked one of three ways: a simple Old Roman backstamp, a Design Patent number 77912, and the Wells Art Glazes mark. Originally made for Quaker Oats, it wasn't a very extensive line and is one of the more challenging HLC shapes to collect. No larger pieces such as sauceboat, teapot, or casserole have been found and may not exist. Decaled yellow square plates are some of the easier pieces to find.