the duo
do note! these are finished in an intricate 23 karat gold pattern. there is wear to the pattern of both dishes. on the reverse, there are some nicks to what were at the time blanks (under glaze). also under glaze, a few spots of stray paint. there is also some adhesive residue left from the mechanism that was used to mount the plates to the wall. see second image. otherwise, i can find no issues. the imperial service plates were a line produced by salem china of ohio (you can read more about them below). they are pre-1967 plates because in 1967, the salem china company was re-organized into a sales and service company. these come in various colors and reds and blues go wonderfully with the gold finish. each depicts a scene i am guessing to be colonial-era.

marks (all in gold; see last image)

imperial service plates
salem china company
made in u.s.a.
23 karat gold
dimensions: (you can view the second-to-last-image for a sense of scale)
diameter: 11"
the rim is about (a squat) 1/2" away from the surface on which the plate rests (the squatness is great for hanging on a wall)

about salem china company

(from laurelhollowpark)
the salem china company was located in salem, ohio in columbian county, northwest of east liverpool.

it was founded by patrick and john mcnicol, daniel cronin, and william smith in 1898 with production beginning a year later. (it should be noted some sources claim it was thomas mcNicol who partnered with smith and cronin.) in 1918, the pottery was purchased by f. a. sebring and floyd w. mckee was put in charge until he retired in 1950. charles f. fox served as assistant secretary and treasurer and j. a. armstrong was sales manager for many years.

by 1930, the pottery was firing 25,000 pieces per day and at the height of production employed over 500 people.

salem china stopped manufacturing wares in 1967 and was reorganized into a sales and service company.

many of the distinctive shapes from the 1930s and 1940s were created by designer vicktor schreckengost. some of the more collectible lines today are tricorne—an art deco, triangle shape from the 1930s, and free form—a modern design from the late 1940s. other popular lines include symphony, new yorker, heirloom, and century.

on wednesday, july 23, 2003, the southernmost portion of the factory was destroyed by fire.

maker's and/or other marks
(all in gold; see last image)
imperial service plates
salem china company
made in u.s.a.
23 karat gold

dimensions
(you can view the second-to-last-image for a sense of scale)
diameter: 11"
the rim is about (a squat) 1/2" away from the surface on which the plate rests (the squatness is great for hanging on a wall)

condition
do note! these are finished in an intricate 23 karat gold pattern. there is wear to the pattern of both dishes. on the reverse, there are some nicks to what were at the time blanks (under glaze). also under glaze, a few spots of stray paint. there is also some adhesive residue left from the mechanism that was used to mount the plates to the wall. see second image. otherwise, i can find no issues.

the fine print
the images serve as the majority of the listing description, so take a look at them closely.

shipping costs have really increased—this is calculated into the buy-it-now price.

i am not able to sell individual items from items i have listed as a group. i just don't have the stamina to create new listings for those. i apologize for that. i haven't initially individually listed items because i don't have enough listing slots to so.

trying to downsize some, though extremely melancholically.

shipping time: i otherwise work more than full time and my health isn't great, so kindly excuse the longer handling time. if i am able to ship sooner, i absolutely will do that. i appreciate you taking the time to view my listing.