Large Platter by Southern Potteries Blue Ridge Dinnerware Sweet Pea Pattern Colonial Edge

This is a beautiful hand painted platter in the Sweet Pea pattern. The edge is Colonial. It is simply decorated with pink and blue flowers, and green leaves. The edge is scalloped shaped and there is a band of pink around the rim of the plates. It was made by Southern Potteries and was part of their famous Blue Ridge Dinnerware line. It is unmarked but other pieces in the set are marked in ink on the bottom with the manufacturer's mark. It reads: Blue Ridge hand painted Under glaze Southern Potteries, Inc. Made in U.S.A. The pottery was in operation from 1917 through 1957. These plates would date to the later years of operation when they introduced china into their line.

They measure approximately 14” long and 11 1/4” wide.

It is in nice vintage condition but there are two small chips on the underside of the platter.

Southern Potteries began making their popular line of Blue Ridge dishes in 1938 in Erwin, Tennessee. The use of a method of hand painting the dishes before the final glaze was fired, resulted in vibrant colors, which made the designs come alive. Women were recruited from "up in the hills" who had no artistic training to learn the basic folk painting strokes used in creating these works of art. Using broken pieces of china for practicing, they soon acquired the speed and skill needed to produce the pieces. The technique gave the dishes a happy and less formal appearance that was very endearing to customers.

Sales of the dishes flourished during the 1940's, especially during the years of WWII when imports were restricted. Much needed jobs were created by the plant as they employed as many as 500 painters who were earning an average pay rate of 13 1/2 cents an hour. They were turning out an amazing 324,000 pieces each week.

At that time, Blue Ridge Southern Pottery was the largest hand-painted china producer in the United States. They had 11 showrooms throughout the country, including one on New York's Fifth Avenue. The dishes became a popular premium item offered by companies such as Quaker Oats and Avon. Stanley Home Products had their own Blue Ridge Pottery pattern called "Stanhome" which was offered as an incentive to purchasers of their home products. Major catalog retailers such as Sears & Roebuck and Montgomery Ward carried the Blue Ridge dishes in their mail-order selections. Grocery store chains offered them as a reward program gift to their faithful customers.

After the war, trade with Japan was reopened, and imports came flooding into the US. Most American potteries could not compete with the lower-priced imports and the increased labor costs associated with production. Blue Ridge Southern Pottery closed its doors in 1957 and discontinued production of the beautiful and loved pottery. Fortunately, they were able to pay their debts and stockholders and avoided filing for bankruptcy.

Inv. Loc. PB Black Container 20

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