ABC plates don’t just hold food—they also serve up an education. “They were made to teach children about values and life,” says collector Neil Palmer of North Little Rock’s Crystal Hill Antique Mall. Rimmed with the alphabet and decorated with maxims and inspirational sayings, ABC plates transformed every meal into a learning experience.
First produced in the 19th century in Staffordshire, England, they were later fashioned in the United States, mostly in the Ohio region, and contemporary-looking versions are still in production today. Palmer’s white earthenware collection holds true to the plates’ Staffordshire roots, originating in the late 1800s when prominent potters like A. Shaw & Son and J. & G. Meakin exported their goods around the world.
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