$4 Goodwill Platter is a Priceless Piece of History
An experienced thrifter’s Goodwill discovery turned into a history lesson and a new favorite piece for an experienced collector.
One of the delights of buying vintage is that, no matter how experienced you are, there’s always something to surprise you. Ali Knipfing of Greenville, South Carolina, has been shopping at estate sales and thrift stores ever since her mother introduced her to them as a child, and she shares her favorite finds on TikTok as @knipfing.thrifting. There are still plenty of antiques that are new to her, as she found on a recent visit to a local Goodwill.
A pottery platter caught Knifpfing’s eye. She told Newsweek, “I could definitely tell it was old,” she liked its blue-and-white scenic design, and the words in the mark on the back intrigued her: “Ironstone, Rousillon, J. Goodwin, Longton”. At only $4, it was no trouble to buy the platter and take it home for more research.
Knipfing soon learned that “J. Goodwin” was John Goodwin, a potter who worked in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, England, from 1841 to 1851. Stoke-on-Trent is a region in North Staffordshire, England, famous for its pottery and porcelain factories. Ironstone, a heavy, durable, off-white pottery used as the base for many well-known patterns, is among the ceramics produced there.
To Knipfing’s surprise, this meant that her platter must be over 170 years old. This is confirmed by the diamond-shaped English Registry mark on the back, which includes letter and number codes that record the date of manufacture.
The blue design on the platter proved especially desirable: the Montezuma pattern. It is an example of the patterns that collectors call “historical blue.” Knipfing learned that a shipment of dishes, including Goodwin’s Montezuma pattern, was lost in a shipwreck on rough seas while it was being exported to the Americas.
Despite the name “historical blue,” these transfer-printed patterns depicting historical scenes were also available in colors such as green, mulberry (a reddish hue), and black.
The Newsweek story notes that a 10-inch-wide octagonal bowl in Goodwin’s Montezuma pattern is currently listed on eBay for $299. For completed sales, a dinner plate with the Montezuma pattern in blue sold for $39, and an 8-inch octagonal bowl sold for $50. But Knipfing said she isn’t planning to sell the platter; instead, “I will be hanging it on my plate wall.”
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