MAYFLOWER II COMMEMORATIVE CHINA 1957
Mayflower II commemorative china was inspired by the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, The Buckingham Palace ceremonies inspired the production of special china display plates that memorialized that historic event on special porcelain artwork intended for presentation on a wall or small stand. Project Mayflower commissioned William Adams and Sons of Staffordshire to create a similar series for Mayflower II in 1957. The company was globally renowned for craftmanship, which eventually prompted the Wedgewood Group to acquire it.
The replica’s commemorative plates were produced in two sizes, seven or ten inches wide, and came in royal blue, traditional pink and white or in full color. Each had a floral pattern around the edge surrounding the ship in full sail with a frothing sea and billowing clouds. The inscription below the image read MAYFLOWER II CROSSES THE ATLANTIC, SPRING 1957. An explanation of the voyage was found on the reverse side:
Mayflower II was built and sailed across the Atlantic as a goodwill gift from Great Britain to the United States of America in the Spring of 1957. This plate commemorates this historic second sailing.
Under this inscription was a logo for Old English Staffordshire Ware that featured a royal crown sitting on a circle holding the letters J R in the middle and encircled with JONROTH ENGLAND. Beneath it were the words Made in Staffordshire England by the Adams Potteries Est 1657. d with JONROTH ENGLAND.
© Richard Stone
Image courtesy of the Warwick Charlton Family Archives, Charlton Foundation and Three Sisters Publishing Limited.