TAYLOR SMITH AND TAYLOR
LURAY PASTEL SERVICE PLATTER
CIRCA 1930 - 1950
LARGE / OVERSIZE TABLE WARE
A WONDERFUL VINTAGE MEMORY
OF MOTHERS DINNER TABLE
THE LARGE PLATE MEASURES 14.25" IN DIAMETER
PLATE HAS SMALL PRODUCTION MARKS FROM WHERE THE PIECE WAS FIRED & GLAZED UNDERSIDE.
RIM SHOWS LIGHT DISCOLORATION
SEE PHOTOS.
RETRO MID CENTURY / EARLY AMERICANA MODERN
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FYI
LuRay Pastels (commonly known as just LuRay) was manufactured by Taylor, Smith and Taylor from 1938 to 1954. It was probably the most popular dinnerware line ever produced by the company in the 83 years they were in business (from 1899 to 1981).LuRay ad
LuRay was developed by Taylor, Smith and Taylor as an alternative to the bright colors of dinnerware such as Fiesta. It was made in five pastel colors: Windsor Blue, Persian Cream (yellow), Surf Green (aqua), Sharon Pink, and Chatham Gray. It was originally sold both as sets in just one color and sets mixed with two to five colors. We have seen one starter set in the original box in all blue and another one in blue, yellow, aqua, and pink, which was called "Rainbow."
It has been observed that the availability and value of an item is usually equal for all colors, with the exception of gray. Gray is harder to find and is usually valued 50% to 75% higher. The manufacture of items in gray did not begin until post-WW II and probably not until 1949.
Most pieces of LuRay are marked on the bottom with a backstamp showing numbers below the name. The first two numbers refer to the month and year the item was produced. The third number, if one appears, refers to the inspector. Occasionally, factory workers would fail to backstamp an item. Small items, such as shakers, egg cups, juice tumblers, and often tea cups, were usually only marked "U.S.A." or not marked at all.
