Dining hall in College Hall, photo from the class photo book of the Class of 1884. Visible on the first table is a bread plate inscribed with “waste not, want not.”
In 2000 I purchased one of these platters from a seller on eBay whose grandmother had obtained the plate while a student. (Se was a member of the Class of 1909.) I did a little research and determined the plate was based on a much more colorful platter seen at the London Great Exhibition in 1851. The original was designed in 1849 by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin and can be seen here. This version is white with blue text, much simpler than the colorful original. The mark on the back told me it was manufactured by Minton in 1875.
I believe Henry Durant wanted a simpler version of the platter and commissioned them for the College. Was blue already the College color the year it opened? I’m not sure, but if it wasn’t, the color choice is a fabulous coincidence.
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