Vintage Thanksgiving Dinnerware: 12 Collectible Dishes Perfect for Your Table Setting

The nice china always appeared on very few occasions, Thanksgiving Day being one of them. Today, that same china is available at garage sales and thrift stores for a small fraction of its former price tag, but it’s still perfect for the holiday.

The following are antique or vintage Thanksgiving dishes and dinnerware patterns to look for. Each dish and set deserves a place at your next Thanksgiving table and holds serious collector value today.

12 Antique & Vintage Thanksgiving Dinnerware & Dishes You’ll Love

Manufacturing Period	1991 to present
Key Features	Brown border, animal center studies
Quick Notes	Turkey platters are most valuable.

Introduced in 1991, the Woodland pattern showcases studies of game animals found in Britain and America against a brown flower border taken from the 1828 Spode design of British Flowers.

Turkeys, pheasants, dogs, foxes, and deer are shown in different items. Spode Woodland Turkey platter is the most collectible Thanksgiving piece.

Manufacturing Period	1970s to 2000s
Key Features	Sculptural turkey, removable lid
Quick Notes	Chips to beak or feathers reduce value

Fitz and Floyd was known for its figural, sculptural ceramics. Its turkeys from the 1980s and 1990s are among the most sought-after Thanksgiving centerpieces.

This turkey is ceramic with a removable lid painted in warm browns and coppers. It can be used to serve soup, stuffing, or gravy. Thanks to its unique shape, these pieces can sell for up to $500 in clean condition.

Manufacturing Period	1953 to 2003 (England)
Key Features	Twelve village scenes, brown transferware
Quick Notes	Check the “Made in England” backstamp

Johnson Brothers‘ “Friendly Village” features twelve charming scenes of English villages that are done in brown transferware with applied hand colors featuring covered bridges, maple trees, and lily ponds in various scenes.

The pattern was produced from 1953 to 2003 in England and then was produced further in China. There is a premium price paid for those ” Made in England ” backstamp pieces. Turkey dinner plate is the piece that is most sought after by Thanksgiving hosts.

Manufacturing Period	Late 20th century, discontinued
Key Features	Central turkey, brown fruit border
Quick Notes	England backstamp confirms original

The Autumn Monarch design consists of a turkey that is proudly displayed next to a border that has fruits and foliage designs done in warm brown colors on a background of cream color.

This pattern comes from a hand-engraved original pattern and was manufactured in England. It has been discontinued; hence, full sets can hardly be found.

Manufacturing Period	1833 onward (blue earliest)
Key Features	Floral transferware, multiple colorways
Quick Notes	Brown and green colors are rarest

Camilla is the genuine antique in this list. It was first produced by Spode in 1833 in cobalt blue; the other colors, such as red, green, and brown, were produced later on. The brown and green versions of Camilla are quite hard to come by.

Large Camilla turkey platters in blue are sometimes found in estates and sell for thousands. Look out for the “Copeland Spode England” backstamp and hairline cracks on the rim.

Manufacturing Period	1940s to 1960s
Key Features	Hand-painted tom turkey, fruit border
Quick Notes	Occupied Japan mark adds premium

These plates were manufactured in huge numbers during the 1940s and the 1960s. Most of them are decorated with the picture of a colorful tom turkey standing on the background of an autumn scene, surrounded by a scallop-edged decoration with fruits and leaves.

The finest pieces have a red stamp “Hand Painted, Made in Japan” on the bottom. The “Occupied Japan” mark (from 1945 to 1952) increases the value of a piece.

Manufacturing Period	2002 to 2007 (discontinued)
Key Features	Boxwood, berries, 24k gold trim
Quick Notes	Each piece has a unique arrangement

Produced only between 2002 and 2007, this pattern has sprigs of green boxwood, red berries, pine cones, pears, oranges, and apples on ivory bone china and edged in 24k gold. Each piece has its own unique composition, thus making for a coordinated but slightly mismatched appearance on the table. Full sets are increasingly difficult to find since production ceased.

Manufacturing Period	1975 to 2010s
Key Features	Cream stoneware, brown village motif
Quick Notes	USA-made pieces preferred by collectors

The Village pattern from Pfaltzgraff is the American stoneware equivalent of the English transferware. With its creamy body, rustic brown stencil folk art illustration of a country village, and weight just right for a harvest supper.

It first appeared in 1975 and became one of the best-selling dinnerware sets in America at that time, making it easy to find a complete set. It’s marked Pfaltzgraff USA for the earlier sets made in York, Pennsylvania.

Manufacturing Period	1929 to 1970
Key Features	Ivory ground, pink rose sprays
Quick Notes	Homer Laughlin backstamp with date code

Virginia Rose was made between 1929 and 1970 by Homer Laughlin, the same American manufacturer that also makes Fiestaware.

Virginia Rose is characterized by soft pink rose sprays against an ivory body, while the style of the ware suggests a more romantic Thanksgiving table. Turkey platters in this pattern are very popular Thanksgiving dishes.

Manufacturing Period	1950s
Key Features	Scattered fall leaves, earthenware
Quick Notes	California-made pieces most sought

Franciscan Autumn Leaves Pottery reflects the best of mid-century California ceramics with a touch of seasonality. In this pattern, maple leaves falling in shades of yellow, green, blue, and brown appear on a white earthenware body with a thin rim line.

Produced by Gladding McBean in California in the 1950s, these pieces are perfect for a soft Thanksgiving table setting.

Manufacturing Period	1980s to 1990s, discontinued
Key Features	Fruit and vegetable border, cream body
Quick Notes	Serving bowls and platters climb fastest

Garden Harvest is 1980s Mikasa at its warm, cottage-country best. Cornucopias of fruit and vegetables, wheat, and grape clusters wrap around the rim in muted greens, ochres, and browns on cream stoneware.

The pattern was discontinued years ago, and complete serving sets have started climbing on the secondary market.

Manufacturing Period	1972 to present
Key Features	Botanical prints, leaf-and-butterfly border
Quick Notes	Older UK-made pieces preferred

Botanic Garden was introduced to Portmeirion by designer Susan Williams-Ellis in 1972 using themes straight out of a botanical book printed in the nineteenth century. Each item shows a flower, fruit, or leaf pattern encased in a frame made up of leaf and butterfly design. It works just as well with the fall table as with the spring table because of its earth tones of green and cream colors.

The older pieces that show the backstamp of “Portmeirion Stoke on Trent” are the ones that collectors prefer.

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The two patterns that top the Thanksgiving dinnerware list are Spode Woodland Turkey and Johnson Brothers Friendly Village. Those are the ones to grab first; other designs are quieter but still collectible and deserve a spot on your table.

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