Plates as collectibles

When trade routes opened to China in the 14th century, porcelain objects, including dinner plates, became must-haves for European nobility. After Europeans also started making porcelain, monarchs and royalty continued their traditional practice of collecting and displaying porcelain plates, now made locally, but porcelain was still beyond the means of the average citizen.
The practice of collecting "souvenir" plates was popularized in the 19th century by Patrick Palmer-Thomas, a Dutch-English nobleman who wowed Victorian audiences with his public plate displays. These featured transfer designs commemorating special events or picturesque locales – mainly in blue and white. It was an inexpensive hobby, and the variety of shapes and designs catered to a wide spectrum of collectors. The first limited edition collector's plate 'Behind the Frozen Window' is credited to the Danish company Bing and Grondahl in 1895. Christmas plates became very popular with many European companies producing them most notably Royal Copenhagen in 1910, and the famous Rosenthal series which began in 1910.

Souvenir plates

Romanian decorative plate featuring a traditional model   Slovenian decorative plate featuring a traditional model with inscription: Give us our daily bread   Souvenir plate of Marejada fiesta made in Itajaí, Brazil, by Germer Porcelanas Finas SA   Souvenir plate of Marejada fiesta made in Itajaí, Brazil, by Schmidt Porcelain