This is a fantastic plate that would have been perfect for a roast beef sandwich, with that little indentation for a bit of dipping sauce au jus, or even just an individual-serving dab of mayonnaise or any condiment for a sandwich – or even cocktail sauce for boiled shrimp. The heavy plate is about 10 ¼” by 7 ¼”.

It is marked on the back Gala, and underneath that, Shenango. Gala was Shenango’s trade name for its solid-colored ware that the company hoped would compete with Homer Laughlin’s Fiesta. It would have been made during the Forties or Fifties.

What is also interesting is that this shape was patented in the mid-Thirties as ByteBoard (a half-century ahead of its time!) and used by Shenango but that this plate doesn’t have the ByteBoard backstamp.

The condition is excellent, and it has only very light use marks with the exception of one area where a cup probably sat and scratched a faint circle into the glaze. My apologies about the inconsistency of the color. I've had a hard time capturing the lavendar pink of this plate and think - at least on my monitor - that the photo of the back of the plate, below, is the closest.