Calendar Plates

Q: I have a small collection of calendar plates from the early 1900s. I’ve just come across some calendar towels and wonder if you know anything about their history.

A: Stevens Linen Associates of Dudley, Mass., which was founded in 1846, claims to have made the first calendar towels in 1954. The company is still at it and wholesales to various online and on-land stores across the country. Each towel has a picture and a full 12-month calendar. Colorful calendar towels from the 1950s through the ’70s sell for about $30 each.