Smith Phillips Calendar Plate

Q: I have a china plate with a central decal of a woman wearing a fancy hat and scarf. Calendar pages for all 12 months of the year 1909 are printed around the rim, with each month’s calendar surrounded by an appropriate floral border (holly for December, flower buds for April, etc.). The mark on the bottom is ‘Smith Phillips, Semi Porcelain.’ Do you know anything about Smith Phillips?

A: You have a 1909 ‘calendar plate.’ Calendar plates were immensely popular between about 1906 and 1929. Many were printed with the name of a store or a product and were used as advertising premiums. Smith Phillips China Co. of East Liverpool, Ohio, was founded in 1901 by Josiah T. Smith and W.H. Phillips. The company manufactured semi-porcelain dinnerware, toilet sets, hotel wares and decorated dishes from 1901 to 1931. Your plate would sell for $10 to $20.