Old china: It holds memories, but not yours

Published 1:30 am Sunday, May 7, 2017

If a woman dies and nobody wants to inherit her china, is it still worth $100 a place setting? Stroll through your local thrift store and you’ll find that the answer is: no.

Seventy bucks will buy you a service for 12, serving bowls and gravy boat included. Lenox, Noritake, Royal Doulton — it doesn’t matter, there are deals to be had. Travel to an antique store and the price bumps up to around $200, but that’s much cheaper than the $2,000 a set of china costs when it’s brand new.

I’ve been thinking a lot about china recently because my everyday Corelle dishes are chipped. “Perhaps,” I thought to myself, “I could replace them with used china because that would be eco-friendly and elegant.” And so the thrift shop-hunting began.

It turns out that most china would make horrible everyday dishes because you can’t put gold or silver trimmed plates in the microwave. Plus, there’s the cereal bowl problem. Some used sets have bowls, but most don’t. In terms of practicality, fine china is the pits, even if buying a used set is cheaper than purchasing brand new dishes at Target.

But that’s not why I really want to talk about china. My main issue is how sad it all is. I don’t want to be sexist or make unfair assumptions — men can collect dishes, too! But, probably most of the sets for sale at thrift stores were once treasured possessions of long-ago brides.

The dishes lived in china cabinets, buffets and hutches. The bride brought them out for holidays and fancy dinner parties. She always hand washed them, and never put them in the dishwasher.

Usually, the dishes were part of celebrations, but they had other jobs, too. The first time the woman held a memorial service at her house, she relied on her china to provide the proper level of gravitas.

As the years went by, the bride grew older, but her china always stayed the same. It was an eternal memory of her wedding, even after she was widowed or divorced. That china proved she was worth something. It was the symbol of her membership in the middle class.

Now, you can barely give the stuff away.

I don’t want a sad story to befall the three sets of china I own. The Wedgewood is from my wedding, I inherited the handpainted china from my grandmother, and the blue willow ware was from my husband’s grandmother.

“Maybe we should start using one of those sets now,” I thought.

But I quickly rejected that idea. The willow ware would be perfect for everyday living, except it doesn’t match the colors in our kitchen. My grandmother’s china is from the 1940s and might contain lead paint. My Wedgewood is rimmed with gold and would start a fire if someone put it in the microwave.

After visiting five thrift stores and all the antique shops in Snohomish, my decision was clear. It’s time to pick out a new set of Corelle.

Jennifer Bardsley is author of the books “Genesis Girl” and “Damaged Goods.” Find her online on Instagram @the_ya_gal; on Twitter @jennbardsley or on Facebook as The YA Gal.