{"product_id":"middletown-plate-co-five-piece-caster-set-pattern-257","title":"Middletown Plate Co. Caster Set, Pattern 257","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe caster stand is the presiding object at the Victorian dining table — not because it held the most important things, but because it was passed. Oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, mustard: the condiments that finished what the kitchen started, traveling hand to hand across the cloth. This one is quadruple-plated silver over britannia metal, Pattern 257. The wheel frame carries five openings set within an embossed band of sunflowers and palmettes. The central post rises on a tapered column into a cast finial of considerable intention — scrollwork, acanthus leaves, a pair of spread wings, a rosette at the crown. The stepped pedestal foot anchors the whole form with the weight of something built to be handled daily for a hundred years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMiddletown Plate Company was founded in 1864 in Middletown, Connecticut by Edward Payne and Henry Bullard. They were among the finest American electroplate manufacturers of the Victorian era — their work distinguished by the quadruple plate designation, four times the silver deposit of standard plate, applied over a britannia base of exceptional quality. In 1899, the company was absorbed into the International Silver Company, its mark continued under that banner until 1921. Works bearing the Middletown Plate Co. stamp are held in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAll five original glass cruets are present: four shaker-top bottles and one hinged mustard pot, each retaining its original silver-plated cap. The glass carries wheel-cut botanical etching — fern fronds and leaf sprays rendered with precision against the clear body of each bottle. No chips. No cracks. The silver on the stand has oxidized deeply to a tone that reads closer to iron than silver in certain lights; this is patina, not damage, and does not diminish the surface beneath. The stand is structurally sound. The caps seat correctly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFound at a Salvation Army in Rochester, Michigan, May 2026. How a complete Middletown Plate five-piece caster set with original etched glass arrived intact at a Rochester thrift store is not a question the Archive can answer. That it did is simply the condition of the hunt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003eHunter's Notes\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHunter's notes pending.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eThe Archive Record — JLM-260029\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\n\u003ctable style=\"width: 100%;\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMaker\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMiddletown Plate Co., Middletown, Connecticut\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEstablished\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e1864\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eObject\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFive-piece caster set (condiment stand)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMaterial\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eQuadruple silver plate over britannia metal; wheel-cut etched glass cruets\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eConstruction\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eElectroplated silver over britannia metal; cast ornamental finial; blown and wheel-cut glass cruets\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEra\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e1864–1899 | confidence: confirmed\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCountry of Origin\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eUnited States — confirmed\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCondition Tier\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eExcellent\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eAll five original glass cruets present — four shaker-top bottles and one hinged mustard pot, each with original silver-plated cap. No chips or cracks in glass. Silver stand oxidized deeply to near-iron patina; not damage. Stand structurally sound. All caps seat correctly.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHunt Provenance\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSalvation Army, Rochester, Michigan — May 2026\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eAuthentication\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eStruck maker's mark: MIDDLETOWN PLATE CO. \/ QUADRUPLE PLATE \/ HARD WHITE METAL \/ Pattern 257\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eComparable Sold\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e$89–$299 (eBay \/ Chairish — May 2026)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eJLM Price\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e$179.00\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFood Safe\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003enot applicable\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eLead Risk\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eunknown — age-appropriate caution\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eChild Safe\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eunknown\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGift Idea\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormal Dining, Holiday Entertaining, Collector\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eProduct Specs\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003ctable style=\"width: 100%;\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDimensions\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e18\" H × 8\" W\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eNot yet measured\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Jolene Le Mille","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48996786045156,"sku":"JLM-260029","price":179.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0801\/3175\/2164\/files\/JLM_Photo_Coming_Soon.png?v=1790353924","url":"https:\/\/jolenelemille.com\/products\/middletown-plate-co-five-piece-caster-set-pattern-257","provider":"Jolene Le Mille","version":"1.0","type":"link"}