If the W had no meaning to me, then no. I don't mind hand washing dishes, but cabinet storage is valuable real estate that I can't fill with dishes I'm not 100% sure about.

Agree. People are having trouble selling their lovely sets of china. Don't buy a set like this unless you absolutely love it, have a use for it, and a place to put it.

Thank you both! That was my thought. I know there is no market for china and crystal even though I still love them. I have bought some smaller pieces that make me happy each time I look at them, but there is a difference between one lead crystal decanter and 23 pieces of china.

If you are buying it to sell....think twice....but there are many many who's last name begins with a W...If the price is right, buy them!!
If my china had my maternal grandmother's name it might have been a "F: for her maiden name...or a P....or perhaps her mother's maiden name, a "W"....and her paternal grandmother's name began with an "O"....and then the other side was a "C" or "K" or a "D".
I love monogrammed dinnerwear, even it its not my monogram.
Long ago, I was shocked at the price of good quality disposable plates for a party of say 30....so I set out to collect simple china...currently I have about 45 luncheon sized plates in white Ranson and about 25 dinner sized plates. And I have similar numbers in dessert sized plates and about 25 in small cocktail sized plates ( bread and butter plates!) Over the years I have saved many many $$ on disposable stuff....and I believe people much prefer eating from real china with a real fork than paper and plastic....
Soo you have my blessing....buy those Rosenthal plates!

Linda they would be 50 cents each. So $11.50 for the whole set. I so wanted to call you while I had them in my cart!

I wouldn't buy them but then I have a full set of my grandmother's Limoges china which is boxed up. I never used it in the almost twenty years I owned it and my mother used it only for formal occasions.

While theoretically it might be more gracious to serve people on china at large casual affairs, I certainly don't want to do so with stuff that has to be hand washed as the Limoges needs to.

I don't mind things with someone else's monogram. Because then it allows me to "invent" relatives -- LOL!!! Like Linda, years ago, I bought crystal dessert plates -- 50 of them (and I think I have only broken one over the last 28 years) and use them as salad plates for a dinner, as appetizer plates when we have a cocktail party and as dessert plates if we have a crowd. They cost $1 each new and the amount of money that I haven't spent because of those plates is probably in the hundreds of dollars. And like Linda, I have a goodly amount of real dinner plates -- they don't all match but they match enough to work for a party. More $$$$ not out of my pocket when we entertain!

I wouldn't worry about the initials. That said, i wouldn't spend money on china unless it was being sold at bargain basement prices. Like a poster above, i also have a hand me down limoges china set (about 12 different styles of plates/bowls, ranging in 8 to 12 pieces each). We almost never used it, and it was painful to move it the many times we were transferred for jobs. Last year, i was at the women's charity junk shop in town and saw the whole set on consignment for $400. My guess is it wouldn't have been bought for a few weeks, and the ultimate price would have dropped to $250. I stopped being so worried about my set at the point.

I use a set of Haviland Limoges for my everyday dishes.....have for about 3 years... they go into the dishwasher and as yet I have neither broken nor chipped one.
I bought them at a thrift shop...11 dinner plates, 11 smaller, salad plates and 8 small bowls. Paid less than $.50 a piece at a thrift shop. someone saved them for years and didn't use them....and now I am using them and love them!!

Years and years ago I bought a set of Bavarian china with a gold rim. Service for 9 with gravy platter and bowls. I usually used them at Thanksgiving (other times as well, but pretty well always at Thanksgiving) One Thanksgiving as I was clearing the table and loading the dishwasher, my sister in law recoiled in horror!! "You are not putting them in the dishwasher are you!!!" I said sure am! Better to use them and have the gold wear a bit than have them rot in a closet!
And so far the gold still looks good.

All of my stuff has been boxed up for seven months during my remodel so I might just start using the Limoges although it's not really my taste. I think it's service for 16 and includes all kinds of tureens and little bowls and soup bowls and cups and saucers.

I used to collect Fiesta - the old stuff - and ironically that stuff is WAY more fragile than the porcelain Limoges. It chips if you look at it and I think it's actually more valuable than the Limoges.

Ironic isn't it that what was once the china for the lumpenproletariat (Fiesta) is now more expensive and collectible than theoretically fine china (Limoges).

My mother had Stangl for her good china until she inherited my grandmother's china and I did start using the Stangl. But like old Fiesta, it's stoneware I think and so very prone to chipping and cracking.

But this thread has inspired me - maybe there is some way to make the Limoges more modern in feel. At the very least there is no reason to not use it for my every day china.

It's actually Bernardaud Limoges. I would imagine it's not really antique but probably prior to World War II. My grandmother bought it used in the 1950's. There is no way she would have actually have bought new china as both she and my mother were fans of used stuff. They both hated when their used furniture stores started putting on airs and calling themselves antique stores but selling the same stuff :-)

I adore lovely china and enjoy setting a pretty table. I have more sets of china than I'd care to admit ... but, no, I wouldn't buy a set with someone else's monogram. No, not even at bargain-basement prices. Nice china sets are a dime a dozen these days. If this set wasn't "just right", pass ... another choice will come along soon.

The Bernedaud Limoges is lovely....very 1930-ish retro rather than the Victorian look of the flowery Haviland. Tough stuff, china!! Chippy fragile stuff cheaper earthenware! Like Fiesta. But the "New" Fiesta is lots sturdier. Embrace the retro look of your Limoges, pair it with either depression glass or more modern colored glassware. And a stack is lots lighter than a stack of Fiesta.

Actually I thank OP for this thread because it enabled me to look at my china through fresh eyes and realize that it is actually quite pretty. Maybe not what I would purchase but not a homely stepsister to be hidden away so I am going to start using it when I move back and unbox. Since it really has no monetary value, there is no reason to not use it. And of course, it does have residual memories of eating meals cooked by my grandmother and then my mother surrounded by loved ones on festive occasions.

I just wonder how terrible it will look if I use the dishwasher. I have a Bosch dishwasher which doesn't have the high heat cycle but not sure how quickly it will degrade it if at all.

Is there special dishwasher hints? I briefly googled and read to avoid anything with "lemon" in the name because it would have some kind of citric acid that is harsher to the old china finishes.

I wouldn’t buy ‘em. But then I sold our fancy wedding china cuz we didn’t even want that anymore.
Maybe you can think of the W as standing for (hand)Washing

I have Lenox Weatherly, fluted with platinum edge. I don't use the frequently but for years I have put them in the dishwasher. I am careful not to hit one against another. China hitting china can break. Otherwise no problem. Don't know if this makes a difference but I never used the heat drying cycle.

I also love brown transferwear....and pink and blue....and poly chrome...oh yes and mulberry....and old white stoneware...and white haviland Limoges....and flowered...
You see the problem?
Helen your Bernedaud doesn't look to have gold on all the pieces....only the gold will degrade on porcelain in the dishwasher.

I have enjoyed this post too! I love reading the comments whether you love old china or hate it, use it everyday or store it away, buy it every chance you can or sell what you had.

Avoid the dishwasher. The problem is that all dishwasher detergent seems to contain chlorine and will etch and wear away certain finishes.

Not so.....modern dishwashers do not need abrasive detergents as they did in the 60's and early 70's. Then they depended on the water action and abrasion to clean...as well as sudsless detergents.
New designs for water flow and new more efficient and lass caustic and abrasive detergents were developed and dishwashers are lots less harsh.
I live in what used to be the "land of Maytag" and had a few good friends who were design engineers.

It's been awhile since I boxed the my china set away but there is some gold trim on the serving pieces. I can't tell if there is also gold trim on the plates and bowls. I have made a decision to use them as there is no point saving them. They aren't valuable so even if the gold wears off, it is not as if I am dishonoring a rare antique :-)

I couldn't care less about monograms. If I had inherited it, it would most likely not have my own initials, so who cares? If you love it and the price is right, and you have a place to put it and will use it, then buy it and enjoy it!

I have to know realize that I can buy no more china. I converted one cabinet from a bookcase into a china cabinet but can afford to build no more and all I have are filled to the brim. It kills me - there are still SO many more dishes I would love to own!

I just love old Haviland Limoges patterns from the late 1800s. My grandmother inherited a few sets, and as a girl I fell in love with the floral sprigs designs and the cute pitchers. DH bought a set for me, sight unseen from a televised PBS auction in Chicago 45 years ago. I wish I knew who donated them so that I could tell them how much I have loved having them for special occasion dinners all these years. My daughter loves them too.

I found this at a thrift shop.... it looks similar to the Limoges previously mentioned. It was no more than $10.

Very similar in design but not identical.

Probably of the same era since Czechoslovakia did not exist until 1918 and this is definitely not a Post WW II import since I doubt there was much import of china from behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War - even if it were being produced.

I had always thought that stuff imported into the USA after the turn of the century required it to stated "Made In" and that was a way to approximately date certain things as being early twentieth century versus late nineteenth century.

However I do think both the French Limoges and the Czech china are of the same era - probably 1930's since I doubt whether the were making anywhere in Europe during the 1940's and the style is definitely pre-1950's.

And of course shows how little value the pieces are in today's market as a new tureen in a more popular style could easily be more than $100. I do think that at the right flea market, it would command a higher price just as a one-off purchase as a decorative item. I used to go the flea markets in Los Angele a lot and pieces like this were not sold for $10.

I inherited my grandmother‘s Spode dinnerware and have never used it. My son doesn’t want it; my sisters, nieces and nephews don’t want it. Nobody wants it. It has sentimental value and I couldn’t bear to get rid of it. I guess my son will have to donate it to a second hand store after I’m gone. At least I can open the cabinet and look at it from time to time.

Flopsycat1--that is a very nice piece. I'd serve cookies or cake on it. Its festive, lovely to look at. Would be great in the center of the table.

My husband and I decided a long time ago that we weren't going be stuck with our parents mentality of being forced to use stained plastic dishes and cups given away at gas stations for fear of breaking the china.

My everyday china is Wedgwood Edme pattern which I put in the dishwasher without problems. Some of the Edme is over a 100 years old and it holds up. My good China is Wedgwood Philadelphia that I pull out for guests and for ourselves when the food I'm making looks better on those plates.

It is some nice to eat with a beautiful place setting. You only have so long to life, so live it well.

McKinley Tarrif act of 1891 required imports to be labeled with the country of origin. The words "made in"were usually added after 1915.

My special occasion China is Lenox Autumn. I'm still in love with it. I love the bright colors and the little details such as the raised flower petals. Hubby hand washes them for me....I'm not sure if I could/would put them in the dishwasher.

Flobyscat1... love your dinnerware! Use it and enjoy it! Maybe if your family sees it being used, it will create beautiful memories and then they'll be fighting over it!!

flopsycat, that Spode pattern is gorgeous. I had never seen it before. Thank you for posting it. If it were mine, it would be in regular use.

otterkill, that is my favorite Lenox pattern. I love the relief on it, and all the sumptuous details.

Thank you Rita! My husband and I bought them at a Lenox outlet.....we sorted through all the plates, saucers and cups as they were “seconds” and found the best ones. Unless you look very close you’d never know! I couldn’t even imagine the cost of a service of 12! We also had coupons, so I think we did well!

otterkill - I have Lenox Autumn too, service for 17. We handwash ours too. I don't know what Lenox did to the newer pieces but now their web site states that you can put them in the dishwasher. I asked the sales people at my Lenox outlet and they said that the older pieces still should be handwashed. I think we bought ours around 1980.

Think we bought ours in the late 80’s. Service for 17! Wowzer!!

I have a Bosch dishwasher that handles my china perfectly. Some of my Wedgwood Edme pieces are overly 100 years old, and they come out beautifully. They have lower temperature ranges on the dishwashers for handling fine china.

Love everybody's old china and so glad this thread has inspired me to use the stuff. I will display my old Fiesta which is actually prettier on display with all the bright colors.

@goluscombe - I do have a Bosch dishwasher and even if my china becomes degraded, I don't care because there is no reason to preserve it. No one in my family wants it for sentimental reasons and it has no particular monetary value that needs to be protected.

Wow, I had parties at my house from Thanksgiving through Christmas and my expensive Rosenthal china gots lots of use and along with time in the dishwasher. I quit hand washing it when dishwashers were able to handle it - I just avoid heat drying. No issues and its been 20+ years. None of my friends hand wash either and they all use their china. But I grew up in a family where my grandmother told me it was a sin to have nice things and never enjoy/use them. She said if it broke in use, it went to good use.

Absolutely.....and my sterling is in the kitchen drawer and in daily use also....and it goes into the dishwasher!
Some 30 years ago, when I remodeled the kitchen and added on to it, I was shopping and ran across a set of Mikasa fine china with a slate blue rim, the color of my new floor, and a rosy red stripe and gold decoration....$15 for 4 place settings...I bought 8 settings, because I wanted to have new dishes in my new larger kitchen.....and learned how nice porcelain is for every day....light, chipo resistant....and just nice.
For about 28 years they went into the dishwasher all the time.....and the colors have faded on the most used pieces....and I put them away for a while when I bought the Haviland, Limoges at Good Will....

Why keep the nice stuff for best! Use it and love it, stick it in the dishwasher; it won't die, it'll just age gracefully.

Most fine old china isn't worth much nowadays, and if the gold flakes off through wear and tear, so what: no-one else wants it, and apart from the gold flaking off that stuff is way tougher and nicer to use than most modern mass-produced crap. The colours are lovelier, the shapes are lovelier, they're altogether nicer to use.

flopsycat1 - I LOVE old Spode! They had such pretty colours and artwork. Use your china, and enjoy it, I'd say. You'll find it so much more rewarding than gazing at it wistfully, and dusting it occasionally.

Helen, I simply adore your china and would treasure it (wink)...

Flopsycat, I also adore yours and think it would be spectacular in my house (also wink)

Seriously though, it makes me so sad that my own kids are so unsentimental...I love a connection to the past, as my parents immigrated over here and, so, got rid of everything to do so. So I own very little family items.

Anyway, I truly appreciate all of these beautiful pictures and glimpses into everyone's past :)