1954 FIESTA Zodiac Plate by Homer Laughlin China Co.

1954 Zodiac Annual Collectible Gold Impasto Painted Plate-Ivory Base from FIESTA created by Homer Laughlin China Company (est. 1877)

FIESTA, America's favorite dinnerware, was introduced by The Homer Laughlin China Company with great fanfare at the Pittsburgh China & Glass Show in January, 1936. FIESTA was the creation of Frederick Hurten-Rhead, a second generation Stoke-on-Trent potter who had become Homer Laughlin's design director in 1927. The collection was an immediate hit with the public and, by it's second year of production, more than one million pieces were produced.
The original five colors were Red, Yellow, Cobalt Blue, Green and Ivory. Turquoise was added early in 1937. The shapes of FIESTA were created in an Art Deco style with concentric circles highlighting the bright colors. The first six colors were produced through the 1930's and 40's until a change in fashion direction dictated a change to a softer palette of pastel colors at the beginning of the 1950's.
The 1950's saw a large increase in imported dinnerware which was produced in countries with very low labor costs. This competition took its toll on the American industry and many potteries did not survive the decade. Homer Laughlin's management decided to shift their emphasis from consumer dinnerware to commercial ware for the hotel and restaurant trade. 1959 saw the introduction of Homer Laughlin's "Best China" brand vitrified hotel china. J. M. Wells, Sr. retired at the end of that year, turning over the management of the company to the third generation of his family in the person of Joe Wells, Jr.
Color trends moved back to brighter colors in the early 1960's and FIESTA moved with the trend. By the late 60's earth-tones were in vogue and the dinnerware industry turned in that direction. Popularity of these colors proved to be short-lived and sales began to fall. At the end of 1972, FIESTA was retired after 37 years of production.
The retired dinnerware line soon became popular with collectors, especially those who had childhood memories of this brightly colored dinnerware. As years passed, the value of the original FIESTA colors and pieces grew as more people became avid collectors.
In 1985, officials of Bloomingdale's, the prestigious retailer in New York City, approached Homer Laughlin about reproducing a dinnerware line from the past. Soon the two companies agreed that FIESTA had the greatest chance for commercial success. In early 1986, Bloomingdale's introduced a new line of FIESTA® with a new color palette and with improvements to the body and glaze. Homer Laughlin was the country's leading producer of restaurant china and it was determined that the new FIESTA should be made of the same durable, restaurant- quality china body as the company's other products. The ceramic glaze would be lead-free, a comparatively new innovation in the china industry.
This new version of FIESTA was an instant success and a new generation of consumers became converts to FIESTA's popularity. Over the next twenty years, new colors have been introduced and FIESTA has become a trendsetter of color for the housewares industry. In the seventy-nine years since FIESTA® was first produced, there have been a total of 47 colors in the line.
Today, The Fiesta Tableware Company introduces one new color each year and FIESTA has become the leading dinnerware brand in casual tabletop, as well as a consistent leader in bridal registries across America. All the while, collectors have continued to add to the dinnerware to which they were first introduced by their mothers and grandmothers. Today, FIESTA® dinnerware is the most collected dinnerware in the history of the tabletop industry with well over one half billion pieces produced.
NOTABLE EVENTS IN THE YEAR OF 1954: (it's called memory lane...it's what we do..haha)
-January 14 – Marilyn Monroe marries baseball player Joe DiMaggio at San Francisco City Hall
-January 20-Rogers Pass, MT records the coldest temperature in the inhabited USA of −70 °F
-February 2 – New York City Ballet "The Nutcracker" begins it's production-still being showcased today
-February 23 – The first mass vaccination of children against polio begins in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
-April 1 – President Eisenhower authorized creating the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado
-May 14 – The Boeing 707 is released after about two years of development
-May 16 – National Educational Television is launched on cable TV. It will become PBS on October 5, 1970
-May 17 – Brown v. Board of Education: Supreme Court rules "segregated schools" are unconstitutional
-June 14 – The words "under God" are added to the United States Pledge of Allegiance
-July 19 – Elvis Presley's first single, a cover of "That's All Right", is released by Sun Records
-August 16 – The first issue of Sports Illustrated magazine is published
-September 11 – The Miss America Pageant is broadcast on television for the first time
-October 2 – New York Giants defeat the Cleveland Indians, 4 games to 0, to win 5th World Series Title
-October 18 – Texas Instruments announces the development of the first transistor radio
-November 12 – The main immigration port of entry in New York Harbor at Ellis Island closes
-December 1 – The Hyatt House Los Angeles, opens the first hotel in world built adjacent to an airport
-December 4 – The first branch of Burger King opens in Miami, Florida, USA
And my personal favorite date, being I became a transplant recipient on October 16, 2021....
-December 23 – The first successful kidney transplant is performed by Joseph E. Murray, MD in Boston from one identical twin to his brother. He later shared the 1990 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his "[discovery] concerning organ and cell transplantation in the treatment of human disease
HONORABLE MENTION-The TV dinner is introduced by entrepreneur Gerry Thomas!

Weighs 1 lb 9 oz
Measures 10.5" X 10.5" Diameter and 1" Tall laying flat
Stand in picture not included

ETSY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY POLICY
As a venue for artists, designers, and makers, Etsy takes intellectual property rights very seriously. We comply with intellectual property laws and industry best practices in order to maintain the integrity of our creative marketplace. This Intellectual Property Policy explains how we address allegations of infringement, how authorized parties can submit reports of infringement regarding content on our marketplace, and how Etsy sellers can respond when their listings or shops are affected by a report.
ANY COPY AND PASTING OR PLAGIARIZING OF MATERIAL
ON MEMORYLANEVINTIQUES IS SUBJECT TO ETSY INVESTIGATION AND PENALTIES!
MemoryLaneVintiques researches also protect our shop from Intellectual Property Theft by researching for violators of our material. Be respectful!
Chad & Jennifer Johnston (August 2024)