Majolica in the Movies: Of Human Hearts

Poster for the 1938 MGM film Of Human Hearts

You never know where majolica is going to show up, even if it technically shouldn't be there. The film Of Human Hearts is a 1938 movie from MGM starring Walter Huston, James Stewart and Beulah Bondi. It tells the story of a poor minister and his family set in Antebellum rural Ohio before and during the Civil War.

It follows a minister played by Walter Huston and concentrates on the ungrateful son he raises played first as a child by Gene Reynolds and in his later years by James Stewart. The story begins around 1850 and runs through the mid 1860s. The majolica appears in the home of the minister in the early part of the story–a majolica oak leaf tray sitting on the family sideboard.

Scene from Of Human Hearts with actor Guy Kibbee playing a local merchant

Majolica oak leaf tray

The reason I say that the majolica shouldn't technically be there is because it wouldn't have been made until at least 10 years after the period in which the scene is set. Perhaps the set director was ignorant or just lazy in placing it there. Since it was an MGM movie, it is most likely one of the same oak trays that later appear in the studio’s 1943 technicolor movie "Lassie Come Home."

Scene from Lassie Come Home with Donald Crisp and Elsa Lanchester

It's very common to see the same sets, costumes and props in numerous movies as they were repeatedly drawn from the same studio warehouses. I make a game of actually looking for these kinds of things in old movies. There is a majolica clock I pointed out in my post on the film Gigi that has appeared in more MGM movies than I can count. There are even Web sites devoted to these kinds of things, like Recycled Movie Costumes.

Nonetheless, Of Human Hearts is a historical movie with some Civil War action sequences and something of a message picture, a bit unusual, but one worth your time if that is your cup of tea. 

For a clip from the movie go here.

Victorian Majolica Bread Plates

Marie Antoinette is famous for her statement, “Qu'ils mangent de la brioche.” In English that is generally translated as “Let them eat cake,” but that is not really an accurate translation. What it really translates to is “Let them eat brioche.” Brioche is a bread enriched by eggs and butter, so it could be said that the French Revolution was actually precipitated by a bread.

Bread has a history as a human food going back to ancient times. It has long been a staple of the human diet. Egyptians buried their dead with bread to nourish them on their trip to the afterlife. The Jewish holiday Passover is traditionally observed with matzo, a type of cracker substituted for bread because it didn’t require the leavening time of baking bread. Charred boules of bread have survived from ancient Pompey. During the Middle Ages no meal was complete without a trencher on the table. Wikipedia defines a trencher as a Medieval round of stale bread on which food could be served at the table. At the conclusion of the meal the trencher would be eaten with the sauce.

Victorians didn’t use trenchers of stale bread, but they did have a contemporary equivalent. The role the trencher played at the table—the wooden bread board or ceramic tray—was a main stay of every family meal. These often maintained the same round shape as their Medieval predecessor. Most every pottery included bread trays in their inventory. Naturally majolica with its deeply modeled and colored surface proved to be an excellent vehicle for displaying bread. Many of these are easily easily recognized by their shape or iconography, though any tray could actually serve for the purpose. Most of these have a raised rim to the hold the bread. 

Let’s take a look at majolica bread trays.

Minton majolica Christmas bread plate

Minton majolica evergreen bread plate

Minton majolica bread plate

Minton Waste Not, Want Not, Spare Not 

majolica bread plate

Minton majolica bread plate

George Jones majolica bread tray

George Jones majolica bread tray

George Jones majolica Christmas charger

George Jones majolica bread tray

Brownfield majolica bread tray

BWM majolica bread tray

Adams & Bromley majolica pineapple bread plate

Adams & Bromley majolica bread plate

Adams & Bromley majolica bread plate

Adams & Bromley majolica pineapple bread plate

Etruscan Majolica bread plate

Eureka majolica bread tray

Wardle majolica bread platter

Wardle/Lear majolica Lily bread plate

Unattributed majolica bread plate

Forester majolica wild rose bread platter

Forester majolica wild rose bread plate

Unattributed majolica bread plate featuring Demeter medallion

Fielding majolica Ribbon bread plate

Wedgwood majolica bread. tray

Wedgwood majolica Mat plate

English Registration drawing for the bread plate below

Wedgwood majolica bread plate

Wedgwood  majolica Palm bread tray

C12. Etruscan Majolica Oak bread tray

Many bread plates have mottos incorporated into their design. 

Minton majolica Waste Not Want Not Spare Not motto bread tray

Minton Pugin majolica Waste Not Want Not motto bread tray

Adams & Bromley majolica motto bread plate

Adams & Bromley majolica motto bread plate

Adams & Bromley motto bread plate

Adams & Co. majolica motto bread plate

Brownfield majolica motto bread tray

Bendigo Pottery majolica Give Us This Day Our Daily 

Bread motto bread plate

Majolica Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread plate

Wardle majolica Chrysanthemum Eat To Live Not Live To Eat tray

Unattributed majolica motto bread plate

Majolica Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread tray

Unattributed majolica motto bread plate

BWM Waste Not Want Not motto bread platter

Waste Not Want Not motto bread platter

Unattributed majolica motto bread plate

Holdcroft Eat Thy Bread With Thankflness majolica motto plate

And of course there are also corn bread plates specifically aimed at the American market.

Tenuous Majolica corn bread platter

Tenuous Majolica corn bread platter

Adams & Bromley majolica corn bread plate

Wedgwood majolica corn bread platter

The simple beauty of the bread plate allows collectors a wide variety of options for inclusion in their majolica displays.