WILDERNESS witch 9 luncheon plate. The date code is F-6 for June-1925 (see invoice above) and there was 1st firing of this pattern in 1922. Wilderness is now known as the Seattle area districts of: Maple Valley, Lake Wilderness and the eerily wiccan-named towns like: Ravensdale, Black Diamond and Covington was there a witch coven in the area? ! The most logical explanation for this pattern is that it is a yet-to-be-identified railroad line. The flying witch, a symbol of swift transportation. Railroad china patterns often pictured indigenous plant life (flowers you might see out the window of your railway car) and the flower on this platter is the Pacific Northwest’s Syringa (wild lilac, Philadelphus lewisii or Lewis’ mock-orange after explorers Lewis & Clark). The chimney-ed building is almost certainly the original Maple Valley train station (see comparisons above). In fact, it looks like the roof-graphic on this plate was drawn directly from the very circa 1887 photo pictured above! W e’ve been told that a WILDERNESS railroad Stop has been found on a circa 1920s map archived by the Lake Wilderness Historical Society but we have yet to confirm. If that Stop was renamed the Maple Valley depot (photo above) is not clear. Companies known to use the route were the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad, later becoming the Pacific Coast Railroad. And Great Northern Railway. Another possibility is a restaurant. The Jacobsen family settled in the area in the late 1800s and, in the 1920s, built three Lake Wilderness fishing resorts with dining facilities. But witches are known for serving poisonous food (apples etc) so what restaurant would use a witch as a logo? Or, maybe a small air service? Speeding over the top of the Maple Valley depot as a snub to reach Seattle quicker? We would love to hear from Railroad, Wiccan and Seattle / Maple Valley area historians. This is a new discovery and we will update this listing as information comes in. NOTE: the invoice is archived in a museum and not included in this sale. A five pound sterling silver ” Bug Basket ” from Buckingham Palace, the most-prized possession of the last reigning monarch of The Kingdom of Hawai’i, an artifact from The White House and Porcellian Club (the birthplace of Facebook), the first man to the moon’s 1st appearance in Space and an 1885 New York City “Sitting Bull” Cigar Store Indian are but a few of our most interesting pieces. Presidents, a Prime Minister and other Heads of State, Middle Eastern & European monarchs, museums, Hollywood celebrities, billionaire software & oil tycoons and the World’s leading interior decorators & designers. The best way to view our store is by’highest prices first’.
