Gravy Boat~Taylor Smith Versatile Golden Day Yellow Daisy 8" Boat w/Gold Trim

Description

Versatile by Taylor, Smith & Taylor Co.
The following originally appeared on pages 128-141 of Taylor, Smith & Taylor Dinnerware by Mark Gonzalez ©2004,
and is being posted on www.laurelhollowpark.net with permission along with corrections and updates.
Designed by John Gilkes, Versatile was introduced by Taylor, Smith & Taylor in 1953. It replaced the twenty-year old, ornate Garland shape.
Versatile was created to meet the demand for clean, rimless shapes that became popular in the very late 1940s and early 1950s. Traditional handles and finials were not used on the casserole and sugar, nor on lids of the coffee pot and teapot. Instead, handles were made as tab extensions.
Besides the solid color line, Pebbleford, Versatile was also made in pastel glazes - with and without decals, and in white with decals and underglaze decorations. Several Versatile patterns made use of special "fade away" or wash trims along the rim.
TS&T created new lines by mixing hollowware from other shapes with Versatile flatware. "Shasta Daisy" was made using Versatile shapes only. "Dwarf Pine" used Versatile flatware while almost all of its hollowware came from the formal Classic shape. "Blue Mist" used Versatile flatware, but Empire hollowware. Other lines were more complicated with a sugar from one shape and a creamer from another resluting in new mix-and-match shapes. The major forms of hollowware used with Versatile flatware are listed here:
Versatile shape - simple design without pedestal feet; lids have tab handles
sugar
creamer
teacup
casserole
coffee pot
teapot
gravy
shakers
divided baker
covered butter
lug soup with lid
Classic shape - Flared shapes with pedestal feet and pronounced finials. Classic hollowware used includes:
sugar (two styles of lids)
creamer
teacup
coffee pot
gravy
casserole
shakers
Empire shape - Lu-Ray shapes which are generally in a pastel glaze with some type of decal treatment
or trim work. The Empire/Lu-Ray shapes used include the following:
handleless sugar (two styles of lids)
creamer
teacup
sauceboat
casserole
shakers
curved spout teapot
covered butter
Versatile was produced into the 1960s and is usually marked with a date code as shown at the top of the page. The rimless flatware was used for shapes that followed, namely Ever Yours.
Examples of the three styles of hollowware used with Versatile flatware.
Versatile sugar and creamer with "Strawberry"
Versatile gravy and creamer with "Shasta Daisy"
Classic sugar and creamer with "Dwarf Pine"
Classic gravy and creamer with "Dwarf Pine" in blue
Empire gravy and creamer with "Golden Day"
Empire sugar, creamer, and teapot with "Mardi Gras"