Vintage Butter Pat Meets Modern Etiquette

Yesterday I started gathering inspiration for my Easter tablescape by shopping several thrift stores. I was looking to find a sheer metallic or sequin fabric to drape over a solid, pastel green cotton tablecloth. Well, I didn’t find my fabric but I found another treasure.

I was in the housewares section looking at the glassware when I noticed a small – maybe three inches wide by two inches tall – round glass dish with a matching dome lid that fit perfectly on this miniature plate. It reminded me of the cut-glass covered butter dish from the Depression era but much smaller. I began to wonder, could these be individual butter dishes? Then I saw not one, but two, three, four, five, six of them! The color would match perfectly with my grandmother’s china, so I couldn’t resist. I bought all of them!

Being excited with my new found treasure, I decided to search the Internet for more information. Sure enough, they are individual butter dishes. They are vintage replicas of Depression glass fashioned into miniature butter dishes

So what is the etiquette for handling the individual butter dish? After bread is served on your main plate (note: there won’t be a bread-and-butter plate in this place setting) simply remove and hold the dome from the butter dish. With your other hand, use your knife to secure a butter pat and place it on either side of your main plate. Then, place the dome back on the butter dish.

As the saying goes, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.