What is the green Christmas tree china? Spode, designed 1938
The plate with the hand-coloured tree, the presents at the foot and the trumpet-blowing Santa on top is Spode Christmas Tree, designed in 1938 by Spode designer Harold Holdway for the American market. It is not a Portmeirion pattern, not a Lenox pattern and not a generic Christmas plate: the tree, the red-banded rim and the gold trim are one specific 88-year-old design.
The pattern was made continuously until the Spode factory closed in 2009 and continued afterwards under the Spode name owned by Portmeirion, which is why the same plate can be 1940s or last year.
How to date a piece from the back
| Backstamp reads | What it means |
|---|---|
| “Wishing You a Merry Christmas 1938” | First-year production only. The dateline was dropped in 1939 |
| Copeland Spode, England | The older mark family, in use from roughly 1920 to about 1957 |
| Spode, England / Made in England | Post-war through to the 2009 factory closure |
| Spode with a Portmeirion group line | After 2009, when the brand continued under Portmeirion |
The one collectors care about is the 1938 dateline. Everything else in the table narrows a piece to a era, not a year, and no backstamp on this pattern gives you a production year on its own.
Why an English factory drew an American Christmas tree
Spode’s sole US agent, Sydney Thompson of Copeland & Thompson at 206 Fifth Avenue in New York, asked for a Christmas design in May 1938. Art director Thomas Hassall handed the job to Harold Holdway, who by his own account had never seen a decorated Christmas tree and first drew the presents hanging from the branches rather than sitting beneath them. The corrected design went out that season and became one of the most successful Christmas dinnerware patterns ever made.
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The cheapest way into the pattern
| Piece | Seller | Condition | Asking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spode Christmas Tree Saucer | Replacements Ltd. | Used | $4.99 |
| Spode Christmas Tree Mug | Replacements Ltd. | Used | $5.99 |
| Spode Christmas Tree Pepper Shaker | Replacements Ltd. | Used | $5.99 |
| Spode Christmas Tree Stackable Mug | Replacements Ltd. | New | $6.99 |
| Spode Christmas Tree Cloth Napkin | Replacements Ltd. | Used | $9.99 |
| Spode Christmas Tree Corkboard Placemat | Replacements Ltd. | Used | $9.99 |
| Spode Christmas Tree Flat Cup | Replacements Ltd. | Used | $9.99 |
| Spode Christmas Tree Mug | Replacements Ltd. | New | $9.99 |
| Spode Christmas Tree Teaspoon | Replacements Ltd. | Used | $9.99 |
| Spode Christmas Tree Cloth Napkin | Replacements Ltd. | Used | $10.39 |
Last verified 31 August 2026 against 227 Spode Christmas Tree listings in the CJ product feed (US advertisers): 160 of them at a replacement-china specialist selling piece by piece, median ask $35.99 across the whole set. Prices move; read them as the market on that date, not a promise. Peer-to-peer marketplace asks of $500 or more are excluded as seller placeholders, as are repdigit asks such as $1,234 and $9,999 wherever they appear; retailer prices are used as published.
Our view: buy the pattern one open-stock piece at a time from a replacement-china seller rather than hunting boxed sets. A saucer at $4.99 and a mug at $5.99 cost less than shipping on most auction lots, and the pattern is common enough that patience is cheaper than urgency.
Frequently asked
Who designed the Spode Christmas Tree pattern?
Harold Holdway, a Spode designer, in 1938, at the request of the company’s US agent Sydney Thompson.
Is Spode Christmas Tree still made?
Yes. It ran until the Spode factory closed in 2009 and has continued under the Spode brand owned by Portmeirion; new pieces were on sale on 31 August 2026.
How can I tell if my Spode Christmas Tree is old?
Read the backstamp. A 1938 dateline is first-year; a Copeland Spode mark places it in the older mark family used from about 1920 to about 1957.
Sources
- Spode, Into the archive: 85 years of Christmas Tree
- Spode History, Spode’s Christmas Tree pattern — the Thompson commission, Holdway’s first draft and the 1938 dateline
- Spode History, Spode and Christmas Tree backstamps
- CJ Affiliate product feeds, US advertisers, queried 31 August 2026
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