This plate is an example of the type of fashionable ceramic tableware made for London retailers in the 19th century. Most major towns and cities in England had a dealer in Staffordshire ceramics with a variety of wares to suit most pockets. Advertising in the form of trade cards became an established practice and often notices were placed in newspapers or journals to promote new stock or a sale. The retailers often ordered specific wares to be made by the Staffordshire factories with their name printed on the back, as with this plate, so that any replacements would have to be obtained through them rather than direct from the factory. The printed decoration on this plate was highly fashionable in the 1830s as the technology to print underglaze purple was relatively new - prior to this blue, black and brown were more common. The pattern probably derives from fabrics of the 1820s and 30s, possibly influenced by Indian textiles. Similarly decorated plates, possibly made by Edward Walley and Elijah Jones, Staffordshire, bear the pattern mark ‘Poonah’ after the important Indian military centre during the British Empire period.