This porcelain card tray from Worcester, England, dates to the mid-19th century. In the 1800s, this tray would have held small calling cards printed with the name and sometimes the address of a person or married couple. Household servants were well trained to accept calling cards at the door, perhaps with a small tray, like this one, in hand. Visitors placed their cards on it and departed, or, if staying for a visit, were escorted into the parlor. English porcelain manufacturers of the 1800s were well suited to make a variety of objects to satisfy social etiquette. Robert Chamberlain was apprenticed at the Worcester Porcelain Company in 1751, where he in time became the head of its decorating department. In 1783 he left to start a decorating company. By the Regency period, his firm was celebrated for its fine, hand-painted porcelain. His clients included Horatio Nelson and the Prince Regent (later George IV). In 1840 the company merged with Flight, Barr, and Barr to become Chamberlain and Company. There, customers often chose the decoration for specially commissioned pieces. The company built a large library of source material from which its artists could work, including views of country houses and historic landmarks.

The majority of architectural imagery is English, but few American views exist, including the rare scene on this tray of the “United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.,” after a drawing by William Henry Bartlett. This early view of the capitol is an example of English interest in the United States and celebrates the popularity of travel between Europe and the United States. The shell border, while seemingly unrelated to the scene of the capitol, demonstrates the contemporary interest in shell decoration among the producers of Worcester porcelain. This stemmed from the interest in shell collections by the English gentry.