This glamorous set of 17 dinner and 12 side plates were made of gold-glass, rather than the usual gilded porcelain. They belonged to Jan Cowles, the wife of Gardner Cowles, the newspaper publisher who launched Look Magazine. Vogue chronicled her skills as a hostess, not only in her Fifth Avenue home, but also those she maintained in Southampton and Miami. The dinner plates are 10 3/4" in diameter, and the side plates are 6 1/2" in diameter). They were gilded behind the glass, and then sealed with dull black paint. We don't know the maker, retailer, or date, but they were probably made around 1970, and each is marked on the back with a patent pending number. There are some scratches, discoloration, and small patches of missing gold, which gives them a pleasing patina.