1.   At the other end are the individual oyster plates, shaped like half an oyster shell.

2.   According to the authors, oyster plates had three basic uses.

3.   Despite having handled legions of oyster plates, Sullivan still enjoys them as a collector.

4.   Other oyster plates had deep recessed wells to hold the oysters shells without any ice, but shells often scratched the plates.

5.   Oyster plates may have as few as two wells or as many as six, meant to serve an appetizer course for diners at a well-dressed table.

6.   Serve six oysters to a person on oyster plates or on flat plates, using seaweed, rock salt or watercress to steady them.

7.   Sullivan says she became a collector more than two decades ago after visiting a restaurant and seeing the walls decorated with oyster plates.