Q: My decorated aluminum serving tray is marked "Canterbury Arts" on the bottom. It is hand-hammered, but also decorated with a carved swirling design. History and value?

A: Canterbury Arts is one of the lesser-known and smaller American companies that produced decorative aluminum serving pieces during the middle of the 20th century. Two artists, Chester C. Pflanz and J. Hatterick (or Hattrick), ran the firm, which appears to have operated in upstate New York in the 1940s. Your tray is in Canterbury's best-known intaglio (carved) pattern, called "Curvilinear." In general, Canterbury Arts trays sell today for $10 to $25 each.