You might try contacting Randall Moir regarding vessel form.  I don't
know what he has done with whiteware per se, but a few years ago he
was working on plate profiles.  He gave a workshop on this at the 1997
Corpus Christi SHA Conference titled Exploring
Creamware-Pearlware-Whiteware-Ironstone Categories through
Form-Specific Attributes:  Basic Concepts in Ceramic Analysis and
Interpretation
 
The 1998 SHA directory lists Randall's contact information as:
 
10113 Napa Valley
Frisco, TX
(972) 335-4446