Q We think my grandmother was given this sugar bowl and a creamer about 80 years ago. My mother broke the creamer and is looking to replace it. Any help you can give us would be appreciated. It would be helpful to be able to identify the maker and pattern.
— Kathleen, cybercollector
A Images show a pink Depression glass open sugar bowl with double handles, decorated with floral and scrolled line etching.
The reader is a smart collector; she knows that identification is the first step in replacement, since replacement services list by maker and pattern.
But most of us aren't the original buyers of sets. The replacement business is based on dinnerware, silver or glassware that has been inherited, perhaps generations ago. Families pass down recipes and photos, but info on dinnerware patterns? Rarely.
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There's a lesson here. Readers, if you know anything about your china or silver or whatever you're leaving in the family, please write it down and tuck it in the silver chest or in a cup, etc., along with the goods. Your heirs will remember you warmly for doing so. And you'll save them grief when replacement becomes necessary.
Depression glass, with its myriad patterns, can be an identification nightmare. So what is one to do when you don't have a clue as to age, maker or pattern?
With more than 10 million pieces of dinnerware, stemware and silver (and a few other categories), Replacements Ltd. is the mecca of replacement services. An image or photo sent to their research department will usually bring a response within 10 days.
A company spokesperson told us that research staff prefers JPEG images. The reason is obvious — colors are true, plus images can be enlarged and shared, etc. Send images to research@replace ments.com. Photos should be mailed to Replacements Ltd., 1089 Knox Road, P.O. Box 26029, Greensboro, NC 27420.
Include any notations about colors, markings and any trim on the edge of the plate. If there are markings on the back of the plate, make sure they are legible in the image or photo. Or send a rough sketch, including any writing or numbers that appear on the back. If known, indicate the approximate age.
Many buyers like to shop prices and availability, so another helpful source is the collection of replacement dealers found at www.setyourtable.com online. Contact those sellers only after the pattern and maker are known. Ditto for www.edish.com, yet another resource.
Understand that replacement services, including giant Replacements, may not have your piece in stock. When that happens, ask about a wish list. You will be notified when/if your heart's desire becomes available.
I pegged the reader's bowl as Fostoria. Nope. Dealers Milbra Long and Emily Seate, a mother/daughter team of Fostoria specialists and authors of several books on the glass, think the pattern is "Rosalind," introduced in 1932 by the United States Glass Company of Pittsburgh, Pa. Because the glass was made in a factory in Tiffin, Ohio, many call the glass Tiffin. See how tricky it gets?
FYI: Watch this column for news on a longtime dream of Long's; a planned museum highlighting glassmaking in America. It will be in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. We'll keep you posted. Reach the pair at www.fostoriacrystal.com online.
Q I got this piece of art from my aunt, and I know it is valuable. What is it worth now?
— Wilma, Seal Beach, Calif.
A Photos show a white tabletop sculpture that I interpret as Cupid and Psyche embracing. The design is pleasing, but the material is impossible to peg. Is it marble? Alabaster? Plaster? It matters. Condition cannot be seen, either. That matters as well.
This piece needs hands-on evaluation. I suggest you take photos to a local gallery or auction house that carries Victorian sculpture. If they need to see it, you can then take it in.
Q I want to find the simplest way to value and sell some 1930s and '40s Vernonware dishes. I've never been on eBay, but that's an option.
— Ed, Tucson
A Started in 1931 in Vernon, Calif., the company made art pottery and dinnerware. It sold to Metlox in 1958. Popular dinnerware patterns included "Our America" and "Frontier Days/Winchester."
Your inquiry came by e-mail, so you're ready for eBay. Try it. Register as a guest and the site virtually walks you through the process. The beauty of eBay is that you can find current value and then sell (if you wish), after you become a member. All on the same site.
FYI: "Collecting American Dinnerware" by Joe Rosson (House of Collectibles, $12.95) includes Vernon Kilns.
● Send e-mail to smartcollector@comcast.net or write Danielle Arnet, c/o Tribune Media Services, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1400, Chicago, IL 60611. Include an address in your query. Photos cannot be returned.
» AUCTION ACTION
A 1919 Indian sidevalve v-twin racing motorcycle sold under its $50,000-to-$70,000 estimate for $30,420 recently in a Bonhams & Butterfields auction of collector motorcars and motorcycles. The bike spent the last 10 years on display in a museum. Before that, it belonged to an Argentine collector, who rebuilt and repainted it. The motor had not been started since that time.
» COLLECTOR QUIZ
Q: What small California pottery created dinnerware based on the asymmetry of the egg? Products were hot with the 1950s avant-garde.
a. Bauer b. Vernon Kilns
c. Denwar d. Peterson Studios
A: Denwar dinnerware is still sought by collectors for its speckled glazes and especially its Bantu dinnerware.
• Source: "California Pottery Scrapbook" by Jack Chipman (Collector Books, $29.95).