QHave been all over the Internet trying to find info on my set of Santa Ana ware with a copyright date of 1949. The service is for eight, with extra cups and serving pieces. The back reads Modern Americana made in California. I sure could use some help.
— Judy, San Manuel
A Several nuggets stand out in this query. First, the dinnerware is midcentury modern. Second, it is complete and, with the serving pieces, even better. Finally, it is California pottery. All that, as Martha says, is a good thing.
Midcentury dinnerware is a growing area in collecting. And it has not yet begun to peak. The way young collectors are buying, I'd put my money on a quality set of midcentury over Haviland and its ilk anytime. Today's young collectors find grandma's china fussy and old- fashioned. Instead, they go for dinnerware with clean lines and the look of midcentury.
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Smart collectors know that the generation with disposable income calls the shots on value. When larger auction houses start to carry high-style midcentury dinnerware and flatware, you know where the market is headed.
California studio pottery has been hot for a while, particularly on the West Coast and in urban areas. Within the past 10-15 years, mass-produced midcentury dinnerware from California makers, including Gladding, McBean and Company, Laurel Potteries, Catalina Pottery, Metlox, and Hollydale Pottery, has also found a public. Of course, other potteries throughout the country made midcentury designs as well.
California potter and painter Jack Chipman has produced several books on California pottery; the latest is "California Pottery Scrapbook" (Collector Books, $29.95).
Chipman and I agree that perhaps you are misreading a mark, because there is no literature on Santa Ana pottery. In a highly unlikely scenario, the set could be one of a kind.
"I wonder if the reader really has Santa Anita Ware," Chipman told us. Started in Los Angeles in the early '40s, Santa Anita Potteries later became Santa Anita Ware.
In sum, the pattern needs to be seen by someone who knows the genre. If you send images of a plate front and back to jack@jackchipman.com, he will take a look.
"A full set of any vintage dinnerware is a plus and adds value," he added.
FYI: "Mid-Century Modern Dinnerware" by Michael Pratt (Schiffer, $39.95), covers 47 companies that produced modern tableware of the 1940s through the 1960s.
Q I took my old Singer sewing machine to a repair store, and the man there offered me $100 for it. I could tell he was interested. Is it a collectors' item?
— Laura, Gloucester, Va.
A An early portable, the machine is complete with case, cleaning tools, bobbins, etc. It even seems to have original manuals.
You're figuring, "If I'm offered $100, perhaps it is worth more?" I am thinking, "The repair/sales person sees an intact early machine with metal body, metal works and accessories. Plus, it is complete."
Take a look at today's machines — they're plastic city. The old machines were durable workhorses, and this one is complete. I surmise that he made the offer because he can resell to a tailor or a seamstress and still make a profit. Collectors go for far more antique and rare machines. Can you also find a motivated buyer? Not as easily as he can, with his contacts.
Q I have a fabulous collection of collector plates including all 50 states and about 25 different Norman Rockwell plates with boxes and paperwork for each. How do I sell them?
— Arnold, Lauderhill, Fla.
A I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but the bottom fell out of the plate market decades ago. An artificial, manipulated market, the collector-plate industry collapsed when greedy manufacturers pushed too far, flooding buyers with schlock until they rebelled. The paperwork and boxes (examples of "authentication") you cite are one example of how manipulated this market was.
You need to find a motivated buyer. I suggest posting online, or take them to an area storefront for online sales. They will post and collect, for a fee.
● 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. Please include an address in your query. Photos cannot be returned.
The Smart Collector
By Danielle Arnet
Courtesy of Antiquorum
» COLLECTOR QUIZ
Q: How much is the value of a 20th-century paper doll set reduced when the dolls and/or clothing have been cut from the book?
a. 20 percent b. 60 percent
c. 50 percent d. 40 percent
A: Cut sets are usually half-price, assuming the set is intact and in very good condition. Mint, uncut sets are best. Source: "20th Century Paper Dolls" by Mary Young (Collector Books, $19.95).