GEFLE PITCHER

Gefle Pitcher

Q: We inherited this blue and white pitcher from my mother-in-law. The words Gefle, Mullbar, and upsala-ekeby are on the bottom. We would love to know who made it.

A: Gefle is an old name for the Swedish city Gavle. The Gefle porcelain factory was founded c.1910. It was bought by Upsala-Ekeby-koncern in 1936 and was closed in the 1970s. Mullbar is the pattern name. We've seen a pitcher like yours offered for sale for $200.

SMF PITCHER

Q: When I was a child I watched my grandmother use this little pitcher, so I know it is at least 75 years old. Can you give me any information about the company that made it?

A: The initials "SMF" in a shield were used by the Schramberger Majolica Factory in Schramberg, Wurttemberg, Germany, beginning in 1918. The pottery was founded by Isidore Faist in 1820 as a stone goods factory and was originally located in an empty castle. It operated under various names and owners until 1912 when it was bought by Moritz and Leopold Meyer and renamed Schramberger Majolikafabrik (Schramberger Majolica Factory). The pottery made majolica, stoneware, and porcelain. The pottery closed in 1989.

KEEPING UNWANTED VISITORS AWAY

Sometimes old quilts, pillows, and upholstered pieces bring unwanted visitors to your home--bedbugs. Once inside your house, they will nest in walls, in cracks in wooden furniture and floors, and even in light fixtures. There is a worldwide epidemic. If your house is invaded, hire an exterminator to spray. Then wash all fabrics you can in hot water (over 120 degrees) and keep doing that for at least 20 weeks--since bedbugs keep laying eggs that keep hatching. In the early 1900s, there were many new ideas about health. One group suggested using iron, not wooden, beds to stay healthy. We wonder if they suspected it helped ward off bedbugs and fleas.

THE INS AND OUTS OF NEGOTIATING AT AN ANTIQUES AUCTION

The ins and outs of negotiating at an antiques auction

Collectors have to understand the ins and outs of negotiating and finance. So when this was sent to me last week, I did the puzzle.

You bought a lot of stuff at the antiques auction and want to pay the bill. As fast as you can, add this in your head (no pencils or calculators):

1. Take $1,000 and add $40 to it. Add another $1,000.
2. Add $30. Now add another $1,000. Then add $20.
3. Add another $1,000. Add $10. What is the total?
   

Did you get $5,000? You overpaid. (See below)


Fast number calculations can be confusing. Ever hear an auctioneer say: "This ring is set with 20 diamonds that total 5 carats, and you know how valuable a 5-carat diamond is." Why the comparison? Small diamonds are worth much less than one big one. Or: "This is over 100 years old. It belonged to my grandmother and she died at 102." Yes, but did she buy it at birth? Or on her 90th birthday? Always listen carefully when money is involved and don't pay $5,000 for something that should cost you $4,100. Oh, did I mention that I gave a version of this puzzle to my 6th-grade math classes long ago when I was a math teacher?

Any other auctioneer sayings with numbers that you have heard?

ACORN PATTERN CHILD'S DISH

Acorn pattern child's dish

Q: My partner and I found this glass bowl and we don't know what it is called or how it was used--I say porridge and she says pureed foods, like veggies. Can you help? And if you tell me I can get thousands of dollars for it, I would be very happy!

A: You have the base of a butter dish that was originally part of an early American pressed glass child's toy table set. A creamer, sugar with cover, and a spooner completed the set. The pattern is called "Acorn." The maker is unknown.

Toy and children's dishes were made by many pressed glass houses during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Your dish was made about 1890 to 1900, a time when butter came in rounds of about a pound, not in sticks as it does today. Acorn items are decorated with an acorn and oak leaves on their footed bases. Children and animals in the style of Kate Greenaway (1846-1901), a famous illustrator of children's books, are on the sides. The pattern was also made in frosted glass. Your butter dish is missing its bell-shaped cover, which lowers its value. The butter with its cover is worth $250 to $300.

WHO WAS WYLLIE?

Who was Wyllie?

Q: I have a plate marked HRWYLLIE. Who made it and how old is it?

A: H.R. Wyllie China Company was located in Huntington, West Virginia, from c.1910 until the late 1920s. The company made semi-porcelain dinnerware. Before Wyllie started his own pottery, he sold dinnerware. He established his pottery in Huntington after the city gave him the land, money for building, a tax abatement, and free gas.

SIX-INCH RULER

Six-inch ruler

When you want to measure something at a flea market, reach in your pocket for a U.S. dollar bill. It is six inches long. You are always carrying a six-inch ruler.

A NOTE OF THANKS FROM TERRY KOVEL

A Note of Thanks from Terry Kovel



Thank you, collectors, dealers, curators, authors and the many others who are part of our community of "antiquers." Your hundreds of notes and calls have made the past two weeks a little easier.

Ralph and I were together in work and marriage for many years, yet there are many stories I had forgotten or perhaps never heard:

• How he schemed with a dealer to make me think he was buying a 10-foot-tall airplane propeller for our living room, then told me about it in front of the camera during a TV taping.
  
  
• How he sat for hours in an auction to buy a special antique for me for our anniversary. He got it with the best ploy I have ever seen at an auction. He noticed only two other bidders wanted the antique, so he tapped the one nearest to us on the shoulder and said, "Pardon me, I have waited all day for the next piece--don't you have to go to the bathroom?" The dealer laughed, left for a short time, and Ralph's bid won.
  
  
• How he often gave a tie or cufflinks to someone who admired them.
  
  
• How he gave information and advice to anyone who asked, including one bottle collector from Alaska who called at 2 in the morning.
  

The house is filled with Ralph. Every piece of furniture, every vase, and of course our country store collection are all reminders of a wonderful husband and our years of collecting fun. The personal stories from you, especially the ones that tell of a chance encounter at a show or of the importance of his work, have kept me going. I keep thinking that, as one blogger said, "He's probably poking around in God's cupboards" looking for that next treasure.

ERPHILA PITCHER

Erphila Pitcher

Q: I have a pitcher that I think is at least 70 years old. It is 5 1/2 inches high. The bottom is marked "Erphila Germany" and "Dutchy Jugs." I would appreciate any information you can provide.

A: Ebeling & Reuss is a company founded in Philadelphia in 1886. The company imported and sold porcelain figures, animals, teapots, pitchers and creamers, platters, and other giftwares from many factories, mostly in Germany and Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic). Their ceramics are marked "Erphila"--for Ebeling, Reuss and Philadelphia. Occasionally a manufacturer's mark is also used. The firm is still in business in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and sells silverware, crystal, and home decorating items from many countries. Your pitcher is one of many whimsical figural pitchers imported by Ebeling & Reuss about 1930. It would sell for $50 to $65.

DANESBY WARE MARK

Danesby Ware Mark

Q: I found a lovely old vase with Danesby Ware marked on the bottom. What can you tell me about it?

A: Danesby Ware was made by Joseph Bourne & Son Ltd. of Denby, Derbyshire, England. Bourne began making salt-glazed pottery at Denby in 1809 and is still in business. At first the company operated under Bourne's name, but it is now known as The Denby Pottery Company. In the 1920s Denby began making decorative and giftware lines they called Danesby Ware.

RALPH AND HIS HOT SAUCE

Ralph and his Hot Sauce

Ralph loved any kind of food with hot sauce. He even used the sauce to take the tarnish off silver.

IN MEMORIAM: RALPH KOVEL

In Memoriam: Ralph Kovel

Ralph Kovel, Terry's husband and business partner, died last Thursday after a short illness. He will be deeply missed by our readers and fans, by everyone in the world of antiques, and by all of us at Kovels. If you would like to send condolences, you are welcome to use our blog. We very much appreciate all of the kind notes already sent by so many of you.

Our website, all of our publications, and our love of antiques will carry on--with the help of Terry Kovel, Kim Kovel, Lee Kovel and the rest of the Kovel staff.

ASBURY PARK PLATE

Asbury Park Plate

Q: Can you tell me the value of my old blue-gray souvenir plate picturing views of Asbury Park, New Jersey? The views show six different town landmarks. There are stars circling the plate's rim and at the top is the title, "Views of Asbury Park, N.J."

A: Many different potteries in England and the United States made American souvenir plates. The plates were immensely popular from the 1890s until World War I and show scenes from famous places like Niagara Falls and from small towns, too. Others picture historical events. The plates are often marked with the maker's name, the importer's name, or both. Rowland & Marsellus, a New York City importing company in business from about 1893 to 1937, sold at least three different Asbury Park plates. If yours was originally sold by Rowland and Marsellus, it should have a diamond-shaped mark on the back with "R&M Co." inside. Rowland & Marsellus imported plates, vases, cups, saucers, and other items from different potteries in the Staffordshire district of England, but the items were marked only with the Rowland & Marsellus mark. No matter which company made or imported your plate, it would sell for about $75 to $100.

ES GERMANY

ES Germany

Q: This has been in my family for years and no one knows what it is. Can you help identify this piece?

A: You have a small teacup or demitasse that is part of the American Indian Series made by the Erdmann Schlegelmilch Porcelain Factory. The factory was founded in Suhl, Germany, by Leonard Schlegelmilch and named after his father, Erdmann. It was in business from 1861 to 1937, making decorated and undecorated porcelain. The American Indian Series was decorated with decals of Indians. Your cup was probably made in the early twentieth century.

VALUE HINT

Value Hint

If the name "England" (or that of some other country) appears, the dish was probably made after 1891, but it may have been made as early as 1887. The words "made in England" (or some other country) indicate the piece was made after 1914.