posted on April 30, 2001 05:45:15 PM new
Hi,
A friend has asked if I would list some pieces on Ebay for her. Apparently she has quite a few items. Already I am out of my element with the first batch of items she has brought by for me to investigate. I am hoping some of you can help me with some idea of deciphering the info printed on each piece and possible value. I am sure there must be a web site out there with some of this info but I haven't found it yet!
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
The first piece is a Royal Doulton piece called "Nanny."
Here is all the printing. Any ideas what the various numbers mean?
Then there is a small Wedgwood vase that has been in her family for over 100 years (she thinks about 150years.) The blue color is not the typical wedgwood blue. It appears to be darker and deeper. The marking on the bottom is very faint and just has "wedgwood" printed into the bottom. Any ideas on how to photograph the very faint word will also be greatly appreciated!
The word wedgwood is on the lower part of this nextpicture.
[ edited by justbijou on Apr 30, 2001 05:46 PM ]
[ edited by justbijou on Apr 30, 2001 06:03 PM ]
[ edited by justbijou on Apr 30, 2001 06:04 PM ]
posted on April 30, 2001 05:55:14 PM new
I am not a porcelain expert (what is crazing, anyway?), but I think the Wedgwood is the Royal Blue Jaspar. Also, spell it as "Wedgwood" without the second "e" when you search on Ebay. The official site is www.wedgwood.com, but it is a difficult site to navigate and the pictures are too small for my old eyes.
I apologize in advance if I am incorrect. I'm out of my depth here.
posted on April 30, 2001 06:36:18 PM new
Nanny was issued in 1958 and retired in 1991. On the secondary market it books for about $350 at the high end, but I have seen it for $225 to $250. These $$$ are for pieces in excellent condition. Minor crazing shouldn't matter. I don't know the Doulton market on eBay.
I am having a difficult time seeing the mark on the bottom of the Wedgwood. If there is a better image it would be helpful.
posted on April 30, 2001 06:57:44 PM new
You are a good friend to list things for your friend. My DH and I listed something for his coworker friend and it made me so nervous that we swore to never do it again. I was nervous thinking about what kind of he** the friend might raise if if we accidentally dropped it, or the bidding didn't go very high, or the bidder deadbeated, or....
OK, I tend to worry a lot. And this was a sort of close friend, but not close like family usually is, you know.
Sorry if I scared you, but it is important to think about how Ebay obstacles might affect your relationship with your friend. Money can make people act funny.
Especially with collectible breakables. Invest in a blacklight pen to avoid the old 'switcheroo'. Anyway, good luck.
And I am interested in seeing what everyone here has to say about the wedgwood piece. I haven't seen many that are that dark blue. The searches that I did at Ebay seemed to yield bid prices that were a little low compared to what I expected to see.
posted on April 30, 2001 07:27:46 PM new
SMW - Thanks for the Wedgwood link! I am having a hard time getting a clear picture of the impression on the bottom. Any photography help in that department would also be appreciated. The marking on the bottom does not appear top have the &co. It just says Wedgwood.
Could you please explain what crazing is? I envision little crinkely lines under the glaze but I don't know why I think that.
squinkle99 - Thanks for the heads up. I have already thought about many of the possible problems of listing for this friend and we have come to certain agreements that will protect the both of us.
I have ordered an invisible/black light marker and I already have some of those tear apart stickers. I don't need to be that careful with my usual Ebay items since they are all handmade. I would recognize my work anywhere but I figured if I was going to list this many pieces for my friend I would prefer to protect myself everyway I can!
Thanks again and if anybody has ideas on photographing the mark or any other input on the Wedgwood piece I would appreciate it.
---Carol
posted on April 30, 2001 08:43:10 PM new
I am sorry but I can't see the Wedgwood mark. I think an image with a resolution of more than 72 PPI would help.
I don't know if it is the image, or the lighting, but the bottom of the piece doesn't seem to have much wear. There are a lot of copies. ( I don't know that this is a copy, but with Wedgwood you have to very careful).
Try Google or Alta Vista and search for Wedgwood cobalt blue jasper. You will get a number of other pieces for sale. Maybe you can find the vase, or one very similar to it.
posted on May 1, 2001 07:09:36 AM new
Thanks again!
Through the wedgwood site I found that you can send pictures to the Wedgwood Museum and they will give you some ideas/history on the piece. They have already responded to my questions but unfortunately they need a better picture of the markings on the bottom. I am going to ask a photographer friend to try and shoot it with a regular camera and correct lighting. Maybe that will help me get a clearer look at the impression on the bottom.
posted on May 1, 2001 07:15:54 AM new
Do you have a scanner. You should be able to get it with a scanner, possibly in gray scale and high resolution. I've been able to identify old marks not even visible to the naked eye due to age and wear with a scanner and had several very pleasant surprises.
Jay
