Do you know an on-line site for researching antiques?

This may not be of too much help, but it may be a start. My wife advised me that genuine pieces from the reputable companies (Wedgewood, Wade, and others) who made such wares always had their name on the bottom of the piece, and the artisan also left his mark.

If you could upload a photo that may help as my wife and I might be able to see a mark.

It may also be that the mark(s) have been worn off by daily use over the years. Just a thought on my part.

I look forward to your reply. Great question.

You could try a site like this one or a pay site such as this one where you can get an appraisal online by a professional. I’ve had good luck with online appraisal sites.

Kovels is highly respected. See http://www.kovels.com/

Kovel’s among others. And you can subscribe to their newsletter and they take questions.
@itsAHabit—sorry leapt beforte looking again . ..

I’m sorry to say that as a professional appraiser with more than 30 years in the business, I must tell you that it is very difficult to “research” antiques on line. The Kovels have made a lovely living for many many years with their price guides, but I know of no one in the trade who takes them seriously. They may be highly respected, but not by the right people.

Call the Appraiser’s Association of America and ask for a referral to an expert in the field. The AAA’s appraisers are highly vetted, must pass demanding examinations, and are required to take continuing education courses.

Making an appraisal from a photograph is discouraged.

@dpworkin thanks for the info
@Gemini you could always try to be around wherever the Antiques Roadshow shows up.

If you attend Antiques Roadshow, expect it to take most of the day.

I agree with @dpworkin of course, don’t base the actual value online. But I don’t see why you can’t use the internet as a jumping off point, particularly if you’re just interested in learning a little bit more about the pieces you’ve found.

@TheOnlyNeffie Is right. There is a lot of good general and even quite specific information on the Net, but there is nothing like an experienced pair of eyes to help you make sure that what you think you have is what you really have.

@dpworkin
@TheOnlyNeffie

I appreciate both of your opinions. I really would like to begin with the jumping off point though because I don’t even know if I have something here at all. I would like to find a picture of the pattern somewhere so I could find out something about it. There is a Made in England stamp and number on the bottom of each piece, but no mark of the maker. I am not into investing any money in this without a little bit of an idea what I have here.

My unsophisticated guess is that if there is just a “made in Enlgand” stamp and no identifying potter’s mark then what you have is probably not very valuable.

Put up a picture and let your fellow Flutherites take a gander

@anartist I thought of that, but one small problem…I don’t know how to do that unless I put it in as a temporary avatar….a little help? BTW—I already have a photo saved in ” my pictures”

I think what you have is a nice, decorative postwar set of china. Use it and enjoy it.l Every household in the Western world has a set of china, so if it is not at the very least pre WWI, and if it wasn’t painted by an important artist it has nominal resale value.

If you want to post a picture of it, you can use the site www.copytaste.com to upload the jpeg from your “my pictures” as a link.

Upload it to Fluther’s flickr site or PhotoBucket site [see earlier thread]—same process as uploading avatar only pic can be bigger

http://copytaste.com/g78 Okay, if I did this right, here is a link to a couple of photos of my coffee server set. Thank you all!

Looks to me like a funny mish-mash of 20th century forms with a quasi-traditional imprint. What do others think?

@janbb I know—it’s really unusual isn’t it?

To me it looks like a mid-‘50s import meant for resale at a relatively modest department store.

Well, I can’t tell you anything at all useful about them… but I can tell you that I think they are absolutely darling. :)

@TheOnlyNeffie Thanks, I think if nothing else they’re worth the $5.00 I paid for them! : )

@Gemini I agree, very cute!

That looks to me like some 1930’s-50’s mid century typical English Art Pottery for department store. It appears to have been hand dipped based on the application of the glaze.
As mentioned almost any house of repute will have an identifying mark. And some you need to be careful about. Wedgwood (Josiah 1730— 1795) for example has no “e” after the g and there are counterfeits out there spelled as such. Keep in mind also that there were some excellent China made in the 18th up to mid 19th century that had only a significant hallmark on some pieces and other pieces were embossed with only a number or letter like this set from 1780. Sometimes it was painted and other times pressed into the piece.
Here’s a good link- ‹(•¿•)› for a very comprehensive listing of marks. There are thousands out there and many manufacturers had quite a few variations. If you’re interested in this sort of thing as hobby or business it’s an excellent reference and the best I’ve found.

@Gemini, Enjoy! You have a great bargain. Thanks for the pics.

Andreas