Antiques – Off at the Questors

When I do public appraisal sessions, which I do often, I usually tell folks that what I am doing is a circus act of sorts, that real appraisals have to be researched. But, with 30 years in the business, I can nail down values fairly close for the most part.
After a recent meeting with a local Questors group, however, subsequent research revealed that I had undervalued a few things. I don’t know why I did this, unless I was factoring in the recent tough economy. In any event, I thought I should set the record straight.
I always see interesting things when I conduct public appraisal sessions, but they are never more interesting than at a Questors meeting. Questors is an international organization that charters a loose affiliation of individual chapters around the world that bring people together who are interested primarily in antiques but also in related fields like art, history and interior design.
Questors chapters are kept small, usually 20-25 people, because they meet in each other’s homes. There are several Questors chapters in Cape May County alone. It’s a wonderful opportunity for friends and neighbors to socialize while learning and sharing information that can help make their and their families’ lives fuller and richer.
On this visit, when I entered the hostess’s house, my eyes immediately went up above the china closet, where sat a beautiful dark blue and white Staffordshire jug. I am a big fan of old Staffordshire, and when I checked the piece it turned out to be Clews, one of the finest old English pottery companies in business from 1818 to 1834.
This jug had some issues – a small chip on the spout and hairline fractures on the base, but it was Clews, and nearly 200 years old, so I value it at $350 to $450. I was only off by half. Clews jugs like this can go for $750 to $1,000. This jug, even with its problems, could probably be valued at $700-$900.
My next gaff was about a fork by the Danish Silversmith, Georg Jensen. The owner told me that she thought the fork was in the “Magnolia” pattern. I’ve had Jensen silver in my shop, and it can be quite expensive, so I valued her fork at about $300.
Research, however, revealed the fork to be the “Blossom” pattern from 1919, one of Jensen’s earliest and most sort after patterns. A five-piece place setting of Blossom is over $4,000. A cream and sugar is about $8,000. This serving fork was more like $800 or $900.
I am not a big expert on toys, but I’ve seen enough to make an accurate estimate of value once and a while. So, when another Questor member showed me a wind-up tin-litho toy duck pulling a cart of ducklings, I figured it was from the 1930s and about $250.
The piece was marked Lehmann, a name I had heard before, but when I looked it up, found to be one of the earliest German tin-litho toy makers from the 1920s, and very desirable to collectors, This toy was worth about $375, over $100 more than my guess.
Well, no one is perfect, but it’s worth keeping in mind when holiday shopping, that antiques really do make the perfect gifts. Not only are antiques unique, they will continue to hold their value for years into the future.
Arthur Schwerdt, a certified appraiser, is the author of “The Antiques Story Book: Finding the Real Value of Old Things,” and co-owner of The August Farmhouse Antiques on Route 9 in Swainton. Send your comments, questions and appraisal requests to aschwerdt@cmcherald.com.