Family heirloom is placed on a pedestal
Q. Enclosed is a photo of a glass pedestal cake stand that originally belonged to my grandmother. It is clear glass with a cranberry-colored edge, and it stands about 9 inches tall. We treasure our memories of our mother using it to serve our birthday cakes.
I plan to pass it along to my daughter and hope you can provide information on its maker, vintage and insurance value.
A. Your pedestal cake stand was made by United States Glass Co. It was a consortium of glass factories located in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia. You have an example of early American Pattern Glass. It is the non-flint clear pressed glass pattern "Manhattan," and it is decorated with a ruby-colored stain on the edge. It was also available in clear with blue or green stains. United States Glass Co. produced a plethora of Manhattan pattern items including cake stands in three sizes, spoon holders, biscuit jars, berry sets, goblets, saltshakers, pickle castors, celery vases and tumblers. It featured these items in its 1904 domestic catalog.
In the 1950s, Tiffin Glass reissued a batch of the Manhattan pieces, and Anchor Hocking produced several reproductions.
Your pedestal cake stand is circa 1904 and should be insured for $150 to $200.
Q. This mark is on the bottom of a porcelain bowl that my mother's best friend gave her for her birthday 30 years ago. Also included with the mark are the words "T & V - Depose." The bowl has a cream background and is decorated with red-orange poppy flowers and embellished with gold. It is about 11 inches in diameter and in mint condition.
No one in the family knows anything about it. Could you tell us its history and value?
A. The mark you provided was used by Pickard China in Chicago. The letters "T & V" represent Tressemanes and Vogt, a porcelain factory located in Limoges, France. In the early 1900s, Pickard China purchased porcelain blanks from European manufacturers and decorated them in their Chicago studio. Your bowl was one of the blanks. It was hand-painted with the "Poppy" pattern by Picard's artist John Loh around 1905. Because he decorated so many pieces with the popular pattern, he became known as "Poppy John." Pickard China is now located in Antioch.
Your bowl was used to serve berries and is circa 1950. Small matching individual bowls were available. It would probably fetch $300 to $325 in an antiques shop.
• Address your questions to Anne McCollam, P.O. Box 247, Notre Dame, IN 46556. Items of a general interest will be answered in this column. Due to the volume of inquiries, she cannot answer individual letters.
© 2017, Creators Syndicate