posted on June 2, 2003 08:49:21 PM new
Thanks, pals! The rest of my hair just turned gray, thinking how close I came to donating it to the thrift shop (where they'd have sold it for $5 at most). Pure profit, too, since it was a hand-me-down from Great-Auntie. Doin' the happy dance, for sure!
posted on June 2, 2003 08:58:24 PM new
Yup, almost! I thought it was homely--I'm a pottery gal myself and clear glass has never appealed to me. It sat around here on my ebay shelves for ages, looking at me, waiting to be adopted or something. But I couldn't have sold it for so much if it wasn't for my friends here who helped me LOADS. I know its book value is 400+ but I'm very happy with half that.
posted on June 2, 2003 10:05:27 PM new
It's real value is what it sells for at auction or the marketplace. The book value is just a guideline.
I hate shipping glassware. The post office and UPS people are such animals.
posted on June 2, 2003 10:17:38 PM new
I think a glass dealer purchased it. I have two glass shows I will be attending in October. Hmm, wander if that pitcher will be displayed in a booth with a $400 or $500 price tag.
Adele, if the item is quality, and unusual or scarce, then it has value. Large pitchers, like butter dishes and such, will get you high prices if you can identify the piece correctly.
I've sold at least six large pitchers out of my home over the last year. When guests and customers drop in, I will have a pitcher filled with freshly brewed iced tea, and another with iced water, if the visit is casual and not a luncheon or afternoon tea. I end up selling the pitchers containing the beverages because the buyer can see how pretty the pitcher is, and how they can use it in their own home. I keep one shelf in my pantry just for the nice glass pitchers. I am too tactful to ask what the buyer has been using prior to the purchase; I assume a plastic container from K-Mart.
Pitchers in amber glass do not sell well. Keep that in mind.
posted on June 2, 2003 11:37:52 PM new
Hotcup: Here's the reply I got tonight from the buyer of this pitcher:
"Hello Adele;
Actually, my fiancé & myself are collectors. We have recently started
selling on eBay ourselves. We decided that we wanted to make room for
future purchases, so we have been starting to weed out glass little by
little. He just happens to collect the pattern that is on the pitcher. You
had said you first email -good sniping. We actually got home like 10 to 15
minutes before the auction ended. He is glad he made it home in time to bid.
It went to a good home, it is an item he plans on keeping for a long time.
I will get your payment out Tuesday."
posted on June 3, 2003 01:04:42 AM new
Adele, that is really neat. I don't know why, but it always seems extra special when a collector wins the bid, versus a dealer. Though I guess it doesn't matter much if the dealer wins.
I use Cambridge Wild Flower and Rosepoint to complement my sets of antique china when I entertain. Normally I use a large cut glass pitcher for the water. I really want a Cambridge water pitcher in one of my etched patterns, in the tilt ball shape. However the few times one pops up on eBay the bidding is fierce, and at the glass shows the tagged prices are even higher, if the vendors even have one. So I understand how thrilled your buyer must be to get one of the rare pieces in the pattern he uses.
At the last glass show I did some bargaining and got a Cambridge Wild Flower covered butter for $200, in the rare rectangular shape, versus the round shape. I entertained with a luncheon recently and got to use my newly acquired covered butter and was quite pleased at how the butter looked on the table with the Cambridge stems.
posted on June 3, 2003 02:50:10 AM new
I am not a collector of fine glass, in fact I really don't like it. In my china cabinet I have a couple of pieces from my mother and it will be difficult to part with although I think it is time. One piece is a vinegar cruet and I think it is rosalie and the other is a eperine from cambridge.
What I use with my dishes, now don't laugh, is the Big top Peanut butter footed glasses from the 50's. Put them in the dishwasher and they shin like crazy. These I don't have to worry about if they get broken. They also go into the dishwasher as I hate to wash dishes. When I was younger I used all fancy dishes, in my older age it is now if it doesn't go into the dishwasher I don't use it. I have a beautiful set of Noritake in my cupboard which I have never used because of that. I think it would be nice to be invited to hotcupoftea's house for one of those fancy outings that she has as it hasn't been for years that I have been to one.
Know what you mean about having your mother's things. I have several pieces of pink depression glass. Some have chips. They aren't perfect and I really don't even like them (I'm not big into glass either). But, it will be next to impossible to part with them. Sigh. My problem is when she offers me things, I take them whether I need them or not. Someday I will be lucky to have these items. In the meantime, I just have more things to dust.
Cheryl
My religion is simple, my religion is kindness.
--Dalai Llama
posted on June 3, 2003 11:29:49 AM new
I don't mind washing all of the glass and porcelain after I entertain. Actually I enjoy it. You see, everything I use is what I like personally. I know the history behind it, how it was made, and why it is special.
For my main set of china I use a set of 19th century Haviland cobalt and gold. I then have subsets of plates, cups, bowls, bouillons, and such that I use to mix and match, each course using a different plate. This way, my table looks different for each luncheon. I like using the odd little things too, like footed nut cups, knife rests and napkin rings. For example, when I have a luncheon, I will use a cobalt plate as the underplate, then use different sets of plates in the luncheon size for the various servings. One set might have a bright blue band and fancy gold, with an artist signed rose nosegay in the middle of the plate. Another set will look different. Or I will use a larger underplate from a subset and put the cobalt on top. There are lots of different possible variations since I have lots of subsets.
And then, guests end up buying things from me and I make a tidy profit. I sell things I was not expecting to sell, things that I had purchased for myself. I found a set of 12 pate knives, Sheffield blades, beautiful clear crystal handles, on eBay for less than $25. I used them at a lucheon and a guest was so enthralled with the knives she paid me $250 for them. I've had guests go into my bathroom and walk out clutching a 19th century art glass, complete with the dried floral arrangement, and I sold the vase and flowers. n my bathrooms, I like to use different types of glass and porcelain boxes and trays to hold my things, and make the bathrooms attractive. My secret is the old glass cigarette boxes are perfect for the bathroom. I particularly like the cigarette box that the Jeannette Co made with a butterfly for the finial. I've sold that box three times now! And on my walls, I place art that is unique, like 19th century artist painted placques in a beautiful frame, and these treasures I find sell also. I maintain a beautiful landscape, you know with paths, benches in nooks, climbing roses, etc, - in other words a place for garden art, and the guests buy that too. I have friends who bring friends, then the new guests turn into friends. The elderly widow ladies like coming to my home because it is a gracious afternoon for them, they can see beautiful historical objects in a natural setting, and all of their questions are answered. I have a lot of fun, make new friends, and do what I enjoy doing the most. The only downside is I limit these social engagements to just a few each month because my husband is in declining health.
And as I said, I don't mind washing the dishes because I find beauty in each piece. I am not afraid of chipping or breaking dishes, because if it happens, then it happens. And it has heppened.
posted on June 3, 2003 12:00:16 PM new
Hotcup: Good Lord! I cannot believe that you do all that in your home--and "only" a few times a month?!!! I'm so exhausted reading about it that I'm going to take a nap now.
posted on June 3, 2003 01:46:22 PM new
I just want to know what time you want us over hotcupoftea!
BTW I remember your husband and you from a previous post. Hope things are going well for you at home these days.
[ edited by glassgrl on Jun 3, 2003 01:53 PM ]
