I own a collection of Liberty Blue dinnerware that consists of eight place settings, eight cereal bowls, two vegetable bowls, a 12-inch platter and gravy boat with tray. The bottoms of several pieces are marked "Original Copper Engravings of Historic Colonial Scenes / Printed on Staffordshire Ironstone / detergent and dishwasher safe / Made in England." They are in pristine condition. What is their value and how should I sell them?
E.Y., Allentown
A: Liberty Blue dinnerware began as a regional promotion by the Benjamin Franklin Federal Savings and Loan Association, a Pacific Northwest financial institution, which was founded in 1925. The company's home office was in Portland, Oregon.
Enoch Wedgwood, in England's historic Staffordshire district, was contracted to create a pattern of blue and white dinnerware featuring historical scenes from American Colonial history. Each form had a different scene. A border featuring a mixture of wildflowers helped unify the set.
The association launched the promotion in 1975. When a subscriber made a new deposit of $50, he received a free four-piece place setting. Additional settings could be purchased.
Additional pieces were available for purchase. If a customer deposited $1,000, he could buy a 45-piece set for $45.
In October 1976, the association announced it was discontinuing the promotion at the end of the year. After that time, customers could order pieces from the Sigma Marketing Co. of Garden City, N.J.
Liberty Blue dinnerware was also offered to grocery stores nationwide for promotional use.
The dinnerware disappeared from the scene by the mid-1980s.
The arrival of eBay created a market for the dinnerware as original purchasers and those who inherited sets wanted to complete them or add accessory pieces. In 2002, Debbie and Randy Coe authored "Liberty Blue Dinnerware," published by Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
As with any dinnerware, real value rests with the larger, less produced items, such as the 12-inch platter or soup tureen. The standard four-piece place setting (dinner plate, cup, saucer, and bread and butter plate) is a tough sell. Most listed on eBay fail to attract a bid.
There is disparity between book value and eBay pricing. A covered vegetable bowl that books between $125 and $145 sold on eBay for $75 ($62.00 $13.00 shipping). The less expensive the piece, the closer the two sources agree.
The total secondary market retail value for your set is somewhere between $300 and $350. I usually advise a seller to split up a dinnerware service and sell the hollow pieces separately. In the case of your Liberty Blue, I recommend selling it as a group, making the buyer take the less desirable items to get at the more desirable pieces.
Q: About 10 years ago I bought a fountain pen for $1 at a swap meet. I recently rediscovered it while browsing through my "treasures." I would like to know more about my pen which was made by Parker Pen Co. The tip says "18kt. gf. / 1907." The pen has a gold snake that appears to be wrapped around the pen and removable top. The snake's head has green eyes.
M.M., Hannibal, Mo.
A: While serving as a teacher in Janesville, Wis. in the 1880s, George S. Parker sold and repaired pens as a sideline. He secured financial backing from W.F. Palmer, an insurance salesman, and founded the Parker Pen Co. in 1888.
When filing his patent for an over-and-under feed pen, Parker discovered someone already had patented his pen idea. Parker contacted the patent holder and bought the rights. Now that Parker owned the competing rights, he could file his own patent, which he did on Dec. 10, 1889.
Company literature often uses 1892 as the starting date of the company. That year Parker introduced the "Lucky Curve" pen, a modification that prevented a blob of ink from developing at the pen's point when stored. In 1898, in answer to strong competition from the Waterman pen, Parked redesigned his "Lucky Curve" as an underfeed pen. Immediately thereafter, the company experienced an enormous growth spurt.
George Fischler and Stuart "Schneider's Fountain Pens and Pencils: The Golden Age of Writing Instruments" (Schiffer Publishing, 1990) provides this information about your snake pen: "One of the legends among pen collectors is the Parker "Snake' pen, a black hard rubber eyedropper-filler pen with a sterling silver or gold-filled green-eyed snake wound around the barrel and cap. It was made for a few years beginning in 1906 and was not Parker's most expensive pen of the time. For whatever reason, a mystique surrounds this pen and makes it one of the most desirable pens made. In addition to the "Snake,' Parker made some of the most beautiful pens with gold, silver and mother-of-pearl overlays in the first 15 years of this (20th) century."
Fountain pens were "hot" in the late 1980s and early 1990s. As in many other collecting categories, eBay had a profound impact on the fountain pen market. Commonly found examples flooded into the market. Even scarce examples appeared on a regular basis.
During the early 1990s, several price guides listed the Parker "Snake' pen at prices ranging from $12,000 to $15,000.
Assuming your pen is in very good condition, its value in today's secondary market is around $7,000, still not bad for a $1 swap-meet find. Had the snake been sterling silver rather than gold-filled, Schneider indicated its value would jump to around $12,000.
Finally, Schneider noted that Waterman also manufactured a very limited quantity of "snake" pens. Today these are the snake pens that pique the most interest among collectors.
Q: I own a child's sled dating from the early 1930s. There is a "Billy and Ruth" logo on the seat. What can you tell me about it?
R.H., Quakertown
A: This is one of those questions where I know the answer, but I would like to know more. Billy and Ruth, "America's Favorite Toy Children," appeared on the cover of Christmas toy catalogs dating from as early as 1930 and lasting into the late 1950s or early 1960s. I have several in my collection.
I searched the Internet trying to determine who assembled and published the Billy and Ruth catalogs, but was unsuccessful. I could not narrow my search properly. In the back of my mind, I vaguely remember reading an article about these catalogs, but could not locate it in my files. If any of my readers knows the "Billy and Ruth" history, please e-mail or send me a photocopy.
In a Web site encouraging individuals to share life memories, I found the following: "But just before Christmas every year we got a catalog I called the Billy and Ruth catalog. I don't know if Billy and Ruth was the name of the company. I somehow doubt it. But they were the main characters and the catalog showed all sorts of wonderful toys they enjoyed playing with and they -- and I -- could ask for, for Christmas. The cover showed them looking at the catalog. It was amazing and wondrous for a small child to see and opened my imagination. I was an only child and in the winter Billy and Ruth were my playmates."
Billy and Ruth catalogs were distributed by local department, hardware and toy stores that sold toys at Christmas. The bottom of the front page was imprinted with the name of the merchant. I am not certain whether the merchant stocked all the toys found in the catalog. I suspect he took orders for those he did not. Whether he ordered them directly from the manufacturer or from a central warehouse is unknown to me.
Apparently, the company that produced the catalog did some "Billy and Ruth" branding. This would explain the decal found on your sled.
Unfortunately, you provided only minimal information and no photograph. Hence, any comments about value are highly speculative. Questions that come immediately to mind are: what size is the sled, can it be steered, and what is its condition? Assuming it is a one-person sled and used and in fair to good condition, its value is most likely under $50.