Breakfast Set is Pretty in Pink by Anne McCollam on Creators.com

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Breakfast Set is Pretty in Pink

Q: I have enclosed a photo of my beautiful pink porcelain breakfast set. There are 14 pieces. Each is marked "Victoria Czecho-Slovakia." They are in very good condition, with the exception of the missing sugar bowl.

If you have any information about my set and its value, I would appreciate hearing from you.

A: Victoria Porcelain Factory made your breakfast set. They produced porcelain and earthenware in Bohemia, from 1883 to 1945. Czechoslovakia existed from 1918 to 1992. It is now the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The covered dish is used for serving pancakes; the covered pitchers are for syrup or milk.

Your breakfast set was made in the early 1900s and would probably be worth $175 to $225.

Q: This mark is on the back of 6 dinner plates that I inherited from my aunt. I have always admired them, and she gave them to me when she moved into a retirement home. Each plate, on the borders and in the centers, is decorated with hand-painted red, blue, green and yellow flowers. The background is off-white.

What can you tell me about my heirlooms?

A: Ridgway has made earthenware and semi-porcelain in England since 1879. Bedford Ware was produced at their Bedford, Staffordshire, factory. "Everglades" is the pattern name and "6794" is the design number.

Your plates were made around 1928, and similar plates are selling in the range of $20 to $40 each on the Internet.

Q: We recently purchased an old lithograph in a dilapidated frame.

Overall, it measures about 13 inches by 28 inches. Even though there is some staining from the wood backing and also a little damage along the edges, we liked the colors and bought it. There is a caption that says, "Good Morning" and a copyright mark in the lower left corner that reads "Copyright 1881 Woolson Spice Co., Toledo, Ohio."

I researched online for information on our lithograph, and I found the company sold roasted ground coffee and made advertising cards. How do we repair the small tears and preserve the paper, which is very brittle? Also, what is it worth?

A: You have an advertising chromolithograph that was given away with purchases. Some tears are beyond repair. A good framer experienced with fragile paper could reframe your lithograph to prevent further damage.

Considering the poor condition, your lithograph would probably be worth $50 to $100.

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. To find out more about Anne McCollam and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com