Japanese Porcelain Set Still Pours a Profitable Cup of Tea by Anne McCollam on Creators.com

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Japanese Porcelain Set Still Pours a Profitable Cup of Tea

Q: I am enclosing a photo of a "Mickey Mouse" porcelain tea set that was given to my daughter many years ago. The set consists of a teapot, serving platter, tureen, sauce dish, cream pitcher, sugar bowl, and six each of cups, saucers and lunch plates. The dishes are all decorated with Mickey Mouse figures against a tan iridescent glaze with blue trim. Marked on the bottom of the teapot are the words: "Mickey Mouse — GOPR by Walt E. Disney — Made in Japan."

Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

A: You have a gold luster tea set that was made in Japan around 1930; it is a very popular collectible. Take another look at the mark. The letters "GOPR" should be "COPR," which stand for "Copyrighted."

Your tea set would probably be worth $300 to $600.

Q: This mark is on the bottom of my teapot. Decorated with pastel flowers, it stands 6 inches tall and is in perfect condition. An antique dealer told me the pattern is "Bow-Knot."

What can you tell me about my teapot?

A: Hull Pottery made your teapot in the mid-1900s. They started out in 1905 in Zanesville, Ohio, and later located to Crooksville, Ohio. Hull produced a wide range of art pottery that included teapots, cookie jars, vases, kitchenware, dishes, banks and decorative pieces. The pottery company closed in 1985.

Assuming your teapot is Hull's "Bow-Knot," it is listed in "Schroeder's Antiques Price Guide" at $450 to $650.

Q: I have a Rookwood vase that is 10 inches tall and in mint condition.

Their flame-tipped mark along with the Roman numerals "XXIII" and the number "901-C" are on the bottom. The vase is decorated with blue flowers against a glossy light blue background.

When was my vase made and what is it worth?

A: Rookwood Pottery made art pottery in Cincinnati from 1879 to 1967. They first used the flame point mark in 1886, adding a point each year until 1900. From that time on, they included Roman numerals to indicate the year each piece was created. "XXIII" shows your vase was made in 1923, and "901-C" is the design number.

Your vase would probably be worth $3,000 to $4,000.

Q: When I was a child around 1980, I was given a Fisher-Price "Little People Doll House." Measuring 15 inches by 9 inches, it contains a handle on the roof for carrying, furniture, a Masonite base as well as the little people. The English Tudor house has an attached garage with a roll-up door, a doorbell and blue doors.

Does it have any value?

A: Your 1980s vintage doll house is often referred to as a "Tudor Brown House." It would probably fetch $50 to $100 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. 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.