Q: Enclosed you will find a photo of a toleware dinner pail that was given to my mom by one of her friends in Maine many years ago. It is in good shape, and the cup on the top is still with it. The overall height is 12 inches including the handle, and the diameter of the base is 6 inches.

What can you tell me about the history and value of my toleware dinner pail?

A: Toleware refers to tin pieces that are usually black and hand-painted with flowers or shapes. The word is based on the French words "tole peinte," which mean "painted metal." The craft, tole painting, began in Europe in the 18th century and quickly spread to the United States. Some of the most popular pieces include dinner pails, trays, coal bins, candlesticks, document boxes, lamps and coffee pots. The dinner pails with matching cups were often used by either coal miners or railroad workers.

Your toleware dinner pail would probably be worth $50 to $100.

Q: This mark is on each piece of a porcelain dresser set that I bought over 40 years ago. The set includes a perfume bottle, a small tray, a large tray, a covered dish and a dish with a lid that has a hole in it. It is decorated with pastel flowers, green leaves and vines against a white background. The set is in mint condition.

My 13-year-old granddaughter always asks about it, and since I plan to surprise her with it on her birthday, I would like to provide her with information on its background and value.

A: You can tell your granddaughter that it is a dresser set that was made in the Victorian era. The covered dish is for powder, and the dish with opening in the lid is called a hair receiver. Victorian ladies brushed their hair in the evening and placed any hair caught in their brushes in hair receivers. The small tray is for pins. Heinrich and Company made your set. It has been located in Selb, Bavaria, Germany, since 1896.

Your set might fetch $100 to $150 in an antiques shop.

Hand-painted tin began being made in Europe in the 18th century.

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.