Q: I served in the U.S. Air Force, and for some time was stationed in England. We’re wondering about something we got there. We call it a clay bowl. Marks on the bottom are clear, but I only recently found out what they mean. Can you help with value?
A: Our reader already qualifies as a smart collector because he used the Internet to track marks and discover what he has. Keying in the incised word “Langley” brought him to a British collector group for Langley Pottery. A contact there informed him on the maker’s history, but would not venture into market value.
That sort of reticence is par for collector groups. Collector organizations are about finding history and disseminating accurate information, not assigning value. Plus, in this case, a UK group would probably have little info on dollar value.
To clue readers, Langley Mill Pottery was founded in Derbyshire in 1865. The company made a variety of stoneware from ink bottles, mugs, and bottles, to art pottery.
Designs fall into distinct eras, and collectors (most are in the UK) tend to favor a specific time. The Langley Mill pottery closed in 1982, but the company continues and now makes stoneware as Denby Pottery.
Seen in wonderful color photocopies sent, the reader has a large decorative flowerpot or jardiniere — minus the pedestal base of a traditional jardiniere. Think of a large fish bowl shape done in pottery and you get the idea.
A flowing Art Nouveau floral design incised on the sides then painted in pink and green with gold indicates that the bowl dates from 1910-1920.
An e-reply to the reader from the Langley and Denby Pottery Collector’s Society tells him that then, the Langley Mill factory made many jardinieres in a variety of sizes and designs, gilded or without gold.
But our reader wants to learn about value. The “how” is easy, and anyone can do it. Start on Google by keying the name of your pot or toy, shoes, or whatever to see if anyone has something similar for sale. Sums quoted may be wishful thinking, but it’s a start.
Next, try eBay to see if something similar to yours is for sale. Check sold items, as well, to learn true market value.
Then key www.liveauctioneers.com to view similar items that sold at auction. Pay for short-term use of www.worthpoint.com to study years of results on eBay.
We followed that rubric and saw over 100 sold Langley jardinieres of all kinds on liveauctioneers.com. None were exactly like the reader’s. We did note that most sold for $50-$75.
On eBay, we spotted a jardiniere in the same design but with a different top edge that sold for $31.87. In completed sales, we found an identical jardiniere sold on eBay this August by a UK seller who asked the equivalent of $60 U.S. dollars. The seller accepted an unspecified best offer, which was probably in the range of that ask. The buyer also had to pay shipping.
Our reader writes that his wife will not part with the piece. At least now they know what it is and its current market value.
