Antique China and Fine China Collectibles Query About Burslem Manufacturer

by Jef Urquhart
(Edinburgh)

Antique China and Fine China Collectibles Query About Burslem Manufacturer:- My Mother is 76 and was looking at her fine bone china collection which she got as a wedding gift from a bridesmaid 53 years ago. I was trying to find out more info and have been trawling your excellent website but seem to have come to a bit of a dead end.

The Pottery used to be at Leonard Street, Leith Edinburgh and the mark (of which you have said there are thousands) is a crown. The actual pottery mark on the back writing is Leonard St Pottery Fine Bone China BURSLEM.

Any info would be highly appreciated, and the value, as I think my Mother thinks she maybe a millionairess (but it is not even an antique)

Thanks a lot

Jef Urquhart

Reply from Peter (admin) below - just scroll down

HOW I MADE MONEY FROM BITS & BOBS OF OLD CHINA .....more

Reply by Peter (admin)

To:- Antique China and Fine China Collectibles Query About Burslem Manufacturer

Hi Jef

Many thanks for your interesting query about your mother's bone china set.

First thing to say is I never do valuations. Often people ask me for valuations and really, I am not qualified - you need expert training and much antiquarian experience to do that job.

However, what I have done is written a page especially to help my visitors get an idea of the worth of their wares. On it, you have the option of getting in touch with a reliable and bona fide professional appraiser - checked out by me personally.

www.figurines-sculpture.com/antique-china-values.html

By using this link you can find out if the mark is identifiable by experts without you having to pay any money upfront. This service is unique online and is designed to protect my site visitors from wasting their time and money online.

That said, I can at least give you some general info on your mother's tea set.

Although the set is not an antique they can still be worth a fair amount of money in an online auction. At the time of writing, a top end tea set about the same age as your mother's set (for example by prestigious maker Royal Albert), would be worth worth around £70-£100 GBS for a 21 tea piece set consisting of cake plate, milk jug, sugar bowl, six side plates, six tea saucers and six tea cups (note, no tea pot included which can fetch £30-£50 GBS alone).

A full dinner service by Royal Doulton would fetch around £200 GBS consisting of medium meat plate - 13" x 11", small serving plate - 9" x 11" plate, six dinner plates, 5 salad plates, 6 fruit plates, 1 lidded tureens, 1 lidded sauce tureen, 1 sauce boat and underplate.

A less expensive bone china manufacturer such as Colclough or Royal Vale would generally fetch less - for example the same 21 piece tea set would have a value of around £40-£50 GBS (about half the price of the Royal Albert). A single Colclough tea pot can sell for £20 GBS.

Value generally depends upon age and quality of the maker, or whether collectors regard it as rare or collectible, like Shelly or Midwinter for example.

Onto the subject of the maker of your mother's set. You have got me really confused now because although you said the set was made by a 'Crown' pottery manufacturer in Edinburgh, you say the pottery mark is marked as 'Burslem'. Burslem, of course, is one of the famous Stoke-on-Trent 'five towns' in Staffordshire.

I know of no 'Crown' marked maker based in Burslem in the period of time you say these tea set pieces are from. All of the many different Staffordshire 'Crown' makers, as far as I know were based in various other of the five towns, but not Burslem at that time. The most famous of the 'Crown' manufacturers - "Crown Staffordshire" (T. A. Green) were based in the renowned 'Minerva' works in Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent.

The vague labeling of a 'crown' without any mention of a specific maker always suggests a lesser known manufacturer, so presume the lower price rather than the top end prices apply to your mother's set.

Hope this helps. Please leave a comment below if you can shed any more light on the Edinburgh/Burslem confusion.

By the way I should also mention it's always a good idea to upload a photo with any submission.

Peter (admin)

p.s. The following page is a 'must see' if you are researching fine china - for value and identification:-

Researching the identity and value of antique and vintage fine china.