I would like to thank you all for the great response I have had to this valuation section. I do respond to everyone through this column, some items taking a little more research than others but all will be answered when I have the relevant information. Please keep sending them in. You never know what might be discovered!
Dear Grandma Greenwood,
Your main item is called an Eperne, which is an ornamental centrepiece for a dining table and would have been used to hold flowers.
It is marked EPNS which stands for “electroplated nickel silver”.
Electroplating involves placing an extremely thin layer of silver on the surface of the piece. The resulting silver content is very small. The remainder of the piece is made of some more common metal such as copper.
If your Eperne was silver it would have sold between £150 – 200, but a plated one will only fetch £20 – 30.
Your other items appear to be silver plated as well but I could not tell without looking at the marks. If they are all silver plate they would sell for under £100.
Dear Stacey,
Your teaset is made of what we call eggshell china. If you hold it up to the light you will see a geisha girl in the bottom of the cups. I have seen lots of different types of these including some rather rude ones! Many British soldiers brought them back after WW2.
In the 1960’s a full set of 12 cups, saucers, plates and teapot used to sell for £200 – 300 as the American market loved them. Since then there have been many reproductions made and they are still being made today. The market is flooded, they are no longer so popular and the price has consequently fallen. Your tea set would sell for less than £30. It may be worth finding the missing items and keeping it for the future.
Dear Sharon,
Thank you for your email and photos of your book “A Booke of Svndry Dravghtes” (Sundry Draughts) first published in 1615.
This is the first published manual for glaziers. The book offers patterns and instructions for outfitting leaded window frames, as well as for painting and firing images onto glass, or ‘annealing’.
The first thing to establish is which edition this book is and the second is its condition. There are often many editions of books and the value will vary greatly.
Quite often you will see brown marks on the pages, which your book appears to have. This is known as foxing.
Foxing is a term describing the age-related spots and browning seen on vintage paper documents such as books, postage stamps, certificates etc. The name may derive from the fox-like reddish-brown colour of the stains, or the rust chemical ferric oxide which may be involved. To prevent this happening keep in a cool dry place. Removing the marks of foxing should generally be left to a skilled book conservator or preservationist.
I have seen first editions in good condition on sale for £300 – 500.
Dear Mary,
Thank you for your email and photos of your lovely boy and girl ornaments.
They are spill vases for holding spills to light the candles from the fire and would have originally stood on either side of the mantelpiece above a Victorian fireplace. The lustre finish would have reflected the light from the coal fire adding to the appearance of the figures.
There are many reproductions about in today’s market and with the advent of central heating, the popularity of these ornaments has sadly diminished.
They are worth between £30-50.
Dear Peter,
Thank you for your email regarding the photo of the Queen with a regiment in 1942.
There are many photographs of the Queen offered for sale between £20 – 200. If you could find the families of the people in the photograph you could perhaps start a bidding war!
It should be noted that the copyright laws now apply to photographs as well as to artwork. The Artist Resale Rights states that any item sold over 1000 euros requires a tax of 4% to be paid to the living artists or to their descendants up to 70 years after their deaths.
You may be sat on a treasure trove! It is often the items that you think are worthless that can turn out to be the most valuable.
Not sure? Then send an email to antiques@yorkshirereporter.co.uk. I will answer everyone.
Look forward to valuing for you
Gary Don
