Who Would Have Thought. . .

Parting with Possessions Could Be Profitable

By Maureen Winer

Imagine having so much stuff in your house that you have to build another, just to live in. Such was the case with one of our clients. His family thought there might be something valuable amongst all the boxes and boxes of items stacked in every corner of the house; the lamps, crystal, pottery, glassware and myriad other collections gathered in every nook and cranny of this unassuming house in the country on some forgotten lane in West Virginia. Little did they know that the five, some thought ugly, oyster plates (see photo inset) on the wall in the bathroom would yield more than $16,000 at auction.

Wedgwood Majolica, Dolphin Pattern , c 1880.

Oyster plates became fashionable around the 1850’s and were used by wealthy Victorians to serve the, then abundant and inexpensive, seafood at their opulent dinners. They went out of fashion during the 1940’s and the very best are rarely used for their intended original purpose. Some of the very best were made in the majolica style, a pottery created in England by Herbert Minton in 1851. The major producers of the period through 1900 were Wedgwood, Minton, Holdcroft and George Jones. Continental manufacturers in France, Belgium, Germany and Austria created their own majolica from the mid-1870s through the 1930’s. There was less of a demand thereafter, but many beautiful plates were still made and can be found through dealers, auctions, and, if you are lucky, in your own home.

So the next time you’re fortunate enough, if ever, to be eating oysters off a beautifully designed plate, do what we do (surreptitiously), pick up the plate (sans food), turn it over and see if you can figure out who made it and what it is worth. Oyster plates are currently available in a wide price range, from under one hundred dollars to the thousands.

Who would have thought?  We did.