My wife and I are long-term glass collectors and sellers. Every now and again we notice some really interesting glass not selling for much. We keep thinking that if we were going to start a new collection, there are some wonderful vintage glass items that can still be had inexpensively. Here are just three examples of the many “sleepers” that can be still be found. Click on any photo in this article to see a full size photo.

EAPG Garfield Drape

This is a nifty pattern because it has such an interesting history. It was named to commemorate the assassination of US President James Garfield in 1881. (Many glass historians believe the pattern already existed as Festoon and was renamed to honor Garfield.)

It’s a beautiful pattern and except for the elusive cake stand and a few other more expensive items, most pieces can generally be had for under $25. Many sell for much less. A spooner in the pattern priced at $9.99 and a creamer for $8.00 both went unsold on eBay recently.

The Garfield Drape pattern seen here consists of a deep wide swag accompanied by floral details.

(As an aside, there was also a glass pattern made to honor Lincoln after he was assassinated, but Lincoln Drape is currently very collectible and, as a result, pricey.)

Depression Glass – Moderntone in Bright Platonite Colors

The Moderntone pattern is a typical Deco-era pattern of concentric rings. The pattern has many followers for its great cobalt blue color and, to a lesser degree, the amethyst color is also collected.

The pattern also came in fired-on colors, called Platonite by Hazel Atlas. The Platonite colors can be found in light pastels, like baby blue, mint green and pink. It can also be found in rich hues, like bright orange, deep blue and bright yellow. These bright colors seem to sell for the lowest price of all the Moderntone colors. We like them best, however, because we think that the bright color works well with the Deco styling and will add a spot of brightness to any 1930s décor.

A set of 22 pieces in deep colors went unsold at $25 on eBay recently. To our zip code, the shipping would have been $19.10 (before the recent USPS price increase). For under $45, we could have had a heck of a start on a collection!

Orange Moderntone is very plentiful. It looks great alone or when paired with the other rich hues in the Moderntone pattern.

Motto Bread Plates

An essential part of any Victorian table was the bread plate. These plates were either round or oval shaped and often featured the motto “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread.” If we were collecting these, we would collect the ones with the motto. We'd also consider extending our collection beyond glass, as many wonderful pieces can be found in porcelain, silverplate and other materials.

A few well known versions of these have been reproduced in glass, so you will need to do your homework if you decide to collect these. If you don’t mind contemporary versions, the reproductions are attractive and inexpensive, such as the one in the “Horseshoe” pattern, which generally sells in the $10 range. There are also versions in pewter and wood, most dating to the 1970s. There is also a reproduction of a glass Last Supper plate that was made in colors by Tiara in the 1980s. It's heavier than the others — a little clunky by comparison — but it is readily available and might be a nice item to start a collection.

An authentic undamaged EAPG version recently sold on eBay for $14.95 plus $8 shipping. A pretty Bavarian china bread plate with roses sold for $22. More desirable plates sell for more, but many can be had for under $50. If you don't mind spending a little more for unique plates, you can find some really interesting ones. An internet shop currently has a sweet EAPG plate from the 1890s with a kitten and the “Daily Bread” motto for $65.

This bread plate shown is a 1970s era reproduction of an EAPG pattern from the 1880s called Lion & Cable. This piece was made by the L. G. Wright Company and measures 10.5” across. With a little patience, you can find this one fairly inexpensively. The original is 12.25” across and is much less easy to find.

Hint: These are often listed as “bread trays” as well as “bread plates.” A search on those terms along with “daily bread” should get you a good result on any internet search. Or, if you are searching eBay and want to see the EAPG versions, just type in “bread” in the EAPG category. (Take a look at the completed auctions — you may quickly be able to figure out which might be reproductions by the number of unsold ones. If we were just starting a collection, we'd snap some of those up at a good price.)

These are just a few of the interesting items to collect that we feel are going unnoticed by today's collectors. With just a little digging, we are guessing you can find many more examples. Happy hunting!

Author’s Note: Just wanted you to know that I am not currently offering any of these items for sale nor am I professionally affiliated with anyone who is. No advertising here, just musings!

Featured Sellers

Recently featured sellers in the GPSA in May and June were cranberrymanor, rose6735, and roxannesebastian. We encourage you to click on their seller IDs and visit their eBay auctions.

by bpprat Bill

The Blenko Museum was founded in 2000 by the earliest leading expert in Blenko glass. Their mission is to organize and facilitate the public exhibition of Blenko glass and to advance scholarly interest by preserving and promoting the history of the Blenko Glass Company, focusing on the Historic Period of 1947-1974.

With hundreds of items in their collection, the Blenko Museum is the only organization devoted solely to the exhibition of Blenko Glass. Their extensive collection covers the work of all seven resident designers and all eight decades of Blenko Glass production.

by wgpaul Bill

How much are a couple of Brownies worth? Well, if they are Palmer Cox Brownies painted on a pair of Napoli pattern glass shakers made by Mt. Washington Glass, then they are worth $6,000. Skinner, Inc. in Massachusetts sold this pair to a live auction bidder for that exact amount this past winter.

Palmer Cox was an illustrator whose playful Brownies became popular in the late 19th century. His first Brownie book, The Brownies, was followed by fifteen additional books of adventures with his little men, including The Brownies At Home, The Brownies Around The World, and The Brownie Primer. The Brownies were so popular, they began appearing on all sorts of items, including banks, toys, coffee tins and even beer steins. Kodak even used them to advertise their first handheld box camera — the camera we know today as the Brownie.

The Napoli pattern, featuring a raised web-like design, is occasionally found with these little men painted on them. These pieces are considered rare. The shakers far exceeded the $150 - $250 auction estimate placed by Skinner. Around the same time, James D. Julia, Inc. of Maine sold a Napoli biscuit jar also decorated with Palmer Cox Brownies for $5,462.50, also exceeding auction estimates.

So the next time you see a piece of glass with handpainted little men, you may want to look extra carefully at them. You might just be lucky enough to find some Brownies of your own!

Photo courtesy of Skinner, Inc.

It happens every day! You anticipate receiving an item you won at auction. It arrives, and you open the box to see...pottery shards or slivers of glass!

Have you noticed how some auction photos just seem to scream “BUY ME!” while others are so fuzzy and far away you’re not sure what is being offered?

We share a few practical tips on the entire auction experience, from writing the auction, taking the photos, to packing the item to help you get that item safely to your buyer! Our GPSA website offers a more in-depth look at valuable packing and photo tips. Please visit and have a look around!

International Shipping tips - USPS

• International Shipping Simplified (USPS)
• An invoice in duplicate is required for all commercial shipments (Simply defined a commercial shipment is considered to be a transaction between a buyer and a seller and this includes eBay) regardless of value and all personal shipments (*or gifts) valued at $300 or more. This means 2 copies of an invoice on the outside of the package under the shipping labels in the envelope.
• Airmail parcel post, global priority mail, and economy parcel post now are priority mail international
• Airmail letter post and economy letter post are now first-class mail international
• You can now use the priority boxes for priority mail international (but not first-class mail international).

No reserve clearance sales, less than TWO DOLLARS!

GPSA sellers are still listing clearance items. All items start at an opening bid of $1.99 or less. Don’t miss this opportunity to pick up a bargain from one of our reliable GPSA sellers! All sellers abide by the GPSA guidelines found on our home page.

Find a bargain! Deals and Steals!

To see Shazaam listings at any time, click here. Check back often — sellers add items all the time!

We’re so happy to have you join us!!

The following eBay sellers became GPSA members in April and May. As members of the GPSA, they have committed to upholding the standards of the Glass & Pottery Sellers’ Association.

putergirlpoodle

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