Weller Painted Tiles, ca. 1920
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GUEST:
I bought them at an estate sale that individuals were holding, and I paid very little for them and I don't know a lot about them.
APPRAISER:
How much did you pay for them?
GUEST:
I paid a dollar apiece.
APPRAISER:
Rookwood did a lot of different types of pottery. One of the things they're very famous for were the Rookwood scenic plaques, and these tiles are made by the Weller Pottery Company of Zanesville, Ohio, and this is their response to Rookwood's treatment of the plaque form for scenic decoration. These are done by the famous Weller artist Hester Pillsbury. Here's her signature in the corner. Hester is one of their top two or three artists. Actually, the best of these tiles is the center one. It's smaller than the other two, but it's a most unusual motif, with a peacock. I want to show you the mark on the back of this small tile. It says here-- if the camera can pick it up-- "Weller Art Tile." You very seldom see these with any kind of markings. People know what they are primarily because of Hester Pillsbury's and May Timberlake's signatures, the two artists who most frequently appear on them. I'm going to be a little conservative with my estimation, but I would have to say the three tiles are worth somewhere between $7,000 and $10,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my God! I wouldn't have had any idea.
APPRAISER:
They're really quite special, so congratulations.
GUEST:
Oh, thank you so much. Oh, my God! I'm flabbergasted. I really... I really am, because I had no idea.
APPRAISER:
The last one of these I had, I sold for $3,000.
GUEST:
Are you serious? Because you can't really find them in any books or anything. They're just... I just don't really know what to say because I really had no idea.
APPRAISER:
Well, I figured you didn't...
GUEST:
Would you repeat that again? Serious, really?
APPRAISER:
They're worth easily $7,000 and maybe as much as $10,000 for the three tiles.
GUEST:
God...
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