Watson Silver Demitasse Pot, ca. 1915
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GUEST:
I brought a sterling silver teapot.
APPRAISER:
And where did you get it?
GUEST:
In my hometown of New Haven. I was walking home from school with my dad one day...
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
....and we came across a box that said "free." And what appealed to me about this item is that it had a G on it, which is the first letter of my name, and it looked interesting, like it had history. I think it's a teapot, but I call it a genie's lamp, because when I was five, I wished to be on TV.
APPRAISER:
It's what they call a demitasse pot, which would be used for coffee, rather than tea.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And this was probably part of a set. And the the G on there is probably a family name of whoever this belonged to at one point. You're right that it's sterling silver. Why did you think it was sterling?
GUEST:
Well, if you flip it over...
APPRAISER:
Yeah?
GUEST:
...it says "sterling" on the bottom of it.
APPRAISER:
Ah-hah, it does say "sterling." If it's 92.5% silver, then it qualifies to be sterling, and it will be marked "sterling." This laurel wreath and, and the sword, that's the mark for Wilcox & Wagoner. It's a company out of New York City and they made silver objects, trinkets, vanity items. And then in 1900, another company, Watson, they were commissioned to make hollowware, which, this is called hollowware, for Wilcox & Wagoner. In 1905, Wilcox & Wagoner went out of business.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
But Watson continued making, and they used the same mark until 1929. So your demitasse pot dates between 1900 and 1929.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
Teapots usually have short spouts. You know the song "I'm a Little Teapot"? For coffee, it's a longer spout.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And if you look inside, you'll see it's almost like a filter in there, and that would keep the grounds from going into the coffee cup.
GUEST:
Huh!
APPRAISER:
These are called heat stops. Metal conducts heat, so if you have a hot liquid, it could burn your hand.
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRAISER:
But these would stop the heat and make the handle cool enough that you could pour it into the cup.
GUEST:
Interesting.
APPRAISER:
These are made of ivory. There are laws against selling ivory, so you can take those off if you were to ever sell it.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
At auction, it would probably be estimated in a range of, like, $250 to $350 for auction.
GUEST:
Wow! Wow, for something I found on the side of the road, that's amazing.
APPRAISER:
I hope you find some more stuff on the side of the road.
GUEST:
Yeah, thank you.
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