by Helaine Fendelman
and Joe Rosson
Scripps Howard News Service
Dear Helaine and Joe: Enclosed is a photo of what we have been using as a sugar container. However, friends of ours tell us this is an antique and we should have it appraised and insured. The stamp on the bottom says "Raimond" and "silver plate". Are they right? We purchased it for $5 at a garage sale. --C.S., Conifer, Colo.
Dear C.S.: The word "antique" has many definitions. Some say that an item has to be more than 100 years old to be considered an antique and there is even a small group of purists who want objects to be even older than that before they are assigned that designation.
However, in these opening years of the 21st century, there are a growing number of individuals who feel that an "antique" is any item that has come down to us from an earlier time or is a remnant from another generation. To this way of thinking, a tie-dyed T-shirt or a "Jefferson Airplane" concert poster from the 1960s is an antique.
We will not presume to get in the middle of that discussion here, but we will say that, in our opinion, C.S.'s silver-plated, scoop shaped sugar bowl is not an "antique." True, it does have some age, but it is an item that could have been made anytime in the last 40 years or so, and does not speak of a particular time or place even the same way the aforementioned "Jefferson Airplane" concert poster does.
The latest reference we could find states that the Raimond Silver Manufacturing Company is still in business and is located in Chelsea, Mass. The history of this company is a little sketchy, and is probably not all that important here except to say that the piece belonging to C.S. was certainly made after the end of World War II and in all likelihood was made no earlier than the 1960s. The 1970s are a distinct possibility as well.
These serving pieces are not rare by any means and over the years we have seen many of them among the dining room accessories found in estates. Some people seem to have used them for sugar while others employed them to serve after dinner mints. And, frankly, we do not think it matters one way or the other.
The real problem with this piece is that it appears to be in less than perfect condition. In the photograph, we see patches of plating missing around the base and in the "C" scroll that makes up part of the decoration. We also see some green discoloration that may be a photo problem or it may mean that corrosion has attacked the base metal underneath the silver.
Unlike C.S.'s friends, we do not feel this piece needs to be insured, but we do know that it is a popular item at garage and estate sales where we often see them priced for as much as $35. Since the condition is somewhat degraded, $15 is more realistic for the example in today's question.
(Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson are the authors of Treasures in Your Attic . Questions can by mailed to them at P.O. Box 12208, Knoxville, TN 37912-0208.)
Resources Treasures In Your Attic
by Joe L. Rosson, Helaine Fendelman (ISBN: 0060198273)
Subtitled: An entertaining, informative, down-to-earth guide to a wide range of collectibles and antiques from the hosts of the popular television show seen on PBS stations.
(Harper Resource, April 2001)
Order this
title.
Treasures In Your Attic
c/o WSJK/WKOP-TV
1611 E. Magnolia Ave.
Knoxville, TN 37917
Phone: 865-595-0220
Fax: 865-595-0300
Email:
elaine_tomber@wsjk.pbs.org
URL:
www.treasuresinyourattic.org
)
