Ironstone, autograph books peaked in late 19th century

A specially decorated version of English pottery that became a marketing sensation and a small autograph book made near the end of a centuries-old tradition are the subjects of today’s What’s It Worth?

Q. This piece was handed down in the family. It was given to my grandmother over 50 years ago by her close friend, whose mother’s family brought it with them when they immigrated to the U.S. from England. I’m curious about the history and value of this item. — Mari from Kennewick

A. English ironstone china — as this is called — has been around since the late 1700s. The makers — mostly in the Staffordshire Potteries area near the center of England — invented a new process that allowed them to make tableware items with an appearance that was an imitation of expensive porcelain. The look-alike was tougher and could take wear and tear that would ruin porcelain.

The original ironstone was very plain with no decoration except, occasionally, in-mold designs of fruits or flowers.

Mari’s piece is a later example of this work and is called Tea Leaf Ironstone. The brown or copper lustre design of a single tea leaf was added to the plainer ware in the late 1880s and became instantly popular.

The updated design was first used by English firms and the runaway sales success of tea leaf soon saw the items being made by a number of American factories too. Today many collectors concentrate on the output of Staffordshire ironstone makers, including Alfred Meakin.

Meakin was established in 1875 and this piece dates from about 1895.

Twenty years ago, the collector following for tea leaf ironstone was much more robust than it is today. Back then this gravy or sauce boat would have been fairly priced between $75 to $100. Times change and so do values.

In today’s market, the price sticker would read somewhere between $25 and $35. The value would increase if it was paired with an original underplate.

Why the tea leaf was chosen as the design is unknown. There was a superstition — backed by readers of tea leaves — that it was an auspicious sign if a whole tea leaf unfolded at the bottom of your cup.

Q. This is an embossed velvet autograph book given to our grandmother by our grandfather, Sam Fallang, in 1905 before they were married. Sam also served as sheriff of Sweet Grass County, Mont. What can you tell us? — Ruth in Richland

A. Autograph books go back much, much further than you might imagine. The oldest record of such a thing — the stammbuch, a “book of friends” in German — dates to 1545.

By the 1600s, they were common among students and scholars at universities in central Europe. Their popularity was almost exclusively in Germanic countries and Holland and they were only known to the very small class of educated people who could read and write.

Autograph books had an equivalent in China at about the same time. Hand fans were signed by friends and the owner could then “hold friends in one’s hand” when they were apart.

German immigrants brought the autograph album idea to America and their popularity took off here, peaking during and immediately after the Civil War.

This small and attractive album marks the period at the end of their heyday — which came about in the early 20th century.

Autograph albums — filled not only with signatures, but also poems, personal sentiments, best wishes and sometimes full page drawings — have never completely disappeared. Many of our readers will remember them from their childhood and adolescence and some are still being filled out today.

They have, however, been mostly replaced by school annuals, friendship books and guest registers at events ranging from weddings to funerals.

And, as a reminder of absent friends, the modern generation has today’s autograph album equivalent stored on their smartphone as selfies.

Values for albums like this are not high and they are not widely collected. Much of their content is personal and family in nature. Unless someone famous has signed a page, most will sell for less than $50.

This story was originally published February 7, 2015 at 11:23 PM with the headline "Ironstone, autograph books peaked in late 19th century."