GUEST: This was a gift from my parents. They bought it for me when I was a child. My dad bought it at an auction at DeValls Bluff, Arkansas, and paid somewhere between $40 and $50 for it.
APPRAISER: We've got this wonderful little tea set for one. We've got a cup and saucer here. And a tray to put everything on. We've got a sugar bowl, and then here is the little teapot. And this set has marks all over it. It's really nice when things are very well-marked. If we look at the mark here on the bottom it says that it was made in Limoges, France, by the Theodore Haviland company. It also says "déposé," which is kind of like copyrighted or patented. And then also on the tail is the signature of the man who designed the set. And his name was Edouard Sandoz.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: Haviland was famous for making sets of china, like you eat off of, and they made big sets of china. They shipped absolutely millions of them to the United States. There were plain ones, fancy ones, sets of every kind. Starting in the teens, they began to lose their business to china made in the United States and other countries. And so they were trying to think of ways to increase their business. And one thing that this company did is they hired a famous sculptor whose name was Edouard Sandoz. And this is one of the things that he designed. It's highly collectible by people who like his work, but it's also highly collectible by Haviland collectors. I've known a number of Haviland dealers over the years, and whenever they get these pieces in, they don't sell them. They keep it for themselves. You don't really see that much of it. The set was discontinued, and then after the war it was so popular with collectors, even starting as early as the '60s, that in the '70s it was reissued under the Haviland name for Tiffany and Company.
GUEST: Oh!
APPRAISER: But those pieces are clearly marked. They are still made by Haviland but they're clearly marked as reproductions. These are old original ones. And it's really wonderful that you've got the whole set. It's all in great condition. This set is probably worth at least $2,000 to $3,000.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: So your father's $40 investment for his adorable little baby girl has turned out to be a little bit of serious money here.
GUEST: Right. I plan to save it. I will have a granddaughter someday. So this will be hers.
APPRAISER: Well, hopefully you will, and that will be great for her. And if not, maybe you'll have some grandsons who will like it.
GUEST: That's right, that's right.
