How cute, I thought when I saw the small porcelain dresser set on a tray inside a glass case at the auction house. There was nothing fancy about it: It was gilt-trimmed like many of the early porcelain pieces I often see at auction, this one with soft pink and scalloped accents.
The set included a quaint little pitcher and wash basin whose adult counterpart was common in some homes in the late 19th and early 20th century before indoor plumbing. I have a full-size one – English made – that I picked up at auction years ago. I don’t use it in any way, but I can’t seem to part with it. The pitcher and basin usually sat atop wooden washstands where people could wash up.
Some of the other pieces mimicked what a little girl might see on her mother’s dressing table. Lying next to the set was a handwritten note.
I would normally have brushed right past the set, but the note on aged paper caused me to pause. I asked to see the tray, and lifting up the note, I saw an envelope underneath it marked “Personal” along with a child’s name.
The note – rather, a letter since it ran over two pages – was written in ball-point pen not fountain ink so it wasn’t as old as I first thought. I started to read:
“To Tam (the name was not clear) who has always felt like a daughter to me I give this treasure. These tiny cups and saucers were presents at my first birthday party Feb. 8, 1901 when I was 6 years old. I have cherished them all these years because when I looked at them I lived that party again and felt the joy I had when I opened each present. They were never used to drink from but were purely ornamental placed on a small table or stand in parlor or dining room. I well remember the stand full of them in a corner of our dining room. … I hope you like them. I want you to have them because I love you.”
It was signed by her Aunt Ruth.
I didn’t turn the pieces over to see if there was a maker’s mark on the bottom, but this didn’t seem to be an expensive set. I suspect that it was unmarked, because the auctioneer didn’t mention a manufacturer’s name when it came up for sale.
He did mention its provenance, pulling details from the note. I don’t recall how much the set sold for, but I found one like it on eBay that went for $24.99. I hope the dealer who bought it didn’t pay much for it.
Regardless of the price, it was a sweet sentimental gesture. Too bad the set ended up here rather than among a family’s heirlooms.
