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WHO YOU GONNA CALL? GOSS BUSTERS!
I have no great interest in Goss, Arcadian and other crested wares, but I sometimes see the pieces at auction in sad little groups, huddled together in jewellery cabinets or forlornly ranged across melamine trays on the smalls table. I feel a little sorry for them. So many seaside memories, so quickly cast aside. They are like china versions of other people’s photographs, the ones that turn up in boxes of ephemera (usually in old brown albums that are helpfully labelled ‘photographs’ in gilt letters on the front so that they are not mistaken for sideboards or steamrollers). Snaps of mysterious men with large moustaches perched awkwardly in small deckchairs, pictures of old ladies of 90 standing by shiny new Model T Fords looking bewildered and pictures of old maids of 30 standing by the garden gate looking sad.
But at Willingham Auctions, I found myself, much to my surprise, buying a piece of Goss. It was a model of the Lincoln Imp; it carried no crest but was simply stamped with the factory’s name. It cost £12.
And that has prompted me to ask Nicholas Pine, GAN’s property expert, to cast his mind back a few years to a time when he researched and wrote a number of books about Goss and crested, or heraldic, china. What is the story behind this stuff? Is it still worth buying or is it, like other people’s photographs and other people’s memories, best left alone?
As we have found with Tony Bamforth’s recent columns on postcards, the wisdom that is to be found in one field of collecting may be equally applicable to many others, so even if you have no great interest in these little porcelain pieces, read on…
As well as being involved in the property business, I have also been an antique and porcelain dealer for the past 30 years. And much as it unsettles other people, I can switch from one business to another instantly.
When I first started dealing in heraldic porcelain some 40 years ago, junk-shop shelves were groaning with crested china that could be bought for 3p and 6p a piece. I bought all I could afford and, over the years, gradually developed a market in the china. This market became mature some fifteen years ago and I concentrated on writing price guides and encyclopaedia on the subject, while my ex-wife specialised in buying and selling and making a market in this china. As one who has written and published the definitive price guides on the subject for some 25 years and who has watched the market intensely for even longer, I consider that I am quite a good judge of what moves prices. And what is the main determinant of price movement? In a word, collectability.
Yes, desirability (which is a form of demand) forces prices up. In any collecting field, the unusual or the rare always attracts the serious and not so serious collector, while the mundane is always available at any price.
When prices rise, rare and desirable pieces increase at a faster rate than the more boring and easily available. However, perhaps thanks to the low prices on eBay, Goss china has slumped a little. This may not be a bad thing. For any dealer can buy at wholesale prices on eBay, put their stock in shops, market stalls, arcades and earn a decent retail margin, which needs to be 100–200%.
All it needs is time, effort and self-taught expertise. I have written several price guides to pieces of Goss and other crested china and also arms and decorations on Goss china (of which there are some 7,000 variations); so, to help you along, the Editor has asked me to give you some idea of what to look out for: here goes.
Goss china is white parian porcelain made in Victorian and Edwardian times by William Henry Goss in Stoke-on-Trent. His factory worked to a high standard, and each piece was emblazoned with a coat of arms or similar decoration. Not all Goss pieces are really collectable, as I have said, but the 700 models of specific historical artefacts, buildings and local tourist sites from all over the country are well worth looking out for.
These pieces all have a description on the base explaining what they are models of, and they are much sought after by collectors.
For example, a two-handled vase, 63 mm high and inscribed “The Exeter Vase from the Original in the Museum” currently sells for around £10. Fine so far, but here is a good tip: if it has the matching arms of Exeter, it will be worth double that. So, look carefully for pieces that are named models and then see if the coat of arms matches the location of the piece. Here’s another example: the model of a Roman cinerary urn found at Felixstowe bearing the arms of Felixstowe is worth two to three times the price of one bearing the arms of any other town in the country.
Goss also made a range of 56 cottages or houses, and these are keenly sought after, too. These are coloured and named on the base. The more common ones – say the model of Anne Hathaway’s or Shakespeare’s cottage in Stratford-upon-Avon – would sell for £90 for a small version. A range of animal and birds, crosses and fonts (most of these in white or brown unglazed parian ware) are also keenly sought after and tend to sell for £100–£300. Look out for them.
Goss china is a complicated subject as there are some 2,500 different shapes in total with up to 7,000 decorations. All of these are priced and valued in The Concise Encyclopaedia and Price Guide to Goss China and the Price Guide to Arms and Decorations on Goss China, both written by me. I assure you, I get no royalty or profit if you purchase either of these books, having given the entire business to my ex-wife in a divorce some three years ago, but you can buy them cheaply on eBay! The best thing you can do is read these to get an idea of what sells for what. One evening spent glancing through the pages and familiarising yourself with the market can really pay off when you go touring antiques markets, charity shops, auctions etc. You will have the current prices to hand and many bargains can be found. You can sell these on eBay very easily and often get above book price.
Another easy way to make additional profit is to find pieces with unusual decorations. Occasionally, sellers will have a copy of the price guide but they won’t know that a particular decoration adds a lot more money to the piece. So here is an exclusive GAN tip. Look out for pieces decorated with coloured and black-and-white, transfer-printed views, educational, ecclesiastical and foreign arms, Masonic, nobility, medical and organisations. Very few dealers know about these, but now you do!
Other ranges include commemorative, military and naval badges, verses, flora and fauna, armour, flags and decorations peculiar to Wales. Often, a particular decoration can multiply the value of a piece by two to five times and as there are some 7,000 different decorations you can easily acquire underpriced pieces because the value of an unusual decoration has not been taken into account.
Apart from the Goss factory, five other main factories manufactured crested china. These are Arcadian, Willow, Carlton, Shelley and Grafton. These factories made more light-hearted and humorous pieces out of earthenware and, while not so finely detailed, they tend to be much more fun. The main theme to look out for is the First World War. There were some 500 different shapes made, and these can change hands for hundreds of pounds each. This area has been the number-one rising sector of the market for 30 years and continues to be so. Look out for tanks, guns, ships, planes, shells, bombs, figures etc., etc. Again, check out another book of mine, Price Guide to Crested China, to determine current values.
Other well-collected themes are animals, buildings and monuments.
Small models and everyday domestic shapes have never been very collectable and prices have bumped along the bottom for years, where they still are. If you are buying for investment or to make a profit, you should always go for unusual shapes and decorations and avoid the mundane: pin trays, small vases and the like.
As with any collectible, condition is an important factor. Even desirable Goss and crested pieces are comparatively cheap (when compared to Dresden, anyway), and so chips, cracks and flaking transfers will bring the value down to almost nothing. Avoid the damaged and only buy the best pieces in fine condition.
Nicholas Pine