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About Haviland China

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By JAY MOORE

Tribune correspondent

Published: February 22, 2009

I own a large set of china that was inherited from my husband's side of the family. Each of the 87 pieces is marked "Haviland & Co., Limoges" and "Haviland, France." What can you tell me about it?

P.P.

Tampa

The Haviland brothers owned a porcelain import business in New York. When business necessitated travel in France in the 1840s, one always stayed behind. They ended up owning several china factories in Limoges.

According to the marks, this set was manufactured between 1888 and 1896. I cannot identify the pattern from the photographs. Haviland sold decorated porcelain and blanks for amateur china decorators.

The service would retail for around $850. Interestingly, if you wish to sell it, you can make more money selling the individual pieces.

My brown bottle is marked "Plantation Bitters, 1860." Please provide as much information as you can. I do not wish to contact an antiques dealer, since I am afraid of being ripped off.

B.H.

St. Petersburg

Bitters sold in America 100 years ago were marketed as cures for just about everything. They usually were prepared using herbs, citrus and a very generous amount of alcohol.

The patent medicine industry in America was huge from the mid-19th century through the turn of the 20th century. Almost all of the companies closed after passage of the pure food and drug act in 1906.

This amber-colored Drake's Plantation Bitters bottle would retail for about $100. Rare variants of this bottle in unusual colors often sell for more than $1,000.

Most antiques dealers are honest. The greatest problem with the many antiques dealers around the country is that they are ignorant in certain fields and therefore tend to be conservative buyers.

Have a question about antiques? E-mail a complete description with a clear, high-resolution digital image in .jpg format to baylife@tampatrib.com. Include a name, address and daytime phone number. Regular mail can be sent with clear photographs (not compu

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