Antique Flow Blue Chocolate Pot La Belle LaBelle Coffee

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During the Late Victorian era when this chocolate pot was made, only the wealthy enjoyed hot chocolate and they made an elaborate "production" of serving and drinking it. This is among the very top "most collectible" pieces of flow blue produced during that period. This is perfectly lovely, but not perfect, so be sure to read our description and see our photos before you bid. This pot appears in many of the "flow blue collectors" books. In "A Pocket Guide to Flow Blue" by Jeffrey B. Snyder, this pot is pictured and described on page 11. "American firms...determined to gain a share of the ceramics market in 1875 and succeeding after the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, "La Belle" Chocolate Pot by the Wheeling Pottery Company of Wheeling, West Virginia, c. 1893. Wheeling Pottery Company printed manufacturer's mark reading: W.P. LA BELLE CHINA. This mark was in use from 1893 to 1910. The pot is molded in relief with lots of flourishes, has an ornate handle, and lots of gold painting to highlight the mold. SIZE: The pot measures 9 1/2" high to top of handle on lid, and is 5 5/8" across the widest area of the bottom. MARK: Clearly marked with the 'double eagle' mark with W.P. (Wheeling Pottery) above La Belle (see our photos). CONDITION: We have included several photos and chose the supersize option so you can examine this item closely. Plenty of the gold trim remains. T are no cracks. Most of these old La Belle items have crazing. Amazingly, we have not detected crazing on this piece. However, t is a chip out of the bottom of the lid (the neck that goes down into the pot) and a crack travels from that chip, up the side of the lid and across the top; it stops when the lid begins to curve downward on the other side. This crack has been a very long time, it has discolored over the years. It is a fairly easy repair for the professional because t are no critical pieces missing, just the plain white piece that goes into the pot. We don't use reserves; we think they are annoying. Our starting bid is far below the book value of this item and takes into consideration the damage on the lid. Authentic....we stress authentic! BID WITH CONFIDENCE: We have sold and safely shipped thousands of pieces of fine antique porcelain items on Ebay. Please see our feedback - over 95% of our sales are antique china. Please read carefully. We try to fully describe every item we sell, and always include pictures. If you have any questions, we gladly answer by e-mail. All fine china is double boxed; the package you receive will be larger than you anticipated. We pack to please. Double-boxing may cost a little more to ship, but very much helps protect your valued item. OUR TERMS: Some sellers have a big long list of terms. These are ours: The buyer pays shipping and insurance (on most items, because they are old, unique, and fragile). Paypal or money order payment. If your item is not as described, pack it up the same way you received it, send it back to us within 3 days, and we will refund your money. Now, isnâe(tm)t that easy? USA SHIPPING: Winning bidder in USA pays USPS Priority shipping and insurance. Please use the calculator below to determine shipping costs (excluding insurance). USA PAYMENT: Payment by money order, cashiers check or paypal, only, please. We prefer Paypal. Payment is expected within 7 days of auction end. Please do not bid if you do not intend to buy. We cannot accept personal checks . NOTE: We try our utmost to take good photos and describe accurately. However, if what you receive is not what you expected, please let us know! We want this to be your best eBay experience ever. We cannot accept personal checks. We live in such a busy world.. . thanks for sharing your time with us! read more

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