Ask Me Help Desk - Porcelan & pottery

I have some pottery goblets that were made in North Dakota during the 1930s & 1940s, they were a government project through North Dakota University, they also made bowls & etc & were sent to sckools,hospital Etc! The bottoms are stamped WPA. Havfe these any monetary value?

I think that these objects that you have had something to do with that artwork that was done during the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A).

The quote below, is from the following site. http://www.wpamurals.com/

New Deal Art During the Great Depression

On May 6, 1935, the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) was created to help provide economic relief to the citizens of the United States who were suffering through the Great Depression. The artistic community had already become inspired during the 1920s and '30s by the revitalization of the Italian Renaissance fresco style by the inspired creations of Mexican muralists Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueriros. Certain visionary U.S. politicians decided to combine the creativity of the new art movements with the values of the American people. The Federal Art Project was one of the divisions of the W.P.A. created under Federal Project One. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had made several attempts prior to the F.A.P. to provide employment for artists on relief, namely the Public Works of Art Project (P.W.A.P.) which operated from 1933 to 1934 and the Treasury Department Section of Painting and Sculpture which was created in 1934 after the demise of the P.W.A.P. However, it was the F.A.P. which provided the widest reach, creating over 5,000 jobs for artists and producing over 225,000 works of art for the American people.

And, what is quoted below, is from the following site. Antique New Mexican WPA Furniture

Quote:

Of the many programs initiated in the early days of the first Franklin D. Roosevelt administration to deal with the massive unemployment of the Great Depression, few were as successful as the Works Progress Administration.
The WPA, as it was popularly known, was generally associated in the public mind with large-scale construction efforts building roads, bridges and dams which created thousands of new jobs for the country's laborers. But there was an equal effort to create employment for the country's artists and craftsmen.

Artisan Projects

A theatre project provided employment for playwrights, actors and theatre technicians. A photography project sent hundreds of photographers across the nation to document America's many natural wonders on film. Painters worked on scaffolds in public buildings in dozens of cities creating murals telling the story of the country's development. Musical archivists traveled miles of back roads transcribing early folk music from every region of the country. There were programs to employ composers, musicians, filmmakers, potters, weaver, virtually every imaginable kind of artisan.

What something is worth in terms of money, really depends on what someone is willing to pay. I'm certain that the objects that you have do have some monetary value. However, are they precious works of art that might garner a lot of money? Probably not. Are they antiques and of significant historical significance? Yes.

Possible sources for you to find similar objects and what they might be worth would be to try the following searches Antique Pottery Porcelain WPA Value - Google Search
Antique Pottery Porcelain WPA Value - Google Image Search
Antique Pottery Porcelain WPA Value eBay - Google Search
Antique Pottery Porcelain WPA Value eBay - Google Image Search

Other resources would be books that you will find in bookstores and at a public library, finding comparable items at antique stores and maybe consultation with an auctioneer.

These things do have some monetary value. I'm sure that what they are worth in terms of money could vary greatly.

Just to add to the above, I would advise you not to use these objects for an food or drink, because there is the possibility that they may not be suitable to be used for that purpose as they might contain lead. That is just a possibility, so I thought that I would mention it, because I care about your safety and what information that you get from our site here.

I do know that during and before the time of the W.P.A in the United States, some pottery was made that contained lead. Although the U.S. is not mentioned in the article below, I think that some information about lead being in pottery is important here so that you are informed.

Below, is from the following site. Penn State: Solution Source - Is Your Pottery Safe to Use?

Quote:

Your pottery may contain lead. Health authorities are advising people not to prepare food in pottery from Mexico or Latin America because this pottery may have high levels of lead. This pottery may be red-brown, tan, and shiny, and is often used to cook beans or other foods. Other imported pottery such as pitchers and mugs may also have large amounts of lead.

While it will not change the look or taste of the food or drink, lead from pottery can enter the food placed in it and cause lead poisoning. If you or your children eat this food that contains lead, lead will enter your bodies and can cause lead poisoning.

Lead poisoning is especially dangerous for pregnant women and children. Children with lead poisoning may have difficulty learning. They may also have behavior problems and can become very sick.

Make sure your pottery is safe. Follow these guidelines:

- Pottery made today in the United States must meet safety guidelines for lead and should be safe to use.

- Pottery is safe to use if it has a label such as: "Safe for food use".

- Pottery made in other countries may not be safe to use for foods.

- Old or antique pottery may be unsafe to use.

- Pottery is unsafe to use if it has a label such as: "Not for food use;" "Plate may poison food;" or "For decorative purposes only." Look carefully#this label may be erased or painted over.

- Pottery is unsafe to use if it has a gray powder on the glaze after the pottery has been washed.

Keep your family safe. Do not use pottery with lead for cooking, serving or storing foods or beverages. For more information about lead, call your local public health department. The public health department can check you and your children for lead poisoning. They may also be able to test your pottery for lead.

For more information on this subject, Please visit the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Web site.

Looks like you've already received some good info in response to your inquiry about North Dakota pottery. UND Ceramic Pottery IS rather highly valued by many collectors. It was the first of several North Dakota pottery projects "spun off" by the Federal Arts Project and PWAP programs of the WPA in the 1930s. You might be interested to read more about the various North Dakota potteries by "Googling" Wikipedia for "North Dakota Pottery". The UND pottery was originally set up by Margaret Cable Kelly, and during the depression years additional WPA potteries were set up in Wahpeton, ****inson, Turtle Mountain, and elsewhere. There is a nice collection of UND Ceramic pottery on display at a local museum in Hillsboro, ND, about halfway between Fargo and Grand Forks. You may have something of value; I think that some antique dealers have established a representative price structure for UND Ceramics pottery, published somewhere in a book on "art pottery".