R. Ransbottom Roseville, Ohio mixing bowl

It's funny how you can grow an affection towards items you start spending enough time around that previously you never really cared for.

Pottery is growing on me. We've been dealing a lot in it lately and I know just enough to get myself in trouble.

I went to an estate sale today, everything was priced pretty high for resale.
I'm in the garage and look down and I see a large mixing bowl.
In past I would have moved on, but I picked it up.
Roseville, Ohio is all I see on it.
"Oh, nice!" I think to myself. No major chips and no cracks, what the heck...

When I get home I found out, yup, not "Roseville" Roseville, but R. Ransbottom out of Roseville, Ohio.


It may not be as valuable as Roseville, but there is still a base out there for it.

I've been trying to date it, everything I see similar has a stamp instead of an engraving.
I also can't figure out the pattern.

I think I'll put this one in my booth vs auction or ebay/etsy.
Overall the nicks are pretty insignificant, but trying to list them online.....
In person I feel like someone can look it over for themselves.

Anyways, I was wondering what the correct terminology is for the types of damage.
One is in the bowls lip, but must have happened at the Factory because it is colored and glazed over. Then there's some Nicks and rubs in the glaze but not the piece of pottery itself, and of course the chip on the bottom..

What would this bowl be valued at?

 

Hello SeaGoat - I'll try and help. RRP produced bowls and crocks for most of, if not all of, its entire history. This particular line did not have a given name. It was just identified by number. My guess is that the incised signature predated the stamp mark. However, I doubt that would have any effect on the value. These items were meant to be used so finding a pristine example can be difficult. And these were produced daily by the truckload so glaze defects are also common. Because of the massive quantity produced these are not real difficult to find. The damage you have would be described as manufacturing defects (the glazed over colored chip) and chips (the damage to the bottom of the bowl). The missing glaze on the top rim and the lip could be either flaking or manufacturer's defects. I'd have to see them in person to make a better guess. I'd estimate the date as 1940's but again it makes little difference to the value.

Were the bowl mine I would also try and sell it through my booth rather than list it on ebay. I think it would stand out better there than in the pages of RRP mixing bowls on ebay. There are people that still collect these but more for their value as decorator items than for the fact that they are RRP. It works well with a country or blue and white decor and it's really not a bad looking design. Value depends on so many factors that it's difficult to give you a firm price. Here in Indiana and given the issues I'd list it at $15 to move it quickly. It takes up a lot of booth space. A perfect example maybe $35. And don't feel bad. I don't think there's a pottery dealer out there that didn't mistake these for Roseville in their beginning days (including me)! Good luck!
Don

 

Someone let it sit in water.
Make a paste of Bartenders Friend, use a scotch brite pad with a little elbow grease and you should be able to get that off.

 

I think thats refelctions from the windows

 

I bought it for $15, I may drop it in at $25-$30 and see what happens

 

Any relation?

 

A quick "aside"... about pottery growing on one.

I never EVER cared for pottery, but... in my time here, I have discovered that it really attracts me. I *LOVE* researching it; participating in identification discussions just gets me GOING!

And I even actually BOUGHT that precious yellow McCoy duck planter that I was bragging about a while back. ANNNND (the second item in my pottery collection), the little crackled brown pitcher from "Dublin"... Ireland? No... as I discovered... Ohio!

 

Me too. When I started collecting ten years ago I purchased a few RRP Co. planters for a few dollars each thinking they were Roseville Pottery. Cheap lesson learned. Robinson Ransbottom Pottery only recently closed its doors (2005) and made a wide range of products including a large number of crocks (they have a crown marking around the # of gallons).

Since I live in Ohio I see a ton of these bowls at auctions and antique shops. They usually sell at auction for $15-25 and in a retail setting they could realize $30+.