I am Beyond excited to share my latest and greatest Estate Sale score! I have been coveting a set of Johnson Brothers Friendly Village dishes for some time now, but (as usual) I am unwilling to pay full price for them. I missed out on a set about a month ago at a large Antique Estate Sale and recently saw a small set at my local Antique/Junk Mall.
I am on the mailing list for
EstateSales.Net and watch it religiously.
I just about died when when I saw a full set of the Friendly Village at a sale that started yesterday. What was interesting was that this was a house/condo that my Real Estate friend wanted me to stage and had contacted me about about 4-5 months ago. It didn't work out (various reasons) but I gave her the name of a few reputable Estate Sale companies who could take on the job of selling the contents after the home sold. This home was packed with beautiful decorative accessories and furniture. I used to feel very strange about Estate Sales knowing that sometimes the circumstances under which the items were sold were often sad. But, I think of it now as recycling and instead of buying new items I am reviving someone elses treasures.
OK, enough of my Moral Compass, on to the DISHES!!!
This pattern: Johnson Brothers Friendly Village "Made In England" has been in production since 1953-2003 and was made in England. It is now made in China under the name "Johnson Brothers England 1883".
This makes my set a lot more valuable.
You can see on the backstamp where it says
"Made in England"
The set came with 17 dinner plates, bread plates, bowls, and cups and saucers and 2 serving bowls. The plates are the standard 9 7/8" size and not the larger 10 1/2" size but that's OK, I can always add to them. I love all of the beautiful scenes on the dishes but I think my favorite is the "Covered Bridge" on the bowls.
So, my curiosity inspired me to check on Ebay and Replacements.com to see how much a set like this would be worth.
Are you ready for this?
Replacements has a 45 piece starter set (8 place settings) for $599.00 X's that by 2 for my set!
And there is a 103 piece set on Ebay for $1530.00.
I think I did pretty good since I only paid $165.00!!!
Of course I had to fight my way through the crowded house down to the basement where I saw a lady had MY dishes is her hot little hands. My competitive spunk kicked in and I told myself "these dishes are mine and I am not leaving here without them!". I boldly asked her if she planned to buy them. She hemmmed and hawed and said "Well maybe but I want larger plates". She held onto the plate with the price tag on it (that's the signal that it's yours...). She asked me if I had plans to buy them. I confidently said "Yes, I would like to buy them". She stood there for a few more seconds and then asked me if I would consider "Splitting" the set. I said No, that I needed at least 12 of anything for my family. She said "OK" and set the plate down on top of the stack of dishes. I scooped it up as fast as I could and brought it right to the Hold table.
Victory was Mine!
I can't wait to use them this Fall and Winter!
Until Next Time,
Beaux R'eves
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