Availability
Rating
As many collectors and dealers know, availability of a piece in the market is usually the biggest factor in determining value for a piece. Below is a list of six rankings I have developed to
assist in determining the availability of a given piece. This is designed to serve
as a benchmark for new collectors and dealers and to assist them in determining
which pieces are readily available, ie A - Common Production Piece versus which
pieces are rarely found ie. D - Rare Production Piece. As with most
collectibles, not all items fall neatly into one of these defined groups and your experience may be somewhat different from mine.
On occasion, a more rare item will come to up for sale (such as on Ebay) and fetch an unusually high price. This sale will then spark an interest from
other dealers who may own and list same item hoping for a similar result. We may go months or years without seeing a particular item, and then see
several examples of the item sold in quick succession. In my opinion, that
doesn't change the availability of the item, it just brings them to market at
nearly the same time. Once the flurry of activity has ceased, it may be months
or years before we see that item again!
This availability rating is found in the detailed information section of individual item pages. Please see the Item Inventory page to locate a given item.
A -
Common Production Piece
Best availability in market place. Most
easily located pieces and found in nearly all glaze treatments. Many pieces
from the Standard Line E and H series fall into this category. Examples include:
- E-3 Standard Vase
- E-12 Standard Bowl
- H-73 Standard Ewer
- J-60 Standard Vase
- #508 Imperial Shell Tankard
- #519 Imperial Figure
B -
Production Piece
Available in market place. More difficult to find in premium glazes. Many pieces from the Standard Line J and M series fall into this category. Also in this category are many pieces from the Imperial and Original Lines. Examples include:
- J-54 Standard Ewer with Lizard Handle
- M-9 Standard Large Classic Ewer
- #215 Original Round Vase with Gazelle
- #500 Imperial Shell and Starfish Console Bowl
- #217 Original Large Reclining Panther
- #525 Standard Gamecock Figure
C - Hard to Find Production Piece
Limited availability in market place. Difficult to find in any glaze treatment. Examples include:
- #211 Original Grecian Horse Bookends
- #403 Original Modern Abstract 3 Hole Planter
- #521 Imperial Modern Cat
- #525 Imperial Game Hen Figure
- #531 Imperial Chinese Bottle Vase
- #541 Imperial Chinese Coolie Head
D - Rare Production Piece
Extremely limited availability in market place. Extremely difficult to find pieces no matter what the glaze treatment. Examples include:
- #108 Original Modern Elephant
- #113 Original Jonah and the Whale Ashtray
- #231-#234 Original African Mask Wall Plaques
- #501 Imperial Starfish Candle Holders
- #950 Original Sheriff Cookie Jar
E - Scarce Production Piece
The most limited of all pieces. The "holy grail" of Gonder pieces. Few examples are known to exist of each of these. Examples include:
- #221 Original Mermaid Console Bowl
- #586 Original Large Giraffe Head Figure
- #762 Ceramic Arts Topless Polynesian Woman with Basket
- #800 Original Wild Mustang Planter
- #1000 Original St Francis Figure and Bird Bath
- Original Pan and Nude Maiden Figure or Planter
F - Experimental
Available Experimental (non production) Pieces, Production Pieces with Experimental Glazes, End of Day Pieces. Production Pieces with special glazes made as presentation pieces or gifts by Lawton Gonder. Examples include:
- Frog Figure Salesman Sample
- Three Stork and J-64 Vase
- Solid Gold Glaze Figures
- Pink with White Spongeware Glaze
