Buffalo Pottery Blue Willow Dishes

Q: I have a set of Buffalo Pottery Blue Willow dishes marked with the year 1907. They’re in good condition. What are they worth?

A: Buffalo Pottery Co. was founded in 1901 by the Larkin Soap Co. of Buffalo, N.Y. Larkin’s owners, John Larkin and his brother-in-law, Elbert Hubbard, wanted to make dishes that could be given to customers buying their Larkin soap products. Dishes in the famous Blue Willow pattern have been made in England since the 1780s, but Buffalo Pottery claimed to be the first to make the pattern in the United States. Its ‘Old Blue Willow Ware,’ made from 1905 through 1917, was marked with the year of manufacture. Your dishes, from 1907, are valuable. A dinner plate, in excellent condition, can retail for more than $60.