Mrs. Cutter’s Tea Set

Q: Can you give me a valuation of this tea set? It was a wedding gift of my great-grandmother in 1883. The Cutters mined clay in Woodbridge, New Jersey, and sold the finest clay to international pottery merchants. It’s marked with the initials O & B and “Belleek” inside a crescent.

A: This crescent mark was used by Ott & Brewer at Etruria Pottery in Trenton, New Jersey beginning about 1883. Joseph Ott was one of the men who established Etruria Pottery in 1863. John Hart Brewer joined the business in 1865 and it became Ott & Brewer in 1871. The company hired workers from the Irish Belleek factory in 1882 and was the first American pottery to make belleek porcelain. The Etruria works were sold to the Cook Pottery Co. in 1892 and Ott & Brewer went out of business. You didn’t mention your great-grandmother’s name, but we assume she was Mrs. W.H. Cutter, who married in 1883. These may have been specially made for her because the Cutters supplied clay to the pottery. Ott & Brewer sets are rarely found today. Your set was hand painted and each cup and saucer has a different scene or flower. Notice the unusual cup handles. It seems very special and very collectible and should sell for a high price. We haven’t seen a set of this quality offered for sale in the last five years.