Researching Cruets

• 1). Search replacements.com, a website that allows people to buy and sell all kinds of glassware, including cruets. By typing "cruet" into the search box, you will see hundreds of examples, with photographs, so you can search for a match for your item and determine a price. The cruets are divided into categories, like manufacturer, color or type of cruet, so if you know some of these details, you can narrow your search considerably. By clicking on the title over the cruet description, you can determine if it was part of a set and find pictures of the other pieces.
  
  
• 2). Read the most widely available book on the subject, "Cruets, Cruets, Cruets, Volume II" by Elaine Ezell and George Newhouse, published in 1993. While there are a few more recent books, they are rare and often cost over $100. Ezell and Newhouse's book costs between $12 and $60 at amazon.com, depending on the condition and the format. It is arranged alphabetically, with 500 color illustrations and many more in black and white. Examples include New Martinsville, Libbey, L. G. Wright, Mother-of-Pearl, Nippon, Limoges, ceramics, opalescent glass, lead crystal, and many more.
  
  
• 3). Read "Old Glass and How To Collect It: An Introduction to Antique Glassware" by J. Sydney Lewis, 2007, which includes information on cruets, especially written for beginners, as well as "The World of Salt Shakers: Antique & Art Glass Value Guide" by Mildred and Ralph Lechner, 1998, which includes an important section on how to detect fake and reproduction cruets. Both books are available at amazon.com or abebooks.com.
  
  
• 4). Find an appraisal professional by visiting the American Society of Appraisers. The ASA screens its members and makes sure that they are qualified. Their members appraise for individuals, businesses and lawyers handling estates. You can fill in the chart at the site to find a suitable professional. Select Antique and Collectible Glass, and then fill in the information about your location, and the ASA will give you a list of professionals in your area.