[b]karuba wrote:[/b]
[quote]I have a Helen Hutula TAT-L-TALE cookie jar that I believe is from the 1930’s.
She is wearing a pink polka dot skirt and has a blue and white apron with flowers and white polka dots. She is posed as if shaking her finger in a scolding manner. Apparently this cookie jar made a sound when opening it; that portion is intact but does not work.
There are no chips or scratches but the finish has a somewhat visible crackled look to it, although it is smooth to the touch.
The bottom of the cookie jar indicates: TAT-L-TALE, handpainted; Original; and the name Helen.
It belonged to my husband’s grandmother and I am trying to find out what the value of it is, as well as what year it was made.[/quote]

The information provided you by the other poster is wholly inaccurate. Helen began producing the Tat-L-Tale cookie jars in the mid 1940’s from her Helen’s Ware pottery plant in S. California. It was a small pottery company and she was only in business for a few short years after the first jars were produced.

The Tat-L-Tales come in two different shapes (one with a large fold in the front of the shirt – the other without the fold) and in at least three different sizes. There is also a boy version Tat-L-Tale cookie jar. At one point I tried to compile a list of the different decors but as I got deeper into my research I found there were just too many variations to make an accurate list.

The form of your jar, the type of decor, and its condition have bearing on its value. You indicate the finger is intact, which is a very big plus, and that the jar has no damage except for some age crazing (tiny cracks in the glaze). The market is at an all time low and depending upon the type of decor on your jar I would expect it to sell for between $150-$650 on a venue like eBay.

By the way, the fact that the voice box doesn’t work isn’t a major concern. When the jars were new customers were returning them to stores because the voice boxes stopped working. The non-working voice boxes, breakage during shipping, and high cost of decorating are some of the reasons Helen had to close the doors to her factory after just a few years after producing the first Tat-L-Tales.

Gary