These 5-inch shallow fruit bowls - 13 in all - turned up as a set sold on eBay by a seller in Nebraska who bought them at an estate sale. She said there were a lot of French and English pieces in the collection and that the owner had served in the military.

The bowls we have came in four styles: #8 on a green-lined bowl; #10 on a black-lined bowl; #12 on a blue-lined bowl; and #15 on a peachy-tan-lined bowl. There is nothing they resemble more than French bistro dishes that were used to indicate the price of a dish (see two photos at bottom on left). At the end of the meal, the dishes were collected and the bill toted up based on the amounts on the bowls and plates.

Based on the backstamp, our bowls would have been made circa 1916-1930s. Were they made for an overseas customer and shipped back when the owner returned to the States? Were they made for a Canadian customer? Were they made for a French-themed American restaurant? Or did they serve some other purpose? We welcome any and all guesses!