Joseph Barrett’s oil on canvas ‘Pennsylvania Farm House’ is in a frame measuring 21 1/4 inches by 19 inches. The signed painting is expected to sell for $2,000-$4,000. Image courtesy of Stephenson’s Auctioneers & Appraisers.
SOUTHAMPTON, Pa. – Estates from Philadelphia and the surrounding area provide a colorful lineup of antiques, art and collectibles for Stephenson’s Auctioneers & Appraisers’ sale Friday, July 30. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
Top lots are expected to be two oil paintings by New Hope, Pa., artist Joseph Barrett. Pennsylvania Farm House, which is 14 inches by 12 inches, is signed lower right and has a $2,000-$4,000 estimate. His slightly smaller Autumn Road to Center Bridge is also signed lower right and has an $1,800-$3,000 estimate.
The sale will also include a group of Japanese wood block prints from an East Falls, Pa., home. The same estate also provides a selection of fine Empire furniture, including a fine two-piece secretary desk standing 77 inches high by 44 inches wide by 23 inches deep.
More than a dozen large copper kettles from the Stutz Candy Co. of Bucks County, Pa., will be sold along with numerous lots of tin chocolate molds and several store glass candy jars from the longtime candy maker.
“We’ve also had quite a bit of interest in a grouping of Dahl Jensen figurines,” said Cindy Stephenson, owner and auctioneer of Stephenson’s Auctioneers & Appraisers. Nearly a dozen of these charming 20th-century figurines depicting animals and children will be offered.
A fine collection of World War I posters in the auction hails from a Rydal, Pa., estate.
The sale will also include a collection of pocket watches and a Gorham sterling silver flatware service for 12 in the Melrose pattern.
For details contact Stephenson’s Auctioneers & Appraisers at 215-322-6182.
This circa 1830 Empire two-piece secretary desk features a folding writing surface above one long drawer over two drawers, which are flanked by letter drawers. It carries an $800-$1,500 estimate. Image courtesy of Stephenson’s Auctioneers & Appraisers. The famed Wiener Workstatte in Austria produced this ceramic double monkey figural lamp. The table lamp stands 12 3/4 inches high and is estimated at $400-$800. Image courtesy of Stephenson’s Auctioneers & Appraisers. Produced in the early 1900s, this English gold enameled pocket watch is in its original burled walnut case, which is marked ‘No. 107114 H. Montandon Locle.’ It has a $300-$400 estimate. Image courtesy of Stephenson’s Auctioneers & Appraisers. This Continental School oil on canvas landscape with castle is initialed ‘C.W.’ It is 24 1/2 inches high by 35 inches wide and estimated at $400-$800. Image courtesy of Stephenson’s Auctioneers & Appraisers.
Powder magazine at Fort Atkinson, Nebraska. Photo by Mongo, courtesy Wikimedia Commons. FORT CALHOUN, Neb. (AP) – Another living-history weekend is being prepared at Fort Atkinson State Historical Park in eastern Nebraska.
Re-enactors will portray life at an 1820s military post. There will be blacksmiths, carpenters, tinsmiths, barrel makers, agents and traders.
The event runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., starting Saturday and wrapping up Aug. 1.
Fort Atkinson was established in 1820, the first military post west of the Missouri River.
It sits seven blocks east of U.S. Highway 75 near the town of Fort Calhoun, north of Omaha.
More information is available by phone at 402-468-5611.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-CS-07-25-10 1200EDT
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
Detail of barracks at Fort Atkinson, Nebraska. Photo by Mongo, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
LAWTON, Okla. (AP) – The Field Artillery Museum continues to gain new exhibits thanks to the hard work of its staff and volunteers and some outside help from the Walton Foundation and Arvest Bank.
Part of the Berlin Wall and three mannequins portraying the uniform currently worn by soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, an African-American Union soldier during the Civil War and a Confederate artilleryman are the newest reasons to revisit the museum, according to Museum Director Gordon Blaker.
The Walton Foundation and Arvest Bank provided funds for four mannequins, but the uniform for the fourth isn’t quite ready yet, he said.
Staff Sgt. Dustin Roderigas, a wounded warrior assigned to Fort Sill’s Warrior Transition Unit, made a leather sword knot for the Confederate mannequin and assembled the entire outfit for the modern soldier, which comes in response to museum visitors who asked to see what the soldiers of today are wearing.
Roderigas, who previously worked on the Battle of the Bulge diorama inside the north gallery, describes himself as “a leatherworker in training.”
The current operations outfit can be seen at the south end of the central gallery. Rodrigeras said an artilleryman overseas today wears an Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH) and Interceptor Body Armor containing small-arms ballistic plates, or “sappy plates,” to protect the soldier from shrapnel and 9mm rounds. Worn front and back, the plates are designed to protect the warrior from at least three pointblank shots of 7.62 NATO rounds.
In addition, the soldier has a load-carrying vest with pouches for all his ammo, a first-aid kit, grenade and personal items he needs for his mission. The vest allows them to take their combat gear off to focus on the job as an artilleryman, or put it on to go into offensive mode as an infantryman. One side is kept clear for carrying either an M-16 rifle or M-4 carbine, and the shoulder on that side has to be clear for the butt-stock of the weapon.
The slot on the front of the helmet is for the rhino mount of the night vision monocle. The optic swings down so that one eye has night vision and the other has normal vision.
On the soldier’s back is a 3-quart Camelbak connected by a tube to a mouthpiece, so the soldier can stay hydrated in hot weather.
The knee and elbow pads are to ward off injuries when soldiers get in close combat. Soldiers often discard the pad on the side they shoot from. This particular soldier will be equipped with an M-4 for urban operations, Roderigas said.
On his right shoulder the soldier wears an infrared tape American flag worn only in country. When aircraft look through thermal optics in their sights, the flag patch registers as a cool spot. The helmet has black infrared reflective tapes that also appear as cool spots, so that the airmen know they’re looking at friendly forces.
Three sections of the Berlin Wall, each approximately a yard wide and 12 feet tall, can be seen at the opposite end of the central gallery. Blaker said they came out of Snow Hall earlier this year. Museum volunteer Harry Shappell, a metalworker, built a frame for the base, and exhibits specialist Zane Mohler put the wood and decking on it.
Following the end of World War II, Germany and its capital city, Berlin, were divided into four occupation zones. Each zone was controlled by one of the four Allies: the U.S., Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. The plan was that following a period of occupation, the zones would be reunited into a new Germany. Soviet leader Josef Stalin soon decided to try to seize control of Berlin and eventually all of Germany.
The growing conflict between the communists and the Western allies became known as the Cold War. In 1949 the Soviet Union sealed off all the land and water routes to Berlin in an attempt to drive the American, British and French allies out of Berlin. The Allies responded by beginning the Berlin airlift to supply the city with food, fuel and necessities entirely by aircraft. Over the next year the U.S. and British air forces flew 200,000 flights carrying 13,000 tons of supplies into the city. The Soviets were humiliated and reacted by creating the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany. Through the 1950s an ever-increasing number of East Germans fled the oppression and poverty of the East, Blaker said.
In August 1961 East Germany closed the border between the East and West sectors of Berlin. Construction of a concrete wall began to seal off the 124-milelong border around West Berlin.
From 1961 to 1989 approximately 5,000 people successfully defected to the West. An estimated 150 people were shot to death trying to cross the Wall, the last less than one year before the wall came down.
The museums’ three sections of reinforced concrete are from the fourth and final generation of the Berlin Wall built between 1975 and 1980. The new wall was topped by a large pipe to make scaling extremely difficult, Blaker noted.
Blaker said that by the time the Civil War ended, one out of every 10 Union soldiers was African American. The units were designated United States Colored Troops (U.S.C.T.) and included infantry, cavalry and light and heavy artillery units. More than 178,000 freed slaves and free blacks served in 175 U.S.C.T. regiments. Typically these were all-black regiments commanded by white officers, but a handful of them were commanded by black officers.
Blaker worked with volunteer Carrie Starsnic on the Confederate soldier. The museum director said she was the museum’s seamstress and did a lot of the work in padding up the mannequins and making them look good. She also sewed flags on backgrounds of exhibits. She and her husband just relocated to South Carolina, and Blaker said he doesn’t have anybody to replace her.
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Information from: The Lawton Constitution, http://www.swoknews.com
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Polychrome-painted carved wooden Indian tobacconist figure, American, late 19th century, carved feather headdress and apron, fringed cape and dress, one hand holds a bundle of cigars, overall height (including plinth) 64¾ inches. Estimate $8,000-12,000. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc.
MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – Boston-based Skinner Inc. will host an American Furniture and Decorative Arts sale at its Marlborough gallery on Aug. 14 and 15, with nearly 1,300 featured lots from private collections and museums. Internet live bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.
Session one is comprised of a vast collection of material coming from the Midwest. The collection of several hundred pieces acquired since the mid-20th century was inspired by the Williamsburg forums and comprises New England furniture that closely replicates what would have been found in the interior of an 18th-century home. Of particular interest is the set of six Chippendale carved side chairs, estimated at $3,000-$4,000; and an impressive Stephen Taber tall-case clock, estimated at $10,000-$15,000. Complementing the collection of furniture is a good collection of American pewter.
Also featured in the first session is a very fine group of mochaware from the collection of Jonathan Rickard, an internationally known expert on the subject of English pottery. The session is also highlighted by Chinese export porcelain and early glass.
Session two begins on a high note with a carved tiger maple spice chest, circa 1780, estimated at $10,000-$15,000. The second lot of the session is a charming American school portrait of two children and their spaniel, estimated at $15,000-$25,000; followed by a fine Queen Anne cherry dressing table, possibly from southeastern Massachusetts, and estimated at $8,000-$12,000.
Furniture from every New England state from the early 18th century through the mid 19th century is represented in session two. Additional highlights include a Queen Anne high chest of drawers from southern New Hampshire, late 18th century, estimated at $8,000-$12,000. A number of pieces of Shaker furniture will also be up for bid including an unusual adjustable light stand, estimated at $400-$600, and a pine, cherry and butternut kitchen table with drawers, estimated at $15,000-$25,000. Also, a red-painted trestle table, estimated at $3,000-$5,000, comes to Skinner as a deaccession from the Fruitlands Museum of Harvard, Massachusetts.
Weathervanes in a variety of forms such as horses, grasshoppers and a ram, estimated at $4,000-$6,000, grace the sale; as does a good grouping of New England paint-decorated furniture. Other items of note include a carved wooden Indian tobacconist figure, estimated at $8,000-$12,000; a beautiful marine portrait of the Hermaphrodite Brig Eliza Stevens, by Charles Sidney Raleigh, estimated at $12,000-$18,000; an interesting scrimshaw tooth inscribed with “FREE TRADE AND SAILORS RIGHTS,” estimated at $4,000-$6,000; a Benjamin Champney landscape titled The Conway Meadow, New Hampshire, estimated at $6,000-$8,000; and an Aaron Willard tall clock featuring a Paul Revere engraved label, estimated at $8,000-$12,000.
For additional information on any lot in the sale, call Skinner at 508-970-3000.
Shaker trestle table, painted cherry and pine, probably Harvard, Mass., circa 1830, old surface, (alterations), estimate $3,000-$5,000. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc. Scrimshaw whale’s tooth, 19th century, one side depicting a sailor and anchor amidst flowering branches, an eagle in flight grasping a banner inscribed with "FREE TRADE AND SAILORS RIGHTS." Reverse depicts a romantic couple. Length 7 inches. Estimate $4,000-6,000. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc.
Paul Jacoulet ‘La Balance-Chinois’ woodblock print. Image courtesy of William Jenack Estate Appraisers and Auctioneers.
CHESTER, N.Y. – From swords to ceramics, William Jenack Estate Appraisers and Auctioneers’ next summer sale, Saturday, Aug. 1, will have a Far East flavor. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
The sale will include a small collection of Japanese Katana and Wakizashi swords spanning the 18th through 20th centuries. Chinese and Japanese artwork including Satsuma, Imari, Sung-style ceramics, pottery, jade and scroll paintings of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Among the more interesting Chinese ceramics is a green glazed puzzle pot with dragon spout and handle. A collector’s note adhered to the side reads: “Tea pot, green glaze stoneware, made in Cochin, China, bought in Osaka, Nov. 4, 1889, to be filled from the bottom, ex-collection Ben Birillo.”
Several lots of Japanese woodblock prints include work by Shosan Ohara. Several Paul Jacoulet woodblocks will also be sold.
For porcelain and pottery collectors there will be many lots of interest including a Redware slip decorated plate, Gouda “Collier” vase, a superb English yellow ware figural inkwell pen stand with spaniel, a Gardner Russian porcelain figure of a peasant, a Russian porcelain figure of Sadko, a Doulton Burslem large flow blue turkey platter and a Copeland Spode Chinese platter.
Notable artwork will be offered including a signed oil on canvas of figures on a beach by a follower of Edward Henry Potthast, a pair of circa 1830 American portraits attributed to Zedekiah Belknap, descended through the Proctor-Welsh families of Utica, N.Y., and an Italian gouache of the Bay of Naples with Mount Vesuvius erupting in the background. A set of Currier and Ives’ American Homestead Seasons lithographs, of the period and in period frames, is expected to do well.
Also being offered is a collection of vintage and antique clothing including an Edwardian black day dress, a Victorian plaid taffeta dress and jacket, a 1920s flapper wedding dress with stockings and shoes, vintage lawn dresses and morning coats, all in remarkable condition.
A collection of 19th-century furniture includes a diminutive Queen Anne mahogany drop-leaf table, a grain painted chest of drawers, and a superb Pennsylvania tiger maple inlaid Sheraton washstand. Also offered is pair of monumental Victorian cast-iron garden urns that stand 50 inches tall and has a diameter of 32 inches.
The sale will also offer a collection of jewelry and pocket watches from the 18th through the 20th centuries. The pocket watches are part of a collection that passed through the Frick family. Included are several fuzee movements and repeaters. The collection will be offered starting with this sale and continuing throughout the fall.
Rounding out the sale will be a collection of rugs, carpets, quilts and decorative objects.
A follow-up note to Jenack’s sale June 13: Lot no. 266, the Roman carved marble head of David, (estimate $2,000-$3,000) sold for $529,000 inclusive of the buyer’s premium.
Previews will be held at the William Jenack auction facility, 62 Kings Highway Bypass, in Chester, on Wednesday, July 28, noon-5 p.m.; Thursday, July 29, 2-5:45 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, July 30-31, noon-5 p.m.; and the day of the sale, 9-10:45 a.m.
The auction will begin at 11 a.m. Eastern.
For details contact William Jenack Estate Appraisers and Auctioneers at 845-469-9095 or e-mail kevin@jenack.com.
Pair of monumental Victorian cast-iron Campari garden urns, 50 inches high, 32 inches in diameter. Image courtesy of William Jenack Estate Appraisers and Auctioneers. Mahogany apartment grand piano by Chickering. Image courtesy of William Jenack Estate Appraisers and Auctioneers. Italian School gouache, view of the Bay of Naples with erupting Mount Vesuvius, 19th century. Image courtesy of William Jenack Estate Appraisers and Auctioneers. Selection Japanese Katana and Wakizashi swords, 18th-20th centuries. Image courtesy of William Jenack Estate Appraisers and Auctioneers.
The postmark on this 1969 space-flown Apollo 11 commemorative postcard makes it especially desirable to collectors, as the Webster, Texas post office is the one that handles NASA’s mail. Auctioned for $17,000 on Nov. 9, 2004. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Swann Auction Galleries.
NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) – The first thing you should know about postmark collectors is this: They are people just like us.
Well, maybe not just like us.
“One time somebody compiled a list of 10 reasons to collect postmarks,” says Andy Mitchell. “And one of the reasons was ‘Nobody ever asks you twice what your hobby is.’
“Postmarks, of course, are those little black circles – containing the name of the town and the date – with the wavy lines that the post office puts on stamps to ‘kill’ or cancel them.”
Mitchell, of Bloomfield, organized this week’s 49th annual convention of the Post Mark Collectors Club in New London.
Mitchell estimated about 100 of the 400-plus members of the national organization were expected to talk about postmarks, trade postmarks, buy and sell postmarks and paw through the boxes of old postcards and envelopes stacked on the tables of the Radisson conference room to look for postmarks to add to their collections.
“For a fairly esoteric pursuit,” he says, “I think that’s a pretty good response.”
They also planned to take the ferry out to Block Island Friday to drink in the sights and – yes – collect a Block Island, R.I., postmark.
So what is it that gets someone into this hobby?
“In my case, it was when I was a kid,” says Mitchell, 60. “When I was in the fourth grade, a classmate of mine said, ‘Hey, I’ve got this fun hobby that I heard about, where you just go through your family’s mail, and each piece of mail has this little circle on it saying where it came from.’ So you could accumulate a collection for free. So that was better than stamp collecting, because you had to pay for stamps.”
Mitchell fondly remembers that “when I was a kid and we’d go on vacation, I’d always be pestering my parents to stop at every post office so I could mail myself a postcard. That was fun.”
And, as it turns out, it is a hobby that attracts women as well as men, though the women, Mitchell says, approach it a little differently.
“The guys like me tend to be ‘completists,’ like I’ve got to get all of Connecticut,” he says. “Some people do it differently. They narrow it down. Like they get special pictorial cancellations like this.”
He holds up an envelope with a special cancellation from Groton marking the 50th anniversary of the Nautilus going under the North Pole.
“Some people do thematic, like post offices with water in their names, like Lakeville, Lake City or Valley Stream or whatever,” he says. “So there’s a lot of creativity involved here, coming up with different ways of collecting.”
Sitting at one of the tables paging through postcards is Diane DelGrosso, from Nevada, who says she knows a woman who’s trying to collect postmarks for every date in the 1930s.
“It’s amazing,” she says.
DelGrosso is with her husband, Mike, and has been attending the annual conventions for years. She well remembers the first one.
“When my husband suggested that we go on our first trip to Sarasota to a postmark convention, I said, ‘You mean other people collect these?”’
These days, they travel, taking pictures of old post offices, which they share with The Post Mark Collectors Club Museum in Bellevue, Ohio.
“I’ve always been interested in place names, but now I’m more interested in the history, and I’ve been taking pictures of the smaller post offices that are fading away rather quickly,” Mike DelGrosso says.
Gary Hendren of St. Louis, Mo., also has a fascination with what’s been and gone.
He explains that St. Louis “was the first town in the country to offer street car mail, mail was sorted and stamped right on the street car.
“And I happen to have the earliest known St. Louis cancel, which makes it the earliest known cancel on a street car anywhere,” he said. “You can’t go out and buy that if you had a million dollars, because there’s only one. So that’s the thrill of things.”
But if there’s one thing that’s obvious from looking around the room, it’s that the younger generation doesn’t get that thrill.
Hendren is 71; Mike DelGrosso says he’s “68, I guess,” and Diane DelGrosso says, “I’m 39 and holding, but I’ve been holding a long time.”
And so it may be that the postmark collectors are going the way of the postmarks they seek.
“It’s an aging group,” Mitchell admits. “This kind of hobby, I think, is losing out to flashier pursuits for younger people.”
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hood Museum of Art on the campus of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. HANOVER, N.H. (AP) – The Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College is getting $1.25 million to help faculty use the museum’s collections as a teaching resource.
The grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will create an endowment for two new staff positions to help faculty integrate the museum and its collections into the college’s curriculum.
Brian Kennedy, the museum’s director, says faculty members from a variety of departments from philosophy to environmental studies have requested items for classroom use. Museum staff members typically pull between 3,500 and 5,000 works of art from storage for classroom use each year.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) – A Wessington Springs man will be on probation for two years and forfeit 5,166 fossil items and pieces of archaeological resources dug up along the Missouri River.
Elliot D. Hook was sentenced in federal court for his guilty plea to trafficking in archaeological resources.
Prosecutors said the forfeited items include pottery, stone tools, knives, pendants and beads, as well as relics from military forts, trading posts or settlements.
Hook was among five men charged in 2008 with illegal taking and trading of artifacts found on Indian land or public land.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CANTON, Ga. (AP) – A Cherokee County man found a hidden treasure in a painting he bought at an auction: four pounds of marijuana.
Gordon Clement, 80, discovered the pot stashed inside of the painting, which he bought at a post office auction about five years ago. He found the drugs last weekend when he tried to sell the artwork at another auction.
Clement planned to ask $25 for the piece. Police say the marijuana was worth about $4,800.
Alarmed, he called his lawyer and turned the painting over to authorities.
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Information from: WSB-TV, http://www.wsbtv.com/index.html
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
This Wemyss Ware piggy bank is 4 inches high. It was offered for sale at Michaan’s Auctions of Alameda, Calif.
Smiling pottery cats and flower-decorated pottery pigs have been made in Scotland since 1882. Today, both the old and new versions of these pieces are known as Wemyss (pronounced Weems) Ware. It was first made at the Fife Pottery in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. Robert Heron, the owner of the pottery, hired some Bohemian craftsmen and designers who came up with new ideas about decorating pottery. The master painter was Karel Nekola. Large, colorful flowers, hearts and other symbols were hand-painted on figurines, inkstands, jardinieres, candlesticks, buttons, pots and even bedroom sets. The decoration for each piece was different. At first Wemyss Ware was sold only near the factory, but it soon was available in London. By 1900 it had become the rage. Nekola died in 1915, and another painter continued working in the same style. But in the 1930s, economics forced the Fife Pottery to close. Its molds and designs then went to a series of potteries and, in 1952, to Royal Doulton. The line was discontinued in 1957. But Wemyss reappeared in 1985, when the designs were again made by Griselda Hill Pottery of Ceres, Scotland. The name was registered as a trademark in 1994, and modern Wemyss Ware in old styles is still made.
Q: My 1939 solid cherry bedroom set — dresser, chest and bedside table — is in excellent condition. I know the age because it’s been in my family since it was first purchased. It was made by King Factories of Mayville, N.Y. Is there a market for it, and what would it sell for?
A: The company that made your set was Kling Factories, not King. The furniture-manufacturing company was formed in 1911 by John A. Kling. It was sold in 1962 to Ethan Allen, which kept the line alive for years as its Kling Colonial Group. Three-piece Kling bedroom sets sell for $350 to $600.
Q: I recently came into possession of several hundred old family postcards dating from about 1885 to 1912. There are many varieties, including birthday and military cards, valentines, and Easter and Christmas greetings. Some of the Christmas postcards picture black Santas. Most are in color, and some have human hair or ribbon embellishments. Many were mailed from Canada to one of our family members. The postcards are all in good condition because they’ve been stored in a shoebox in a closet for years. Are people interested in old postcards?
A: There are plenty of collectors interested in old postcards — especially cards the age of yours — but sort through your shoebox before deciding on a strategy to sell them. First take out any that you would like to keep for your family-cards with messages that explain family history or cards that picture your relatives. Then go to your library and check out a book on old postcards. There you’ll find lists of publishers and artists whose postcards are more valuable than others. (Cards published by Raphael Tuck and cards with artwork by Howard Chandler Christy are especially valuable.) Pull those cards out, along with the black Santas, other holiday cards, patriotic cards and cards picturing early automobiles and airplanes. All of those are worth more than standard cards. Then you’ll have to decide if you want to sell only the most valuable cards or the whole collection. Many postcards sell for just 5 cents, but a few sell for more than $100. Several Web sites price postcards and give advice about selling.
Q: I just came across a set of Kukla and Ollie ice-cream spoons offered by Sealtest in 1950. I was unable to locate any information regarding their worth.
A: The children’s TV show Kukla, Fran and Ollie originally ran from 1947 to 1957. Sealtest, one of the show’s sponsors, offered two sets of silver-plated ice-cream spoons made by Wallace in 1950. Each set included one of the characters and two plain spoons in exchange for 50 cents and the trademark from a package of Sealtest ice cream. The character’s head was the finial, and the name of the character was engraved on the handle of the spoon. The spoons sell for less than $10 each.
Q: My mother left me a very modern-looking breakfast set for one — at least, I think that’s what it is. There’s a duck-shaped teapot, creamer, sugar, teacup and saucer, and a tray to hold everything. Maybe for breakfast in bed? The bottom is stamped with a Theodore Haviland mark and a script signature that has two initials and the name “Sandoy.” I love the set because the amusing ducks’ heads come off the serving pieces and all the pieces are bright yellow.
A: Edouard-Marcel Sandoz (not Sandoy) was an important designer. He was born in Switzerland in 1881, but worked in France most of his career. In 1916 he became a designer for Theodore Haviland, and created hundreds of designs for figurines, tableware, trays, boxes, vases, inkwells and more. He designed many Art Deco animals that were used to decorate not only coffee and tea sets, but also pitchers, vases and flower frogs. Sandoz created his famous duck-shaped coffee or tea sets in about 1916. They were decorated in yellow, blue, red or other bright colors. Sandoz died in 1971, but his designs are still popular. The duck set was reproduced in the 1970s. An original set sold recently for $3,200.
Tip: For a quick shine on a silver belt buckle or large pin, try rubbing it on a dark-colored carpet.
Terry Kovel answers as many questions as possible through the column. By sending a letter with a question, you give full permission for use in the column or any other Kovel forum. Names, addresses or e-mail addresses will not be published. We cannot guarantee the return of any photograph, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. The volume of mail makes personal answers or appraisals impossible. Write to Kovels, Auction Central News, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.
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CURRENT PRICES
Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.
Billiard game tin windup toy, one man at each end, 1990s reproduction of 1940s toy, original 1940s box, 12 inches, $144.
Kelva dresser box, pivoting mirror inside, pink wild roses on lid, surrounded by enamel beading, mottled avocado green, 2 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches, $175.
“Drink Yuengling’s New Style Lager” sign, embossed tin, cream ground with black lettering, 1940s, 9 1/2 x 27 inches, $260.
Oak split basket, flattened and wrapped rim, concave bottom, hinged bentwood oak handle jointed at hinge, copper rivet, Virginia, 1930s, 19 inches, $355.
Jack Dempsey fight souvenir button, spring pin, red, white and blue ribbon, suede boxing glove, image of Dempsey, 1926, 1 3/4 inches, $515.
Simon & Halbig child doll, No. 1078, open mouth, four upper teeth, blue-glass sleep eyes, painted eyelashes, jointed body, brown human hair, 29 inches, $545.
Iron wedding-band hog-scraper candlestick, cylindrical shaft, brass band, push-up candle adjuster, one thumb device marked “Shaw,” England, 1790, 6 1/2 inches, pair, $1,415.
William & Mary candlestand, maple and cherry, circular top, turned support, cross-base stand, early 1700s, 25 3/4 x 18 1/4 inches, $2,360.
Sampler, map of United States, territories and Eastern Canada, 11-line verse, “Sarah Jane Warden Aged 10 years May 30, 1825,” silk and wool on linen, 22 square inches, $4,015.
Delft tile picture, Noah’s Ark, 40 tiles, magenta on white, floral frame, circa 1785, 44 3/4 x 29 1/2 inches, $5,900.
Give yourself or a friend a gift. Kovels’ Advertising Collectibles Price List has more than 10,000 current prices of your favorite advertising collectibles, from boxes and bins to trays and tins. More than 400 categories are organized by brand name, company name, product or collectible. Plus 300 photographs, logos and trademarks. A 16-page color insert features important advertising collectibles. Clubs, publications, resources and a full index. Available at your bookstore; online at Kovels.com; by phone at 800-571-1555; or send $16.95 plus $4.95 postage to Kovels, Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122.
