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This smiling schoolboy worked in a school victory garden during World War I. The 20-by-30-inch poster brought $575 at a Stein Co. auction in 2011.

Kovels – Antiques & Collecting: Week of Sept. 12, 2011

This smiling schoolboy worked in a school victory garden during World War I. The 20-by-30-inch poster brought $575 at a Stein Co. auction in 2011.
This smiling schoolboy worked in a school victory garden during World War I. The 20-by-30-inch poster brought $575 at a Stein Co. auction in 2011.

Vegetable gardens in backyards, schools and public spaces are not a new idea, and a small group of collectors like memorabilia from this forgotten part of the war effort. In 1917, during World War I, the government asked citizens to grow more food because the war was creating extra needs.

That was not the only reason for the gardens. They were morale boosters, making gardeners and their helpers feel they were helping in the war effort. Charles Lathrop Pack organized the national War Garden Commission and started the war garden idea. Food production was down because many farmers were in military service. Small gardens planted on unused land increased the food supply in areas near customers, so little transportation was needed. It is said that $1.2 billion in foodstuffs was produced by the end of the war.

During World War II, “victory gardens” were planted by almost 20 million Americans, who grew 9 million to 10 million tons of produce, almost 50 percent of the vegetables eaten in the United States during the war. First lady Eleanor Roosevelt had a victory garden on the White House grounds. It was patriotic to work in a garden. It made the cost of food lower and saved money to be used for the war. Leaflets and posters with slogans and interesting graphics were sent out by the government and private food companies.

Collectors today like the posters because of their slogans, like “Sow the Seeds of Victory,” or their colorful graphics, which often included flags or patriotic figures. An old “school garden” poster reads “Helping Hoover in our U.S. School Garden,” reminding everyone that Herbert Hoover was appointed head of the U.S. Food Administration during World War I. His famous slogan was “Food Will Win the War.” World War I garden posters have been selling well at recent auctions. One picturing a schoolboy and a basket of food had the slogan, “I raised ’em myself in my U.S. School Garden.” It sold for $575.

Q: I have a chair that I am told was made in China in the early-19th century. It has a woven wicker seat, an open back with a rectangular support down the center, thin, curved arms and a wide piece of wood joining the two front legs. It is surprisingly graceful. What worries me is the caned seat. Is it original?

A: Chinese chairs were made in many styles, and there is a noticeable difference between those made for the hot Southern climate and those used in the Northern part of the country. Caned seats, usually woven rattan, were made to let air cool the seating area. This made it less “sticky” to sit in a hot climate. The idea was so clever that it was adapted by early European explorers for some of their furniture. Lightweight openwork caning instead of solid wood was used in the seat and the back. Antique Chinese furniture is selling for substantial prices today, but the value goes up with age and quality. So you must have someone look at your chair to learn the value.

Q: Do you have any information on Sarah Coventry jewelry? I sold it many years ago and still have some of pieces.

A: Sarah Coventry was the first company to sell costume jewelry through home parties. The company didn’t make jewelry. It bought designs and had the jewelry made by other companies. The founder, Charles H. Stuart, started Emmons Jewelers Inc., in 1949. In 1950, Stuart started Sarah Coventry, which was named after his granddaughter. The business was so successful that Sarah Coventry became the largest U.S. distributor of costume jewelry in the 1970s. Home parties were discontinued in 1984 and the company went out of business. Later, the rights to the name “Sarah Coventry” were bought by a Canadian company. The jewelry is still inexpensive.

Q: I inherited a desk marked “Landstrom Furniture 1879, Rockford, Ill.” Can you tell me something about the company?

A: Landstrom Furniture Corp. traced its founding back to 1879 and was in business in Rockford until 1958. During the 1920s it made furniture in many different Revival styles, including Queen Anne, Sheraton and Chippendale.

Q: What can you tell me about a silver-plated religious item that belonged to my father-in-law? It’s a small altar topped by a tall crucifix. A relief-molded sculpture of da Vinci’s painting of “The Last Supper” is mounted on the base, and a single drawer holds a small silver tray, a small glass bottle, a spoon and a little shell-shaped font. The marks on the altar include the words, “Altar Sick Call Outfit, Jan. 11, 1910, Quadruple Plate, Homan Silver Plate Co.”

A: A century ago, it was not unusual for Catholic families to own a “sick call altar” at home to give comfort to the dying. The parish priest came to the home to administer communion to someone who could not attend Mass on Sunday, or to administer what was then called the “Last Rites” (for a person close to death). The tray is a “paten” to hold the Eucharist, while the bottle, font and spoon held holy water. Henry Homan operated a manufacturing company in Cincinnati under various names from 1847 until about 1941. The company used the name “Homan Silver Plate Co.” from about 1896 to 1915. It specialized in religious wares like your altar. We have seen similar altars offered online for $50 to $150.

Tip: Do not wipe gold- or platinum-decorated glasses when they’re still hot after being removed from the dishwasher. The metallic color will rub off.

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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 email 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.

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.

  • BPO Elks Lodge No. 20 roster booklet, Peoria, Ill., Aug. 1, 1900, 3 3/4 x 4 3/4 inches, $40.
  • Blondie watercolor paint set, lithographed tin box, comic characters on hinged lid and cardboard painting inside, 14 paints, King Features Syndicate 1952 copyright, American Crayon Co., 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches, $50.
  • Cast-aluminum donkey, “Victory with Roosevelt, 1932,” 1 x 2 1/2 x 3 inches, $60.
  • Victorian “tear catcher” mourning bottle, clear glass stopper, gold accents all around, 1800s, 7 1/2 inches, $285.
  • Vogue Ginny cowgirl doll, red top with green rickrack, green felt skirt with printed cowboy on horse, lime-green felt vest, marked, 1953, 7 1/2 inches, $350.
  • Men’s Power-House carpenter jeans, Montgomery Ward, six pockets including rule pocket, red stitching, Talon zipper, brass snaps, 1940s, 36-inch waist, $395.
  • Louis XVI-style settee, cream-colored upholstery, egg and dart molded arms, crest and seat rail, acanthus-carved knees, fluted legs, wood painted green, 1940s, 36 x 48 inches, $595.
  • Tiffany floral-form chalice vase, citron yellow, molded stem with leaf blades encircling bowl, opalescent cloudlike pattern inside, marked, 9 inches, $1,090.
  • Dr. Drake’s Glessco Cough and Croup Remedy sign, tin lithograph over cardboard, mother and father at baby’s crib, medicine on table, 14 1/4 x 11 1/2 inches, $2,750.
  • Staffordshire platter, dark-blue transfer of 1836 painting “View of Detroit,” shows settlement on river, impressed mark, 20 x 16 inches, $3,170.

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© 2011 by Cowles Syndicate Inc.