Mar 1, 2014 5 min read

Energy use and cost are big problems today, but our ancestors found some simple solutions. Conestoga Auction Co. in Pennsylvania sold a goat cart in 2013 for $236. Was it a toy? A farm tool?

Animal power was important in past years. Of course, there were horse-drawn plows and wagons. But there were also dog- and sheep-powered treadmills used to help churn butter. Donkeys, mules – and, in other countries, elephants and camels – furnished power for farm work and transportation. But goat carts have been popular not only for pulling wagons of farm products, but also as entertainment for children.

From the late 19th century into the 1930s, traveling photographers took goat cart pictures. A child sat in the cart and the photographer took the cute picture and printed a photograph or a postcard. Dozens of these vintage goat cart pictures, most from Midwestern towns, can be found on the Internet. Iron and tin toys made from about 1890 to 1940 are replicas of children or men in goat carts.

This old idea may be coming back. There is now a dog-powered wheelchair for injured veterans.

Q. My dresser belonged to my mother. She gave it to me many years ago. One drawer is marked “Kroehler, world’s largest furniture manufacturer, Permanized furniture.” I would like to sell it, but I don’t know how to go about it and how much to ask for it.

A. Peter E. Kroehler started out as a clerk at the Naperville Lounge Co. in 1893 and bought the company in 1903. He founded P.E. Kroehler Manufacturing Co. in Kankakee, Ill., in 1911. He merged the two companies with two other furniture manufacturers in 1915 to form Kroehler Manufacturing Co. The “Permanized” finish was advertised as moisture-proof. The company was sold in 1981. A new Kroehler double dresser and mirror sold for about $175 in 1957. Value today, if it’s in great condition, is about $200.

Q. I have a vase that my mother owned for many years. The top edge is gilt and scalloped and the vase has two handles. The mark on the bottom is “Usona” over a standing dragon with “Goodwin” underneath it. Unfortunately, one of the handles broke off so I’m sure it isn’t worth much, but I’d like to know who made it and how old it is.

A. The dragon mark was used from about 1906 to 1913 by Goodwin Pottery Co. of East Liverpool, Ohio. The company was in business from 1893 to 1913. You are right – the missing handle destroys the value.

Q. I have a battery-operated roller-skating monkey called Clancy that was one of my favorite childhood toys. It’s hard plastic and is about 22 inches tall. Batteries fit into one of his shoes. His head moves from side to side and he moves forward when you put a coin in his hand or into his hat, which can be attached to his hand. What is Clancy worth today?

A. Clancy the Great, a roller-skating monkey, was made by Ideal Toy Co. in 1963. It was designed by Marvin Glass & Associates, a toy design company in Chicago. The toy came with two metal “coins.” If it’s in good working condition and you have the original box, the toy sells for about $100 today.

Q. I inherited my grandmother’s set of china. The dishes are decorated with red and yellow roses. Each one has an octagonal mark with “Semi W.M. Co. Porcelain” inside it. Can you tell me who made this china and how old it is?

A. Willets Manufacturing Co. of Trenton, N.J., made your dishes. The pottery was in business from 1879 to about 1912. It used the octagonal mark on semi-porcelain made between 1879 and 1909.

Tip: To clean an old teddy bear, cover it with cheesecloth and vacuum it on the low setting. Use a small amount of foam carpet cleaner or foam from Woolite and water. Rinse. Let it dry out of sunlight.

Vacuum again. Do not soak the bear in water. The stuffing will be ruined.

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.

• Black jockey hitching post, cast metal, red and cream paint, c. 1910, 35 3/4 inches, $75.

• Bread slicer, cast iron, wood, c. 1920, 9 x 15 inches, $80.

• Pewter coffee urn, brass spigot, Roswell Gleason, Mass., 1822-1871, 16 3/4 inches, $120.

• Dancing bears pull toy, tin, black, yellow paint, wheel platform, Germany, 6 inches, $355.

• Atwater Kent radio, No. 246, table model, wood, six tubes, knobs, c. 1933, 18 inches, $360.

• Hooked rug, diamonds, sawtooth design, red, blue, tan, 37 x 23 inches, $540.

• Sewing box, pine, three tiers, pincushion on top, spool pegs, painted designs, salmon ground, 8 x 8 inches, $590.

• Staffordshire lion figurine, standing, red brown, gilt, 11 1/2 x 12 1/2 inches, $1,600.

• Georgian secretary, mahogany, fretwork, drop front, two glass doors, four drawers, c. 1800, 90 x 38 inches, $2,500.

Write to Kovels, Observer-Reporter, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.