Some early toys wouldn’t pass today’s safety standards
Many of the clever toys and accessories for children are just updated versions of very old things. The pacifier, now made of soft plastic, is an inexpensive idea that came from the silver and coral pacifier and teether of the 18th century. Dolls date back to the cavemen. Highchairs were in use in the 19th century, but they would have failed the safety tests given today. And antique cribs usually have bars that are too far apart and paint that contains lead, making them so unsafe you can’t sell them to be used by children. But some antique cradles are bought to hold dolls, and sharp tin toys are kept high on a shelf as decorations. In February 2015, an early wooden baby tender was sold by Cowan’s Auctions in Cincinnati. The 15 spindles are shaped like those used on Windsor chairs. It was originally painted red, then later painted with a grain finish. There is a built-in seat and a tray so the child could walk, sit or play in the baby tender. The unusual piece sold for $780 and will be displayed but not used by a 21st-century baby.
Q. I own a matching set of chest of drawers and vanity with an adjustable mirror made by the Keystone Furniture Co. of Williamsport, Pa. They are Queen Ann style and are made of oak, black walnut and maple. Both need refinishing but are in nice condition otherwise. The chest was painted in the past, and I removed most of the finish from all but three drawers. How much is this set worth “as is,” as compared to being refinished?
A. George Luppert (1835-1914) emigrated from Germany in 1853 and established Keystone Furniture Co. in Williamsport in 1887. It closed in 1906. Furniture made around the turn of the 20th century sells for used furniture prices. Refinishing it won’t lower the price. Since you’ve already started restoring the finish on the chest, you should finish the job. It will look better and may be sold for a higher price. There is much discussion about refinishing museum-quality pieces. American 18th-century furniture can lose as much as 80 percent of its value if it has been refinished, but European furniture that has been refinished or even restored does not lose much value as long as the work was well done.
Q. I inherited a set of Bavarian china from my aunt. It’s white with gold trim and is marked “Hutschenreuther, Selb,” “Pasco” and “The Brighton.” My favorite piece is a 13-inch round platter. Can you tell me its worth and age?
A. Your platter was made by Hutschenreuther, a company founded in Hohenburg, Bavaria, in 1814. A factory in Selb, Germany, was established in 1857. “Pasco” is the mark of Paul A. Straub & Co. of New York City, an importer in business from 1915 to 1970. “The Brighton” is the name of the pattern, which was made from 1965 to 1987. Hutschenreuther became part of the Rosenthal division of the Waterford Wedgwood Group in 2000. Rosenthal was bought by Sambonet Paderno Industries, headquartered in Orfengo, Navara, Italy, in 2009. Your platter is a chop plate made 50 years ago. It sells for $140 today.
Q. I’d like to know what my set of Depression-glass dishes is worth. The pattern is Normandie, the color amber. My mother took me to the movies in the 1930s, and they gave dishes away. She got three pieces each week. I have continued collecting them. I have 18 seven-piece place settings, plus serving pieces. Can you help?
A. Normandie was made by the Federal Glass Co. from 1933 to 1940. It was available in amber, crystal (clear), pink and spring green. It also was made in an iridescent marigold color, collected as carnival glass and called “Bouquet and Lattice.” Sets of dinnerware aren’t selling well, and Depression-glass prices are down. Retail prices for amber Normandie pieces are: dinner plate, $27 to $33; luncheon plate, $10 to $12; salad plate, $10; bread and butter plate, $4; small berry bowl, $5; master berry bowl, $10 to $18; footed sherbet, $7; oval vegetable bowl, $15 to $20; platter, $15; and water pitcher, $65.
Q. My bookcases have a stencil printed on the back that reads “The Wernicke Co., Minneapolis, Minn.” Are they valuable?
A. Wernicke bookcases were patented in the 1890s by Otto Wernicke, who started the Wernicke Co. in 1893 in Minneapolis and moved it to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1897. His company was bought by the Globe Co. of Cincinnati in 1899, and the company name became Globe-Wernicke, but that lasted only a few years. In 1904, Otto Wernicke left Globe-Wernicke and acquired Fred Macey Co. of Grand Rapids. The company name became Macey-Wernicke, and in 1908, Macey Co. The glass front stacking bookcases, advertised as “Elastic Book Cases” and known as “barrister” bookcases, made by all of these companies sell for about $100 to $125 each.
Tip: To clean pewter, rub it with fresh cabbage leaves.
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.
• Movie poster, Sing You Sinners, Bing Crosby, Fred MacMurray, Paramount Pictures, three sheets, 1932, 40 1/2 x 80 inches, $60.
• Pencil holder, Mickey Mouse, figural, pie-eye Mickey, composition papier-mache, painted, Dixon Products Co., c. 1930, 8 1/2 x 5 inches, $150.
• Pocket tin, Honey Moon Tobacco, tin lithograph, couple seated on crescent moon, multicolor, red ground, Penn Co., 4 1/2 x 3 inches, $265.
• Lamp, Art Deco, streamlined seaplane, ground milk-glass tower shade, chrome metal, electric, 9 x 7 1/2 inches, $275.
• Judaica, wedding goblet, George V, sterling, engraved in Hebrew, dedication to groom, Jacob Rozenzweig, London, 1916, 5 1/4 inches, $305.
• Earthenware, potpourri jar, lovebirds, reticulated, cream-color glaze, bouquet finial, handles, c. 1890, 13 x 13 inches, $355.
• Library steps, Regency style, leather upholstery, brass tacks, folding, seven rungs, 93 x 13 inches, $1,415.
• Folk art, bellows, painted, hilly landscape, houses, flowers, mustard, green, red ground, 19th century, 18 3/4 inches, $3,900.
• Sterling-silver tazza, applied leaf-and-seed base, footed, Johan Rohde, Georg Jensen, Denmark, stamped, c. 1945, 12 3/4 x 14 1/4 inches, $16,250.
Write to Kovels, Observer-Reporter, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.