Carved dolls played important role as folk art
Dolls have been favored toys for centuries. Long before there were manufactured china, metal or plastic headed dolls, there were wooden, rag and even dried-apple heads. And often, where there was no available doll material, folk-art dolls were made with leather and beads, silk stockings, felt, carved stone and fur, knit socks, clothes pins, wishbones, corn cobs, acorns and pinecones – even old broomsticks.
A 2016 doll auction sold a German carved wooden folk-art doll, made in about 1850 from a hollow wooden tube and other wood pieces, for $1,600. It is 20 inches tall and is decorated with a painted geometric design. There are no arms or legs, but the paint suggests a bunting blanket used on babies. The auction catalog called it the “bed post doll” because the head looked like the top of a bed post and was, perhaps, made from a recycled bedpost. The original painted finish, age, size and originality all added to the value.
Q. What can you tell me about furniture made by H. Sachs & Sons? They were in Brookline, Mass., in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
A. Almost no information is available on the company. A 1922 ad for the company included antique furniture, brass, and antique restoring. The company is known for its furniture designed by Paul McCobb in the early 1950s, and for its reproductions of antique furniture. It still was in business in 1983.
Q. We have an old cast-iron stove that reads “Wooddale Belknap Hdw. & Mfg. Co. Louisville, KY” on the front. It belongs to my mom and we want to sell it, but we need to know an asking range.
A. Belknap Hardware & Manufacturing Co. was established in 1840 by William Burke Belknap. Belknap made stoves, hot plates, dutch ovens, skillets and waffle irons. The company name became Belknap, Inc., in 1968. It closed in 1985. Some stoves with the same mark as yours sell for $250-$300.
Q. After my mother-in-law died, we discovered 83 pieces of Arcoroc Pink Swirl Rosaline glass dishes in her kitchen. We’ve never heard of Arcoroc or Pink Swirl glassware and hope you can tell us what we found. Is there a market for these dishes, or should we donate them to a local charity?
A. Arcoroc was the name used by Arc International Food Service, a company in Arques, Pas-de-Calais, France. The company was founded in 1825. The name became Verrerie Cristallerie d’Arques in 1892. The name “Arcoroc” was first used in 1958 for the company’s tempered glass. The glassware was sold in U.S. department stores after a sales subsidiary was opened in the U.S. in 1966. Depression glass was popular in the 1980s and ’90s, and Arcoroc’s Rosaline was a popular pattern. The tempered glassware could be used in the microwave or freezer. The name of the company became Arc International in 2000. It currently makes dinnerware, glassware and stainless-steel flatware for restaurants, bars, and hotels. A cup and saucer sells for $3 to $6.
Q. When I married in 1954, my husband and I purchased 12 place settings of Eberthal china with serving pieces. We have dinner and salad plates, cups and saucers and bowls. It was used infrequently, well stored, and is in excellent condition. Could you give us a value?
A. In 1901, brothers Johann and Christian Seltmann opened Porzellanfabrik Johann Seltmann in Altenstadt, Vohenstrauss, Germany. Christian left to form his own factory in 1909. Johann died in 1921, leaving his business to his sons, Robert and Christian. During World War II, the company made items for the war effort like insulators, but factory buildings were damaged and the company closed, rebuilt, reopened and operated until about 2000. The Eberthal brand was introduced after the war in the early 1950s as a less-expensive line of dishes and was made until the 1970s. It was similar to the regular Seltmann products, but the decorations were slightly different, ranging from traditional flowers and scrolls to more abstract designs. Eberthal sets the size of yours have sold at auction from $75 to $360. It is difficult to sell a large set of dishes online because of the work and cost of packing and shipping. The most popular patterns today are different from those of the 1950s. If your set has an abstract design, it might sell for about $150 to $200.
Tip: If you collect the decorated glasses from fast-food restaurants, never wash them in the dishwasher. The heat and detergent will change the coloring and lower the value.
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.
• Punch Cup, moon and star, ruby flash, Tiffin, 2 1/4 inches, $15.
• Fire extinguisher, Hero can, red and white, Canada, 1940s, 5 inches, $30.
• Davenport, teapot, woman milking cow, cobalt blue and white, child’s, c. 1800, 5 3/4 inches, $85.
• Political print, Abraham Lincoln portrait, vignettes, Sangamo Insurance Co., paper, 1865, 10 x 13 inches,. $180.
• Bakelite charm bracelet, three hot dogs on buns, 4 footballs, 4 beer bottles, chain, 7 inches, $370.
• Toy, sand shovel, Mickey and Minnie on beach, Disneyana, tin lithograph, wood handle, Ohio Art, 1930s, 6 x 7 x 21 inches, $595.
• Needlework, embroidered silk textile, classical scene with servant pouring water, c. 1810, 21 x 17 inches, $800.
• Cellarette, Georgian style, mahogany & brass with tole liner, eight-sided, 27 x 19 inches, $1,220.
• Silver egg centerpiece, hinged lid with emu finial, ring handles, round ebonized foot, Australia, c. 1870, 7 x 5 inches, $5,075.
Write to Kovels, Observer-Reporter, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.