HORSE VEHICLE LICENSE

Q: I have this nickel-plated brass piece shaped like the number 2. I think it is a 1912 license for a one-horse vehicle. I would like to know more about this piece. Can you tell me why it is shaped like a "2" and who made it?

A: This is a Springfield, Ohio, license plate for a horse-drawn vehicle. For several years, plates in Springfield and some other cities were shaped like the last digit of the year, so your 1912 plate is shaped like a "2." The 1910 plate is an "X" shape, representing the Roman numeral for 10. It was made by Hiss Stamping Co. of Columbus, Ohio. The plate was displayed on the vehicle. License plates are technically "registration" plates, since they indicate that the vehicle is registered and the tax paid, not that the driver has a license. Massachusetts became the first state to require vehicle registration in 1903, when automobiles became popular and money was needed to maintain the roads.

STONEWARE BANK

We track down rumors in the world of antiques every month. A few weeks ago we heard that a 4 1/2-inch stoneware bank, made in Ohio early in the twentieth century, was bought on eBay for $500, then sold at a regular auction for $40,000. Wrong. Garth's Auctions sold the eBay stoneware bank for $5,875. Still not a bad profit. The bank had a cobalt blue "folksy" design of flowers and a bird and "Barberton Ohio" in the inscription, all price increasing features. Rumors often have a grain of truth that is exaggerated. Watch out also for suspicious provenance. Here are two popular claims being used right now: a container, a simple covered box or bowl, is advertised as a cocaine or an opium jar; an ordinary item, usually a tool or a quilt, is described as having been made by a slave. Neither is very likely. Don't be fooled into bidding extra because of the story.

THE HEADLESS PRESIDENT

Where is the president's head? It disappeared this weekend just before the Hiram College commencement ceremonies in Hiram, Ohio. The college was recently given an 8-foot-tall 1914 carved sandstone statue of President James Garfield. Garfield, an Ohioan, was president of Hiram College before he was president of the United States. The statue was installed Thursday in front of the restored Greek Revival college building that had once been a church. By Friday morning he was headless, looking like an ancient Grecian artifact. But please, if anyone has seen Garfield's head (with full beard and mustache), let the Hiram police know at 330-569-3236. No reward, but as a trustee of the college I would be most grateful.

HOMER LAUGHLIN DISHES

Q: I have a set of dishes that was stored at a duck hunting club for many years. Can you tell me anything about the pattern and when it was made?

A: Homer and Shakespeare Laughlin, two brothers, began making pottery in East Liverpool, Ohio, in 1871. The pottery became Ohio Valley Pottery in 1874. Later it became Homer Laughlin China Company. In 1897 William Edwin Wells and Louis I. Aaron became the owners of the pottery. Members of their families still operate the company. The headquarters moved to Newell, West Virginia, in 1907. Homer Laughlin China Company is one of the most prolific producers of dinnerware in the United States. The company estimates that between 25,000 and 30,000 different patterns have been made. The peacock mark was used on the Wells shape and on some Century, Jade and Orleans shape dishes from 1930 to the 1940s. Your dishes are Century shape, which was made from 1931 to c.1951. The pattern is Briar Rose. Many Homer Laughlin dishes were sold in Montgomery Ward catalogs in the 1930s.

GLOBE WERNICKE BOOKSHELF

Q: Can you give me any information about an oak bookshelf-desk I inherited? It has 3 separate glass-front shelves and a unit that is a desk with a fall front. The parts are joined together with metal bands. The glass doors lift up and slide back.

A: The Globe-Wernicke Company invented stacking bookcases, which they called "elastic bookcases." The bookcases could be customized by stacking the shelves in various ways. The company patented the "equalizer," a method of opening the glass doors by sliding them back instead of swinging them out. The Globe Files Company was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1882 and the Wernicke Company was established in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1893. Globe bought the Wernicke Company in 1899 and became Globe-Wernicke Company. The name was changed to Globe-Weis after Weis Manufacturing was purchased in 1963. Globe-Weis became part of Cardinal Brands in 2000 and is still in business. Globe-Wernicke bookcase-desks like yours with 4 sections, a base, and top sell for about $750 or more. The highest prices are for those in good condition with the original labels intact on the back of each section. Older bookcases with wavy glass are more valuable.

TERRY KOVEL TO BE VOLUNTEER AUCTIONEER FOR WVIZ-PBS

Terry will hawk antiques and collectibles donated to the WVIZ-PBS Ideastream benefit auction in Cleveland. The auction airs April 23-26, 2009. Her segments will start around 7 p.m. (EDT) each evening. Check back that week--there will be a link to streaming video of the auction on Kovels.com. For now, you can view and bid on some of the lots on the station's site.

HOMAN SILVER PLATE

Q: I have a silver punch bowl, tray, and 12 silver goblets that were my grandmother's and probably date back to 1900. I would love to know the value.

A: Your punch bowl set was made by The Homan Manufacturing Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. Henry Homan and Asa F. Flagg went into partnership in 1847 making pewter items. Some pieces were marked "Flagg & Homan." Silver-plated pieces were being made by the 1880s and the company name became the Homan Silver Plate Co. in 1896. The name Homan Manufacturing Company was first used sometime between 1904 and 1915. The company went out of business in 1941. The punch bowl alone sold last year for $230. Your set of 14 pieces is worth $500-$600.

LA FRANCAIS

La Francais

Q: I have an old platter that belonged to my mother. It has this mark on it. I would like to know who made it and how old it is.

A: La Francais is a pattern made by the French China Company in Sebring, Ohio. The pottery was founded c.1900. It became part of the Sebring Manufacturing Company in 1916. Since your platter also has a 1910 patent date mark, it must have been made between 1910 and 1916.