Taking care of paper antiques
Do not store newsprint with other paper antiques. The high-acid paper used for newsprint can discolor or even destroy other paper documents. Even if the newsprint does not touch the other paper, acid is carried through the air and your paper antiques will suffer.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
BREAKING NEWS
"Breaking news," as they say on TV, describes this week. Steiff, the famous German firm that has made stuffed bears since 1902, moved about 20 percent of its production to China five years ago. Now all manufacturing will return to Germany and to factories in Portugal and Tunisia. The company will have better quality control and fewer shipping delays, according to the Financial Times. Steiff toys made in China were sold at lower prices. Now the company plans to return to higher-priced, top-quality products like those made years ago. "For children, only the best is good enough," says Steiff's chief exec.
DONATING YOUR COLLECTION
Donating your collection
If selling your collection is out of the question, you might want to donate it for the tax deduction and the pride in knowing you have created an important resource for other collectors. The inventory of Records Revisited, a Manhattan store, was given to Syracuse University by the estate of Morton Savada. The collection of 200,000 recordings made from 1895 to the 1950s, catalogs, and other materials was valued at $1 million. Now students can hear the real sound of a 78 rpm recording. If you have records that won't sell--and most won't--see if there issee if there is a local historical society, library, or museum with an interest in recordings that would accept your collection. You are then entitled to a tax deduction for the value of the collection, which is often more than the total sale value of your single records. But beware. Most old records, including the earliest ones, are worth very little or nothing. Look at sales online to see what we mean.
If selling your collection is out of the question, you might want to donate it for the tax deduction and the pride in knowing you have created an important resource for other collectors. The inventory of Records Revisited, a Manhattan store, was given to Syracuse University by the estate of Morton Savada. The collection of 200,000 recordings made from 1895 to the 1950s, catalogs, and other materials was valued at $1 million. Now students can hear the real sound of a 78 rpm recording. If you have records that won't sell--and most won't--see if there issee if there is a local historical society, library, or museum with an interest in recordings that would accept your collection. You are then entitled to a tax deduction for the value of the collection, which is often more than the total sale value of your single records. But beware. Most old records, including the earliest ones, are worth very little or nothing. Look at sales online to see what we mean.
LAVA LAMP
Talon Merchant Capital, a private equity group in Chicago, is buying Lava World International from Haggerty Enterprises, also of Chicago. The company will sell lava lamps to more countries. The new owners are also planning new versions of the lava lamp featuring children's characters and new colors. The lava lamp was first made in 1963, went out of fashion in the late 1970s, and came back in the 1990s.
GEORGE WASHINGTON
George Washington's boyhood home in Virginia was excavated over the past seven years, and more than 500,000 artifacts were found. They included nails, glass, building parts, soil samples, and bits and pieces of all kinds. But alas, no hatchet and no traces of a cherry tree
ZSOLNAY
Q: I have a vase that was left in my grandmother's apartment garage in the 1940s. They hired immigrant farmers to help with their cattle farm. The vase has a mark with five steeples and the words "Zsolnay, Pecs." It is also marked with an impressed "1063" and the printed number "68." What can you tell me about its origin?
A: Vilmos Zsolnay founded a pottery in Pecs, Hungary, and was producing ceramics by 1853. The trademark with five churches was first used in 1878. The medieval name for the town translates as "Five Churches." The initials "T.J.M." that appear in the mark on your vase stand for Terez, Julia, and Miklos, the children of Vilmos Zsolnay. They took over the factory after his death, but their initials were used as early as 1878. The impressed numbers indicate the year the piece was introduced. Number 1063 tells us that vases like yours were first made between 1882 and 1885. The other number might be a design or shape number. Similar vases have auctioned for $65 to $90 in the last year.
DAUM MARK
Q: I can't identify this glass mark. Any ideas?
A: The mark on your paperweight is a variation of a mark used by the French glass factory, Daum Freres & Cie. It is an acid-etched mark that was used from 1900 until 1905. It has the word "Nancy" and abstract pictures of an iris and a dragonfly found on other Daum marks. Daum was started by Jean Daum in 1875 as "Verrerie de Nancy." The company, now called Cristalleries de Nancy, is still working.
Daum marks have many variations, but they almost always appear with the name "Nancy." They can be found painted, acid-etched, engraved, wheel-cut, or in cameo relief. Modern pieces are stamped or etched with "Daum France" and the Cross of Lorraine. But beware: many acid-etched glass marks are modern fakes added to old or new pieces.
A TIP FROM A READER
A tip from a reader
Add this to your tips on what to wear while treasure hunting: Carry a face mask. My friend and I picked up mold spores from some old barn wood and my doctor said a mask would have helped. Good for dusty attics and damp basements, too.
Add this to your tips on what to wear while treasure hunting: Carry a face mask. My friend and I picked up mold spores from some old barn wood and my doctor said a mask would have helped. Good for dusty attics and damp basements, too.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
UNCLE SAM STRENGTH TESTER
Uncle Sam and the Kovels wish you a Happy 4th of July! Uncle Sam, in this case, is a 5-foot-4-inch strength tester that was displayed for years at the Liberty Belle restaurant and saloon in Reno, Nevada. People could deposit a coin in the figure's slot, squeeze Uncle Sam's right hand, and determine their strength by looking at the dial on the figure's chest. Uncle Sam, on his cast-iron stand, auctioned this past weekend for $25,875 at James D. Julia Auctions in Fairfield, Maine.
FIREWORKS HISTORY
Fireworks History The Fourth of July celebration started in 1777 in Philadelphia with speeches, parades, fireworks, and extra rum for the troops--a day of drinking and explosives. Fireworks were invented 3,000 years ago in China and were part of European celebrations by the 1600s. Eighteenth-century fireworks could last for hours, but there were no automatic lighting systems (like those used today), so there was a long wait between blasts. But fireworks are made with explosives and accidents happened. Houses were sometimes set on fire and it was not unusual for people to be killed or wounded at the displays.
HANDLE WORLD WAR II SOUVENIRS WITH CARE
Handle World War II Souvenirs with Care
Souvenirs from World War II and the wars that have followed it are aging and may be dangerous. Hand grenades, bullets, mortars, mines, and guns came home with the soldiers and were often stored in attics after a few years. Last month a Columbus, Ohio, woman found a hand grenade among her father's belongings stored in a shoebox in the garage. She put it in her car and after driving around running errands for a few days, she stopped at a fire station to dispose of it. Imagine her surprise when the firefighters quickly evacuated the parking lot.
In other incidents during the past year, some World War II grenades were taken to an auction house to be sold--the bomb squad was called and shooed everyone out of the building; and a landmine was found in a trash bin and everyone nearby had to be moved out of the way.
Explosives deteriorate, become unstable, and can explode unexpectedly. Although the Army sends out posters to veterans to remind them about the danger, children and veterans have died in the past year from handling war souvenirs.
Don't throw any type of explosive in the trash. It could harm city workers. We found a box of rifle bullets in our very hot attic a few years ago. Our son had stored the box with his hunting rifle years before when he moved out of town. We took the bullets to the nearby firehouse but kept the empty box as a collectible.
Souvenirs from World War II and the wars that have followed it are aging and may be dangerous. Hand grenades, bullets, mortars, mines, and guns came home with the soldiers and were often stored in attics after a few years. Last month a Columbus, Ohio, woman found a hand grenade among her father's belongings stored in a shoebox in the garage. She put it in her car and after driving around running errands for a few days, she stopped at a fire station to dispose of it. Imagine her surprise when the firefighters quickly evacuated the parking lot.
In other incidents during the past year, some World War II grenades were taken to an auction house to be sold--the bomb squad was called and shooed everyone out of the building; and a landmine was found in a trash bin and everyone nearby had to be moved out of the way.
Explosives deteriorate, become unstable, and can explode unexpectedly. Although the Army sends out posters to veterans to remind them about the danger, children and veterans have died in the past year from handling war souvenirs.
Don't throw any type of explosive in the trash. It could harm city workers. We found a box of rifle bullets in our very hot attic a few years ago. Our son had stored the box with his hunting rifle years before when he moved out of town. We took the bullets to the nearby firehouse but kept the empty box as a collectible.
EBAY FINED IN EUROPE
eBay Fined in Europe
EBay was fined $61 million (38.6 million Euros) by a French court for damages to the French company LVMH, makers of Louis Vuitton leather goods, Dior perfume, and more. LVMH claimed 90% of the products sold online under its brand names were fake. EBay did not do enough to keep counterfeit merchandise off the site, the court ruled. EBay said it will appeal. In another French case, eBay was fined $31,400 (20,000 Euros) for not protecting sales of Hermes handbags. Tiffany & Company in the United States has also sued eBay, but the case is pending. Collectors have been trying to get eBay to remove fakes quickly but have been frustrated. Maybe the European lawsuits will help the U.S. eBay see the wisdom in trying to keep fakes away.
EBay was fined $61 million (38.6 million Euros) by a French court for damages to the French company LVMH, makers of Louis Vuitton leather goods, Dior perfume, and more. LVMH claimed 90% of the products sold online under its brand names were fake. EBay did not do enough to keep counterfeit merchandise off the site, the court ruled. EBay said it will appeal. In another French case, eBay was fined $31,400 (20,000 Euros) for not protecting sales of Hermes handbags. Tiffany & Company in the United States has also sued eBay, but the case is pending. Collectors have been trying to get eBay to remove fakes quickly but have been frustrated. Maybe the European lawsuits will help the U.S. eBay see the wisdom in trying to keep fakes away.
REPLICA INDIAN TREE?
Q: I have a soup dish marked "Indian Tree Ridgway." How can I tell if it is a replica or the real thing?A: It's not a replica. The Indian Tree pattern is based on a Chinese design from the 1700s. It was a popular design in the 19th and 20th centuries and was made by several different manufacturers, including Ridgway. Pottery marked "Ridgway" or "Ridgways" has been made in the Staffordshire district in England since 1808. Your dish is also marked "detergent proof," which means it was made after c.1944.
DR. SWAYNE'S MEDICINE BOTTLE
Dr. Swayne's Medicine Bottle
Q: I found this bottle when I was digging and I can't find any information about it. It is square, 6 inches high, and the embossing on the sides reads "Dr. H Swayne's Compound Syrup of Wild Cherry." It is an unusual color. Can you tell me anything?
A: Dr. H. Swayne's Compound Syrup of Wild Cherry was made by Huston Swayne, M.D., of Philadelphia. It was a "patent medicine" advertised as early as 1840 as a "sovereign remedy" for consumption, coughs, colds, asthma, difficulty breathing, pain in the side and breast, palpitation of the heart, influenza, croup, sore throat, nervous debility, and diseases of the throat and lungs. It claimed to purify the blood and restore the liver and kidneys to healthy action by invigorating the nervous system. Dr. Swayne's son, William Phillips Swayne, ran the business for 40 years after his father died. William died in 1906 at 81 years old.
The iridescence on your bottle is caused by deterioration. Buried glass is subject to slow corrosion by moisture. The colors are a reflection as light rays are broken passing through the corroded layers. This generally lowers the price of a bottle for serious collectors, though common bottles that have iridescence are bought for their decorative value. Near-mint bottles marked Dr. H. Swayne sell for $75 to $150.
Q: I found this bottle when I was digging and I can't find any information about it. It is square, 6 inches high, and the embossing on the sides reads "Dr. H Swayne's Compound Syrup of Wild Cherry." It is an unusual color. Can you tell me anything?
A: Dr. H. Swayne's Compound Syrup of Wild Cherry was made by Huston Swayne, M.D., of Philadelphia. It was a "patent medicine" advertised as early as 1840 as a "sovereign remedy" for consumption, coughs, colds, asthma, difficulty breathing, pain in the side and breast, palpitation of the heart, influenza, croup, sore throat, nervous debility, and diseases of the throat and lungs. It claimed to purify the blood and restore the liver and kidneys to healthy action by invigorating the nervous system. Dr. Swayne's son, William Phillips Swayne, ran the business for 40 years after his father died. William died in 1906 at 81 years old.
The iridescence on your bottle is caused by deterioration. Buried glass is subject to slow corrosion by moisture. The colors are a reflection as light rays are broken passing through the corroded layers. This generally lowers the price of a bottle for serious collectors, though common bottles that have iridescence are bought for their decorative value. Near-mint bottles marked Dr. H. Swayne sell for $75 to $150.
IVORY
Tips on Care and Repairs
Last week's tip about ivory included a suggestion about holding the ivory near an open flame and sniffing the smoke for a telltale odor. It is not a good idea for an amateur to try this; the ivory may be burned. The website given in the tip had an incorrect letter. It should have been iovinc.com.
Last week's tip about ivory included a suggestion about holding the ivory near an open flame and sniffing the smoke for a telltale odor. It is not a good idea for an amateur to try this; the ivory may be burned. The website given in the tip had an incorrect letter. It should have been iovinc.com.
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