BIG MONEY IS SPENT AT BIG NEW YORK SHOWS

The biggest shows and sales of the year are in New York City in January. Prices are always high and the merchandise is tops. The economy is in bad shape, but at the New York shows it seemed to be fine. Sold pieces included a bird-shaped weathervane cut from copper (asking price, $85,000); an 1823 silk embroidered mourning picture from New Hampshire, $250,000; a Philadelphia William and Mary table, $72,000; a Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, sampler for $125,000; and a blanket chest with ball feet, $125,000. Other pricey pieces were a huge elk from a Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Elks lodge, $385,000; a Boston blockfront chest of drawers, $775,000; an elaborate mirror made about 1800, $45,000; and a cow figurine with bocage by Enoch Wood, a 19th-century Staffordshire potter, $12,000. Less expensive wares were selling, too. We wonder if antiques are becoming so desirable because stocks, bonds, and real estate are not great investments right now. (From a long article in Maine Antique Digest, April issue)

M IN WREATH MARK

M IN WREATH MARK

Q: This vase was given to me by a 90-year-old friend in 2000. It was given to her mother before 1920. This is the mark on the bottom. Can you tell me who made this vase?

A: This M in wreath mark was registered in Japan and the U.S. in 1911. It is usually in green, but can be found in blue, gold, or magenta. The "M" stands for Morimura, a trading company that had offices in Tokyo and New York City. Morimura Bros. Co. was founded in 1876 and eventually became Noritake Co. Ltd. The word "Nippon," the Japanese name for Japan, was used on goods imported into the United States from 1891 to 1921. After 1921 "Japan" was used. Marks used after 1915 usually include the words "Made in" and the country name.

ART BASEL MIAMI 2008

Art Basel Miami 2008

Just back from Art Basel and Art Design in Miami, one of the largest art and design shows in the world. ("Art" includes paintings, drawings, photographs, things that hang on the wall or stand on the floor or table and look good. "Design" includes chairs, tables, dinnerware and things that look good and are useful.) I see things through the eyes of a "collector of the past," so my views are biased. I noticed things at the shows that had borrowed from the past.

Moss Gallery of New York City is known for selling the latest modern pieces, so I was surprised to see a set of Bavarian furniture made by Studio Job of the Netherlands. There were six different Indian rosewood pieces with colorful laser-cut inlay of animals, birds and trees. Seventeen different colored dyes and many types of wood were used. It looked like a child's drawing of a farm. Very different from the other furniture at the show--a LOT more color--but at $70,000 to $125,000 for one piece, it seemed too playful and different to sell

well. Shows what I know about the buyers of the ultra-modern. I heard three of the six-piece sets sold in the first two days.

The good news about the show is that the economy did not ruin the show--although the early newspaper reports said it did. The crowds were a little smaller and buying carefully. Last year it was "Grab it as soon as you see it." This year it was "Take your time, check to see if the price could be lower, and buy carefully." There have been many doom-and-gloom articles about the collecting world, but we have seen that "good" will sell, "great" will still sell for high prices, and "ordinary" has problems unless it's useful (like a chair or kitchen bowls). But all require extra effort in marketing and display. (A longer report, "Everything That's Old Is New Again," will be in our February "Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles" newsletter.)

HOWDY DOODY UKE

Howdy Doody Uke

Q: I bought this Howdy Doody Uke for 50 cents at our church rummage sale back in 1972. It's in wonderful condition. Can you place a value on it?

A: The Howdy Doody Uke, made by Emenee in the 1950s, came in various colors. The box was designed to be a carrying case for the instrument. Emenee was a manufacturer of plastic musical toys for children. It was located in Flushing, New York, from 1955 to 1968. Ohio Art Company, a toy company in Bryan, Ohio, bought Emenee in 1968. Howdy Doody was a marionette that starred in "The Howdy Doody Show," a children's television show that ran from 1947 to 1960. A Howdy Doody Uke like yours, with an instruction and song sheet, sold at auction last year for $158. A corner of the box was split and the box was missing the handle. If your box is in perfect condition and you have the instruction and song sheet, it is worth more.

ASBURY PARK PLATE

Asbury Park Plate

Q: Can you tell me the value of my old blue-gray souvenir plate picturing views of Asbury Park, New Jersey? The views show six different town landmarks. There are stars circling the plate's rim and at the top is the title, "Views of Asbury Park, N.J."

A: Many different potteries in England and the United States made American souvenir plates. The plates were immensely popular from the 1890s until World War I and show scenes from famous places like Niagara Falls and from small towns, too. Others picture historical events. The plates are often marked with the maker's name, the importer's name, or both. Rowland & Marsellus, a New York City importing company in business from about 1893 to 1937, sold at least three different Asbury Park plates. If yours was originally sold by Rowland and Marsellus, it should have a diamond-shaped mark on the back with "R&M Co." inside. Rowland & Marsellus imported plates, vases, cups, saucers, and other items from different potteries in the Staffordshire district of England, but the items were marked only with the Rowland & Marsellus mark. No matter which company made or imported your plate, it would sell for about $75 to $100.