Q
& A with the Antique Detective
Q. I bought this vase and was told it was around 100 years old. I've searched
the internet trying to find it. No marks. Just the number "9882" on the bottom.
Can you tell me value, etc.? T.M., Keystone Hts., Florida
A. From your
photo, your vase appears to be late 19th century, pottery with a transfer print
of mother and child, made in one of the many German factories operating at that
time. Many of their inexpensive pieces weren't marked. The number refers to the
mold. Similar pieces sell in shops for $50 and up.
Q. This copper horse and
jockey copper weather vane is 54" x 22" high. It was purchased at the Santa
Anita race track by a peddler when the horse barns were being torn down. The
peddler found it in one of the barns in 1969 and sold it to my sister. If this
could be linked to Seabiscuit, it would be priceless. B.L., Keystone Heights,
FL
A. There is bad news and good news about your weather vane. It predates
Seabiscuit and depicts another famous racehorse, Dexter of the 19th century. The
clue is the costume of the rider; long pants, not the boots worn by jockeys by
the 1960s. The good news is that even though many such vanes were made from 1870
to 1900, they can sell at auction for $8,000 and up.
Q. Can you date this
carved wood picture frame that has been in the family attic for decades and the
value? D.M., Keosauqua, IA
A. Your picture frame dates to the 1860s, '70s.
It could sell in a shop for $125-$150.
Q. I bought a set of six Windsor
chairs at auction several years ago. They were in pieces and had been stripped.
My husband restored them. On the bottom is engraved "C.B." Before they were
stripped, there also was a paper marked with a picture of a sailing ship and a
date of 1792. Can you tell me something about them and value? M.G., Fountain,
MN
A. The Conant Ball Furniture Company began making quality furniture in
Boston, Mass., in the late 19th century, specializing in Colonial furniture
reproductions including Windsor chairs. They went out of business in 1980. Your
chairs were made in the early 20th century. Since collectors are buying
reproductions, your chairs could sell at auction for $500. More with label and
original finish.
Q. I would like to know something about my painting of a
woman with three children. It is signed in the lower left "F.G. Grust" and is 2
ft. by 3 ft. G.M., West Leechburg, PA
A. F.G. Grust was a 19th century
Dutch painter known for women and children subjects done in oils. If your
painting is an oil, it could sell at auction for $2,000 or more.
Q. I would
like to know the value of this hand painted Noritake dinner set, made in Japan
in the 1920s. H.W., Arnold, PA
A. Your complete set could sell in a shop
for around $1,200.
Q. This calendar plate from 1914 with the picture of Betsy
Ross sewing the flag was left to me by my grandmother. The back reads, "The D.E.
McNicol Pottery Co, East Liverpool, OH." It is from B. Weiss Wholesale Liquors,
East Pittsburg, PA, and is 8 inches in diameter. I would like to know the value.
A.U., Lower Burrell, PA
A. Calendar plates were popular from 1906 to 1926.
Yours could sell in a shop for $50.
Q. This still bank is made of glass. On
one side it says, "Find a safe place for Your savings" and "The Dollar Savings
Bank." On the bottom, it says, "Mutual Savings Bank of Pittsburgh, PA". The back
says "Organized In 1855." Can you tell me what the value might be? G.P.,
Gebsonid, PA
A. Your still bank could sell in a shop for $200 or more.
|
Horse and jockey
weather vane, 1870-1900, $8,000.
Reproduction Windsor chair,
set of six, $500.
Noritake dinner set, $1,200.
1914 Betsy Ross
calendar plate, $50. |
