Antiques & Collectibles: Pouring wine was odd brass gadget’s function

  • By Terry Kovel
  • Wednesday, October 10, 2012 8:27am
  • Life

Part of the fun of being a collector is trying to identify recently discovered old tools and, if possible, trace the past owners of the finds.

A strange brass object was auctioned in Chicago in 2011. It was identified as a “mechanical wine pourer.” It looks like a construction toy with a rectangular “arm” made of brass rods.

It’s shaped to hold a bottle. The arm is at the top of a 14-inch-high H-frame made of brass rods. Turn a crank at the bottom of the frame, and the arm and bottle dip down. It was indeed a wine pourer.

It was marked “Yeo, Ratcliffe &Dawe,” so it was possible to learn more about it. The company opened in 1946 in London, and was sold in 1961.

Online records of local archaeology studies proved the company was housed in a building constructed in 1415 (yes, it’s almost 600 years old!) and housed a wine merchant even then.

The building was restored many times, and the 1946 restoration revealed an amazing history. It had been a three-story building serving as a wine merchant’s shop and home. Parts of the original 15th-century roof, 15th- and 16th-century beams, an original fireplace, an old white oak floor and 18th- and 19th-century additions were found.

Some of the original plaster mixed with straw was still in place. An early woman’s shoe and some clay pipes that were hundreds of years old also were discovered.

The mechanical wine pourer dates from the recent owner, sometime around 1950. But the brass pourer had extra value for collectors because of its time in the historic building. It sold for more than $1,950.

Q: What can you tell me about my electric percolator? It not only makes coffee, but can toast a slice of bread at the same time. The attached metal plate says, “Armstrong Perc-o-Toaster Model PT.” What is the age and value?

A: The Armstrong Perc-o-Toaster Model PT was made by Armstrong Electric and Manufacturing Corp. of Huntington, W.Va. The company was founded in 1899 and made table stoves, electric ranges and other electrical appliances.

Your combination percolator-toaster was first made in 1918, and was still being made in the 1930s. A waffle iron mold, which could be inserted after removing the toast drawer, was available as an accessory.

A 1931 ad in the Saturday Evening Post claimed that the Perc-o-Toaster also could cook bacon and eggs. The base of the appliance was made in different finishes, including nickel plate, black enamel and white enamel.

The price in 1931 was $11.85. Perc-o-Toasters today sell for about $200. However, the appliance can be used only with its original cord, which has a nonstandard double-plug arrangement.

Q: Is there any value to the old toys given out with McDonald’s Happy Meals?

A: McDonald’s introduced Happy Meals in 1979. The meal came in a box decorated like a circus wagon, and included a “McDoodler” stencil, McDonaldland character eraser, ID bracelet, puzzle lock, spinning top or “McWrist” wallet, a wristwatch-shaped wallet.

Millions of Happy Meal toys have been made since then. Disney toys were first included in 1987, and Teenie Beanie Babies in 1997. These toys appealed to adult collectors as well as children.

Toys are tested to make sure they are safe for young children before they are included in Happy Meals.

Toys from McDonald’s Happy Meals often are listed for sale online. Most sell for $5 or less.

Q: In the mid-1980s, I bought a matching carved oak buffet, table and four chairs from a local Minnesota antiques dealer. I think she said she bought the set somewhere in the South. There’s a plaque inside one of the buffet doors that says: “Wood Green Furnishing Co., Actual Makers of Good Hand Made Furniture, 134b High Road, Wood Green, N.22, Telephone Bowes Park 2767.” I can find out nothing about this furniture maker. Can you help?

A: Wood Green is a district within the city of London. The Wood Green Furnishing Co. started the legal process of liquidating its assets in 1941, so your furniture was made before the 1940s.

Q: I have 38 black-and-white photographs of the 1927 Rose Parade. There’s a description of each photo on the back. They’re all 3 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches and in excellent condition. Are they collectible?

A: Original photos of the 1927 Tournament of Roses Parade (its official name) sell online for $5 to $10 apiece. The first Rose Parade was held in 1890, but 1927 was the first year the parade was broadcast on the radio.

Correction: Jacob Petit (1796-1868), a famous French porcelain painter and manufacturer, which was in the Oct. 4 column, started in a factory in Sevres. Petit opened his own shop near Paris sometime after 1830 and took over a nearby factory in about 1834. He sold his factory in 1862, but continued to work in Paris until 1866. Some of the dates were incorrect in the original column.

Write to Terry Kovel, (The Herald), King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.

&Copy; 2012, Cowles Syndicate Inc.

On the block

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.

Chalkware potholder hooks, Creole couple’s smiling faces, each with hands holding wedge of watermelon, hand-painted, 1950s, 4 x 4 inch pair, $35.

Superman comic book, “Three Dimension Adventures,” with 3-D glasses, 1953, $80.

Fenton glass vase, green Diamond and Rib pattern, lime green inside, c. 1913, 10 3/4 x 3 1/2 inches, $105.

Hires Root Beer serving tray, “Ugly Kid” graphics, “The Best Drink on Earth,” early 1900s, 12 1/4 inches, $230.

Elephant whirligig, balances on large pink ball atop blue celluloid platform, tin wheels, umbrella on top with dangling glass beads, Japan, 1930s, 7 1/2 inches, $265.

Hooked rug, winter scene with trees, horse pulling sled with barrel of sap, cabin, brown, white and gray, Quebec, c. 1900, 19 1/2 x 14 inches, $325.

Sammy baby doll, Kestner No. 211, bisque, blond human-hair wig, blue eyes, peach dress and bonnet, 13 inches, $425.

Washstand, maple, dovetailed rolling-pin backsplash, cutouts for two glasses and washbowl, lower drawer, turned legs, Richmond, Va., 1840s, $495.

Silver-plated napkin ring, boy teaching dog tricks, Rogers, Smith and Co., 3 1/2 x 3 1/4 inches, $525.

Paul Revere pottery bowl, band of trees in beige and buttercup-yellow landscape, marked, Albina Mangini, 1913, 6 inches, $575.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.