Moxie, the soft drink that was introduced as a medicine in a Massachusetts drugstore in 1876, used some very early automobiles in advertising campaigns.
In 1915 or ‘16 Frank Archer, the Moxie adman who started as a clerk at the Moxie Nerve Food Co., designed the first Moxie Horsemobile. It was an eye-catching full-sized car with a live horse mounted on the back.
The first Horsemobile was top-heavy and dangerous to drive, so it was redesigned with a horse made of papier-mache. In later years the horse was molded from aluminum. The first car was a Dort Speedster, but in later years the car was a Buick, a LaSalle or a Rolls Royce.
Horsemobiles were driven in parades by daring drivers who rode the horse while controlling the vehicle’s speed and steering with specially designed pedals and extensions.
Moxie advertised in many ways and sold a lithographed tin toy replica of the full-sized Horsemobile. Today there are organized groups of collectors who search for Moxie-related items. In March a very rare version of the toy Horsemobile with a blue car sold at Bertoia Auctions in Vineland, N.J., for $5,750.
Q: I received some TootsieToy dollhouse furniture for Christmas in 1941 and still have it. What can you tell me about it?
A: TootsieToy dollhouse furniture was made by the Dowst Brothers Co. from 1922 until 1937. The company was started by Charles Dowst in 1876 and became Dowst Brothers Co. after Charles’s brother Samuel joined the business. Dowst made die-cast metal collar buttons, novelties, Cracker Jack prizes and other small toys.
TootsieToys were named after a Dowst granddaughter, Toots. The brand name was first used on dollhouse furniture in 1922 and was registered in 1924. The 1923 Sears catalog advertised “Tootsie Metal Doll House Furniture.” Sets of living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom furnishings were offered for 83 cents a set.
Dowst advertised TootsieToy as “America’s oldest toy company.” A complete set of bedroom furniture in the original box sold for $165 last year. Individual pieces usually sell for $15 to $35.
Q: I collect metal pieces made by the Chase Brass &Copper Co. They are very modern in design, and I have learned that several famous designers — including Rockwell Kent, Gilbert Rohde and Russel Wright — worked for Chase. A dealer told me Chase’s main designer was Harry Laylon, who left Chase to design for Syroco, the company that made imitation-wood novelties like bookends and clocks. Now I am searching for Laylon-designed pieces, but before I spend too much I want to be sure the story is true.
A: Yes, it’s true. Harry Laylon started working for Chase in 1933. He became its design director in 1937 and left in 1940. He designed many useful gadgets in innovative styles, including a tea ball, bottle opener, cocktail cups and bar caddy. He worked for Syroco from 1948 to 1978 designing decorative wall pieces, including mirrors, sconces and shelves. Most famous is his Sunburst clock and molded plastic lawn chair. Both are still being made.
Q: I have a pocket watch that I think belonged to my great-grandmother’s second husband. The watch face has portraits of two older men in military uniforms and the words “Einheit Macht Stark” on it. Can you tell where it was made?
A: The German words are the clue to your watch. They can be roughly translated as “Unity makes strong” or “Unity is strength.” The two men pictured are probably Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941) of Germany and Emperor Franz Josef I (1830-1916) of Austria. Wilhelm II was the last German emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until the end of World War I in 1918.
Write to Kovels, The Herald, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.
&Copy; 2009 by 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.
NFL thermos, red, white and blue stripes with emblems, red cup, 1960s, Universal Vacuum Products, 1960s, 9 3/4 inches, $30.
Microphone-shape advertising figure, promoting Los Angeles radio KMPC “Free-Speech Mike,” painted plaster, red, white and blue, 1960s, 5 3/4 inches, $75.
American Protective League Secret Service badge, pressed metal, dated July 27, 1917, 1 3/4 x 2 3/4 inches, $285.
Embroidery of American bald eagle, clutching Federal Shield, in front of U.S. and Irish flags, bullion threads, blue silk ground, c. 1875, 27 x 27 inches, $315.
Political apron, oval portraits, James Garfield for President, Chester Arthur for Vice President, red, white and blue pleated border, red and blue flag design, 1880, 27 x 30 inches, $350.
Hawkes cut glass cologne bottle, Brunswick pattern, signed, 5 1/2 inches, $400.
Appliqued and pieced basket quilt, red and dark green baskets on white ground, hand-quilted and pieced, 1940s, 86 x 86 inches, $405.
Staffordshire platter, dark blue, “Winter View of Pittsfield, Mass.,” scrolling floral border, 14 3/4 x 12 inches, $520.
Biedermeier-style burlwood pedestals, square fluted columns, stepped bases, 1940s, 47 x 16 1/2 x 16 1/2 in., pair, $1,035.
Jeep doll, Popeye’s dog, wood, jointed, composition head, King Features Syndicate, copyright 1935, 6 inches, $1,100.
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