In the 1950s, a home library or den had a solid-wood, square-topped table with four matching chairs to use for bridge, poker, mah-jongg or board games such as Monopoly. But games were not as important to the family in the 20th century as they were in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Perhaps that’s because radio and television took time away from group tabletop games. In the 18th century, very elaborate game tables were made for the main room of the house. There could be ivory, exotic woods or mother-of-pearl intricate inlay on the tabletop and legs.
Tables were made for chess, checkers, backgammon and card games. Many had the tops marked as special game boards. Some had several tops, one above the other, that could be changed for each game. A few had rectangular folding tops that opened to a felt-topped square table.
Tables were made in the style of the day, from Chippendale to Empire. Clever accessories – like slides to hold drinks or wells that held chips or counters – were made. By 1900, game tables were no longer popular. But today, old game tables, either reproductions or antiques, are wanted. Perhaps it’s because of the resurgence of poker. But a game table is also useful as a desk or an occasional table.
A blue glass bottle has been in our family for more than 100 years. The quart bottle is slightly flattened and has raised designs on both sides. One side has 13 stars across the top above the word “Union.” Below that are clasped hands and vines above an oval enclosing the words “Frank &Sons” and “Wm. Pitts.” The reverse side shows a flagpole with the flag flying next to a cannon mounted on two wheels.
Your bottle is an American flask, known to collectors as “Union, Clasped Hands and Cannon.” More than 65 years ago, Helen and George McKearin developed a numbering system for American glass flasks. Serious collectors use the system, which is detailed in the books “American Glass” and “American Bottles and Flasks.” The books name and number each bottle, including yours (No. GXII-38). Your flask was made around 1865 by William Frank &Sons at the Frankstown Glass Works in Pittsburgh. The flask sells today for about $200.
I have long been a collector of 20th-century pottery “oil jars.” Companies including McCoy and Bauer made them in the middle of the century. But what were they used for?
Beginning in ancient times, oil jars were used, literally, to store all kinds of oil, from frankincense to olive oil. But the large oil jars made by American companies in the 20th century are given that name because of their shape, not their use. They were made in the tapering shape of traditional ancient oil jars, but they’re usually used as vases.
About 13 years ago, my husband and I were cleaning our barn in Pulaski, Tenn., and found a metal mesh bag. We almost pitched it, but I decided to clean it. I found it was a gold mesh purse stamped “Tiffany &Company, 14 kt” and engraved “Lena Jones Springs, Lancaster, South Carolina.” The bag has a change purse inside attached by a chain.
Eighteen sapphires and three diamonds are set on the front of the purse, and both the mesh bag and change purse have sapphire clasps. A local jeweler says that the gems are real, but no one has been able to give me a value. Can you?
What an amazing story. In 1924, Lena Jones Springs became the first woman nominated by a major party for the vice presidency of the United States. The nomination at the Democratic National Convention was a gesture of appreciation that honored Springs for her work for the party in South Carolina. Springs, born and raised in Pulaski, married Leroy Springs of Lancaster, S.C., in 1913. She died in 1942.
The purse you found most likely dates from the 1920s, the decade when mesh purses were most popular. Tiffany &Co., the famous jewelry store, sold the bag, but it was probably made by Whiting and Davis of Providence, R.I. – the most famous American maker of mesh bags. Look for the Whiting and Davis trademark on the clasp or on a label inside the bag.
Write to Kovels, The Herald, King Features Syndicate, 888 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10019.
2007 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.
Carnival-glass bowl, Jefferson Wheel pattern, footed, three loop legs, opalescent to green, 9 inches, $55.
“I’m Gary Moore and I’ve Got A Secret” board game, Lowell Toy Co., 1956, $60.
Pflueger fishing tackle catalog, No.156, 1936, pocketsize, 130 pages, 5 x 8 inches, $110.
Ideal Toni doll, blond hair, signed shoes, original box, marked “Made in U.S.A.,” 15 inches, $215.
Woodlands Indian beaded gloves, red, blue-trimmed flowers, two-color green leaves, fringe, late 1800s, 14 x 8 inches, $290.
“Lost in Space” lunchbox, dome, metal, thermos, 1967, King Seeley Thermos Co., $410.
Royal Bayreuth tapestry basket, white and lavender Japanese chrysanthemums, marked, 63/4 inches, $575.
Silver meat fork, hollow round handle, two long prongs, turned finial end, London, c. 1730, 143/4 inches, $1,035.
Queen Anne drop-leaf dining table, maple, round top, cabriole legs, pad feet, 1820s, 28 x 43 x 42 inches, $3,750.
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