Memories of childhood often include the beach toys used years ago. Today, sand pails and shovels are usually made of plastic, but until the 1950s such toys were metal. Pails made from 1885 to the early 1900s are scarce, attractive and pricey.
Tin pails were lithographed with colorful flags, flowers, children, boats, cowboys and cartoon characters. Most of the American tin pails were made by J. Chein, T. Cohen Inc., U.S. Metal Toy Manufacturing Co. and Ohio Art Co. Collectors search for pails in good condition and with unusual designs, such as flags and Disney characters.
But pails are not the only beach toys available for collectors. Look for shovels, sand molds, sand chutes that put toys in motion, pumps, sprinkling cans and sifters.
My grandfather left me his grandfather clock. The works are marked “Ithaca Clock Works, Ithaca, N.Y., 1905.” I was told that the clock was originally offered by a soap company. It could be purchased with soap coupons or about $25 in cash. The clock is 8 feet tall and works, but it does not look like an expensive antique clock.
The Larkin Soap Co. of Buffalo, N.Y., was famous for offering its customers a variety of product premiums. Some premiums were pieces of furniture, including desks and bookcases. Your grandfather clock might have been a Larkin premium. Today it could sell for more than $2,500 if it’s working and the case is in excellent condition. The Ithaca Clock Co. was founded in 1865 and was very successful during the last quarter of the 19th century. It manufactured many shelf clocks and made grandfather clocks for about 20 years.
I bought a Japanese tea set at auction. The set includes a teapot, sugar, creamer and seven plates. The teapot’s spout is a dragon’s head, and there are raised dragons on the other serving pieces. The bottom of each piece is marked “Kutani” in red. What can you tell me?
Kutani ware is a Japanese porcelain first made in the 17th century. It is named for the city where it was manufactured. Any piece marked “Kutani” (using the English alphabet), rather than with Japanese characters, was made for export and dates from 1921 or later.
Years ago, I bought my sister an Elvis Presley painting on velvet. Elvis is standing and singing into a microphone he’s holding in his right hand. He is wearing a white suit and a gold scarf. The painting is 24 by 38 inches. My husband framed it, and it’s in excellent condition. What is it worth?
Elvis Presley paintings on velvet are loved as folk art or kitsch by many fans and collectors. New ones are sold every year. Older paintings sell online for $10 and up.
I hope you can help me identify a 10-inch bronze sculpture that I have had for about 35 years. The woman who gave it to me also had it for many years. The sculpture is of a boy blowing on a pipe in his right hand. In his left hand he holds a stick that is touching the ground. There’s a tiny lizard climbing a block behind the boy. The sculpture is signed “Lavergne” and has a metal label on the front that’s embossed “Charmer par Lavergne.” I was offered $1,200 for it, but I’d like to know more about it.
If your bronze is original – and an expert would have to look at it in person to be sure – then $1,200 is a fair price. The sculptor who created it was Adolphe Jean Lavergne, who was born in Hautefort, France, in the early 1800s. He studied sculpture and is known to have worked from 1863 to 1876. Your piece is titled, in English, “Charmer of Lizards.”
Many years ago, I bought our son a G.I. Joe action figure for Christmas. I still have the box, which is marked “$3.98.” The soldier is in full uniform and came with a full set of gear. I was told that early G.I. Joes had an odd right hand – the thumbnail is on the wrong side of the thumb (on the side where the thumbprint should be). This is true of my son’s Joe. What is our G.I. Joe worth?
Hasbro introduced G.I. Joe action figures (they weren’t called “dolls”) in 1964. They were such a hit with kids that the line was expanded the next year and accessories were added to create boxed sets. The incorrect thumbnail started as an early production error, but Hasbro is said to have considered the abnormality helpful because it distinguished real Joes from knockoffs. The value of your G.I. Joe depends on its age, condition and whether or not your set is complete. You were wise to hold on to the box – any set is worth more with the original box.
The Kovels answer as many questions as possible through the column. Write to Kovels, The Herald, King Features Syndicate, 888 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10019.
2004 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.
Salt and pepper shakers, Washington Monument and U.S. Capitol, gold trim, Ceramic Arts Studio, 4 inches, $20.
Political button, “Minnesota Women for Humphrey,” black, pink and white, celluloid, 1954, 21/4 inches, $185.
Roseville hanging planter, Gardenia pattern, ocher, embossed white flowers, green petals, 6 inches, $210.
Holland Butter banner, graphic of two Dutch children standing on pound of butter, gold ground, 30 x 37 inches, $250.
Celluloid dresser set, pearl-ized yellow, butterscotch, black trim, 1930s, 11 pieces, $310.
Royal Doulton plate, “Mary Arden’s Cottage,” Shakespeare Series, 1922, 101/4 inches, $370.
Amoeba-style cocktail table, free-form inset glass top, bleached ash and birch veneer, 1950s, 52 x 30 x 15 inches, $515.
Boston &Sandwich glass candlestick, apple green, petal-form socket on columnar square-step base, 1850-65, 9 inches, $560.
Steiff Red Riding Hood doll, pressed felt swivel head, black shoe-button eyes, red cape, 101/2 inches, $910.
Appliqued quilt, Sunbonnet Sue, red and white, picket finch border, 1800s, 84 x 88 inches, $1,200.
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.
Pressed glass compote, Frosted Eagle pattern, cover, 103/4 inches, $65.
TV lamp, leaping deer, chestnut, style No. 160, Phil-Mar Corp., Cleveland, Ohio, $80.
1933 World’s Fair handkerchief, Chicago, FDR picture, red, white, blue and brown, 81/2 inches, $155.
Map, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, U.S. coastal survey, 1852, 30 x 21 inches, $220.
Linen-and-cotton toile blueprint design of George Washington guiding a leopard-drawn chariot, Benjamin Franklin, goddess of Liberty and soldiers, natural white ground, 42 x 66 inches, $315.
“Across the Pacific” movie poster, Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Warner Bros., 1942, 27 x 41 inches, $390.
Pre-Prohibition advertising tray, West End Brewery, Utica, N.Y., Victorian woman wrapped in American flag, 12 inches, $550.
Federal mirror, convex, eagle crest, eagle has chain with ball in beak, mid-19th century, 24 x 161/2 inches, $695.
Effanbee dolls, George and Martha Washington, composition heads, white mohair wigs, George has brown eyes, Martha has blue eyes, jointed, dressed in costumes, 1940s, 91/2 inches, $710.
Union Leader Cut Plug Tobacco store display, cardboard, Uncle Sam in center, can of tobacco under him, yellow, red and blue, 12 x 91/2 x 7 inches, $880.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
