New Years Eve is the holiday that is represented by a clock. Some say a ticking clock is the heart of the home. Since modern digital clocks don’t click, every home should have an old clock. The tall case or grandfather clock can be found in antique and new versions. But check to be sure the clock case is not more than 8 feet high unless you have a room with an extra high ceiling. There are many other types of antique clocks that might be your favorite. Look for the banjo clock, named for its shape, first made about 1800, or the rectangular carriage clock found after the 1820s.
Children like German-carved wooden cuckoo clocks made since the 1700s or even more modern plastic versions. A late Victorian home probably had a black mantel clock placed above the fireplace or an octagonal schoolhouse clock with a “drop” section hanging below the face. The round alarm clock didn’t appear until the 1880s, but there still are some being made. And 20th-century styles include plain wooden Mission or simple Art Deco clocks.
Today clocks come in many strange shapes and sizes. There even is an alarm clock that rolls off the table to the floor so you have to get out of bed to turn it off. But these clocks only tell time — they don’t tick.
Tip: A grandfather clock should be cleaned, oiled and adjusted every five years. It is important to keep the clock level if it is to keep accurate time.
Q: I’d like information about a treadle sewing machine I’ve had for several years. It has a metal plaque attached that says “Manufacd by the American Button-Hole Overseaming and Sewing Machine Co., Phila. Pa.” Patent dates of 1850, 1865, 1866, and 1868 are listed. The machine is missing the bobbin but is otherwise complete. What can you tell me about it?
A: The American Button Hole &Overseaming Company was founded in Philadelphia in 1863. Later the name became the American B-H O &Sewing Machine Co. and still later it was called the American Sewing Machine Co. The company patented several improvements to sewing machines in the 1870s and 1880s. Its early machines included improvements patented by others. The company was in business until about 1896.
Q: I have a three-piece casserole set marked “Vertex.” Can you identify the maker and age?
A: Your casserole was made by Vertex China of Pomona, California. The company was founded in 1989 and is still in business. It makes china for restaurants, hotels, caterers, cruise lines and other industries.
Q: Does an engraved name on a pewter trophy decrease the value of the trophy? We have tennis trophies from the ’50s and ’60s that were my aunt’s from the Bay Head Yacht Club in New Jersey.
A: The trophies have little value if they are pewter. The value depends on what’s engraved on it. If it lists former winners, the name of someone famous adds value. If the trophies are silver or silver plate, they would be more desirable. Even when engraved, a sterling-silver trophy can sell for meltdown weight, or the inscription can be buffed off.
Q: I bought a child’s two-piece flatware set at a garage sale. Pictures of Bambi are on the handles. The bowl of the spoon is skewed to the left. The other utensil looks like a hoe. A label on the back says “A Walt Disney Prod., stainless by bonny, Japan.”What’s the purpose of these odd-shaped utensils? How old are they and what are they worth?
A: These are not unusual shapes for children’s eating utensils. The hoe-shaped utensil is a “pusher” used to push food onto the spoon. The bowl of the spoon is curved at an angle to make it easier for the child to get the food into his mouth without spilling. Bonny made several sets of children’s eating utensils with Disney character finials. Bambi seems to be the only one that has a raised figure of the character on the handle. A set sold online recently for $29.50.
Q: My old Coca-Cola transistor radio is in the shape of a can. It’s about 35 years old, but in good condition. I also have the box. It’s a little faded, but it’s still in good shape. Does my radio have any value?
A: Coca-Cola advertising memorabilia and collectibles are almost as old as the beverage itself. Since 1886, the year John Pemberton’s Coca-Cola syrup was first served in an Atlanta soda fountain, Coca-Cola has been advertised through signs, newspaper ads, coupons, bottles, trays, calendars, lamps and clocks. The company first used radios in the 1930s. They were shaped like bottles and are worth lots of money today. Cooler-shaped radios were made in the 1950s and vending machine transistor radios appeared in the 1960s. The first can-shaped radio was a 1971-‘72 special offer. It was a transistor radio made by General Electric that cost $5.95 with a proof-of-purchase. The radio had a 2¼-inch magnetic speaker, used a nine-volt battery and picked up local AM radio stations. Many versions of can radios, including FM versions, were made until the ’80s. They are popular but common and worth $5 to $25. Examples with the original box fall in the higher end of the range.
Write to Terry Kovel and Kim Kovel at Kovels, The Herald, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.
Current prices
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.
Bohemian glass, bowl, melon shape, yellow opalescent, crimped rim, textured body, Kralik, 9 x 12 inches, $180.
Leather jacket, beaded multicolor flowers, fringe, antler buttons, c. 1915, man’s, 28 inches, $240.
Toy, Hansom cab, dapper driver with top hat, passenger seat, horse, red wheels, c. 1915, 11½ inches, $355.
Pianoforte, Hepplewhite, mahogany inlay, Broderip &Wilkinson, Haymarket, London, 1807, 33 x 66 inches, $590.
Tiffany pendant, zodiac signs, calendar page, 14K yellow gold, round, 1½ inches, $690.
Paris porcelain, jardiniere, reserves, amorous couple, floral bouquets, waisted oval body, leaf handles, 11 x 19 inches, $800.
Sterling-silver, wine cooler, Louis XVI reproduction, baluster ribbed shape, Dominick &Haff, 8 x 7½ inches, $980.
Advertising sign, Drink a Punch &Judy Cocktail, It Recuperates, red, celluloid, c. 1910, 12 x 7 inches, $1,020.
Mirror, neoclassical style, giltwood, cushion, pierced quiver, torch, Belle Epoque, 59 x 37 inches, $2,340.
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