Frog tops list of odd silver serving pieces

Silver asparagus servers shaped like asparagus, fish servers that resemble fishing nets, grape shears with grapevine handles and many other unusual silver serving pieces have been made since the 19th century.

One very odd frog-shaped piece was sold this year. The frog has long, bent legs that form sugar tongs, which are used to pick up sugarcubes. The silver frog is marked “Sterling” next to a stamped picture of a griffin and the letter W.

This mark was used by Whiting Manufacturing Co. of North Attleboro, Mass., about 1900. The company started as Tifft &Whiting and became Whiting Manufacturing Co. in 1866.

It moved several times, and by 1910 it had a plant in Bridgeport, Conn. The Gorham Co. bought it in 1926, and the trademark is still in use.

Don’t confuse Whiting Manufacturing with the F.M. Whiting Co., which was founded in 1878 by the son of the founder of Whiting Manufacturing. F.M. Whiting was bought out by 1960 and is out of business.

I own a wooden settee rocker with two removable rails that fit into two sets of double holes on the front of the seat. If you remove the rails, you have a long settee rocker. If you insert both rails, there’s just a small place to sit on the rocker because the two rails are separated by about 10 inches. What are the rails for?

You have a “nanny bench,” sometimes called a “mammy rocker.” It was an invention of the first part of the 19th century. Once a rail was inserted, an infant could lie down on one side of the bench and a mother or nanny could sit at the other end and rock while she knitted or peeled potatoes. The rail kept the baby from falling out. A bench with two rails is unusual. Perhaps the original owner had twins. Two babies could be rocked at the same time in your settee.

My grandmother’s dishes were a wedding present in 1905. At least that’s what my mother told me. The full set of dishes includes 12 place settings and several serving pieces, but one cup and saucer is missing. The pink flowery pattern doesn’t work for my table, but I use it for special occasions. The dishes, which are trimmed in gold, are marked “Theodore Haviland, Limoges, France” in red. How do I complete the set?

Your grandmother’s Haviland probably was a wedding present. Haviland was the most popular choice of “good dishes” back then. The red mark on the bottom of the dishes was used by the Theodore Haviland Co. of Limoges, France, from 1903 to 1925. China has been made in Limoges since 1842.

There are many different factories with the name Haviland in the mark and many factories in Limoges. Theodore Haviland is the best-known and most wanted by collectors today.

You can find the dishes missing from your set at one of the many matching services listed on Kovels.com or in various publications. Incomplete sets are very hard to sell. Do not put the dishes in the dishwasher. The gold trim will eventually wear off.

I purchased a 71/2-inch modern-looking milk-glass pitcher with a fancy brass base. The paper label on the bottom says “Farber Bros.” I haven’t been able to find any information on the company or the pitcher. Please help.

Farber Bros. was founded in 1915 by New Yorkers Louis and Harry Farber. By then they had spent years working at their brother’s company, S.W. Farber, the maker of the famous Farberware brand of cookware.

At first Farber Bros. manufactured metal hollowware and other brass goods, but in the 1930s the company focused on its most popular product — chromium and brass tablewares that held glass or china inserts. It had already established a relationship with the Cambridge Glass Co. of Cambridge, Ohio, the company that made your pitcher.

Cambridge closed in 1958 and Farber Bros. in 1965. Your pitcher is probably in Cambridge’s 3400 line. It was made during the 1950s in milk glass and in amber, amethyst and dark emerald glass. Pieces in the line are not hard to find today. But your brass holder is rarer than the chrome holder Farber Bros. also made.

I have an intact six-pack of cans of soda. One is starting to leak. Is there a correct way to drain a can for storage purposes?

Beer can collectors open the cans on the bottom with a church-key opener. The empty can stands on the hole and the can is undamaged. We know from experience that soda cans often slowly leak until empty even if there is no visible hole. There also is a possibility that if you shake the can, it may crack open at the seam from the pressure of carbonation.

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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.

Avon decanter, Maine binoculars, Tribute Cologne and Aftershave, boxed, 1973, 4 ounces, $20.

“Smoke the Little Orphans Cigar” trade card, “Best on Earth for 5 cents,” image of 50 little orphans, made by Jos. Michl, Decatur, Ill., 7 x 4 inches, $55.

Baccarat sulfide paperweight, white cased crystal, cameo portrait of John Kennedy, signed, 2 1/4 inches, $175.

Kenton Hills pottery box, cover, portrait of brown bear with two stars on white ground, marked, 31/2 inches, $260.

Treen cake board, double-sided, male and female figures, mortise ends, 19th century, 29 x 8 x 1/2 inches, $365.

Moser cup, amber handle, applied ruby rigaree feet, decorated with blue, red, orange and green oak leaves on gold stem, accented with bee and acorn jewels, 4 inches, $400.

Raggedy Ann doll, cloth, outlined nose, printed facial features, red yarn hair, black shoebutton eyes, four lashes, Georgene Novelties, 1935, 19 inches, $650.

Mr. Peanut bank, figural, red, white and blue hard plastic, slot in top hat, marked “Made in U.S.A.,” c. 1950, 8 1/2 inches, $950.

Empire chest of drawers, cherry and curly maple, two-piece, five drawers and mirror, bottom with four drawers and scrolled front, c. 1830, 77 x 43 inches, $2,350.

Tin coffee pot, punched design of floral bouquets with tulips, dome lid with brass finial, spout stamped “Ketterer,” c. 1810, 11 inches, $4,700.