Halloween items have become popular collectibles. Perhaps it is because they can often be found at yard and estate sales. Perhaps that is because there are so many new Halloween items: witch-shaped candles, plastic pumpkins, trick-or-treat bags, jewelry and elaborate costumes.
But even today, there are few character dolls that commemorate Halloween. Witches, ghosts, black cats and devils are not usually comforting to small children. The dolls usually are made to look like children in Halloween costumes. One rare jack-o’-lantern doll was sold recently. The 21-inch-high doll is made of felt. The style of clothing, even the features on the jack-o’-lantern head suggest it was made in the 1920s or ’30s. It sold for $8,400.
In 1970, I bought a used, stationary toy steam engine with the word “Wilesco” on one of the cylinders. It has an electric cord to produce the power needed to make the engine work. So far I have had no success learning anything about it.
Wilesco Schroeder Co. of Ludenscheid, Germany, still makes model steam engines. The company, founded in 1912 by Wilhelm Schroeder and Ernst Wortmann, originally manufactured aluminum utensils and carving sets. Model steam engines, popular toys as early as the 1880s, weren’t made by Wilesco until the 1950s. By the 1960s it was also making toy tractors and fire engines. Your model steam engine, made between 1950 and 1970, would be of interest to collectors and hobbyists. It could sell for $50 or more.
I have a chest of drawers made by Doernbecher Manufacturing Co. of Portland, Ore. When was it made?
Doernbecher Manufacturing Co. was once one of the largest furniture makers in the country. Frank Doernbecher founded the firm in 1900, and it stayed in business for decades after his death in 1921. Eventually it was taken over by Barker Furniture. Doernbecher specialized in the mass-production of bedroom and dining-room furniture in reproduction styles. That means that its furniture styles mimicked early Colonial and other American styles, including Queen Anne, Chippendale and Federal styles.
We have a 14-inch white plaster statue of Pierrot that’s labeled “Cointreau” across the bottom. The figure’s features, including his lorgnette, appear to be hand-painted. There’s no other mark on it. The only thing we know is that it probably dates from the 1930s. Can you tell us more?
Cointreau is a brand of liqueur that some consider a type of triple sec. It’s a secret blend of sweet and bitter orange peels and pure sugar-beet alcohol. It was created in 1849 by brothers Adolphe and Edouard-Jean Cointreau, who soon founded their own distillery in Angers, France. French poster artist Francisco Tamagno came up with the idea of using the French clown Pierrot to advertise Cointreau, giving the clown a lorgnette like the one used by Edouard. Your figure probably sat in a bar or liquor store promoting sales of Cointreau.
My grandfather gave my mother a Charlie Chaplin bank when she was a little girl. It’s a painted glass figure of the Tramp, 33/4 inches tall, standing next to a clear-glass barrel, 21/4 inches tall, with a slotted tin top. Charlie is standing on a base that’s embossed with his name. The bottom of the barrel is marked “Geo. Borgfeldt &Co., New York, sold licensees, patent applied for.” What can you tell me about it?
Your bank was originally sold about 1915-20 with candy in the barrel. Collectors call it a candy container or a bank. Many glass candy containers of that era doubled as penny banks after the candy was eaten. Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) was a savvy businessman who formed a company to protect the image of his famous movie character, the Tramp, from unlicensed use. Geo. Borgfeldt, a major importing company, was apparently among Chaplin’s licensees. Today an original Chaplin candy-container bank sells for about $100 to $300, depending on condition.
I own an antique glass cruet with a cloudy residue in the bottom. I have tried a few methods of removing the residue, including applying cleansers and using a denture-cleaning solution. Do you have any suggestions?
The residue at the bottom of your cruet might be impossible to remove. It is probably a stain that’s etched into the glass. This kind of residue is caused by a chemical reaction between the glass and the liquid that was stored in it for too long. Vinegar, alcohol or any acidic juice can hurt antique leaded glass. You might be able to make the cruet look a little more attractive by swirling oil in it, then wiping it dry.
Write to Kovels, The Herald, King Features Syndicate, 888 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10019.
2006 by Cowles Syndicate Inc.
On the Block
Current prices are recorded from antique shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.
Jack-o’-lantern candy container, plastic, 1950s, Union Products, 31/2 inches, $25.
Halloween postcard, scared boy, pumpkin, witch’s hands grabbing him, postmarked 1916, $35.
“The Strange Changing Vampire Toy,” MPC model, “From Vampire to Skeleton to Vampire,” 1970s, sealed, $125.
The Beatles blanket, English wool, name at center, images of drums, guitars and portraits of The Beatles with facsimile first-name signatures, Witney, 1964, 58 x 75 inches, $325.
Monsters glass set, Universal Pictures, wraparound design of Frankenstein’s Monster, the Mummy, the Creature from the Black Lagoon and the Wolfman, 1960s, 61/2 inches, $340.
Political mechanical bank, Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill, “The Great Political Feud,” cast aluminum, O’Neill’s gavel taps coin into Reagan’s head, 1983, Miley’s Inc., 2 inches by 5 inches, $495.
Sad Sack doll, cartoon character, vinyl, fabric clothing, 1950s Sterling Doll tag, 20 inches, $570.
Official Lone Ranger cowboy costume, furlike chaps, plaid shirt, vest, image of Lone Ranger riding his horse, Silver on neckerchief, hat and mask, 1939, $615.
Meissen platter, phoenix-and-dragon design, gilt-and-brown highlights, marked, c. 1910, 14 inches, $750.
Stickley Brothers library table No. 2601, bookshelves at sides, original hardware, signed, paper label, 40 inches by 26 inches by 30 inches, $750.
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