A high-post bed with a frilly canopy is the dream of every little girl, according to storybooks and decorating magazines. This type of bed first appeared in the late 1700s and remained popular until the 1840s.
The high posts were made to hold a top frame that could be covered in fabric or netting. Night air was thought to be unhealthy, so the beds had both a cover and side curtains to keep out diseases of the night.
By the 1800s, canopies kept out insects but not air. Eventually the side curtains were removed except in tropical areas with bug problems. The high-post (or tall-post) bed, ignored in Victorian times, came back with the Colonial revivals of the 1930s and later.
Today, both antique and vintage beds are for sale. And there are reproductions of the lacy hangings, too.
I got some picture discs – record albums with pictures on the vinyl – from a Capitol Records facility that closed several years ago. They’re in excellent condition and have never been played. I have the original album covers, too. Among them are The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.” Can you estimate their value? How should I take care of them?
The pictures on your discs are actually under the clear vinyl of the record. Picture discs were first manufactured in Germany in the early 1920s. During the next three decades, manufacturers in Europe and the United States used everything from aluminum, cardboard and shellac to plastic and wax to make picture discs.
Vinyl was the material of choice by the 1960s, when picture discs were manufactured in small numbers as promotional items. But in the late 1970s, there was a big push to move picture discs into commercial markets. Capitol Records was one of the U.S. companies that made the discs, which remained popular for only about 10 years.
The Beatles and Pink Floyd discs you mention were released in 1978. Capitol produced about 150,000 “Sgt. Pepper” picture discs. One sells today for about $20. Only about 60,000 copies of the Pink Floyd disc were produced. It’s valued today at about $35.
Keep your picture discs in their covers, stored away from humidity and heat.
My Currier &Ives lithographed print is titled “Kitties on a Frolic, The New Hat.” It’s 14 inches long by 10 inches high and shows three white kittens playing with a black top hat. It’s dated 1877. What is it worth?
Make sure your print is an original, not a reproduction. Look at it using a magnifying glass to be sure that you do not see multicolored dots, which indicate that you have a photo-lithographed reproduction. The image, not counting the border, should measure approximately 81/2 by 121/2 inches.
If it’s original and in excellent condition, it would sell for about $175.
I found an Abraham Lincoln silk campaign ribbon among my grandmother’s papers. In the center of the ribbon there’s a bust of Lincoln wearing a bow tie and jacket. The words “Lincoln and Johnson” are printed below the picture. Above are the word “Snyder” and the image of a flying eagle holding an American flag furled around a pole. I described the ribbon to some Civil War buffs, who told me to store it in a bank vault.
Political ribbons were once worn the way we wear political buttons. The ribbons were first printed in large quantities in 1824 to celebrate the Marquis de Lafayette’s tour of the United States. By 1840, they were widely used in political campaigns.
Abraham Lincoln ran with Andrew Johnson as his running mate in 1864, and various Lincoln and eagle images are found on 1864 campaign ribbons. They are also found on later ribbons celebrating reunions of Civil War veterans.
The word “Snyder” might be the name of a “coattail” candidate – a Republican running in 1864 for a lesser office – or of a town where the candidates were campaigning.
If your ribbon dates from the 1864 campaign and if it’s in excellent condition, it’s worth about $2,000. Have an expert look at it.
Write to Kovels, The Herald, King Features Syndicate, 888 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10019.
2005 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.
Souvenir tumbler, Spirit of St. Louis, pictures Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower, milk glass, 4 inches, $150.
Honeymoon Express toy, circling airplane, tin lithograph, clockwork, Marx, original box, $275.
Bohemian spangle-glass cruet, petticoat form, shaded blue to clear, clear applied handle, cut faceted stopper, 6-1\2 inches, $350.
Tiffany silver tea strainer, bead-and-scroll-design rim, ivory handle, c. 1880, 6-1\2 x 3 inches, $415.
Victorian mother-of-pearl inlaid papier-mache sewing box, gilt trim, inlaid floral design on sides, village landscape on cover, England, 19th century, 12 inches, $590.
Prince Matchabelli perfume bottle, Duchess of York, amber, 5-sided, 1924, 3 inches, $785.
Steuben ceiling lamp, bell-shaped gold Aurene shade, single drop chain, signed, 8 inches, $1,200.
Stoneware crock, cobalt-blue tulips, swags, two ear handles, R.C.R., Philadelphia, 1859-1900, 16 inches, $1,355.
Shaker storage box, pin, 4 compartments, New Lebanon, N.Y., c. 1840, 3 inches, $2,100.
American classical sideboard, mahogany, brass mounted, high backsplash, freestanding columns, three drawers, four doors, 43 x 74 x 24 inches, $3,525.
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