Nations’ borders help date vintage globes

Globes have been symbols of wealth and scientific knowledge since the 1500s, after Columbus had dared to sail the ocean without fearing he would fall off the edge of the Earth. Early European globes were wooden or metal balls covered with maps drawn on linen or vellum.

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.

Printed globes came later. It must have been a challenge to decide how to transform a flat map into a rounded globe. One of the earliest solutions was to put the map on a series of “gores” (paper or fabric shaped like long, pointed ovals) that were glued to a ball.

By the 18th century, globes looked very much as they do today, except that much territory had not yet been explored and the shapes of land masses and lakes were often wrong.

By 1887, Rand McNally had made its first printed globe. Collectors today probably will find globes from the 19th and 20th centuries. They can be dated by the shape of the stand, which usually matched popular table legs of the day. But political boundaries have changed so often that it is best to date a globe by checking the names and borders of countries in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

Don’t ignore the small tabletop globes used in schools the past 100 years. Many people collect them.

I bought a small, black pottery vase at a local art gallery. The artist’s signature, scratched into the bottom surface, reads “Elizabeth Loveto, San Ildefonso, Pue.” I know that Maria Martinez is probably the most famous potter from San Ildefonso, but I thought I could find some information about Elizabeth Loveto on the Internet. I could not.

The artist who made your pot is Elizabeth Lovato, not Loveto. She is still working in San Ildefonso, a pueblo located between Pojoaque and Los Alamos, N.M. Maria Martinez (1887-1980) is famous – her work is known as “Maria pottery.” Her “black pottery” style is a tradition that has been continued by other San Ildefonso artists.

We would appreciate your thoughts about an ice crusher that was left in the garage when we bought our house. It’s cast iron, weighs about 20 pounds, and is 12 inches tall by 6 inches wide, not counting the large wheel on one side. The wheel can be cranked with an attached horizontal handle. The printing on the side reads “Alaska Ice Crusher, Winchendon, Mass., No. 1.”

Your ice crusher was made sometime between the 1880s and the 1930s. It was manufactured by the Alaska Freezer Co. of Winchendon. It could be used in homes or at hotels or bars to crush small blocks of ice. The crushed ice was used in drinks, to make homemade ice cream or to keep food cold. Ice crushers like yours sell for $35 or more.

I’m 80 years old and have a wicker doll buggy I bought with my savings when I was very young. I think it cost me about $5. The buggy is in good condition. It’s marked “Lloyd Loom Products, Method Patented Oct. 16, 1917, Menominee, Mich.” Do you think someone would like to have it?

Marshall Burns Lloyd (1858-1927) invented a process for mass-producing “wicker” furniture. He used steel wire wrapped in twisted fiber and fitted around a framework. He applied for his first patents in 1917 and soon was the world’s largest manufacturer of baby carriages. Within a few years, Lloyd’s company, Lloyd Loom, was manufacturing furniture, too. The firm is still in business. We’re sure someone would like to have your doll carriage. You could sell it or donate it to a museum in your area. We have seen Lloyd Loom doll carriages priced up to $325.

I have an advertising display for a Waltham pocket watch. It’s 91/2 by 73/4 inches and is titled at the top, “Parts of One Riverside 16 Size Watch, Waltham Watch Co.” Inside the glass-covered, framed display are all the tiny parts that go into making the watch. I estimate that the display is close to 100 years old. What can you tell me?

The Waltham Watch Co. was in business in Waltham, Mass., from 1854 until about 1957. During that time, the company was a major employer in Waltham and manufactured about 40 million watches. The Waltham Riverside 16-size pocket watch was introduced in 1899 and made through about 1910. A Waltham Riverside 16-size in working condition sells for about $300. Your display of the innards of the watch would be of interest to both watch collectors and advertising collectors.

My large china serving platter is white with flower decals. I would like to know where and when it was made. The under-glaze mark is green. The mark has the word “Krautheim” within an oval with “K &A” above it and “Selb, Bavaria, Germany” below it.

Your platter was made by Krautheim &Adelberg Porcelain Factory of Selb, a city in Bavaria, Germany. The factory was founded in 1884 by Christoph Krautheim. At first it was a porcelain decorating shop, but in 1912 it opened its own porcelain manufacturing plant. The mark on your platter was used from 1945 to 1979, when the factory closed.

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