Old-school baby walkers are rarely seen today

Published 3:41 pm Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Mothers in the past, like those today, were eager to see their children walk, and many different toys were created to help.

Most would not be considered safe today because both the baby and the walker could fall.

Standing stools, also called baby walkers or baby minders, were shown in pictures as early as the 15th century. By the 18th century the favored design was a wooden frame with four slanting posts and some cross pieces.

The baby stood inside the frame and could hold the cross pieces to stand. Some other stools were made with a square base on wheels. The child could push the frame easily because of the wheels.

By the 19th century, there were improvements. A small shelf on the front held toys. Springs were added to allow the child to jump up and down.

I have an amber bead necklace that belonged to my great-grandmother. It’s more than 100 years old. The string is broken, and I wonder if restringing it will lower the value. I have never worn it for fear of losing it, but I enjoy the memento of my namesake.

Having your beads professionally restrung will help keep them safely together and raise the value. The string jewelers’ use today is strong and durable. Once the beads are safely strung together again, enjoy wearing them.

I inherited a pair of pictures in shadowbox frames from my great aunt, who lived to be 103. I remember seeing them in her apartment 50 years ago. The rectangular frames have a thin gold border surrounding a wider wooden filler tinted pale blue to match part of the picture inside. Both pictures are prints showing Victorian ladies. Each lady is dressed in folded and pleated fabric, so the picture has a three-dimensional look. They look like very elaborate paper dolls. Can you tell me about them?

Your prints are sometimes called “Victorian Fashion” lithographs. Pictures of fashionably dressed women were printed and sold in magazines and pattern books in the late 1800s. Then later some were framed and “dressed” to hang as decorations. Most of the old ones had walnut frames or oval frames with raised glass. In the 1940s this type of picture came back in favor, and new ones were made. These were like yours, with painted or tinted pastel-colored frames. Value of the 20th-century versions: about $200 each if in great condition.

A few years ago I received a set of dishes. It includes eight place settings, but is missing one cup. The dishes are white with a gray and aqua floral pattern. The green stamped mark on the bottom of each piece is a crown surrounded by the words, “Royal Heiden, Fine China, Bavaria, Germany.” Is it worth my time and money to search for another cup?

It wouldn’t be hard to find a cup for your set. Replacement services list your pattern as Royal Heiden’s “RHE3” pattern. A cup and saucer would run about $16.

In an old factory, I found a box full of what look like small glass bottle stoppers. But they look too small to be stoppers. Could they be insulators for electric lines?

They’re too small to be insulators. You don’t tell us what kind of factory you found them in, but we’re going to guess it was a furniture factory. At one time, glass glides were often used on the bottom of the legs of tables, chairs, sofas and other pieces of furniture. We suspect your glass “stoppers” are glides for furniture.

Write to Kovels, The Herald, King Features Syndicate, 888 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10019.

&Copy; 2008 by 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.

Patriotic flag radiator cap hood ornament, embossed shield and bracket, 5 flags, 1930s, 10 inches, $115.

“Send John Wayne to Vietnam” protest button, photo on John in cowboy hat, red background, 1968, 1 1/4 inches, $120.

Star Wars Luke Skywalker teapot, glazed ceramic, shows Skywalker on Tauntaun, 1980, by Sigma, 10 x 10 inches, $175.

The Monkees game, features musical notes path, image of bank, Monkeemobile, instruments, Transogram, 1967, 9 x 17 inches, $220.

G. I. Joe doll, Scarface, Marine manual, shoes, belt, blond hair, Pat. Pending, $275.

Mickey Mouse military theme sewing set, titled At Sea, Airman Mickey and Mickey In The Army, original thread, WWII, Semco Art Needlework Pty., 6 x 7 inches, $505.

Pictorial hooked rug labeled “General George Washington,” beige ground, George with his horse, cherry tree &house, 3-feet-by-4-feet, $1,920.

Applique quilt, 4-block, eagles-and-roses border, c. 1856, intertwined stems with flowers and pomegranates, yellow ground, red eagles and flowers, 94 x 94 inches, $2,585.

Durand art glass vase, Moorish crackle, white and royal blue over amber, c. 1928, 10 x 11 inches, $4,485.

Prisoner-of-war bone ship model, 3-masted, pinned and planked hull with figurehead bust of woman, detailed decks with capstan, hatch cover and rails, 1855, 12 x 13 inches, $5,175.