Avid readers, do you find yourselves in a pickle when you lose your place in a book? All right, maybe that’s a little labored. Still, a brightly colored, pickle-shaped bookmark can get your attention no matter what you say about it. And that’s exactly what the Heinz brand counted on with advertising premiums like these die-cut cardstock bookmarks.
This set of nine was sold by Morford’s Antique Advertising Auctions for $130. On one side, you have a bright green cucumber with a smiling child or chef holding a Heinz product. On the reverse, there’s a reminder of how “Pure, Clean, Good” Heinz products are, along with a list of a few of their “57 Good Things for the Table,” like (of course) pickles, baked beans, tomato soup and various relishes and sauces.
Heinz introduced the “57 Varieties” slogan in 1892. It wasn’t exactly truth in advertising; by that time, the company had more than 60 products. There are a few different stories about why the number 57 was chosen: because 5 and 7 are lucky numbers, or because it makes a memorable slogan. Considering that the company has been in business for over 150 years, with the slogan still easy to recognize, either one may be true.
Q: I inherited a mahogany drum table, raised on a turned pedestal with splay legs and roundels. Because I can’t find an image or replica anywhere online, I need you to advise me. What is the type of furniture and what year or time frame was it made?
A: Tables like yours were first made in the late 18th century. The drum-shaped top usually has a leather surface and several drawers. It may rotate. We have seen them called by several names: drum tables, library tables, card tables, loo tables (after a card game) or rent tables. The name “rent table” comes from their supposed use in business transactions. We have read that they were used to discreetly handle transactions: a client could place the money in a drawer, then rotate the tabletop so the drawer now faced their creditor on the other side of the table. Apparently, this was more genteel than exchanging money directly. The multiple drawers could also be used as a sort of filing system to keep track of multiple clients. No matter how they were used, these tables are associated with the Regency period (circa 1811-1830) in England. The corresponding American furniture period is American Empire (circa 1815-1840). There was a revival of Regency styles in the 20th century. Your table could have been made anywhere from the early 1800s to the mid-1900s. An expert would need to see it in person to determine if it is authentic Regency or a revival piece.
Q: I have a Florence Stove Company Model HR91D. I’m pretty sure it’s an oil heater but I am not positive. I’m hoping you can help me identify it. And do you know of people who collect items like this?
A: The Florence Stove Company has its roots in the American Oil Stove Co. founded in Gardner, Massachusetts, in 1884. The company was taken over by Central Oil and Gas Co. in 1890, and it became the Florence Stove Co., named after the town of Florence, Massachusetts, where the kerosene burner was invented in 1872. The company’s stoves burned kerosene. They made ranges, heaters and burners. In the 1930s, they introduced an oil and gas combination range and oil-burning space heaters. Later, they made electric ranges as well. Production in Gardner came to an end in the 1950s. And yes, there are collectors of antique and vintage stoves! Contact The Antique Stove Association (antiquestoveassociation.org) to get in touch with collectors and dealers of antique stoves in the United States and Canada. Many antique stove dealers and restorers are also collectors. The Antique Stove Hospital in Rhode Island (stovehospital.com) and Good Time Stove Company (goodtimestove.com) have information available online.
Q: Do you know of anywhere or anyone that buys old photos? I have an antique framed black-and-white photograph with another photograph on the back of the frame.
A: Old photographs often sell for low prices at thrift shops and estate sales. Some collectors will buy antique framed photographs just for the frame. If you want to sell your photos for a higher price, you could try contacting an antique photography collectors club like the Daguerreian Society (daguerreiansociety.org) or looking up photography classes, clubs or shows in your area. Some used or antiquarian bookstores also sell antique photographs. In the 1990s, some dealers and art galleries started taking interest in “found” photographs, or antique photographs, usually of ordinary people and everyday life, taken by amateurs.
TIP: Don’t write on the back of a print with either pencil or ink. Eventually the writing will bleed through to the front.
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.
Advertising, stand, Maxwell House Coffee, oval top, six-lobed lower tier, rectangular base, painted red, yellow lettering, 27½ by 18 by 12½ inches, $40.
Furniture, stand, plant, neoclassical, faux marble top, painted, round, three legs, crossed, faux bamboo, 19th century, 42 by 12½ inches, $160.
Dollhouse, diorama, living room, 19th-century style furnishings, desk, secretary, two chairs, prints on wall, rug on floor, cat figurine, demilune display case, lights, 10 by 15 by 9 inches, $170.
Advertising, sign, Providence Washington Insurance Company, George Washington portrait, Gothic lettering, tin, frame, early 1900s, 26½ by 20 inches, $250.
Cowan Pottery, paperweight, elephant, on square base, red glaze, Margaret Postgate, circa 1930, 4½ inches, $830.
Satsuma, vase, globular, multicolor scene, festival, allover figures, flared lip, tapered base, short flared foot, gilt trim, marked, Kawagurisu Ogurusu, 7½ inches, $875.
Silver-American, mug, reeded bands, textured border, applied handle, scrolled, engraved, chased, coin, marked, “A.E. Warner, Baltimore, Mar.,” 1820s, 3¾ by 3 inches, $925.
Delft, tile, paving, square, round frame, bird in landscape, blue, yellow, green, white, England, circa 1630, 5¼ by 5½ inches, $1,475.
Cut glass, centerpiece, Aurora Borealis, scalloped rim, skirted base, two pieces, Pitkin & Brooks, 15 by 12 inches, $1,800.
Rug, Feraghan Sarouk, dark blue medallion, vines and leaves, white field, red spandrels, dark blue border, leafy vines, palmettes, mid-20th century, 11 feet, 11 inches by 8 feet, 8 inches, $2,460.
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