Today, the name Tiffany may mean leaded glass lamps or a jewelry store started by Charles Tiffany. But the name Tiffany is on many different types of art.
In 1893, Arthur Nash moved from England with his sons to work at the Tiffany Glass Works in Corona, New York. Arthur developed many special types of glass for Tiffany, including the famous iridescent Favrile.
The factory history gets complicated. Tiffany added a foundry, survived the rationing of the war years, and started making new designs for metal work in 1921 under Arthur’s son, A. Douglas Nash (1885-c.1940). And in 1928, Tiffany Furnaces became A. Douglas Nash Corporation.
Nash continued to make enameled metal pieces, including cigar boxes, picture frames, ashtrays and desk sets, in designs similar to but simpler than earlier Tiffany pieces. In 1932 the company closed, and A. Douglas Nash went to work for Libbey Glass and the Pittsburgh Glass Co. He died in 1940.
Some pieces marked with the Nash company name are appearing at auctions and shops. A bronze box with a colorful enameled landscape set in the top was sold at a 2015 Skinner auction in Boston for $1,353, five times estimate.
Did the bidders know that Nash was the famous glass maker who worked for Louis Comfort Tiffany? Or were they collectors of artistic 20th-century enameled metal, a collecting field that still is not well-known?
Q: I have a glass hatchet from the St. Louis World’s Fair. It’s 7 ½ inches long and has a picture of George Washington and “The Father of our Country” on one side of the blade and “World’s Fair, 1904” on the other side. What is it worth?
A: The first glass hatchets with Washington’s portrait were made by Libbey Glass Co. for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. The words “Libbey Glass Co. Toledo, Ohio” are embossed on the handle. Your hatchet, made for the 1904 World’s Fair, doesn’t have the name of the company on the handle, so it probably was made by another manufacturer. At least five different glass hatchets were made as souvenirs for the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Glass hatchets were made as souvenirs of several cities and events through the 1920s. Some have a person’s name engraved on the handle. Glass hatchets are often found for about $25-$35.
Q: I went to a charity auction in the spring of 1960 that raised funds for a community project. Senator John F. Kennedy was asked to make a donation. He contributed a white handkerchief with the initial “K” embroidered in one corner and his name scrawled alongside it. Does it have any monetary value no, and if so, how much? What’s the best way to sell it?
A: It has value and would sell well at an auction of political items or at a shop that sells political items. Letters and memorandums signed by President Kennedy while he was in office command the highest prices, in the thousands of dollars. Your autograph was from before he was president and would be worth hundreds of dollars. Be sure to write a letter telling the story of where you got the handkerchief.
Q: I was given a plate commemorating the sesquicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth in 1809. There is a portrait of Lincoln in the center of the plate and various scenes, including his birthplace, Douglas debates, the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln Memorial, and other scenes. On the back it reads “First Issue, Collectors Item” with a description. It also reads “Copyright 1958 by A.H. Zychick, Leader Building, Cleveland, Ohio” and “Kettlesprings Kilns, Alliance, Ohio.” What is it worth?
A: The design on your plate is one of five in a series copyrighted by A. H. Zychick and distributed by his company, Lincoln Commemorative Distributing Co. Kettlesprings Kilns is a manufacturer of commemorative plates that was founded in 1950 and still is in business. Collector plates have gone down in value. The value of your plate is $20-$25 retail.
Q: Is there any value to a delegate pin from the 1908 Democratic Convention in Denver? It’s a metal pin with William Jennings Bryan’s picture attached to an American flag ribbon. There is a notation that it’s from Mr. Bryan’s Fairview Farm.
A: Almost all political items are collectible. William Jennings Bryan was the Democratic party’s nominee for president in 1896, 1900 and 1908. Memorabilia from his campaigns is among the most popular with collectors and some items bring high prices. Several different badges were made for delegates to the 1908 Democratic convention. One showing Bryan on the front and Fairview, his home in Lincoln, Nebraska, sold for $75. A ribbon badge with a silver bar pin with the word “Delegate” on it at the top at the top and a celluloid button picturing Bryan and ears of corn on a red, white and blue “flag” ribbon sold for $835 a few years ago. A very rare badge for members of the Lincoln Bryan Club in Lincoln, Nebraska, recently sold for $2,375.
Q: We have a gallon whiskey jug that has a brown top with writing on it, Part of it says “Italian Swiss Galaxy Wine House, Whallen Bros., Wine, Whiskey, Brandy &Gin, 217-221 W. Jeff. St., Louisville, KY.” How old is it and is it worth anything?
A: Whallen Bros. was founded by John and James Whallen about 1902. The company made blended whiskeys and sold liquor wholesale, retail and by mail order. Your jug was made before 1909, when the street numbers were changed. It’s worth about $700.
Write to Terry Kovel and Kim Kovel at Kovels, The Herald, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.
Current prices
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.
Auto, gas tank, Evinrude, embossed eagle, metal hose, orange, white, 1930s, 9 x 9 inches, $30.
Sterling-silver bowl, Nancy Lee pattern, everted repousse gadrooned rim, bellflower band, 1946, 9 x 2 inches, $115.
Advertising, door pull, Double Cola, red, orange, gold swirl accents, 1930s, 12 inches, $240.
Blown glass, vase, Cordee, oval, raised ropes design, clear to ruby base, France, c. 1965, 11 inches, $310.
Furniture, bench, Louis XVI style, painted, padded, beaded apron, shaped feet, c. 1900, 19 x 35 x 17 inches, $340.
Document box, cherry, dovetailed, hinged lid, key, c. 1860, 5 x 12 x 6 ¼ inches, $425.
Cribbage board, whale bone, whale shape, shell panels, 19th century, 13 inches, $585.
Pottery, vase, Art Deco, gourd shape, green, L. Lourioux, 1929, 9 ½ x 4 ¼ inches, $725.
Bronze sculpture, courting couple, stepped marble base, marked, Claudion, c. 1900, 14 x 16 x 7 inches, $740.
Art pottery vase, green matte glaze, cylindrical, shouldered, flat rim, stylized flowers, 1910, 9 inches, $2,185.
Toy, boat, ocean liner, gold, black bands, three white decks, three stacks, Bing, Series IV, c. 1930, 16 inches, $2,950.
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