Uncle Sam has changed since he was first pictured in 1852.
There is disagreement about how Uncle Sam came to be. Most sources say that by 1816, meat barrels sent to the Army were stamped “U.S.” and soldiers claimed it stood for “Uncle Sam,” the nickname for Samuel Wilson, a meatpacker. But these stories did not appear in reliable printed sources until years after Wilson died.
The first picture of the Uncle Sam we know was published in 1852. He was tall and thin and had white hair, a goatee, a top hat and red and white clothing. His facial features have changed a little since then, and he does not look quite as stern.
The symbol outlived earlier ones, including Brother Jonathan and Columbia and is still very popular.
In the 1930s, an iron Uncle Sam doorstop was made with the words “for the open door” stenciled on the base. That probably was a joke referring to both the use of a doorstop and a political controversy of the 1920s about the “Open Door Policy” concerning China and commerce with other countries.
Iron doorstops were very popular from the 1920s through the ’40s, and many were made. They have become popular collectibles. Many, including Uncle Sam, have been reproduced.
An original Uncle Sam doorstop auctioned recently at Bertoia for $16,000. It was listed in a 1985 price guide at $250.
My bedroom set was made by Simmons-Huntley. I think it dates from 1934. Do you have any information about the company and the value of the set?
The B.F. Huntley Furniture Co. opened in 1906 in Winston-Salem, N.C. It had been organized as the Oakland Furniture Co. in 1898. Huntley specialized in bedroom and dining-room furniture.
In 1929 it was purchased by the Simmons Co., then based in Kenosha, Wis., known for Simmons mattresses. Huntley furniture with a Simmons label was probably made between 1929 and 1935, because Huntley went back to its original owners in 1935.
Fire destroyed the Huntley plant on Valentine’s Day in 1956, but the factory was rebuilt. The Huntley name continued until the company was sold to Thomasville Furniture Industries in 1961.
The value of your bedroom set depends on its design and condition. We have seen a seven-piece bedroom set by Huntley-Simmons sell for $1,300 and a few dining-room pieces for about $400 each.
I just got a set of dessert plates with blue and white plaid transfer borders, and black and white transfer designs in the center. The mark on the back says “Vieillard &Cie, Porcelaine D. Johnston” on a ribbon curled around an Asian man. There’s a cute boy and girl in old-fashioned dress on each plate along with a French saying. I have been told the plates are 19th-century “dirty jokes.” The French is difficult to translate, but one plate says “Le droit du Seigneur,” meaning “The right of the lord.” A man is trying to kiss the girl in the picture.
The mark was used by Jules Vieillard of Bordeaux, France, after 1845. He bought the pottery from David Johnston &Co.
The company made many sets of 71/2-inch plates that could be used for dessert or salad. They were not made as part of a dinner set.
My mother has a collection of antique perfume bottles. Some have broken glass stoppers. Can we glue the pieces back together? Will the bottles retain any value if they have been glued?
The broken stopper lowers the value of the bottle whether it is repaired or not. Gluing the broken piece back will help keep the stopper in place, so it’s a good idea. If you’re lucky, you might find a replacement for the broken stopper.
On one of your TV series, you showed something called a “syllabub churn.” My parents used to make a drink called syllabub, but I can’t remember what the drink was or how it was made. Can you help? And where could I find a syllabub churn? Syllabub was a traditional, frothy British dessert made by mixing whipped cream, whipped egg whites, lemon juice and zest, sugar, nutmeg and either wine or rum. It was popular in England from the 16th through the 19th centuries and became popular in the southern United States during the 19th century.
The tin churn we showed on our TV series was an antique “whip churn” that dated from the second half of the 19th century. U.S. patents for this type of churn, often called a syllabub churn, were granted starting in the 1860s.
The open-ended cylindrical churn has a plunger with a single or double perforated disk. Antique syllabub churns sell today for about $50 to $75. You can find them at flea markets and antique shows.
Write to Kovels, The Herald, King Features Syndicate, 888 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10019.
&Copy; 2008 by Cowles Syndicate Inc.
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