The chalkboard stands 45 inches tall and is 21 inches wide.  It has a paper scroll above the chalkboard that turns to reveal different school teaching aides.  (the alphabet, numbers, math etc.)  The scroll turns by a little handle on the side of the chalkboard.  The chalkboard also folds down to create a little writing desk.

We estimate the chalkboard to be approximately 75-85 years old, are we right?

A plaque on the chalkboard reads as follows:

Litho Plate
Educational Board
Richmond School Furniture Co.
Munice, Indiana

A.
The Richmond School Furniture Company was founded by a Quaker attorney named William Foulke Spencer in Richmond, Indiana in 1892.  It made school desks, bookcases, benches, chalkboards, etc.  (Spencer had formerly partnered with another furniture company that was destroyed by fire.)  At the same time he formed the American Lawn Mower Company and the two businesses shared facilities.

The companies moved to Muncie in 1902 to be nearer the recently discovered natural gas sources, so we know that your chalkboard was made after that date.  The company stayed in business, essentially producing the same sort of things, until the mid 20th century.  (The American Lawn Mower Company is still in business today!)

The condition of your chalkboard and especially the paper scroll is amazingly good.  (I remember my siblings and I playing with a similar one nearly 5 decades ago.  We were rougher on the scrolls.) To date the piece we can look at the age of the relatives or we could look at the history of when it was possible for a New York baseball team to play a Chicago baseball team.  The New York Yankees were founded in 1903; the New York Gothams, which later became the New York Giants and then San Francisco Giants, was founded in 1883; the Brooklyn Dodgers, which later became the Los Angeles Dodgers, have been around in one form or another since 1883; and the New York Mets didn’t come along until 1962, after the Giants and Dodgers left town. The Chicago Cubs were formed in 1876 and the White Sox in 1901.  Therefore we know your blackboard was made after 1903!

Either way, the value is in the remembrances.  A similar one sold at auction recently for $45.

Q.
What can you tell me about this little china item?  It is about 3 inches tall and has one hole in it.  I thought it might be a teapot or a vase of some kind but I’m not sure.  It’s so small! It was given to me as a gift by a fellow professor.

A.
What you have is an Asian water dropper.  The color and the peach form shape indicate that it is not Chinese:  it may be Japanese or Korean.

A water dropper is an essential tool for a scholar, as are brushes, brush pots and brush washers.  The dropper would be used to pour tiny amounts of water onto a hard inkstone to get the right consistency ink to use for for calligraphy.

I can’t really tell from the photograph how old your water dropper is but I suspect it is 20th century.  The monetary value of your peach shaped brush washer with applied insects is under $100;  the value to a scholar is priceless.

Jane Alexiadis
Michaan’s Auctions

A.
The technique of producing items in silverplate as a less expensive alternative to sterling has been around since at least the 1740s.

Generally referred to now as “Old Sheffield Plate,” early plate pieces physically fused sheets of copper between very thin sheets of sterling and formed tea services, tankards, salvers – anything that could also be produced in sterling.  The Elkington SIlver Company of Birmingham was the first to successfully patent an electroplating process that could be used in manufacturing.

The Elkington Silver Company was formed by George Elkington and his cousin Henry Elkington in Birmingham, England 1841.  George had worked with an uncle in a silverplating firm since 1815 and was keen on new developments in metallurgy that simplified and reduced the cost of production.  He and his cousin held several patents involved with electricity and metals; in 1841 they bought and patented surgeon John Wright’s process of cyanide of silver in potassium cyanide to electrically coat copper with a hard and very thin film of silver.

As this electoplating process deposited pure silver rather than sterling silver (at 92.5% pure) onto the base metal, electroplated items frequently look brighter and whiter than their sterling counterparts.  The new “Elect Tro Plate,” as the Elkingtons first termed it,  was a huge commercial success. They produced tableware, cutlery, jewelry and desk items, eventually employing over 1000 people in 6 factories.

In 1868 Queen Victoria allowed Elkington to copy a number of pieces of her personal collection;  Elkington received Royal warrants from Victoria, Edward VII, George V, George VI and Edward VIII as well as the Legion d’Honneur from France.  They supplied cutlery and tableware to the finest hotels as well as to the White Star line her her doomed ship the Titanic.

In keeping with the standards of hallmarking silver in England, Elkington used a system of letter dates combined with reworkings of their logo to mark their wares.  Your mark and its date letter B identify your set as having been made in 1887.  The lovely fluted shape also points to this period.

So it is very possible for your lovely set to have been part of the furnishings of a fine home in Ireland.  It is also likely to have been part of a larger set including a taller coffee pot and a lidded sugar bowl.  (The bowl that you could now use for sugar was a waste bowl for tea leaves.)

If your family is from the Moore Hall in county Mayo then your ancestor George Henry Moore (1810-1870) is famous as having lost none of his tenants during the Great Famine.  He invested his winnings on a racehorse to buy and import grain and gave each of his tenant families a cow!

Your 19th century 3-piece silverplate tea set is a lovely reminder of your family history and the history of a successful British firm.  Its monetary value is about $200.

Regards,
Jane Alexiadis
Michaan’s Auctions

A.
Mechanical banks were first popularized in the 1870s and remained popular well into the early 20th century.  Designed to appeal to children and to encourage thrift, the little banks rewarded young savers with a little show each time they deposited a coin – the weight of the coin would activate a lever and the coin would pop into the bank.  Over 250 designs for mechanical banks have been identified.  Many of these banks are geared toward children and feature circus clowns, baseball games, girls skipping ropes and hunters shooting bears.  Other banks depicted professions:  a dentist pulling a tooth, a farrier shoeing a horse, a farmer hoeing a field.

Your Uncle Sam bank was first made in the 1880s by the Shepherd Hardware Company of Buffalo, NY.  You’d place the penny in Uncle Sam’s hand, pull a lever and the coin would drop into Uncle Sam’s satchel.  The base was decorated to look as if he were standing on an upturned wooden crate decorated with an American eagle.

This bank was extremely popular and it was one of the best selling mechanical banks of its time.  Therefore,  quite a number of these show up at auctions with prices ranging from the high hundreds to the low thousands, depending on the condition.

Your bank, however, appears to be a reproduction with a much lower value. Uncle Sam mechanical banks have been reproduced since at least the 1970s when the US was celebrating our Bicentennial.  Some of them were beautifully cast in US foundries and could rival the originals in quality. Your bank was less finely cast and not quite so nicely painted.  I believe it is a bank produced in China within the last quarter century.

The lessons of thrift and history are priceless; your bank has a value of about $25.

Q.
Can you tell me anything about these antique lead soldiers?  I believe the one on the Roman on the carriage with the four horses is from another set.

A.
Toy soldiers have been produced and played with since ancient times.  Over the centuries they have been made of wood, stone, hay, clay and metals. The French company C.B.G. Mignot began commercially producing metal military figures in 1785 and is still in business producing military figure, civilian figures, animals and NASA astronauts.

These early figures were expensive to produce and very expensive to purchase:  they never really caught on with a large market.  In the early 20th century, however, inexpensive lead figures – almost exclusively military – were being mass produced by a number of European and American companies.

Figures were sold either fully painted or as kits to be painted at home. Several companies even sold kits to promote father and son togetherness: The kits involved melting the lead at home over a burner, pouring the molten lead into molds and painting the cooled figures.  The demand for metals during the second world war diminished production of lead soldiers and by 1966 lead soldiers were banned from being sold to children.

You have a nice collection of a military band, a Roman charioteer, Swiss guards, Italian knights and a larger scale figure that appears to be a rugby player.  Some look to be commercially painted and some appear to have been painted at home.  I don’t know who produced them but unless you have an early Mignot soldier in the group the entire lot would bring $80-150 at auction.  Keep them away from children!

Regards,
Jane Alexiadis
Michaan’s Auctions

I have a feeling it might have had a top or stopper originally. It is  in excellent condition. The third photo shows the bottom of the vase where my grandmother in-law states the origin and possible age and date it  was given to them. I would be thrilled to find out any more information on the history and it’s possible value.

First of all, let me transcribe the typewritten note on the base.  “Found on a stone dressing table in house excavated in Herculaneum destroyed by Vesuvius 79 A.D.  Wedding present to D.W.R. by companion of Mrs. Bissell, 5-25-12.”

The Italian town of Herculaneum, with its sea breezes, views and vineyards, was a favorite vacation spot for wealthy Romans wanting to beat the heat of a first century summer.  The town, with its fine houses, churches and theaters and was destroyed by the same eruption of Vesuvius that buried Pompeii in 79AD.

The destruction to Herculaneum was different to that of Pompeii.  In Herculaneum, many of the buildings filled with ash and dust and were, therefore, not crushed under the flow of rock and lava.  Many buildings stayed roughly intact, their wooden beams carbonized by the heat, buried under 20 meters of of mud turned to rock.

The buried town was discovered by accident in 1709 by a farmer digging a well.  Local wealthy town-folk quickly hired engineers and excavators to loot the ancient site of its treasures.  No scientific or archaeological care was taken during this time.  Charles III (1716-1788), King of Spain, Naples and Sicily finally realized the importance of the discovery and ordered all excavations ceased when he left Italy to succeed his brother Ferdinand VI as king of Spain.  (He did not make this decree until his own palace was decorated with treasures from the looting; anecdotally he left all the Herculaneum artifacts behind when he moved to Spain.)

I go into this history for several reasons.  Most importantly, modern excavation on the Herculaneum site did not really begin until 1927, making it unlikely that the jar was a wedding gift in 1912.  Secondly, the heat, poison gas and dust related to a volcanic eruption and burial would have left a pockmarked and stained glaze, even if the crockery itself survived. Third, the shape of the two handled gourd with its iridescent glaze looks quite modern – as if it were a piece of contemporary early 20th century art pottery just right for a wedding gift in 1912.

I can’t tell from the photographs who made your jar or where it originated.  It could be an American piece from New York or Ohio; more likely it is a European piece made in the Austro-Hungary area.  It’s a sweet size, a lovely shape and a great glaze.  I don’t think it’s from Herculaneum but on its own merits I think it is a $300-500 jar.

My family and I are wondering about this rug we found in our step dad’s home.   He and our mother traveled quite a lot and we were wondering if they smuggled this out of Turkey when they were there about 20 years ago. Its about 12 feet long by two feet wide.

Throughout human history, art has been a method for people with limited literacy to record events and express emotion.  Often, in times of disruption or upheaval, traditional arts will be rethought and used in ways not seen before to capture these times.  In several types of traditional textiles, often crafted by women and children, these changes are evident.

For centuries, Andean Indians in Peru have made Arpillera.  These colorful cloth appliques generally show cheerful village scenes.  During Pinochet’s rule and the terror of the Shining Path, however, many girls used these same bright colors and techniques to depict murders and kidnappings. Hmong story cloths are similar.  Traditionally these are bright and geometric and used chiefly to show clan affiliations.  It wasn’t until the Hmong were driven out of the mountains and into refugee camps in Thailand that the cloths became more pictorial, more closely accounting the day to day lives of a disrupted people.

Hand tied rugs are another textile and they come from a part of the world – Iran, Turkey, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan – that has seen some incredible political, cultural and economic confusion over the past centuries.  No matter where they are woven, however, most rugs conform to a traditional iconography:  florals and natural motifs, geometrics, trees of life, medallions, etc.  Rugs can be identified then both by the region they are made (the quality of the wool and the style of knotting) and by the patterns and colors.

This type of rug is generally know as an Afghani war rug.  They started coming onto the market shortly after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979.  Most of them were produced in Afghanistan and by Afghani refugees in Pakistan.  The colors and knotting identify them as tribal Belouches but their iconography is something that had never before been seen in traditional rugs.  Your runner juxtaposes a troop carrier, missile launcher, tank and jet plane border around a traditional Tree of Life center.

While I am sorry to see any war rugs yours is one of the nicest I’ve seen. It probably was done in the early 1980s.  These rugs are being made in huge numbers today in much cruder forms and are popular, if gruesome, souvenirs.

It’s hard to judge what these rugs will be worth or how the iconography will evolve in the coming years.  The rugs appeal to historians, rug collectors, and anthropologists; they have the inherent beauty of a hand tied rug.  Your runner possibly was purchased on a trip to Turkey but was not made there.  At auction it might sell for $300-600.

Regards,
Jane Alexiadis
Michaan’s Auctions

You have a spectacular plate.  Someone must have loved you and your wife quite a bit to give you such an important and unusual gift.

Maria Montoya Martinez is one of the most celebrated and talented Pueblo potters of the 20th century. Probably born in 1887, she grew up on the San Ildefenso Pueblo about 20 miles northwest of Santa Fe. Traditional pots were still being made on the Pueblo but, with the influx of inexpensive tin containers, the art was practiced less and less.  Luckily, two of Maria’s aunts were skilled traditional potters and Maria’s early fascination with their work led her to learn the skills herself.

She excelled at the lengthy traditional potting process.  Sometime about 1904 she married Pueblo painter Julian Martinez and thus began a family collaboration that continued into the next generation.  They were invited to demonstrate their artistry in the 1904 St. Louis Exhibition, the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition and the 1934 Chicago World’s Fair.

In 1909 Maria and Julian were asked to replicate some prehistoric pots that had been discovered by Dr. Edgar lee Hewitt during an excavation of a nearby Pueblo.  Maria built the pots and her husband Julian painted their polychrome finishes. Both artists took to heart the shapes and symbols of those excavated pots and began to incorporate some of the ancient techniques and motifs into their work. It was their development of a technique to produce black on black matte and glossy glazed pots in 1919 that led to their greatest fame.

I won’t go into the technicalities of black on black, matte on glossy pots.  Suffice to say it is an arduous and exacting process for the potter and decorator both.  Your plate is decorated with the Wing and Storm pattern, a difficult and highly desirable motif.

As your plate is signed by both Maria and Julian it must have been produced before Julian’s death in 1943.  (After Julian’s death Maria’s daughter-in-law Santana began doing the decorations; after 1956 Maria’s son Popovi Da did the painting.  It was Popovi Da in the 1950s who really marketed his mother’s work by lecturing about traditional Pueblo pottery all over the U.S.)

As I said before, you have a spectacular plate by a most important and influential American artists of the 20th century.  If it were to come up at our auction I’d be happy to put a $3000-5000 estimate on it.  It is a treasure.

Regards,
Jane Alexiadis
Michaan’s Auctions

My grandmother was Nan Wood Honeyman and she was the first woman from Oregon elected to Congress. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 1936 after serving in the Oregon House (and before serving in the Oregon Senate).  Always civic minded, my grandmother was a delegate to the state constitutional convention; at this convention Oregon ratified the 21st amendment, repealing Prohibition.

Grandmother was adamant that prohibition was a bad thing.  Though a teetotaler herself, she didn’t feel that her children should have to sneak around and break the law to get a drink.  She felt strongly that Prohibition led to a rise in crime, violence and drunkenness.

The three scarves and a sewing thimble have come down to me though the generations.  (Every generation in my family has had a Nancy; I’m 5th generation and have a daughter and granddaughter with the same name!)  The scarves are silk. The brown one and the blue one are printed with “Repeal 18th Amendment” and the other has a border printed with “Women’s Organization for National Prohibition Reform”.

Are they worth anything?

Wow.  I’ve never seen anything like these!  The 18th Amendment to the US Constitution, also known as the Volstead act, prohibited the manufacture, sale of alcohol illegal as of January, 1920.   Supporters of the alcohol ban believed it would reduce crime, indolence and poverty while giving the common man a chance for personal and economic freedom.

As we know now, looking back on history, the 13 years of prohibition saw a huge raise in crime with the growth of smuggling rings, distilleries and speakeasies.  Crime rate and alcohol consumption grew and police and government officials spent huge amounts of money and manpower trying – some say not too hard – to stem the flow of alcohol and alcohol related crimes.

The Women’s Organization for National Prohibition Reform was founded in 1929 and by 1930 the organization boasted over 100,000 members.  By the following year they had over one million members.  Many of these women were civically active themselves and many were the wives of prominent businessmen.  Some were the same who had rallied the decade and generation before to pass the 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote.  These women were organized and energized.  They gave speeches, held rallies, hosted radio shows.  Because many of the founding members were prominent. They were frequently written up in the society pages of newspapers. They targeted speakeasies and lobbied politicians to fight for repeal.   Here’s an excerpt form their 1930 national convention.  I could never write it so succinctly:

We are convinced that National Prohibition, wrong in principle, has been equally disastrous in consequences in the hypocrisy, the corruption, the tragic loss of life and the appalling increase of crime which have attended the abortive attempt to enforce it. I’ve found that scarves like these were printed and distributed at rallies.  Other keepsakes included housewife friendly thimbles, needle cases and notepads but I found one sterling silver trophy cup advocating the Repeal of the 18th Amendment given to a Kentucky couple as a wedding gift in 1932!

Your scarves and thimbles have everything going for them.  They are visually interesting and in great condition; they illustrate an early women’s organization and its influence on American history, economy and crime; and they come with a great provenance and family history.  If they were to come up at auction I’d estimate them to go for $400 to 600 and would not be surprised if they went higher.

Regards,

Jane Alexiadis
Michaan’s Auctions

P.S. Interestingly, WONPR re-formed as a non-profit organization in 2003.  The organization currently tries to address the current failures of the Wars on Drugs and the huge societal, family, economic and crime problems currently plaguing America.

His dad, (my grandfather) gave it to his mom over 100 years ago. It was passed down from his mom, to my mom.

We used it every Thanksgiving and Christmas, but now that all of us kids are grown, scattered, and managing family occasions, (there are 8 of us) my mom and dad have no use for it. Dad wanted to give it to one of us, but I fear we won’t use it either. (too delicate and lots of work to hand-wash, etc…)

Please note that on the bottom, not all of the pieces are identical.  For instance, on one cup with the “LHS” (rather than “CHINA”) under the lion (?) it has a gold number, (45) on it. And one piece, rather than that lion, has a bird of some kind, and shows;  C T ALTWASSER SILESIA Germany, instead of  “Hutschenreuther Selb BAVARIA, or “Royal Bavarian”.

However, as you can see from the shot of the set, it all looks identical. I believe it was service for 12. There are just a few pieces missing, (1 dinner plate, 1 coffee mug, and I think at-least 1 other piece.)

Any chance you might assist us? We’d greatly appreciate any info/advice you might have to offer.

What you have is an “assembled” set of porcelain dinnerware and a brief history of the cooperative, competitive and incestuous nature of porcelain manufacturing, mergers and takeovers.

You have pieces originating in three different companies: the “Hutschenreuther, Selb, Bavaria was produced by the firm founded by Carl Magnus Hutschenreuther  in 1814.  ( he had previously worked for a competing company.)  This firm continued after his death with his wife and two sons in charge.  In 1856 Carl’s sons Lorenz and Christian opened their own firm in Selb, Bavaria (The LHS under the lion mark).  The CM Hutschenreuther continued to grow by aquiring other companies.  In 1932 Hutschenreuther  absorbed the Tielsch porcelain company of Altwasser (see your eagle mark).

Markings on porcelains differ from generation to generation. All three of your marks date from 1927 to 1939.  None of them are marked for export into the US.  (That’s a whole different article!)  and all of them were made during times of transitions in these companies and countries.

I’ve horribly simplified the story of these companies and so apologize to the porcelain experts out there.  However, what you have is not terrifically valuable.  It is a lovely set of used dishes that was assembled about 80 years ago.

I’m one of 8 siblings myself and I suggest you do what we did and give the set to one of the grandchildren who – as luck would have it – was a recent college grad setting up her first apartment. Alternatively, you could just use it everyday, dishwasher included, until it loses it gilt trim and luster and eventually breaks.

If your Dad really wants to sell the set he could offer it online for about $200.

Best of luck!

Jane Alexiadis
Michaan’s Auctions

This woven bracelet is 8 1/2 inches long.  The ends and the charm look like gold but they are not marked anywhere that I can see.  Can you tell me what it is made of and what, if any, value it has?

What you have described as a bracelet is actually a gentleman’s watch chain.  The “T” end fit into a buttonhole on a gent’s vest; the buckle end fastened onto his pocket watch.  The watch would be kept in the vest pocket opposite where the chain attached to the vest and the chain and its emblem would gracefully drape across the gent’s mid-section.

The chain itself is woven from human hair but it is not, as many people believe, associated with mourning the death of a loved one.   Hair jewelry and decoration were very popular throughout the mid 19th century:  lady’s magazines often featured patterns and instructions for weaving mementos.  This jewelry was often made by and for men and women from their own or a loved one’s locks.  If necessary, one could even order horsehair for weaving from ads in magazines!

The painstaking technique of hair work involved weaving together individual strands of hair to form hollow tubes around a solid core.  This core would be removed and the hair could be woven or knotted into necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, brooches and watch chains.  Usually these pieces, like yours, have additional fittings and decorative elements.

These decorative elements and fittings could be ordered from catalogs or purchased at department stores.  The heyday of hair work jewelry was 1860s and 1870s; by the 1880s it had gone out of vogue but the Sears catalog still sold fittings for hair work watch chains as late as 1911.

Your fittings may be a low karat gold and as such would not really add to the monetary value of the chain; the charm itself appears to be from a fraternal order such as the Knights of Columbus or the Knights of Malta. The value in the jewelry is dependent on the workmanship and the condition.  The workmanship and complexity of design on your chain is top notch and the condition appears to be impeccable.  If it were to come up at a well-publicized auction I think your hair work watch chain would bring $100-200.

Regards,

Jane Alexiadis
Michaan’s Auctions

I’m helping an elderly aunt downsize in preparation for a move to a retirement community.  She has a china cabinet full of over 30 Hummel figures and she has always cherished them.  There won’t be space in her new apartment for the cabinet so she can’t take them with her.  They don’t go with my decor (or with my big dogs with their long tails) so I don’t want them.

She’s convinced that they are very “collectible” and worth a lot of money. I’m afraid if I sell them and she learns that they’re not valuable she will regret selling them.

How much are old Hummels worth in today’s market?

Answer:  Just remember that if they gave her pleasure all these years then your little Hummel figures do have value; the value just isn’t monetary.

Berta Hummel was born in Bavaria in 1909.  She showed great talent at a young age and so excelled as an artist in elementary and secondary school that her family decided – at great financial burden – to send Berta to art school in Munich.  While in Munich she befriended two Franciscan nuns. After her graduation at the top of her class in 1931, Berta joined a convent and dedicated her life to the service of God.

Now Sister Maria Innocentia (the M.I. of her signature) Hummel, she continued to draw whimsical portraits of bright cheeked children.  These portraits were printed as notecards and calendars and sold to bring revenue to the convent.

In the 1930s the illustrations came to the notice of Franz Goebel, owner of W. Goebel Porzellanfabrik porcelain manufacturing company.  Goebel was quite sure porcelain figures of Hummel’s children would appeal to the mass market.  In 1935 an agreement was struck between Goebel and Sister Hummel: Goebel would manufacture the statues based on Hummel’s drawings and the convent would reap the royalties.

The War slowed production for several years;  Maria Innocentia Hummel died at the age of 37 in 1946 before production and popularity soared with a population looking for images of sweetness and innocence.  The figures were also a huge hit with American servicemen stationed in Germany:  they sent home figures by the score.

Production of these porcelain figures and new designs based on the original drawings continued until 2008.  There can be slight color variations between older and newer versions of the same models and sometimes the figures were simplified to make the manufacturing process simpler.  All Hummel figures are clearly marked with a facsimile signature on the body and a makers mark on the base;  these marks can help determine the age and value of a piece.

Your figure of an angel and candle over a child in a crib is called “Watchful Angel.” It was first produced in 1948 and has long been a favorite of Hummel collectors.  Your kneeling angel playing the mandolin is called “Angel Serenade”.   Designed in 1951 and first produced in 1952, this angel is considered to be part of the Hummel nativity set.

The marks on your pieces – a stylized bee inside a V above W. Germany – indicate that these particular pieces were produced between 1960 and 1972. They appear to be in lovely condition with no chips or paint loss.  Even so, the monetary value of these two pieces is about $30-70 each.

My advice as someone who worked in assisted living communities for nearly a decade is to have her choose a few favorites to take with her and to distribute the remainder between friends and family with the understanding that your aunt wishes to share with others what has given her joy over the years.

Regards,
Jane Alexiadis
Michaan’s Auctions