Small, antique painted wooden boxes can have big price tag

by Anne Gilbert | Dec 29, 2021 | Antique Detective, Features

January 2022

ANTIQUE DETECTIVE

Small, antique painted wooden boxes can have big price tag

by Anne Gilbert

The humble wooden boxes

The humble wooden boxes made in 18th-century America are popular and collectible when colorfully painted. As a November Americana auction proved, if they have a documented German Pennsylvania heritage, prices can zoom. Such was the case for a Lancaster, PA, trinket dresser box with an estimated value of $20,000. It dated from 1810 to 1850. What made it special was that it had been made by Jonas Weber and handed down in the family. The painted depiction of a two story-farmhouse and landscape, along with a date and inscription, added to the value.

Other boxes from New York State and Virginia had estimates of $200 to $600.

Historically, they served all kinds of purposes. Candle boxes were the most decorative and made of pine or poplar. Trinket boxes were often in maple. Spice boxes were contained in colorfully painted spice cabinets that could hold from four to eight or more boxes made to be stacked and nested into one another. The largest on the bottom held herbs. They were sometimes 20 inches long to hold the herbs that had been dried in bunches. Spice boxes contained ginger, pepper and nutmeg.

Bridal boxes were often 19 inches in length and colorfully painted, depicting a bride and groom and flowers. Some carried romantic inscriptions.

Candlebox

A 19th-century poplar Candlebox. (Image courtesy of Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates Mt. Crawford, VA)

Tulips and morning glories were the flowers of choice along with painted panels. Sometimes the name of the owner and date were inscribed. The painted colors that have survived were red, blue, yellow and green. They were made from the clay in the soil mixed with berries, bark and the indigo plant.

When you see how thin the wood is used in the construction, considering the primitive tools used, it is amazing they survived. First, a strip of wood was thinned and a pointed lap was made. The more decorative the laps, the pricier the piece. Next, it was soaked or steamed to make it pliable. Other times, molds were used to shape the boxes.

CLUES:

Would you recognize a cheese box or a butter box if you saw them? While both are round, cheese boxes were pegged with wooden pegs and made of ash or oak. The cheese was wrapped in gauze.

The butter box was staved and hooped since the butter was moist and the staves had to “give.” White pine that had no scent was used for staves, tops and bottoms.

Early boxes can be recognized by the use of handmade nails that were cut, pounded out and shaped by a blacksmith on an anvil.

Later boxes used machine-made nails.

Surprisingly, old boxes retain their scents. Newly-made reproductions will smell like new wood.

Before spending too much as what is offered as an antique painted box do your research. If possible, visit museum collections. Examine a potential purchase for the above-mentioned clues. An early rarity can turn up anywhere.

Anne Gilbert has been self-syndicating the ANTIQUE DETECTIVE to such papers as the Chicago Sun-Times and the Miami Herald since 1983.
She has authored nine books on antiques, collectibles, and art and appeared on national TV.
She has done appraisals for museums and private individuals.

Old laundry items are popular collectibles

by Anne Gilbert | Nov 29, 2021 | Antique Detective, Features

December 2021

ANTIQUE DETECTIVE

Old laundry items are popular collectibles

by Anne Gilbert

Would you pay $149 for a wood-and-glass washboard made in the 1940s? How about a 1920s old clothes wringer priced at $114? Such items are finding their way into restaurants and homes as decorative objects.

Collecting old laundry items seriously began 10 years ago. Items were bargain priced. These days’ prices depend on where you find them.

One of the most popular items is the washboard. They were made of so many materials and sizes that a collection could decorate and entire wall. Even potters like Bennington made washboards in the 19th century, as did others, using a brown or mottled Rockingham glaze. As rarities, collectors are willing to pay several hundred dollars for one.

Late 19th-century washboards were colorful with advertising filling the space above the soap tray. During that time, washboards were also made of yellowware and framed in pine. A real discovery would be an early washboard with a folk art carving or painting.

A 1920s clothes wringer. (Image courtesy of 3plusDog)

A washboard made of wood and glass. (Image courtesy of Laura’s Five-Star Jewelry)

Vintage washboards are popular and can cost as little as $20. Among them were those of glass, copper, wood, tin, cast iron and ribbed glass in a herringbone pattern.
When you can find them, salesmen’s samples from washboards to mangles are pricey. The mangles are small, made of wood and iron.

Old irons can make great doorstops or paperweights. Who would think wringers from the early 20th century are serious collectibles? Collectors search for those with makers’ marks still intact and in various forms.

You can’t have laundry collectibles without old boxes that once contained Staley’s starch and early soap flakes. Put on a shelf, they can be almost as interesting as a Currier and Ives print. Other popular items include magazine ads featuring laundry items and hung as art.

Don’t forget clothes pins. You’d be amazed at the variety made from the mid 19th century. Rarest and most expensive are Shaker clothes pins.

CLUES:

CLUES: There are reproductions of 20th-century washboards with printed advertising labels. Look for a tiny “copyright“ number. Buy only items in good condition.

Anne Gilbert has been self-syndicating THE ANTIQUE DETECTIVE to such papers as the Chicago Sun-Times and the Miami Herald since 1983. She has authored nine books on antiques, collectibles, and art and appeared on national TV. She has done appraisals for museums and private individuals.

What’s going on with dollhouse collectibles?

by Anne Gilbert | Oct 27, 2021 | Antique Detective

November 2021

ANTIQUE DETECTIVE

What’s going on with dollhouse collectibles?

by Anne Gilbert

Dollhouses and their mini furnishings have a history going back centuries. Not only has their purpose changed but what is being collected has changed as well.

Some dollhouses are famous and worth thousands of dollars. One created by silent film actress Colleen Moore in 1949 is on permanent display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
Historically, the earliest examples have been found in Egyptian tombs dating back 5,000 years. They were small wooden models of servants, animals and furnishings placed in the pyramids for religious purposes and their next lives.

Fast forward to the 15th century, when doll houses were referred to as ‘baby houses.’ They were in the form of cabinet display cases. They consisted of individual rooms, strictly for the enjoyment of wealthy adults.
Dollhouses as we know them were first built in the 17th century in Germany, Holland, England and France as a measure of social status.

It wasn’t until the early 19th century that dollhouses and their contents were considered suitable for children. An early English toy catalog featured doll and dollhouse miniatures made by the German firm of Lindner in 1840. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, factories began mass-producing toys, dollhouses and miniature furnishings. By the 1850s, dollhouse furniture was being made in the popular styles of the day.

A Colleen Moore dollhouse. (photo courtesy of The Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL)

Bentwood rocker attributed to Thonet. (Photo courtesy of 1stDIBS)

Victorian bedroom furniture. (photo courtesy of Lily’s Little Dollhouse)

In 1889, American department stores such as Marshall Field in Chicago and Montgomery Ward were advertising dollhouses and their furnishings in their store catalogs. As families began buying dollhouses and mini accessories, manufacturers in Germany and America made replicas of miniature Victorian furniture. By 1917, American companies making them included the TynieToy Co., Schoenhut, and the Wisconsin Toy Co.
Up until World War I, Germany produced the most prized dollhouses and miniatures.
The materials the furnishings were made of have changed over the decades, as have the dollhouses. By the 1950s, the typical dollhouse sold commercially was made of painted sheet metal and filled with plastic furniture.

It wasn’t until the early 19th century that dollhouses and their contents were considered suitable for children. An early English toy catalog featured doll and dollhouse miniatures made by the German firm of Lindner in 1840. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, factories began mass-producing toys, dollhouses and miniature furnishings. By the 1850s, dollhouse furniture was being made in the popular styles of the day.

CLUES:

CLUES: Serious collecting by adults began in the 1960s. A new wrinkle began in the 1970s when “do-it-yourself” dollhouse compartment rooms, made by amateur miniaturists, and furnishings were trendy. They are seriously collected today. Newly made miniature rooms designed by famous interior designer Michael Hogan are popular and costly.

Check the Internet to find about shows and associations to join.

Anne Gilbert has been self-syndicating the ANTIQUE DETECTIVE to such papers as the Chicago Sun Times and the Miami Herald since 1983. She has authored nine books on antiques, collectibles and art and appeared on national TV. She has done appraisals for museums and private individuals.

Still-popular bentwood furniture has long history as early example of mass-produced furniture

by Anne Gilbert | Oct 1, 2021 | Antique Detective

October 2021

ANTIQUE DETECTIVE

Still-popular bentwood furniture has long history as early example of mass-produced furniture

by Anne Gilbert

First created in 1849 by Michael Thonet, a German, bentwood furniture was one of the first designer-style examples of mass-produced furniture. One of the things that made it unique was its use of industrial techniques. Its pretzel-shaped back chairs with cane seat have never gone out of popularity and never stopped being reproduced in various adaptations. While an original, 1860s chair can fetch more than $3,000, in a retail setting, recent repros are as low as a few hundred dollars.

Thonet first made conventional-style furniture in the 1830s. However, he was continually looking for ways to cut costs of labor and materials. His first experiment led him to glue veneers together in curved shapes. That was not successful. He next tried bending solid rosewood. In 1856 he successfully combined bentwood and laminated wood into a chair with a cane seat. It was designed for the Palais Schwarzenbeg in Vienna. After that it was made in many variations. By the end of the 19th century their popular designs made them ideal for export. By the 1920s American restaurants and taverns decided Thonet chairs and tables were a good way to fill space inexpensively. Americans at home were relaxing in Thonet rockers. The famous designer-architect Le Corbusier found them so aesthetically appealing that he chose one for the 1925 Paris Exhibition to represent the spirit of the new Art Deco age.

Bentwood rocker attributed to Thonet. (Photo courtesy of 1stDIBS)

CLUES:

CLUES: The original Thonet firm was founded in Vienna in 1849. From then until 1858, furniture made there had “Thonet Wien Grumpendorf” stamped on it. Some of the early chairs can also be recognized by the legs carved from a single piece of wood instead of bentwood. By 1859 all furniture parts were of bentwood and beech wood. At that time the pieces were marked with the firm’s name impressed, stamped or with paper labels. Over the years, the paper labels usually came off. From 1869 when the Thonet patents expired furniture manufacturers around the world made an estimated 50 million copies of the Thonet balloon back chair. Among them were Joseph Hoffman of Bielitz, Austria. His pieces had paper labels. These days a single one of his chairs can be priced at more than $1,000.

One tip for collectors and historians:

One tip for collectors and historians: all original Thonet pieces were given production numbers. They were used in his catalogs in chronological order. It is important to obtain or view reproductions of the catalogs to know what was made. The sometimes elaborate scrolls and curves forming the bases of his tables can be a surprise.

Rarities, such as a child’s cradle or chaise lounge, are among the most expensive, early Thonet pieces.
Currently many variations of bentwood techniques and designs continue to be made. While they are quite difference in appearance from original Thonet designs they can be as costly as the originals.

Anne Gilbert has been self-syndicating the ANTIQUE DETECTIVE to such papers as the Chicago Sun Times and the Miami Herald since 1983. She has authored nine books on antiques, collectibles and art and appeared on national TV. She has done appraisals for museums and private individuals.

Old figural glass bottles still popular collectibles

by Anne Gilbert | Sep 1, 2021 | Antique Detective, Features

September 2021

ANTIQUE DETECTIVE

Old figural glass bottles still popular collectibles

by Anne Gilbert

Old Figural Glass Bottles

Proof that there is still interest in collecting old figural glass bottles was the recent auction price of over $1,000 for a 19th-century Indian Queen bitters bottle. It happened at a American Bottle Auction. At the same auction a pair of 19th century, figural milk glass liquor bottles fetched $1,350 for the set.

Figural glass bottles, old and vintage, have always been popular with collectors. There are many categories to choose from, ranging from historical whiskey flasks to medicine and perfume.

They have often turned up in strange places. Consider that men used to sneak booze bottles into the “out house” and toss the empties. Other times a single figural bottle may have been handed down in a family and the current owner, having no interest, puts it in the garage for a later sale.

A set of milk glass liquor bottles. (Image courtesy of American Bottle Auction)

An Indian Queen bitters bottle, ca. 1868. (Image courtesy of the Federation of Historical Bottle Collections)

Figural Bottles

There’s nothing new about figural bottles. They have been around for centuries, dating back to Egypt, 1546 B.C. Fast forward to the 19th century, when hundreds of types were made in Europe and America. Over the years they contained everything from alcohol to candy and ink. Each became a single collectible category.

Some of the most interesting celebrities of the time, many long forgotten were depicted. Others were simply busts of famous figures, such as President George Washington.
A humorous figural is known as the eye opener, “made of milk glass and painted like a human eye.” It was made in 1895.

Poison bottles are always popular conversation pieces. So many types were made that many collectors specialize.

Clue

CLUES: Unfortunately, reproductions of the most unusual and popular figurals have been causing collectors problems for years. Examples of some of the repros include the log cabin “Booz” bottle and “Brown’s Celebrated Native American Queen” herb bitters bottle. That repro has been made in Europe in clear glass. However, the originals came in several colors and clear glass.

Since figural bottles were made in a mold, the lip was applied last. Figurals made before 1900, such as the Native American bitters bottle, will have a mold seam running to the lip. Repros will have a seam running through it.

Other well-known reproductions are the Bennington Black Coachman, the Black bear, the seated figure of an old man for Poland Spring water, George Washington bust and Dr. Fisch’s Bitters in fish form.

Once upon a time, around 1850-1870, men used bear grease as a hair preparation. Made in the form of a glass bear, they are very rare these days. The figural was made by the Boston and Sandwich Glass Co. and the New England Glass Co. They were a little over 3” high and came in opaque white, light and dark blue and dark purple. Look for marks of “XBazin Phila” or “Phalen & Sons, NY.” Don’t pass up vintage figurals. They are on their way up.

Anne Gilbert has been self-syndicating the ANTIQUE DETECTIVE to such papers as the Chicago Sun Times and the Miami Herald since 1983. She has authored nine books on antiques, collectibles and art and appeared on national TV. She has done appraisals for museums and private individuals.