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Untangling a Scroddled Mess: Reference Notes & Definitions

September 9, 2011 in Miscellaneous Antiques, Pottery & Porcelain by admin | No comments

Redware jar, scroddled, with copper glaze

Redware jar, scroddled, with copper glaze

We churn out reference notes on a variety of topics every month.  There’s no telling what we’ll cover next.  This month, we’ve done articles on Central American textiles, a Victorian engraver, a modern furniture designer, and an African-American daguerreotypist.  These reference notes are one of things that sets p4A apart from other databases and pricing resources, and we work hard to keep them coming.  They’re often the product of a great deal of collaboration and are a real attempt to sort out what is all to often several centuries of ambiguity and confusion!

This month, I’ve been attempting to sort out the meaning of the word “scroddle.”  That seems simple enough, doesn’t it?  It’s a word, so you just go to the dictionary.  But most dictionaries didn’t turn up anything and those that did offered only a vague definition like, “mottled pottery made from scraps of differently colored clays,” which would certainly describe the little jar pictured above.  (Just fyi, the Urban Dictionary doesn’t have a “definition” at all – go make one up!)  But, I thought, scroddle sounds like an OED word if there ever was one!  But, according to the helpful young woman at the local library reference desk, nope, not even there!

So, as a last resort, I decided to consult the modern version of the tribal counsel – Facebook.  I have a good friend who is a potter and a material culture historian, so I thought I’d just leave a post on her wall and see what she thought.  Before long, I had the entire pottery community chiming in, including a former editor of Ceramics in America and assistant curator at Colonial Williamsburg.  We got opinions on the origin of the word, why and how the meaning may have changed over time, and a collection of alternate spellings.  I’ve been working on sorting so many “mights” and “maybes” into a reference note, but this sort of wide-ranging collaboration and research is really what makes the database special and what makes our reference notes worth reading.  The next time you’re doing a search and you see a linked term in an item record, take a minute to click through – you might be surprised at all you learn!

Click here to read our reference note on “scroddle”.

-Hollie Davis, Senior Editor, p4A.com

To search the Prices4Antiques antiques reference database for valuation information on hundreds of thousands of antiques and fine art visit our homepage www.prices4antiques.com

Collecting Antique & Vintage Coca-Cola

August 30, 2011 in Advertising, Ephemera by admin | No comments

1950s Coca-Cola Santa Claus with dog cardboard cutout store display

1950s Coca-Cola Santa Claus with dog cardboard cutout store display

Coca-Cola is one of the most widely advertised products in the history of American manufacturing, and if the possibilities for collectors are almost unlimited, so is the potential for misleading the novice with fakes and reproductions.

Pharmacist J.S. Pemberton developed the formula for Coca-Cola in 1886, and for the past 122 years, Coca-Cola advertising products have hit the streets in record numbers and quantities.  The Coca-Cola Company has mounted some of the most successful advertising campaigns not only in this country, but all over the globe.

Santa Claus by Coke

From the very start, the company projected an image of wholesomeness and patriotism.  Early print advertisements featured beautiful women, adorable children, and winsome teenagers; some simply enjoyed a refreshing glassful, and for others it was a much needed thirst quencher and energizer during wholesome American activities including motoring, swimming, golfing, diving, and skating.   Coca-Cola advertising was so ubiquitous, that Santa Claus, as we know him today, is the result of a 1931 Coke campaign designed by illustrator Haddon Sunblom, who modeled the “Jolly Old Elf” after himself.  From 1931 to 1966, Sunblom’s Santa was the star of Coca-Colas seasonal advertising, and to this day informs the American ideal of Santa Claus.

Coca-Cola Collectibles by the Score

Coca-Cola advertising items and memorabilia include: combs, mirrors, knives, forks, calendars, thermometers, plates, checker sets, stuffed animals,  T-shirts, caps, Olympic pins, cutlery sets, night lights,  door knobs, syrup cans, dolls, fans, ice picks, puzzles, thermometers, signs, mugs, yo-yos, toy trucks, toy planes, bicycle lights, cookie jars, napkin holders, sheet music, clocks, cups, glasses, playing cards, coolers, die-cuts, figurines, bottle openers, medallions, pin backs, radios, scarves, ashtrays, bats, bingo cards, rulers,  key chains, salt & peppers, blotters, toy telescopes, carriers, syrup jugs, jump ropes, menus & menu boards, carriers, vending machines, signs, and trays.

Coca-Cola 1903 Hilda Clark serving tray

Coca-Cola 1903 Hilda Clark serving tray

Authentic Coke Trays

The trays are the biggest single category, with at least 47 versions manufactured over the years.  The oldest trays are not surprisingly, the most valuable, with the 1903 serving tray with an image of Hilda Clark (pictured) being one of the most valuable. While it’s not difficult to find most of the trays, people used them and wet glasses of refreshing Coke created lots of damage and rust.  Mint condition trays are unusual, and command high prices.  Prices for the common trays from the 1950’s and later have fallen substantially.

Reproduction Coke Trays

During the 1970’s when Americana was a popular decorating motif, Coca-Cola issued reproductions of some of their most popular early trays.  These reproductions will be marked as such on the backs.  In the 1980’s, they did the same, in honor of their 100th anniversary.  While these are authentic, Coca-Cola issued trays, they are considerably less valuable than their antique and vintage counterparts.

-by p4A contributing editor Susan Cramer.

Reference & Further Recommended Reading:

To search the Prices4Antiques antiques reference database for valuation information on hundreds of thousands of antiques and fine art visit our homepage www.prices4antiques.com

Happy Birthday, Baby: Antique Birthday Gifts

August 24, 2011 in Fine Art, Holiday & Patriotic by admin | 1 comment

Andy Warhol screenprint, "Heart", inscribed "Happy Birthday / Tommy P / love Andy Warhol / May 1979"

Andy Warhol screenprint, “Heart”, inscribed “Happy Birthday / Tommy P / love Andy Warhol / May 1979″

As Heraclitus said, you never step in the same river twice. I wonder if he had a child, because while you never step in the same river twice, in many areas of life you can sort of, sometimes, “wade” into the same river twice, and at least attempt to recreate situations that have passed – reconnect with high school friends, try for a more peaceful start to the day tomorrow, make a different choice from the restaurant menu next time, etc. But that’s the bittersweetness of children – once it’s gone, it’s gone, and every day they become another version of themselves and yesterday’s version vanishes forever. To my unending delight, there are, of course, all those versions to come, but to my unending sadness, the Nora I had at three days and at three months are gone. In just a few weeks, I will have 365 versions of her behind me – she’ll be a whole year old! And so, in honor of Baby Girl’s first birthday, I thought I’d take a look through the database at all the things that have been birthday gifts at some point.

I was surprised by how many birthday-related items we have in the database! Some of them were originally made as birthday gifts, while others have had the role of birthday gift added to their legacy after becoming antiques. For instance, this little traveling desk with all its cubbyholes and a tiny engraving of George Washington in the center was a gift to researcher Nina Fletcher Little from her husband, Bertram, one-time director the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (now Historic New England). This paint-decorated box, on the other hand, started life as a birthday present. The inscription on the back indicates that it was a gift to a little girl on her sixth birthday. And then there are legions of artworks that have been gifted, often by the artist. Andy Warhol, for example, gave a number of screenprints as gifts, including the heart pictured above. Other gifts, well, they make you wonder. While Warhol’s gifts convey a sense of warmth and affection, I’m still trying to determine what the giver of this was trying to say….

-Hollie Davis, Senior Editor, p4A.com

To search the Prices4Antiques antiques reference database for valuation information on hundreds of thousands of antiques and fine art visit our homepage www.prices4antiques.com

Collecting Antique & Vintage Sewing Machines

August 17, 2011 in Furniture, Kitchen & Household, Textiles/Clothing/Accessories by admin | No comments

Singer & Co. black-painted and gilt-decorated cast iron treadle-base, belt-driven sewing machine

Singer & Co. black-painted and gilt-decorated cast iron treadle-base, belt-driven sewing machine

Singer Sewing Machines-everyone has them, few want to buy them. . . . Since almost everyone wears clothes, the automatic sewing machine may have been one of the most important inventions ever, yet surprisingly few of even the oldest antique models are valuable.  Here’s why.

Brief  History of the Sewing Machine

There is some disagreement about the first sewing machine.  It may have been patented in 1755 by a German inventor or in 1790 in England, in the form of a machine designed to make footwear.   Balthaser Krems patented a machine in1810, an Austrian tailor in 1814, and Americans John Dodge and John Knowles in 1818.  The thing these sewing machines had in common was that none of them actually worked.  It wasn’t until 1830 that a French tailor, Barthelemy Thimonner developed a viable sewing machine that impacted the way clothing was made.  Thimonner had a shop full of sewing machines which he used to manufacture uniforms for the French Army, exciting the wrath of fellow tailors who, fearing for their livelihoods, ransacked his shop and destroyed his sewing machines.

Early Sewing Machines by Elias Howe & Isaac Singer

In America, Walter Hunt developed a machine, but Elias Howe, Jr. was first with a workable, although prohibitively expensive model. Howe’s sewing machine worked well but had to be crafted entirely by hand, which put it outside the economic reach of most of its potential customers.   Isaac Merrit Singer produced a viable sewing machine by offering an improved version of an existing model that while affordable was subject to regular breakdowns.

American Sewing Machine Manufacturers

By the mid 1850’s, there were dozens of companies in this country making and selling sewing machines, including Grover & Baker Co, the Florence Sewing Machine Co, The American Buttonhole, Overseaming & Sewing Machine Co, Wheeler & Wilson, National, New Home, Graybar, Wilcox & Gibbs, Merrow Machine Co, Davis, and Singer.

Collectible Sewing Machines

For collectors, the value in old sewing machines has most to do with rarity and condition.  As the most successful models were produced in factories by the thousands, only the oldest, hard to find, aesthetically pleasing, or models that represent important technological advances are eagerly sought after, and command high prices. While Singer is the most widely recognized manufacturer, its products are the least collectible except for the earliest examples such as the model #1 and the Turtleback, both of which are hard to find.  Singer sewing machines, regardless of age and aesthetics, are with a few exceptions, rarely worth more than a few hundred dollars at best. The Singer Featherweight is prized for its functionality rather than its collectability and is still used happily by quiltmakers. Collectors also enjoy a wide variety of manufacturers made mini-versions of their sewing machines.

Reference: Country Living: Innovation and Design: What Is It? What Is It Worth?, by Joe L. Rosson & Helaine Fendelman, c 2007, House of Collectibles.

-by p4A contributing editor Susan Cramer.

To search the Prices4Antiques antiques reference database for valuation information on hundreds of thousands of antiques and fine art visit our homepage www.prices4antiques.com

Greentown Glass Auction – June 2011

August 12, 2011 in Auctions & Events, Glass by admin | No comments

Greentown Glass Co, chocolate Fighting Cocks covered dish

Greentown Glass Co, chocolate Fighting Cocks covered dish

A handful of desirable pieces were mixed with a fair assortment of affordable items during an auction held in Greentown, Indiana, on June 10, 2011, and sponsored by the National Greentown Glass Association (NGGA).

The cataloged sale of 213 lots was held as part of the annual convention of the NGGA. Although only association members could consign glassware to the sale, the event was open to the public. About 100 people attended. There were no reserves and no buyer’s premium.

With a few exceptions, all the glassware offered was made by the Indiana Tumbler & Goblet Co., which operated in Greentown between 1894 and 1903. The wares are now commonly referred to as Greentown glass.

Interest in low-end and mid-level glass remained soft, with more than 100 lots selling for $50 or less. However, the upper tier was energetically pursued, with the top lot being a Fighting Cocks covered dish in Chocolate glass. Having a flake on the tail. (pictured above, p4A item E8994243).

Dan Otto of Otto’s Auction Service in Kokomo, Ind., called the sale. “The high end was high, and the middle market was soft,” he said.

It isn’t just the economy hurting the value of average pieces of Greentown glass. “We need more people involved in order to get the middle better,” Otto said.

-Don Johnson, Editor, p4A.com

To search the Prices4Antiques antiques reference database for valuation information on hundreds of thousands of antiques and fine art visit our homepage www.prices4antiques.com

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