Articles by admin

You are currently browsing admin’s articles.

Managing a Manger: Collecting Antique Nativity Sets

December 22, 2011 in Crafts & Folk Art, Holiday & Patriotic by admin | No comments

Carved and painted wood Creche

Carved and painted wood Creche

My favorite part about Christmas when I was small was the nativity set my grandmother had.  It sat on a telephone table, that outdated invention for when phones were stuck in one place, in the hall at just my level, and I remember staring and staring at it.  It took two of my favorite things from my small world – animals and barns – and elevated them to an artistic, idyllic state.  Of course, it was much less idyllic when the sheep all had chipped noses from kissing baby Jesus and the humble little donkey had lost both his ears….  But somewhere out there, there are nativity sets that were not infiltrated by small people, nativity sets intact and complete, that are sought after by collectors.

It makes sense that some of the finest modern crèche (from the Old French word for manger or trough) or nativity scenes come from Italy, as that’s where they’re believed to have originated.  Actually, it was St. Francis of Assisi who set up the first live nativity display in a cave near Greecio, Italy in 1223 (evidently the conflict between the celebration of Christ’s birth and the celebration of secular materialism has been brewing a long time) and the idea quickly caught on with public displays being enacted with human actors and live animals.  By the 1700s, small-scale nativity scenes were in the homes of wealthier Italian families, although “small” isn’t exactly accurate – they were large and elaborate, often including a whole village.  These precepi (the Italian name for a three-dimensional scene of the birth of Jesus) probably looked a great deal like this, only on a larger scale.

A number of figures have survived from this era and appear individually or in small groups at auction on occasion.  Larger figures are typically around 8″ to 14″ high, often carved and painted and then dressed in clothing.  And of course, no one embraced the modern version of Christmas like the Germans, so there are also the beautiful traditional sets that we all remember from childhood (like this one or the one pictured above).  Many of these are very affordable, relative to what you’d pay for a modern set assembled from Lenox or Precious Moments, so perhaps building an antique nativity could become a new holiday tradition!

-Hollie Davis, Senior Editor, p4A.com

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

Antiques of the Week: Toys

December 16, 2011 in Holiday & Patriotic, Toys & Games by admin | No comments

Boucher Steam Locomotive & Tender, No. 2100 pre-war 2-inch gauge locomotive and Pennsylvania RR tender

Boucher Steam Locomotive & Tender, No. 2100 pre-war 2-inch gauge locomotive and Pennsylvania RR tender

Based on searches this week at Prices4Antiques, some people are going to be having an old-fashioned Christmas! We’ve seen searches for toys jump up dramatically and for “little” boys, the top items seem to include a Boucher locomotive and tender along with Lionel train passenger cars, a fabulous LGB circus train, and a Wyandotte mining dump truck. For “little” girls, it’s Steiff squirrel, a Steiff parakeet, a Valenti donkey, and an Arnold Print Works hen with her chicks. Auctions are full of great Christmas gift ideas for the young and young at heart, and so is the Prices4Antiques database. It’s never too late to make a childhood dream come true!

A Healthy Collection: Antique Medical Equipment

December 16, 2011 in Miscellaneous Antiques by admin | No comments

Civil War Trepanning Set by H. Hernstein, New York

Civil War trepanning set by H. Hernstein, New York

I try to subscribe to a “could be worse” philosophy of life.  If you have a modicum of imagination, you realize that almost any situation could be worse.  For instance, I hate going to the doctor.  Hate it.  But a quick review of the medical collectibles in the database (just added material from a big sale) makes it very clear that going to the doctor could be a lot worse.  You can come to this conclusion without even using your imagination.  In fact, I recommend it.  Just take one look at a trepanning set (like the one pictured above) and you’ll never complain about a headache again!

Medical collectibles are one of those very specialized areas of antiques.  Doctors are, of course, some of the likeliest collectors, and they often gravitate toward early instruments from their specialties.  A surgeon might want an Civil War-era surgical kit or an optometrist might appreciate an early eye chart.  I can’t tell you what a dentist or an obstetrician might want because those things are too scary to look at – why anyone ever thought I needed a vivid imagination is beyond me….

Then of course, there are people who are just interested in the progression of technology or, in some delightfully zany cases, the lack of said progression.  “Quackery” is a great subset of medical collecting, filled with all sorts of relics of strange treatments and ideas gone (mercifully) by the wayside.  For instance, vampire-killing kits are always big sellers.  These neatly packed little boxes include everything you might need when confronted with a vampire that needs killing – vials for holy water, silver bullets, crucifix, etc.  And then there are all sorts of strange devices designed to deliver electric shocks in one manner or another or water coolers like this one that were designed to give your drinking water a healthy boost of radon.  Some of my favorites, though, are the fancy apothecary jars, especially the ones clearly labeled in elegant lettering, “Leeches” – I so want to get some of these to use as kitchen canisters, just to see the look on people’s faces!

-Hollie Davis, Senior Editor, p4A.com

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

Calling All Collectors: Antique Telephones

December 12, 2011 in Miscellaneous Antiques by admin | No comments

Wedgwood solid pink Jasper push button telephone

Wedgwood solid pink Jasper push button telephone

My husband just got a new smartphone.  It’s nicer than my laptop.  And, as if that’s not bad enough, it is about 30 times more powerful than the brand-new computer I started college with 18 years ago.  We’ll not even talk about the phone I had 18 years ago.  It had a cord….

Phones have evolved in incredible ways!  (And they’ve done so quickly, getting smaller and smaller as they get faster and faster – we love to play “Date this episode of X-Files” based on the size of Mulder and Scully’s cell phones.)  I don’t believe we can fully comprehend how much they changed the world – how they caused the miles between farms and towns and cities to shrink.  Fortunately, this wasn’t lost on at least one collector, whose collection sold recently at Morphy Auctions, a Pennsylvania auction house. This circa 1925 Western Electric dial candlestick telephone was among the phones sold at that auction.

So many models!  Doughnuts, candlesticks, wall phones, payphones, cradle sets and more.  You might be surprised by the prices some models bring as well.  Obviously, the classic wall-mounted model or one from a company like Roycroft is unique enough and “antique” enough to generate some interest, but the classic Western Electric desk phones can actually bring some good money as well.  Some of the vintage desk phones are lots of fun!  I love the Wedgwood example pictured above (a very reasonable buy), but you could also have something Art Deco – or something Snoopy and Woodstock….   While all old phones aren’t valuable, of course, you might be surprised to find that examples that come up at auction often bring between $100-300, so if you’re nostalgic for a long conversation spent playing with the phone cord, you can probably find a nice, affordable example that will allow you to “reach out and touch someone”!

-Hollie Davis, Senior Editor, p4A.com

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

Norah Wellings Dolls

December 8, 2011 in Dolls by admin | No comments

Norah Wellings "Master of the Hounds" doll in hunt attire

Norah Wellings "Master of the Hounds" doll in hunt attire

For over 40 years, Norah Wellings created soft dolls and toys loved by children the world over.

Norah Wellings Biography
Norah Wellings was born in 1893 in Arleston Village, Shropshire, England. Her father Thomas was a master plasterer known for his skill and integrity, specializing in both plain and decorative plaster. Thomas and his wife Sarah had two children, Leonard, and Norah. Leonard was a well-educated yet quiet man who followed his father into the family plastering business at a young age, and served in the Royal Horse Artillery during WWI. Norah, two years younger was also well educated, excelling at botany and art, and maintained a close lifelong relationship with her brother. Norah was soft-spoken and very shy, not given to small talk. She considered herself plain, and a niece recalled seeing Norah speaking to her reflection, saying, “Nora, you are never going to be beautiful so you had better make yourself useful.” Useful she was, remaining at home with her mother helping to care for her invalid father until his death.

Norah’s Toys
In 1919, Norah landed a job as a designer with a Shropshire toy manufacturer, Chad Valley Company where she specializing in soft toys and dolls. There are no extant records from Chad Valley concerning the number of designers on staff, and who designed which toys, but it seems clear, based on her future production, that Norah’s influence on product line was strong. She remained with Chad Valley for seven years, and left for unknown reasons to start her own company with her brother, Leonard.

Victoria Toy Works Factory 1926-1959
Norah opened her own factory manufacturing soft tolls and toys in 1926 with six employees, some of whom were family members, in space rented from Leonard’s plastering premises. Eventually, Leonard ran the factory, a cousin managed the sales force, and Norah designed all the toys. In 1927, Norah showcased her dolls and soft toys at The British Industries Fair at White City. Her toys received a lot of good press, and even better, a positive response from toy buyers. In 1928, her line included the “Cora” doll which was presented to Queen Mary. By 1929, a larger facility was needed, and the company grew steadily.

Norah Wellings’ Quality Toys
Norah believed in producing a quality product all the way through from design to production. Wellings dolls were constructed entirely of soft materials including the heads which were molded buckram over a layer of plastic wood which was then overlaid by a steam pressed layer of felt, stockinet or velveteen. All faces were hand painted in sections, allowing one part to dry before the adjoining portion was painted. The company produced baby dolls, fashion dolls, toddler dolls, and a wide variety of novelty dolls including some dressed in accurate versions of native costume. Norah Wellings dolls often are identifiable by the cloth tags sewn into the clothing or on the bottom of a foot. Her dolls also always have an appropriate number of fingers. She also made pajama cases, tea cosies and telephone covers.

Closing the Doors of Victoria Toy Works
Unlike many manufacturers, Victoria Toy Works survived the war years. Partly thanks to a line of patriotic toys, and partly because so much of their staff to leave to serve in the military, the company managed to stay in production through the war, and until 1959 when Norah closed the factory after Leonard’s death. Although she had many offers from toy companies wanting to purchase her factory and designs, Norah refused them all, and burned not only her designs, but also the special tools used to execute them, and all unfinished inventory as well.

-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

« Older entries § Newer entries »