KOVELS
Old cigar-store figures draw collector interest
Wooden Indians have been displayed at tobacco stores since the 19th century. Store signs at that time were often pictorial because many customers could not read.
By Terry Kovel , October 22, 2010
Wain’s feline designs became fierce over time
Surveys show that pictures of cats are more popular than pictures of dogs or horses. So it is not surprising that ceramic cats are popular with collectors.
By Terry Kovel , September 24, 2010
Salt servers had a different shape in past
Eating too much salt is a health problem today, but in past centuries, salt was considered an important ingredient to be treated with reverence. It was traditional to put a large container of salt near the head of the table, where the most important person sat. To be seated “above the salt” was a sign of a person’s rank.
By Terry Kovel , September 10, 2010
Special dishes made to hold sardines in can
The foods we favor have changed as technology has changed. A method of preserving food in glass containers was developed in the late 17th century. Canned food became available by 1813. Fresh salads were not a winter food until the early 1900s, when refrigerated train cars could carry lettuce from California to the East Coast.
By Terry Kovel , September 03, 2010
Collectors seek tea sets made to fit together
Designers working after 1920 created very different looks for many common household objects. For centuries a teapot had a rounded body, a handle and a spout. Twentieth-century designers made modern teapots in angular or biomorphic shapes. Spouts were shorter or hidden and handles could be made of Bakelite or some other new material.
By By Terry Kovel , August 27, 2010
Pedestals from famous makers draw top dollar
Statues and plants were important decorations in the large Victorian home. The designers of the day believed in filling all available space. Pedestals made of wood or ceramics were put in halls and in corners of living rooms and dining rooms. Live plants, especially ferns, were popular. Pedestals were often colorful and covered with decorations.
By Terry Kovel , August 20, 2010
Presidential images in ads draw interest
It made news in January 2010 when a photo of President Barack Obama wearing a Weatherproof Garment Co. jacket was used on a billboard on Times Square. The photograph was taken when the president visited China, but he did not give permission for his image to be used in an ad. Weatherproof was asked to take the picture down and did.
By Terry Kovel , August 13, 2010
Lapel watches a favorite item at auctions
First came the church-tower clock to help everyone in town know the time. Then in the 1500s, a watch on a chain or a ribbon was used by the very rich. By 1700, women could have a watch pinned to a dress as part of a chatelaine that held keys, scissors and other household tools. Later came the traveling clock, then the pocket watch.
By Terry Kovel , August 06, 2010
Wemyss Ware was the rage a century ago
Smiling pottery cats and flower-decorated pottery pigs have been made in Scotland since 1882. Today, both the old and new versions of these pieces are known as Wemyss (pronounced Weems) Ware.
By By Terry Kovel , July 30, 2010
Iron elephant sells for $100 at NY auction
What can this painted iron elephant do? The sleek art-deco design suggests that it was made between about 1925 and 1940. The trunk moves up and down. Think elephants and peanuts because this is a nutcracker. Put a nut in his mouth, quickly lower the trunk, and crack the nut’s shell. Red paint with white and black accents covers the 5-by-10-inch figure.
By Terry Kovel , July 23, 2010
All cupboards are not what they appear
Go to an antique show and you might see a pie safe, jelly cupboard or sugar chest. But most beginning collectors would call each a “cupboard” or “chest” with no idea how the furniture was originally used.
By Terry Kovel , July 16, 2010
Picture clocks combine time and artwork
One of the more unusual clock styles made in the 19th century is the “picture clock.” It is a clever novelty, and a few modern versions are being made by Swiss clock companies.
By Terry Kovel , July 02, 2010
Collectors seek amusing, useful art-deco pieces
Many companies today are looking at their sales figures and deciding how to change their products to attract more customers. The same thing was true in the 1930s when Chase Brass & Copper Co. decided to make art-deco pieces for the home, along with the buttons, nails and thousands of other brass products it had manufactured since the company’s founding in 1876.
By By Terry Kovel , June 25, 2010
Unique styles of furniture draw top dollar
The 20th century brought a new style of furniture. Earlier furniture designers made slight changes in the shape of a leg or the height of a chair-back as they went from Queen Anne to Chippendale to Sheraton to Empire to Victorian to Arts and Crafts.
By By Terry Kovel , June 18, 2010
Collectors are rediscovering joys of majolica
The 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition in London included the introduction of many amazing new products, one of them the revival of majolica. In the 19th century, Italian pottery of the Renaissance era was being studied and collected by English museums.
By By Terry Kovel , June 11, 2010
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