18th-Century Knife Boxes Displayed Valuable Silver
Knives, forks and spoons were expensive status symbols in the early 18th-Century home. Few families could afford flatware for a large group. By the end of the 1800s silverware had become available to the upper middle class, and special boxes were made to display and protect the valuable silver properly. Knife boxes were made in the Sheraton or Hepplewhite style to match the furniture designs of the day. Knives were kept in tall boxes, the point of the blade down, and there were partitions to keep the knives from bumping, scratching or dulling the blade.
The boxes were decorated, usually with veneer trim. Each box had a lock and a slanting front to show off the handles. When silverware was needed for a dinner party, the boxes were opened, the silver was displayed and the servants brought the appropriate pieces to the table. Spoons and forks were sometimes kept in similar boxes, but that type of box is rare. Most knife boxes were made in pairs so one could be placed at each end of the dining room sideboard. Rectangular boxes were popular about 1800, but the preferred shape soon became a copy of a Grecian urn, round and tall with a cover.
Question: I have my great-grandmother’s very short neck chain that belonged to my grandmother. It has a spring ring on one end and oval loop on the other; both open. How was it used?
Answer: You probably have a watch chain. It was used by a man who kept his watch on the oval loop and a seal on the spring ring. It was kept in his watch pocket and the chain looped across the front of the vest. Women also wore watch chains.
Q: My pitcher is about 7 1/2 inches high. The number 1907 and a mark picturing a buffalo is on the bottom. On one side of the pitcher is a blue print of George Washington riding a horse. His home is shown on the other. His signature is in the lip. A portrait of Washington is just below the spout.
A: Your George Washington pitcher was offered in the Larkin Soap catalogue of 1905. If the mark on the bottom is correct it was not made until 1907. The Buffalo Pottery, Buffalo, N.Y., made a series of pitchers. Eight of them were premiums for the Larkin Soap Co.
Q: I have been searching for a small antique that pictures a bare foot because I want to give it to a podiatrist. I see hundreds of china and glass shoes but so far no bare feet. Why were shoes so popular and feet ignored?
A: Proper Victorians did not appear in public with bare feet. It is only since the 1960s that the bare foot has been seen in public off a sandy beach. Shoes have always been a symbol of romance and family. The French and Dutch in the early 1800s made small pottery shoes as gifts for brides. We still tie old shoes to a bride and groom’s car. The miniature shoe was popular as an inkwell, a toothpick holder, a pin cushion, a match holder, or a lamp in the 19th century. We have seen a brass lamp that looked like a bare foot in a roman sandal and we have seen old plaster store displays of bare feet and corn remedies. There are few other bare foot collectibles that seem to be available.
Q: What is Platonite Moderntone? I know it is a type of Depression Glass but is it a color or a pattern?
A: Platonite is the name that the Hazel-Atlas Glass Co. gave to a special white heat-resistant glass they made in the 1930s and ‘40s. It is very similar to the Anchor Hocking glass called “Vitrock.” The glass was made in many finishes and patterns. Moderntone was the name of the glass pattern. It could be plain white, white with colored stripes, painted or decal decorations, or white covered with a solid color. The white glass was either opaque or translucent.
CURRENT PRICES:
Current prices are recorded from antique shows, sales, flea markets and auctions throughout the United States. These prices vary in different locations because of the conditions of the economy.
Griswold 7 iron skillet, $19.
Morgantown sherbet, Dancing Girl, pink, $25.
Ken doll, flocked hair, red swim trunks, 1961, $35.
Pressed glass kerosene lamp, Coolidge Drape, old burner, $75.
Toy truck, Tonka, Star Kist Tuna, tuna fish can logo, 14 in., $100.
Meissen figurine, dancing couple, crossed swords mark, 7 in., $250.
Mirror, Eastlake, walnut, 56 1/2 x 25 in., $450.
Coin-operated machine, Sega Punch-N-Bag, $500.
Desk, pine and tiger maple, slant top, cast iron inkwell, pegged, made by Baker Pratt Co. of New York, c. 1820, $675.
Tall case clock, Federal, mahogany, Ezra Stone, Boston, Mass., c. 1800, 95 in., $9,900.
For a copy of the Kovels’ new booklet listing the record-setting prices paid for art and antiques in 1985-1986 send $2 and a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Record-Setting Prices, Kovels, P.O. Box 22900, Beachwood, Ohio 44122.
