Jack-o’-Lanterns Carve Niche

First it was Christmas, then Easter, and now it is Halloween that has attracted collectors.

Old jack-o’-lanterns, candy containers, noisemakers, trick-or-treat bags, costumes, postcards and decorations are selling.

The jack-o’-lantern is the best-known symbol of Halloween. By the 1890s, pressed-cardboard jack-o’-lanterns were being made in Germany. Most of them were made in two pieces that were stapled or stitched together to form the rounded pumpkin.

About 1920, a slightly different type of paperboard was used. In the 1930s, a lightweight papier-ma^che was used.

Most of the early jack-o’-lanterns had tissue-paper inserts that added detail to the eyes and mouth.

By the 1950s, jack-o’-lanterns were made of molded plastic.

The pumpkin has been the most popular shape, but candle-lighted lanterns also were made to look like devils’ heads, cats’ heads, skulls, witches and various fruits and vegetables.

Prices for pre-plastic jack-o’-lanterns range from $40 to $300.

Question: When were the Ace of Diamonds brass candlesticks first made?

Answer: About 1880, the English made candlesticks with names based on the diamonds in a deck of cards. Each candlestick had a large center part on the stem that was molded to form a flat diamond outline. The stick’s size determined the name. There are an Ace, King, Queen, Prince and Princess of Diamonds.

Q: We have some pieces of Paneled Thistle pressed glass with the spread-wing bee mark of the John B. Higbee Co. I hear that someone is reproducing the pattern and the mark. Is this true?

A: The John B. Higbee Co. of Bridgeville, Pa., made pressed-glass tableware and novelties between 1907 and 1919. The Paneled Thistle pattern dates from about 1908 and was made mostly in clear glass. Any other color is rare.

Since the early 1950s, clear and pink reproductions with or without a bee mark have been made by the L.G. Wright Glass Co. of New Martinsville, W.Va.; the Summit Art Glass Co. of Mogadore, Ohio; and others.

Q: I have a soft plastic toy frog from the 1950s. When you squeeze him, he squeaks and sticks out his tongue. He’s green, with a red jacket, white shirt and bow tie. On the back he’s marked “1948 McConnell” and “Rempel Mfg. Inc.” Who is he?

A: You have a Froggy the Gremlin toy made by Rempel Manufacturing Inc. of Akron, Ohio.

Rempel made several squeeze toys, including the Brooklyn Bum, mascot of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and Froggy the Gremlin, a loudmouthed puppet character on an early children’s TV show, “Smilin’ Ed McConnell and His Buster Brown Gang.”

The show ran on NBC in 1950-51, on CBS from 1951 to 1953 and on ABC from 1953 to 1955. When McConnell, the show’s host, died in 1954, Andy Devine replaced him. The show was renamed “Andy’s Gang” in 1955 and ran until 1960.

Your toy is valued at $100 if it’s in great shape.

Q: I hung my antique paisley shawl on a rod, but I’ve been told that I’m displaying the wrong side. How can I tell?

A: You might have a reversible paisley shawl, which has no wrong side.

Shawls woven in the town of Paisley, Scotland, beginning in the 1840s, had a pine-cone pattern that has become synonymous with the name of the town. It’s impossible to confuse the front and back of those early shawls because of the hodgepodge of colors and cut threads on the back.

In the 1860s, Paisley began producing reversible shawls, which had the same pattern on both sides. The two sides were in similar, but not identical, colors.

Display the side you like best. You can turn the shawl around every so often and hang the top at the bottom so it will wear evenly.

Q: My pink-and-blue figurine of a young girl is made so that flowers can be placed in her pockets. It is marked “Nancy by Walter Wilson.” When and where was it made?

A: Walter Wilson was a potter in Pasadena listed in the city directories from about 1948 to 1954. The company made planters, bowls, wall pockets and household ceramics.

Many California firms made pastel-colored pottery. Chinese children, young girls in peasant dresses and exotic costumed natives were popular subjects for the figurines, planters and vases.

Wilson made some of his pieces and purchased some from other artists.

If you wish other information about antiques, include a self-addressed, stamped (55 cents) envelope, and the Kovels will send you a listing of helpful books and publications. Write to the Kovels, The Los Angeles Times, King Features Syndicate, 235 E. 45th St., New York, NY 10017.

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Current Prices

Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.

* Sheet music from TV show “Bewitched,” 1964: $35.

* Gumby Cowboy Adventure costume, 1965, by Lakeside: $50.

* Cat & Witch board game, Whitman, 1940s: $60.

* Halloween witch mask, cardboard and crepe paper, 1930s: $85.

* Hubley door knocker, ivy post, No. 123, cast iron: $160.

* Pressed-glass wine goblets, Bleeding Heart pattern, knob stem, set of four: $210.

* Royal Bayreuth Devil and Cards creamer, blue mark: $265.

* Harden fire grenade, turquoise-blue bottle, contents, patented May 27, 1884, 7 inches: $320.

* Arts and Crafts plate rack, maple, hanging, arched top, 1905, 22 by 40 inches: $550.

* Coca-Cola umbrella, cream ground with red writing around edge, brown bottle on every other edge, 1930s, 5 feet wide: $1,035.