Tin Biscuit Ovens Are Hot Items

It’s much easier to make biscuits now than it was a hundred years ago. Today we can go to a store and buy ready-made refrigerated biscuit dough or a package of dry biscuit mix. Then we can bake the biscuits in the oven or the microwave.

When the only source of heat was a fireplace, biscuits were baked in a special oven placed near the front of the fire. It was made of tin and usually sloped down toward the floor so that the upper part acted as a cover. The biscuits, often made of cornmeal and water, were placed on the oven shelves then left until baked. Tin handles on the top and side were used to move the oven into the proper place near the fire.

Another type of biscuit oven used a pot of charcoal for heat. It could be moved away from the fireplace.

Later versions of the charcoal oven were made with a hole for a stove pipe so the gases from the charcoal could be vented outside. The charcoal ovens were hotter than those by a fireplace, so they could be used to bake hard crackers.

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Question Do you have any information on a postwar Japanese ceramic pattern called Roosters and Roses? I’ve been buying pieces at flea markets.

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Answer Roosters and Roses is the name collectors have given to a provincial dinnerware pattern made by several Japanese companies during the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s.

Most pieces are marked with the name of the maker or importer, such as Ucagco, and the phrase “Occupied Japan,” which refers to the American occupation of the country from 1945 to 1952.

The floral pattern includes blooming red roses and a yellow-breasted rooster with a red crest and waddle. The borders are yellow with brown diagonals.

Many types of pieces have been made in the pattern. Prices range from about $20 for an ashtray to $80 for a stacking tea set.

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Q I have a strange music-making machine called a Chautauqua Roller Organ. It is dated 1907. If I turn the crank, small pins play a tune. Where was it made?

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A The Larkin Soap Co. of Buffalo, N.Y., offered many premiums under the name Chautauqua. The Roller Organ was a premium from 1894 to 1910. Order $10 worth of soap and receive an organ free.

The organ was made by the Autophone Co. of Ithaca, N.Y. It was sold under several retail names including the Concert Roller Organ, the New American Musical Box and the Home Roller Organ.

The organs had cylindrical rollers with pins similar to those in a music box. When you turned the handle, it activated a bellows. The pins struck steel valve keys that played tunes.

It is worth more than $400 today.

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Q I have a very old, thin-metal turtle that was made in two parts. When you step on its head, the shell lifts and exposes a copper pan that can be removed. It is 14 inches long. What was it used for? What is it worth?

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A You have a cuspidor that was probably made in England around the turn of the century. The copper pan was removable so it could be emptied and cleaned.

The same style cuspidor was also made in cast iron.

Modern reproductions have been seen. If your cuspidor is old and in good shape, it is worth about $250. Some similar old cast-iron examples are valued at $750.

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Q My wife collects Barbie dolls. We recently saw some Danish Modern doll furniture offered for sale at an auction. The auction house said it was Mattel Barbie miniature furniture. The furniture was marked “Mattel-Japan.” My wife’s Barbie books don’t list any Barbie doll furniture like this.

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A Mattel’s Danish Modern furniture was made in 1958, a year before Mattel sold its first Barbie doll. Barbie was patented in 1958 but didn’t reach store shelves until 1959.

Mattel made its wooden Danish Modern furniture for the 8-inch to 10-inch child and teen dolls that were introduced earlier in the 1950s by various manufacturers.

The 11.5-inch Barbie can fit in the wooden furniture, but it wasn’t originally made or named for Barbie.

Mattel’s Danish Modern line featured a sofa, easy chair, coffee table, end table with lamp, dining table with chairs, buffet, queen-size bed, open wardrobe and dresser. The dining room set recently sold for $40.

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Q What is your opinion on whether or not to remove the liquor from a ceramic Jim Beam decanter? Some people say that keeping the decanters unopened makes them more valuable, but I worry about leakage.

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A Most collectors of ceramic Jim Beam decanters don’t care whether the liquor is still inside.

Some states have laws that restrict the resale of decanters containing liquor.

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Q As long as I can remember, I’ve had a large toy Spirit of St. Louis, the airplane Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic. It’s marked “Ryan Monoplane” and “NX 211.” Do you know anything about it?

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A Lindbergh became a hero the moment his single-engine, high-wing monoplane landed in Paris in 1927. Toy companies immediately started making copies of his airplane.

The Kingsbury Manufacturing Co. of Keene, N.H., repainted a toy monoplane that hadn’t been selling well, and sales went up. The Hubley Co. made a cast-iron airplane marked “Lindy.” Tootsietoy sold Aero-Dawn. Dent made Lucky Boy. American Flyer produced a pull-toy version. Marx made at least two Spirits.

All toy Lindbergh planes are collectible.

If you want more 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 Kovels, Times Orange County, King Features Syndicate, 235 E. 45th St., New York, NY 10017.

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Current Prices

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

* LF&C; Universal brand toaster, chrome-plated, 1920s: $40.

* Mount Washington salt-and-pepper set, Little Apple design, blue-and-white enameled forget-me-nots: $125.

* Coro Duette pin, two parrots, rhinestone bodies, blue enamel wings, perched on branch, pastel flowers, signed, 1930s: $145.

* Fanny Brice flexy doll, full figure, flex spring arms and legs, swivel head, wooden shoes, fabric clothes, Ideal Toy Co., 12 1/2 inches: $155.

* Imperial glass platter, Hawaiian Flowers pattern, maroon, 14 inches: $220.

* Bronze inkwell, figural, two setter dogs walking toward raised lid, gilt, by A. Gornik, 18 inches: $520.

* George III bed steps, mahogany, hinged top, second step is drawer, turned feet, circa 1800, 25 1/2 by 19 1/2 inches: $770.

* Van Briggle bowl, embossed holly, speckled matte green glaze on brown clay, marked, 1906, 2 by 5 1/2 inches: $880

* Dagwood’s Aeroplane Flight, lithographed tin toy, seated Dagwood, clockwork, original box, Louis Marx, 1935, 9 inches: $1,540.