American Invention Rocked Seating World

The rocking chair is an American invention, and the most American of all rockers are those designed and made by the Shakers.

It has been said that the rocking chair was invented by Benjamin Franklin in the 1760s; however, there were others made at least 20 years before by clever owners who probably added the rockers from a cradle to the legs of a stationary chair.

The soothing back-and-forth action has delighted grown-ups and quieted infants for centuries.

The rocking chair was designed for the kitchen or bedroom, not for the formal living area. Most rocking chairs were made of simple stick construction with seats of wood, rush or rawhide.

The Shakers, a religious group, made rockers for their use and to sell to “outsiders.” Their rockers had ladder backs with slender posts, woven-tape seats and sometimes built-in drawers to store sewing equipment.

In the 1820s, a form of rocking chair appeared that resembled Windsor chairs.

By 1851, the platform rocker appeared. It rocked on its own base so the long rocking rungs would not wear out a carpet.

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Question My father and grandfather each owned dairies in Washington, D.C. Thanks to local flea markets, I have been able to find glass milk bottles from both dairies, with the name of the dairy either embossed or painted on the bottle. My grandfather opened his dairy in the 1890s. I think he used cans instead of bottles for his milk until the early 1900s. When were milk bottles first used?

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Answer The first standard-shape--tall, round, tapered-neck--milk bottle was patented in the United States in 1880 by the Warren Glass Works Co. of New York City. Other patents for bottles and caps followed quickly, including Dr. Harvey D. Thatcher’s famous 1884 bottle with a cow embossed on the glass.

By the 1890s, many dairies were using glass bottles to deliver milk because customers considered the sealed, reusable containers sanitary and convenient.

When automatic bottle-making machines were invented in the early 1900s, glass bottles became standard for milk.

Though most dairies now use paper or plastic containers, a few sell their milk in glass bottles.

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Q My mother just dug out my 1950s Lincoln Logs set. They are still in good shape. When were Lincoln Logs first made? Are they still being made?

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A Lincoln Logs, which were first produced in 1920, were the brainchild of John Lloyd Wright, son of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

John Wright’s idea was inspired by a 1916 visit to Japan, where he and his father watched workmen move huge logs to build a hotel his father designed.

The toy’s name was inspired by Abraham Lincoln’s log-cabin childhood.

Lincoln Logs were an immediate commercial success. Playskool purchased the company in 1943, and Lincoln Logs are still made.

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Q I have an aquamarine bowl, vase and pitcher stamped “Shearwater” on the bottom. Do you have any information on this pottery?

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A Shearwater Pottery is a family-owned business still working in Ocean Springs, Miss. It was established in 1928 by Peter Anderson.

Two years later, he was joined by his younger brothers, Walter and James.

Peter’s children now run the pottery, which makes figurines, decorated pottery and utilitarian ware, including bowls and tea sets. The pieces are created using various methods. Some are thrown, some carved and some made from molds.

Prices for older Shearwater pieces range from less than $100 to more than $1,000.

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Q I’ve had a square Lucite paperweight with a rose inside. Lately, I’ve seen similar items, including a pillbox and picture frame, that have the same cut-rose design. Do you know who made these?

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A Bircraft Inc. of Huntington, Ind., has made gift ware like your paperweight since 1946. The company’s most popular item is a clear plastic cross on a rose pedestal.

The inside of each Lucite piece is carved, then painted with bright red and green liquid dyes to create what appears to be a three-dimensional stemmed rose.

If you’d like a listing of helpful books and publications on antiques, send a self-addressed, stamped (55 cents) envelope to the Kovels, 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 antique shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.

* Milk glass toy dishes, flattened diamond pattern, sugar, creamer, covered butter: $30.

* Larkin Soap Co. premium catalog with Palmer Cox Brownies on cover, circa 1885: $45.

* “Romper Room” songbook, hard-bound with dust jacket: $55.

* Cast-iron hotel waffle iron, Griswold, No. 12: $110.

* Texas Centennial 1936 Ford automobile, red, original box, given away by Firestone at fair: $135.

* “Gang Busters” target game, tin, trap doors, original gun, 1940: $180.

* Cambridge flower holder, draped lady, green, 13 inches: $275.

* Christian Dior choker, by Kramer, blue oval rhinestone surrounded by three rows of clear rhinestones: $320.

* Folk art, decorated mirror, ochre and sienna-sponged half columns, brass mounts, reverse painted glass of dancing woman, circa 1820, 33 by 15 1/2 inches: $1,400.

* Chippendale mahogany wing chair, straight legs, joined stretchers, 1780: $2,400.