Having Moxie These Days Is Worth Something

To have a lot of moxie means to have a lot of courage. The Moxie Nerve Food Co. first made a medicine to be taken with a spoon in 1876. The medicine was later changed into a carbonated drink, produced in Salem, Mass. Investors who purchased the company had a lot of Moxie stock--which soon came to mean that they were adventuresome.

The company has changed hands several times, and the drink is still being made.

The Moxie Co. has advertised its product with many now-collectible trays, signs, fans, postcards, buttonhooks, trade cards and glasses. Today a collector with a lot of “moxie” has a lot of valuable memorabilia.

Old Moxie postcards sell for more than $10 each. Signs can fetch thousands of dollars. An early tip tray can sell for $900.

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Question: What is “japanning”? I keep seeing the word in descriptions of furniture and metalwork that I know wasn’t made in Japan.

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Answer: “Japanning” is a word used to describe the Western synthetic imitation of Asian lacquer.

True lacquer is a resinous varnish made from the sap of certain trees native to China and Japan.

Ancient Chinese artists added cinnabar to create the famous bright color we call “Chinese red.” The Japanese artists who tried to copy Chinese red wound up with a more-orange shade.

Western artists tried to find a substitute for the sap, and they used shellac. They added colors--usually red, black, gold or brown--to the shellac and used it on wood and metal.

A colored, shellacked surface is considered “japanning” because it mimics the surfaces of Asian lacquerware.

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Q: I would like to give my great-granddaughter the 70-year-old stuffed monkey I had as a child. The monkey is dressed like a bellhop, with a red cap, red jacket, black pants and flesh-colored hands and feet. When you move his tail, his head moves sideways or up and down. All of his fur is gone, and I’d like to get him re-covered.

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A: Your mechanical toy monkey might be worth too much and be too fragile to be used as a child’s toy.

A doll hospital or toy-repair shop could re-cover your monkey; but the repair would decrease the toy’s value, as collectors prefer stuffed animals to be in “loved” condition.

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Q: My 11 1/2-inch-high ceramic vase once belonged to my grandmother. Pink and yellow roses are painted all over the outside. The bottom is marked “D & Co. France.”

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A: You have a jardiniere that was made in the 1890s by R. DeLinieres & Co. of Limoges, France.

Jardinieres--decorative planters--tend to sell well because they are a practical size for large potted plants.

Painted roses are always a popular design.

Your piece is worth $200 to $300.

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Q: A nice article about my son and his business appeared in our daily newspaper. Is there some way we can preserve a copy so it doesn’t get yellow and develop brown spots?

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A: The paper used for newspapers is very acidic. Preserving a piece of acidic paper requires treatment with an alkaline buffering agent.

Although some collectors have fashioned homemade recipes to preserve newspapers, we suggest you contact a paper conservator or conservation supplier.

A conservator can treat and mount the article for you.

A conservation supplier can sell you commercial deacidification sprays or solutions.

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Q: My husband inherited a turquoise glass bottle in the shape of a fish. It is 11 1/2 inches tall, stands on its tail and has no markings. It looks as though it originally had a cork stopper.

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A: There are a several well-known fish-shaped bitters bottles. They are marked with the embossed brand name and usually the word “bitters.”

Many American and European companies have made and continue to make liquor or medicine bottles shaped like fish.

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Q: I have several plastic serving trays made by Couroc, a company in Monterey. The trays are black with inlaid decorations of birds, flowers, coins and fish. What do you know about the company?

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A: Gutherie Courvoisier learned about the uses of resin and plastics during the early 1940s. In 1948, he founded Couroc to make hand-crafted giftware. “Couroc” is a word formed from the first three letters of his last name and a shortened spelling of “rock”--as in rock-hard.

The hard, black, plastic serving trays decorated with inlaid designs made of wood, paper or metal are still being made. Pieces today retail for $40 to $120. Old trays can be found at flea markets for less. Condition is important; many trays have been scratched.

For a copy of the Kovels’ 1998 leaflet listing 153 books and pamphlets that are price guides for all kinds of collectibles and antiques, send $2 and a self-addressed, stamped (55 cents) No. 10 envelope to: Price Guides for Antiques and Collectibles, Kovels, P.O. Box 22900, Beachwood, Ohio 44122.

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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.

* Flow Blue butter pat, Ovando pattern: $35.

* Superman lunch box, Christopher Reeve, Aladdin, 1978: $50.

* Pewter ice cream mold, flag, No. 1160, E & Co.: $60.

* Sheet music, “Born to Be Kissed,” Jean Harlow and Howard Dietz on cover, 1935: $70.

* Pennsbury pottery cake stand, pedestal, footed, incised scene of Amish couple, children and trees, 11 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches: $125.

* Budweiser sign, Indians attacking overland stage, 1960s, framed: $295.

* Cut-glass perfume bottle, ruby cut to clear, original atomizer, 1880, 8 inches: $450.

* Russel Wright Chase chrome corn set, with tray, four pieces: $695.

* New England painted deacon’s bench, half spindle back, plank seat, overall fruit and floral gilt stencil, black reserve, circa 1815, 71 1/2 inches: $1,100.

* Madame Alexander Rosamund bridesmaid doll, hard plastic, blue sleep eyes, brush lashes, blond wig, five-piece walker body, 1953, 15 inches: $1,300.