Wooten Latched On to Need for Office Privacy
“A place for everything, and everything in its place” was a rule of order made popular in the 19th century, when paperwork and personal belongings began to multiply.
Office buildings in the 1860s had large rooms, not small, private offices. Accounting and bookkeeping were often done at a stand-up desk shared by a group of men. There were no locked files, just cubbyholes for papers.
The roll-top desk with many drawers was popular by the 1870s. The top could be closed to cover the mass of papers still on the flat writing surface.
It was not until the 1920s that the flat desk with locked drawers and steel furniture became standard in offices.
William Wooten designed his famous desk in 1874. It solved the problem of privacy for office papers by creating many cubbyholes for storage. There were movable sections that formed the sides of the desk. At the end of the day, the sides were closed like doors and locked.
Wooten made many styles of desks that were made to be locked at the end of the day.
Collectors are liable to pay more than $10,000 for a tall wooden Wooten desk with fancy trim.
Less expensive are the flat-top desks that feature a movable side pedestal. Such desks sell today for about $5,000.
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Question: My copper box is made in the Arts & Crafts style and is marked with a picture of a hammer and anvil. Above the mark is the name “Craftsmen Inc.” Below it are the words “Hand Made.” There is also a three-digit number.
A: Not much is known about Craftsmen Inc. The company existed in Laguna Beach, around 1920. Craftsmen Inc. made lightweight copper bowls and accessories. The three-digit number on your box is a factory number.
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Q I recently purchased a set of china decorated with five different but related patterns. They all picture Colonial couples sitting or dancing. Each piece has a wide edge of gold-painted, floral decorations. The mark on the back is the letter S within a painter’s palette. Can you tell me the name of the maker and pattern?
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A The decorative decals on your dishes were used by many U.S. manufacturers during the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s.
The mark indicates that your set was made by Sabin Industries Inc. of McKeesport, Pa., and probably dates from the ‘50s.
The figures are not Colonial. They are based on French rococo paintings of the 18th century.
The pattern names used by various china companies include “Godey,” “China D’Or,” “Serenade,” “Chantilly,” “Garden Wall” and “Love Seat.” Many dealers refer to the dishes as “romantic decal dinnerware.”
Shop prices for non-serving pieces range from $2 to $15.
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Q I have a small collection of painted composition figures. Each of them is about 3 1/4 inches tall. They are figures of cowboys, Indians and soldiers. On each base is the name “Elastolin.”
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A “Elastolin” was a trade name used by O&M; Hausser, a toy company founded in Ludwigsberg, Germany, in 1904.
Hausser made small composition figures, including soldiers dressed in the uniforms of various countries.
The most collectible of the Elastolin figures are German Nazi soldiers. They were made in the 1930s at Hausser’s headquarters in Neustadt bei Coburg. After World War II, Hausser continued producing Elastolin figures but was banned from making Nazi soldiers. From 1946 until the early ‘60s, the company made composition cowboys, Indians and U.S., British, Swiss and West German soldiers.
Your figures probably date from the postwar period, and range in value from $15 to $40 each.
During the late 1950s and early ‘60s, Hausser gradually switched production from composition to plastic figures.
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Q Among my family’s belongings is a daguerreotype that pictures a group of our ancestors. It must be about 140 years old. What’s so unusual about it is that one person in the photo, a young girl, is in color, and the rest of the photo is black and white. Have you ever seen anything like this?
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A The daguerreotype was considered a wonderful invention, and far better than painted portraits when it came to lifelike reproduction and detail.
The drawback was its lack of color. Some photographers retouched daguerreotypes with translucent pigments dissolved in alcohol, thereby creating a color portrait. The girl in your photo might have been painted because the photo was taken for her birthday.
Colored daguerreotypes are rare and very collectible. Some old black-and-white daguerreotypes have been colored in recent years.
For a listing of helpful books and publications, include a self-addressed, stamped (55 cents) envelope to Kovels, Los Angeles Times, King Features Syndicate, 235 E. 45th St., New York, NY 10017.
Current Prices
Figures are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.
* Atwater Kent Radio Catalog, 1927, 28 pages: $25.
* Soap Box Derby official entrant’s pin, 1951: $35.
* Shawnee salt-and-pepper shaker, Charlie Chicken, 5 1/2 inches: $40.
* Sascha Brastoff ashtray, horse, gray ground, pink, white and gold, signed, 8 5/8 inches: $80.
* Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer lamp, electric, boxer in black-and-white striped pants, boxing gloves, bottle of beer, brown shade, 18 x 11 x 6 inches: $110.
* “Wilma on Trike” toy, celluloid figure, Linemar, Japan, 1962, 4 1/2 inches: $200.
* Cut glass sherry pitcher, Strawberry & Diamond with Fan cut, strap handle, 8 inches: $375.
* Peter Playpal walking doll, vinyl socket head, blue sleep eyes, freckles, closed mouth, gray shorts, striped jacket, tag, Ideal Toy, 38 inches: $550.
* Rookwood vase, white bachelor’s button, gray ground, 1908, 5 1/2 inches: $660.
* William & Mary style oak chest, rectangular molded lift top, over three graduated sham drawers, turned feet, side handles, 20 x 19 x 16 inches: $710.
Quick Tips
* Natural, unpainted wicker is more valuable than painted wicker, so do not paint a natural piece.
* Marble will scorch. A marble statue close to the heat of a 100-watt bulb might be damaged.
* Wrap the tip of metal files and rasps with several layers of masking tape.
The tape provides a comfortable grip for the fingers. It also prevents the sharp corners at the end of the tool from scratching or dinging a workpiece if you accidentally drop it or bump into it.
* When fastening two pieces of wood, it’s always best to drive the nail or screw through the thinner piece and into the thicker one.
When that’s not possible, drill a deep counterbore hole into the thick piece so you can recess the head of the fastener and, in effect, create a thinner board.
* Tired of hunting through your tool-belt pouches or tool chest every time you need a nail set? Try this: Take the metal clip off the top of a mechanical pencil and slip it onto the shaft of the nail set.
Now you can clip the nail set to your shirt pocket so it’s always handy.
