Plastic Furniture Is Modern Tradition
Most furniture is made of wood. During the 19th century, however, some English firms made furniture of papier-ma^che, some American makers used eccentric designs with cattle horns, and some very expensive pieces were made with solid silver or carved ivory.
In the 20th century, a new product, plastic, made it possible to create very different types of furniture. After World War II, the new technologies were incorporated into furniture designs, and plastic laminates were used for table and counter tops. The first chairs made from molded plastic were designed during the late 1940s.
One popular plastic was Perspex, better known to many by the trade name Lucite. Sheets or rods of the clear, transparent plastic were transformed into furniture. Some designers of plastic chairs imitated older styles, while others used imaginative shapes and construction methods. Clear “bubble” chairs were hung from the ceiling on a chain. Molded, curved chairs on large, clear, curved bases were made, as well as copies of French 18th century side chairs. These were manufactured in the ‘50s and ‘60s.
By the 1990s, designers began using other types of plastic, and they created chairs that could be inflated, or with real flowers embedded in the clear Lucite.
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Question: I collect men’s hats and have several old cowboy hats. Why is a cowboy hat called a Stetson?
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Answer: Western cowboy hats are called Stetsons because John B. Stetson & Co., a Philadelphia hat manufacturer founded in 1865 by John Batterson Stetson, ran a very good public-relations campaign in the early years of the 20th century.
The company hired Elbert Hubbard, a famous publisher and businessman, to write a publicity booklet about the company. The booklet implied that Stetson invented the practical shape of the western-style hat to protect cowboys from wind, rain and sun. The truth was that Stetson and other hat makers based their western hat designs on the sombrero.
Stetson’s felt cowboy hats sold the best because they were sturdy, lightweight and good-looking. The brand became synonymous with the hat.
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Q Can you tell me something about my old, round icebox? The name on the front is “White Frost.” It is about 4 1/2 feet tall. There’s a lid on the top that covers the ice compartment, and there’s a door on the front that opens to reveal three revolving food racks.
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A Your icebox was made by the White Frost Refrigerator Co. of Jackson, Mich., around the end of World War I. Some models had a water cooler mounted on one side. The icebox is made of enameled steel, with nickel trim and cork insulation. It was advertised in the Ladies’ Home Journal in 1920. Kitchen collectors would pay $250 to $400 for it.
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QI have a tall, thin, wrought-iron standing jack rabbit holding a removable ashtray. I saw one like it pictured in a magazine. The article said it was “probably by Thomas Molesworth.” But mine is stamped “W.B. Gilbert Patd., Albuquerque, NM.” Can you explain?
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A Thomas Canada Molesworth studied design at the Art Institute of Chicago. In the 1930s, he ran the Shoshone Furniture Co. in Cody, Wyo., where he designed Western rustic furniture. He used jack rabbit ashtray sculptures like yours in his room designs. It has always been assumed, however, that the jack rabbit ashtray sculptures may have been designed by someone else, because they are also pictured in photos of other rooms from the 1930s and earlier.
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Q I collect Little Lulu memorabilia. She was one of my favorite characters in the funnies, and later on TV. You mentioned a doll based on the cartoon, and we wonder if the “Marge” that signed the strip was really a woman.
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A Marge was Marjorie Henderson Buell, who drew the first single panel cartoons of Little Lulu in 1935. She did not create any of the stories or artwork for the comic books or newspaper strip. Other characters in the strip were Tubby Tompkins (the Tubby Tom who was also created as a doll), Iggy, Annie, Gloria and Alvin.
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
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.
* Stanley rule and level no. 41, brass top, pat. June 23, 1896, 3 inches, $65.
* Royal Baking Powder sign, paper, gingerbread man points to can of Royal Baking Powder with one hand while pointing to a 20-page book with the other, 30 by 20 inches, $125.
* Milk glass Jockey club perfume bottle, rectangular, reverse on glass label, Pat. Apr. 2, 1889, 7 1/4 inches, $225.
* “One Million Years B.C.” movie poster, Raquel Welch, 1966, 41 by 81 inches, $240.
* Advertising toy, cement mixer, cast-iron, orange, metal wheels, embossed Jaeger on side, Kenton Hardware, Kenton, Ohio, c. 1930, 7 inches, $375.
* Madame Alexander doll, Glamour Girl No. 2001C, on a picnic day, plastic, head, blue sleep eyes, blue gown, slip with hoop, bonnet, 18 inches, $425.
* Copper spice box, five compartments, c. 1800, 9 inches, $550.
* Gustav Stickley server with plate rack, two drawers over linen drawer, hammered copper oval pulls, branded mark, 43 1/2 by 48 by 20 1/2 inches, $2,100.
* George Ohr pitcher, ribbon handle, applied rosettes, covered in gunmetal glaze, impressed mark, 4 by 3 3/4 inches, $2,700.
* Cocktail dress, black taffeta, 1950s, by Hubert De Givenchy, $4,310.
