The Race Is On for Figural Vases
Vases shaped like ladies’ heads, with a hole in the top for flowers, were popular in the 1940s. A few are still being made. The lady wearing a hat filled with fresh flowers is an appealing idea that has been used by florists time and again.
In the 1960s, not just head, but also figural vases or planters were imported from Japan and sold to florists and dime stores. Many were in the form of young women in full-skirted dresses. Others were shaped like animals, birds, trains, cribs, baby carriages, hearts, rabbits, Santa Claus and turkeys.
Collectors have begun searching for these figural vases. The most popular seem to be those made in the United States or marked with familiar importers’ names.
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Question: I inherited an unusual drop-leaf table. It is coffee-table height and has six legs. It forms a semicircle when the leaves at both ends are folded down. When the leaves are raised, the table is shaped more like a horseshoe. The name “Weiman Co.” is marked under the table. Can you tell me anything about the company or the table style?
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Answer: The Weiman Co. was founded in Chicago in the 1920s. It moved to Rockford, Ill., in the 1930s. At the same time, it opened a new manufacturing plant in North Carolina.
Your table’s semicircular design and leaves are reminiscent of a 1750-1850 English “wine table,” often called a “hunt table.” The original wine tables had a device that stretched between the ends so that a wine bottle could be reached from any point. Your table, a reproduction of the old style, probably dates from the 1950s.
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Q: We have inherited a strange clock that looks like a fat man with a clock in his stomach. His eyes move with each tick of the clock. The iron clock has brass works stamped “C. Jerome.” It has been repainted.
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A: Your clock was made by the Bradley and Hubbard Manufacturing Co. in Meriden, Conn., about 1860. The works were made by Chauncey Jerome. The clock is called “John Bull” or “Toby.” Clocks like yours are called blinking-eye clocks and are very popular with collectors. They sell for about $1,200 in original condition. The repaint lowers the value.
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Q: I have a china platter with a color view of the White House in the center. The border has portraits of 10 presidents and eight state emblems. The flag shown has 24 stars, which would date it back to 1821.
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A: The 24th state was admitted in 1821, but the 10th President, John Tyler, took office in 1844. That means the earliest the plate could have been made is 1844, but it could have been later. It is probably the plate showing 10 presidents that was copyrighted in 1909. It is worth about $300.
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Q: I have a napkin holder that looks like George Washington. It is marked “Enesco.” What can you tell me about it?
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A: You have one piece of a set of kitchenware imported by Enesco of Elk Grove, Ill. It was probably from the 1970s. The line was called “Kitchen Independence” and featured George Washington with the Declaration of Independence, and Betsy Ross holding a flag.
The line included Betsy Ross as a cookie jar and a spoon holder, and George Washington served as a toothpick holder, a napkin holder and an egg timer. Both figures were used for salt and pepper shakers. Your napkin holder sells for about $20. The cookie jar is worth more than $200.
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Q: I have a small collection of Erickson art glass. Can you tell me anything about the company?
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A: Carl Ebert Erickson (1899-1966) was born in Sweden to a family of glassmakers. He immigrated to the United States with his family in 1906. In 1913, he became an apprentice at the Pairpoint Manufacturing Co. in New Bedford, Mass. Later, Erickson worked at the Libbey Glass Co. in Toledo, Ohio, and at the Blenko Glass Co. in Milton, W.Va.
In 1943, Carl and his brother, Steven, bought an old glass factory in Bremen, Ohio, and founded the Erickson Glass Works. The company made artistic blown glass. Most pieces were made of various colors of cased (layered) glass. Some had molded bases.
Carl bought out his brother in 1953. The company closed in 1961. Collectors search for Erickson glass today, and prices are rising.
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Q: Why is a box of Whitman’s chocolates called a Whitman’s Sampler?
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A: Stephen F. Whitman opened a candy-and-fruit store in Philadelphia in 1842. His company ran ads in a local newspaper by 1860, and it became the first candy company to advertise nationally.
In 1912, Whitman introduced a box of assorted chocolates called a Whitman’s Sampler, a selection of many candies to sample. The cover of the box was designed to look like a needlework sampler. Cross-stitching became a symbol of the company and was used for other Whitman ads and boxes.
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.
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Current Prices
Figures are recorded from antique shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.
* Rowland & Marsellus souvenir plate, Alaska, Pacific Exposition 1909, 9 inches, $55.
* Avon bottle, Bay Rum, stopper, California Perfume Co., 1896, 4 ounces, $165.
* McCoy Harley-Davidson Hog cookie jar, $410.
* Aladdin lamp, B-126, Corinthian, white moonstone font, black moonstone foot, 1935-1936, $510.
* Steamro Hot Dog steamer, electric bun warmer, aluminum, 1930s, $570.
* Windsor side chairs, arrow-back, bamboo-turned legs, painted yellow crest, olive-green and gold fruit and leaves, New England, 1825, set of six, $2,300.
