Measure the Bed to Rest in Peace
Be careful when buying an antique bed. The size may fool you. It was not until the 1920s that sizes were standardized by manufacturers, so early beds often require special mattresses and sheets.
Take the measurement from the inside of the bed, side to side between the rails and head to foot. If the footboard or headboard is curved, as it sometimes was in Victorian times, you may need a custom-made mattress.
Standard beds today are single (39 inches by 74 inches), three-quarter (48 inches by 74 inches), double (54 inches by 74 inches), queen (60 inches wide or larger), and king (78 inches wide, which is the size of two singles).
An old bed can sometimes use a standard box spring and mattress, but today it is also possible to get a special polyurethane foam mattress cut to fit.
But don’t forget the problem of today’s fitted bottom sheets.
Special mattresses may require a 4-inch-deep “pocket,” and these special sheets are hard to find.
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Question: I have a set of four cobalt-blue glass cruets. I received them several years ago as two separate gift sets. All four cruets have the same etched leaf-and-flower design.
Recently I found a silver castor that holds all four cruets. The castor is marked Meriden B. Company in a circle. The design on the platform of the castor is very similar to the design on the cruets.
Have I accidentally assembled an original set?
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Answer: Your castor is pictured in the Meriden Britannia Silver-Plate Treasury catalog of 1886-87. It was one of several silver-plate castor sets available from the company. The mark you describe was used until the 1930s, although the Meriden Britannia Co. became part of the International Silver Co. in 1898.
Your glass cruets, on the other hand, are 1970s reproductions. We found them pictured in a wholesale catalog, where they were offered in blue or ruby.
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Q My large, silver-plated cream pitcher has a tulip design around the rim. The handle is worn. The marks on the bottom include “Homan Mfg. Co.” and “O.M.”
Can you tell me anything about the maker?
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A Homan & Co. was founded in 1847 in Cincinnati. The company’s name changed to Homan Manufacturing Co. about 1904, so your silver-plate creamer was made after that date. The company made tea sets, beakers, chargers and swivel lamps for the Ohio-Mississippi riverboats. The “O.M.” mark on your creamer may stand for Ohio-Mississippi.
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Q I collect original paint-by-number paintings done in the 1950s and ‘60s. I want to exhibit my collection with some history of the “genre,” but the current manufacturer, Craft House of Ohio, can’t help me. Can you tell me when the kits were first made and who made them?
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A The Palmer Paint Co. introduced its “Craft Master” brand of paint-by-number sets at the 1951 American International Toy Show in New York City. Printed paint-by-number canvases had been made earlier, but they were not a marketing success.
The creative mind behind Palmer’s sets was designer Dan Robbins. Robbins said he was inspired in part by Michelangelo, who numbered sections of the Sistine Chapel ceiling for his students to paint. Craft Master sets were sold with paints and a rolled piece of canvas.
In the mid-1950s, a Cleveland art supplier called Craftint Corp. introduced its paint-by-number sets, which included a piece of rigid illustration board instead of a rolled canvas. Sets were made in the 1960s by several toy makers, including Hasbro and Pressman. Craft House now owns the Craft Master trademark and still produces paint-by-number sets.
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Q My 8-inch plate is hand-painted with flowers and trimmed with gold. The back is marked “CFH” over “GDM, France.” It is signed “S.E. Dupuy.”
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A Your dishes were made by Gerard, Dufraisseix et Cie, a well-known firm in Limoges, France. The mark you describe was used from about 1890 to 1900. CFH stands for Charles Field Haviland, who worked with the firm. Your dish may have been decorated at the factory or at a later date by a china decorator. We suspect S.E. Dupuy was the decorator. There was a family by that name working in Limoges.
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.
* Franciscan vegetable bowl, Desert Rose, divided, 10 3/4 inches, $55.
* Weller wall pocket, embossed with two chickadees on flowering cherry blossom branch, Weller Ware ink stamp, 7 1/4 inches, $65.
* Mickey Mouse pull toy, drummer, paper, wood, Fisher-Price, 1950s, 8 inches, $110.
* Dorothy Lamour doll, cloth, painted blue eyes, open-close mouth, mohair wig, pink flower on blue sarong, by Film Star Creations, Inc., Hollywood, 14 inches, $135.
* Chrome cocktail shaker, ribbed shaker, red Bakelite handle, five red glass goblets, $175.
* Reddy Kilowatt figure, translucent pink body, plastic, 1950s, 6 inches, $200.
* Three Little Pigs toy washer, lithograph of pig in backyard doing wash, tin, with wringer and pedestal feet base, Chein, 8 inches, $360.
* Staffordshire pitcher, American Naval Heroes, blue transfer, 1830s, 8 inches, $745.
* Heisey nut set, Crystolite, swan, master and individuals, 13 inches, eight pieces, $910.
* Bedroom set, E. Wormley, five-drawer, two-door chest, twin sleigh beds, four pieces, $2,300.
