Collect food-storage antiques

#Middlebury #Kovels

Why not collect food-storage antiques? Food had to be specially prepared to last during the centuries before ice boxes and refrigerators. Long hours were spent smoking, pickling, drying and canning foods. Fresh fruits and vegetables were available only “in season.” Ice boxes were used in the 19th and 20th centuries. A block of ice was cut from a frozen lake then wrapped and stored in a special zinc-lined box. It melted as it cooled, and the housewife had to empty the pan of melted ice water at least once a day.

A country store spice bin shaped like a Pagoda sold for $3,300 because of its rarity, condition and size. The 3-foot-tall lithographed tin Pagoda held six different spices that were ladled into bags by the store clerk in about 1890.

The first electric refrigerator was made in 1911, and by 1923, Frigidaire was selling a home refrigerator. Early refrigerators used freon in the cooling process, but to keep the planet green, the chemical was outlawed in the 1990s. The refrigerator-freezer combination we use today was first sold in 1939. But spices still are used to store, flavor and preserve food.

Grocery stores of the 1890s sold spices from a large container, or later, the small-sized tins sometimes used today. A spice display was an important part of the store. A 36-inch-tall Pagoda-shaped spice bin with original paint sold at a Showtime auction in 2015. It was a six-sided tower that held ginger, cinnamon, mustard, cloves, allspice and pepper. The revolving tower had ornate lithographed labels on the tin sections. The rare antique sold for $3,300.

If that is too big, look for the small (2- to 3-inch) tins that used to hold spices. The best have unusual graphics. Prices range from $5 to $25. They are still found at house sales, flea markets and online, but rarely at auctions because they are so inexpensive.

Q: I’m downsizing and want to sell my dining-room furniture. It’s made of maple and is marked “A genuine Cushman Colonial Creation made in Bennington, Vermont.” I have a table with two leaves, hutch, six chairs and a wet sink. How much do you think I can get?

A: The H.T. Cushman Manufacturing Co. was in business in North Bennington, Vermont. from 1892 to 1971, when it was bought by Green Mountain Furniture. The company was founded by Henry Theodore Cushman. The furniture probably won’t sell in antiques sales, but a house or garage sale could be good. You should get about one-third the price of comparable new furniture if your set is in great condition.

Current Prices
Elvis Presley record, “All Shook Up,” RCA, 45 RPM, 1957, $10

Folk-art birdhouse, wood, steep pitched roof, two windows and door, 21 x 21 inches, $60.

Toy sand pail, kids playing on beach, tin lithograph, Ohio Art Co., c. 1930, 6 1/2 inches, $380.

Wigwam Oats box, cardboard, Indian village, multicolor, 9 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches, $775.

TIP: Don’t use old home-canning jars to preserve food. The jars with wire bails, glass caps, zinc porcelain-lined caps or metal caps with rubber rings do not seal as well as the new two-piece vacuum-cap jars.

For more collecting news, tips and resources, visit www.Kovels.com.

(c) 2018 King Features Synd., Inc.