Cape Cod rockers have unique design

#Middlebury #Antiques

At first, the long rocking settee with a strange fence protecting half the seat seems odd. Why place a fence on an elaborately decorated settee that looks as if it belongs in a living room? The settee is a furniture form that dates to the 1810s. It seems to be a lengthened Windsor or Hitchcock chair, all wood with spindles, curved arms and stretchers. Some look as if the rockers had been added.

This rocking-settee-cradle also is called a double-seated Windsor or Cape Cod rocker. It was made in about 1810, and sold for $976.

But paintings and ads explain the use and furniture historians call it a “settee-cradle.” The baby’s caretaker or nurse sat on the bench with the baby lying on a pillow on the seat, safe because the rails kept the infant from rolling off. It was decorated to be seen in an important place in the house, probably near the fireplace to keep warm in the winter. Some of the pieces had a long fence that left little room for the adult caretaker. A rocking settee-bench with a faux maple paint decoration and a plank seat sold at a Neal Auction recently for $976. Some of the benches have brought close to $2,000.

Q: I am interested in selling my antique Lafayette fruit jar. Your website lists it as worth $4,950. Do you purchase items? If not, do you know a good resource to list this item for sale?

A: In 2014, we wrote about an aqua Lafayette fruit jar sold at a Norman Heckler bottle auction for $4,950. You made a very common error. “Almost” is not good enough when pricing some things, especially bottles. Color is important, and so is the wording, size, and its top. Clear jars are common; colors are rare. Lafayette quarts are worth far less than the rare pints.

There are about 14 versions of Lafayette bottles, and each has its own price range. There are also several types of tops. Your bottle is a clear quart. The $4,950 bottle is an aqua pint. Clear quarts retail for $100 to $250.

Try going to bottle shows or bottle auctions in person or view them online to see values. Talk to some collectors. And remember, an auction charges the seller a fee, often as much as 25 percent, and you have other costs like shipping and packing the bottle and taxes. We identify the source of the pictures in our price guide and anything else we write, and list the addresses of major auction houses at the end of our price book. Learn more at www.Kovels.com.

Current Prices
Pairpoint, bowl, ruby glass, flaring rim, 5 1/4 x 11 3/4 inches, $70.
Tabletop lighter, golf club-shaped, putter, golf ball knob, brown and ivory, cast metal, 1950s, 4 1/2 inches, $165.
Model plane, wood and metal with red paint, working engine, propeller and landing wheels, 1950s, 48 inches with 5-1/2 foot wing span, $350.
Coffee Mill, Enterprise Co., red, two wheels, cast-iron drawer, wood base, 14 x 10 inches, $425.

TIP: If possible, vacuum, don’t dust, your books to prevent the spread of mold spores.

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

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