#MiddleburyCT #Antiques #AdvertisingSigns
Advertising signs are most popular when they include a well-known brand name or recognizable mascot. Sometimes, a sign doesn’t have a name or brand attached, but there’s no mistaking what it’s for.
This realistic wooden pig’s head was originally made as a butcher’s trade sign. It sold for $3,125 at Cowan’s Auctions. (Kovels.com)
This three-dimensional pig’s head made of carved and painted wood with glass eyes was made for a butcher’s shop. It sold at Cowan’s Auction in Cincinnati for $3,125. The buyer may be a collector of advertising and store furnishings, might have an interest in the meat industry, or may have recognized the pig’s value as an interesting work of folk art. The head is detailed, with wrinkles where the snout rises, teeth and a tongue visible in the open mouth. It took plenty of skill for the unknown artist to carve and paint such a realistic design.
Q: What is the value of an aluminum Christmas tree in great shape? It’s 5-feet tall.
A: Save your aluminum tree. It is worth over $400. Aluminum Christmas trees were popular in the 1960s. The wire branches, wrapped with narrow aluminum strips to represent “needles,” came in individual paper sleeves to protect them when stored. If the branches aren’t inserted into the sleeves end first when disassembling the tree, the “needles” get twisted and wrinkled. Since lights can’t be hung on the tree, aluminum trees were usually illuminated by a revolving lighted color wheel at the base.
The Aluminum Specialty Co. of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, made the first aluminum trees in 1959. Trees were made in silver, gold and several other colors, but silver was the most popular. Reproduction and new aluminum trees have been made.
The value of a vintage aluminum tree depends on size, desirability and condition. Some people like “Pom Pom” trees that have branches with flared ends resembling pompoms, while others prefer trees with more realistic-looking branches. A 6-foot Sparkler Pom-Pom tree with 91 pom-pom end branches, original box and sleeves sold recently for $461. A 6-foot tree with 49 “realistic” branches and a color wheel sold for $202. And a 7-foot tree with 154 realistic branches and a plastic stand sold for $461.
TIP: If the name “England” (or that of another country) appears on a dish, it was probably made after 1891, but it may have been made as early as 1887. The words “Made in England” (or another country) indicate the piece was made after 1914.
Current Prices
Furniture, desk, schoolmaster’s, pine, dovetailed box, hinged slant top with short galleried well, on tapered leg base, 1800s, 41 x 31 inches, $65.
Lamp, electric, torchiere, metal, red enamel, cylindrical stem, reverse dome shade, disc foot, Walter Von Nessen, marked “Nessen Lamps Inc.” on base, 72 x 10 inches, $375.
Weathervane, pig, molded copper, flattened full body, sheet copper ears, zinc curly tail, traces of verdigris and old gilt, late 1800s, 34 inches. $3,750.
For more collecting news, tips and resources, visit www.Kovels.com.
© 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.
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