#Middlebury
Large, ornate Victorian furniture is selling for low prices at auctions for many reasons. Houses are smaller and bedrooms have more windows and closets, so there are fewer plain walls for large double beds or dressers. Plus, the elaborate carvings are out of style. The furniture also is very heavy and hard to move. Sometimes the headboard is too high for a modern room with an 8-foot ceiling, and the bedroom sets have too many pieces.
A set of furniture that would fill the bedroom sold for $5,400 at an auction in the Midwest. It was made from solid walnut with burl and carved trim.
A few makers are so important that their work is treated as art. John Henry Belter, Alexander Roux, Joseph Meeks and John Jelliff are a few designers who still are getting very high prices; however, bargains also exist in well-made, stylish Victorian pieces manufactured away from the East Coast.
The H.B. Mudge Furniture Co. of Cincinnati designed and made a Victorian suite consisting of a washstand with mirror, commode, dresser and a bed with a high, carved headboard and footboard (pictured). It descended in the Mudge family and was auctioned by Cowan Auctions of Cincinnati for $5,400 (includes buyer’s premium). The company was founded in 1837 and made many kinds of household furniture.
Q: I just bought a handcrafted silver ring with a multicolored flat “stone” with a tag that reads “sterling silver with an authentic piece of Fordite.” No one here knows what Fordite is. Can you help?
A: We first learned about Fordite over 20 years ago. Many car manufacturers were closing their plants. Someone noticed that the floor where they had been painting the cars was covered with a thick layers of hard automobile paint. Since cars were made in many different colors, the floor had swirling patterns in the hardened material. Rock hounds and other collectors “mined” the material, sometimes with permission and sometimes after the plants were about to be torn down. Small pieces of this mined material are still available, and they usually are made into jewelry. We have seen pendants and rings made with Fordite set in gold that sell for more than $1,000.
Current Prices
Animal trap, for rats and moles, cast iron, spring mechanism, Out O’ Sight brand, stamped “Patented,” 1930s, 8 x 5 inches, $65.
Brass inkwell, the Mayflower, tall ship, textured square base with removable ink pot, 1920s, 5 x 5 inches, $280.
Punch bowl, pink and purple grapes with gold trim, teal enamel pedestal foot, Tressemann & Vogt, France, c. 1900, 7 x 16 inches, $975.
Carved wood crucifix, Jesus Christ on cross with crown of thorns, hand-painted, icon from a Mexican church, c. 1870, 49 x 24 inches, $2,600.
TIP: It is best to wash marble with distilled water. Any trace of acid or iron in the water will cause deterioration or stains. Use soft soap, a bit of ammonia and a plastic container.
Available for pre-order TODAY: The all new Kovels Antiques & Collectibles 2019 Price Guide. To order, go to Kovels.com; call 800-303-1996; or write to Kovels, P.O. Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122.
(c) 2018 King Features Synd. Inc.
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