#Middlebury #Militaria
Military collectibles are more than swords and guns, although there are many antique and vintage weapons at auction. But there also are many other collectibles: uniforms, photographs or earlier daguerreotypes, scrimshaw, jewelry made from coins, vases made from brass bullet casings, stitched-wool pictures of boats, and many other crafts that were made during free time on ships, land or in prison camps. The earliest ones found in sales and stores today probably are the intricate ship models and other crafts from the 1700s.
During the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815), over 120,000 French prisoners were held in camps in England. There was nothing to do, so they began making all sorts of things from materials at hand, like straw, wood and bones from pigs and mutton eaten at dinner, and ivory from whales. The prisoners were not volunteers; they had been conscripted and left lives as carpenters, farmers and tradespeople with many skills. The British let the prisoners sell their handiwork and keep the money. Gifts for children were popular, and games like dominoes and cribbage were easy to make from square or rectangular pieces of bone. They were then given markings needed for the game.
Napoleonic prisoners made this bone game box with a sliding top. It held a cribbage board and 26 dominoes. The set sold for $960. (Robert C. Eldred Co. Inc. photo)
One such set of dominoes seemed to be a collection of different nonmatching dominoes, perhaps using parts of other partial sets. The box holding the dominoes and a cribbage board had a sliding top. The set sold at an Eldred’s Marine auction for $960. The box is 6-1/2 inches long by 1-1/4 inches wide.
Q: My family has a photograph of a female relative done by the Chicago Portrait Co. This is a photograph, not a painting or drawing. It’s in a frame with a domed glass cover. How can I determine the date of the photograph?
A: The Chicago Portrait Co. was in business from 1893 to at least 1940. The company was known for its portraits made from old photographs, which were sold by traveling salesmen. The photographs were enlarged and colored with pastels, watercolor, oil paint, crayon or India ink, or created with sepia tones and then printed on a curved piece of cardboard. The salesman brought the picture back in a domed wood frame, making it more expensive than buying the picture alone. Since the picture was on curved cardboard, it had to be displayed in a domed frame. The salesman made his money by getting the customer to buy the expensive frame. Domed glass frames were popular from about 1880 to 1920.
Current Prices
Sugar and creamer, purple band, purple bird, green handles, PM Moschendorf, Bavaria, 2 pieces, $5.
Book, Old farmer’s almanac, by Robert B. Thomas, anecdotes and poetry, 69th publication, New England states, 48 pages, 1861, $120.
Shaker, spool carrier, tiger maple, six carved spool holders, c. 1840, 3 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches, $360.
Tapestry, lady, unicorn, lion, attendant, canopy, red, blue, France, 1900s, 7 ft. 4 in. x 5 ft. 6 inches, $500.
TIP: Don’t store a diamond with other jewelry. It may scratch the other stones.
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