#Middlebury #Antiques
Collectors like unique examples, even those that are mysteries. This wooden pull toy, a copy of Donald Duck, was possibly made in China in the 1930s. It sold at a Milestone auction in Willoughby, Ohio, for $4,200.
Donald Duck is a Disney character and there are strict laws about copying his likeness, so this wooden toy from the 1930s must be a knockoff. The duck could be a relative, but it certainly is not one sanctioned by The Walt Disney Company. The wooden pull toy has a place to attach a string. Pull it, and Donald’s legs “walk,” the wheels turn and the tiny chick bobs back and forth. Toy collectors like early examples of comic characters that are rare and by unknown makers. This is the only one the Ohio auctioneer had ever seen. It is thought it was made in China in the 1930s. The toy, perhaps an Easter gift, sold on the 57th bid for $4,200, well over the estimate.
Q: I have some blue-and-white dishes my grandmother said she took from the dining car on a B & O Railroad trip years ago. I know stolen paintings, ancient relics and other stolen items are confiscated and, if possible, returned to the original owners. Can I put my dishes in an auction?
A: Railroad dining cars and airplanes used to have special dishes made with their names and significant views or logos. And there have been “Railroad China” collectors for years. Some of the china was “liberated” by dinner guests, but much was sold at the railroad’s gift shop. Most popular was the Centenary china first used in 1927 by the B & O Railroad for their 100th anniversary. It was so popular that they continued to use it for over 50 years, and later, even made copies that were sold at the gift shop. The original, and most expensive for today’s collectors, are Centenary pieces with the rectangular “Scammell’s Lamberton China Patent Applied For” mark on the back. It was used from 1927 until 1930-31, when the mark was changed to read “Design Patented.”
Q: My six flat silver butter knives are stamped “Pat. Apld. For Puritan Silver Co.” Are they sterling silver? Are they worth anything?
A: Puritan Silver Co. is a trade name used by Oneida Silversmiths on silver-plated flatware. Silver-plated flatware doesn’t sell well. Young people don’t want to bother to keep it polished, and it doesn’t have the meltdown value that sterling silver has. Silver-plated butter knives sell for about $1 each.
Current Prices
Cut-glass bowl, hobstars, flared fans, notched miters, strawberry diamonds, 3-5/8 x 9 inches, $20.
Oushak rug, repeating triangular shapes, blue ground, green and blue flower border, 2 feet 7 inches x 6 feet 3 inches, $100.
Dinner gong, brass, wrought iron, relief repousse portrait, Roland A Ronceveux, scrolled support, 32 x 31 inches, $475.
Carousel horse, prancer, horsehair tail, leather tack, beige, spots, Armitage-Herschell, 46-3/4 x 13-3/4 inches, $1,560.
TIP: Old, authentic carousel figures almost always have glass eyes or realistic horse-shaped eyes. Reproductions have human-shaped eyes, either Asian or Caucasian.
For more collecting news, tips and resources, visit www.Kovels.com.
© 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
You must be logged in to post a comment.