#Middlebury #Antiques
Stoves often were the largest objects in the room of 18th- and 19th-century homes. They were needed for heat and cooking. Cast iron stoves came in many styles, most cast with curlicues and pictures formed by a mold. Special stoves had extra trim, a few tiles on the front or a complete set of tiles showing people, architecture or greenery.
Even though the auction catalog warned that the shipping cost would be high because of the weight of the 29-by-38-inch cast iron stove, the winning bid was $4,688.
A very unusual stove made about 1895 was covered in English Minton and Wedgwood tiles picturing the 12 months of the year, fairy tales and nursery rhymes created by Walter Crane for two of his 1887 children’s books, and other Crane drawings of fairy tales and Aesop’s fables. Additional tiles were copies of pictures of the month by Helen Miles in the 1870s. The buyer also got the stove’s impressive provenance: a family scrapbook that identified previous owners, including the founder of Hobart Brothers of Troy New York, and a pictured article in Colonial Homes Magazine from 1994.
Even though the stove had been converted to gas and would cost a lot to ship, it sold for $4,688.
Q: I bought a miniature Stetson hat and hat box at a yard sale several years ago and paid $2 for it. A friend told me when he was a young boy, his job was to stand outside a department store and when anyone left the store with a real Stetson box, give them one of these small boxes with the hat. Can you give me any idea of age and value?
A: These miniature hats and hatboxes were not free. They were gift certificates someone paid for. The box included a gift certificate for a new hat, so you could give someone a gift of a hat and they could choose it themselves. Miniature Stetson hats are the most often found but other hat manufacturers also made miniature hats and hat boxes to promote their brands. Miniature Stetson hats were made in felt and in plastic. Hatboxes usually were made of paper or cardboard, though some were made of tin. Some boxes have just the brand name, some are decorated. A check of recent sales shows a felt hat in a tin hatbox for $40 and a plastic hat in a cardboard hatbox for $24 to $40.
Current Prices
Shaving mug, occupational, D.K. Oliver M.D., rose, leaves, gold trim, marked, France, 3 1/2 inches, $48.
Advertising sign, chicken farm, New Musser Leghorn Farms Pullet, images of chicks and hens, metal, 1940s-1950s, 13 x 10 inches, $165.
Poster, “What’ll You Do After You Graduate?” Dustin Hoffman as The Graduate, Volunteers in Service to America, 1968, 24 x 18 inches, $420.
Scientific instrument, yardstick, maple shaft, whalebone end caps, diamond-shaped inlay, inch hash marks, 1800s, 36 inches, $469.
TIP: Large mirrors should not be taken down to be cleaned. Get an assistant to hold the mirror steady while it is being wiped.
Looking to declutter, downsize or settle an estate? “Kovels’ Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide 2021” by Terry and Kim Kovel has the resources you’re looking for.
© 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.
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