#Middlebury #BrowniesToys #Antiques
Comic characters are often used as models for toys, because they are already favorites of children. One group of toys was based on children’s books by Palmer Cox (1840-1924), an author who was born in Quebec, Canada, and lived in Panama and
San Francisco as a railroad contractor and carpenter.
This 1930 Palmer Cox Ten Pin Set with 12-inch-high paper and wood Brownies sold at Bertoia Auctions for $354. (Kovels.com )
Around 1874, he began to study drawing and write and illustrate stories. Cox published his first Brownies in 1879. The Brownies were in many magazines, including Ladies’ Home Journal and a tobacco journal. Most Brownies were in books of humorous verse, comic strips, story books, and even on a cigar box label.
Each Brownie has a personality and trade, and is dressed appropriately for his job. You can see Uncle Sam, a policeman, Irish man, sailor and even a man in a top hat among the figures in the game of ten pins. Each figure is 12 inches high, made of lithographed paper over wood.
Brownies were so popular they were featured as paper dolls, trade cards, rubber stamps, card games, puzzles and cloth dolls. They were decorations on carpets, wallpaper, china, glassware and tableware. The pictured boxed game of Brownie ten pins was estimated at $300 to $400 at a recent Bertoia auction and sold for $354, while a set in excellent condition would sell for $700 to $1,000.
Q: A reader (T.K.) sent us an interesting answer to a question we published previously: “Does the old liquor in an old mid-1800s whiskey bottle add to the value? Is it safe to drink? Is it legal to sell the whiskey in an old whiskey bottle if you are not licensed by your state?”
A: There are different rules about selling whiskey in the states. A long stay in a glass bottle should not change the whiskey the way storage in an oak barrel does, but if it is opened, it probably should not be served. But our reader says there are collectors who pay lots of money for old, unopened, full whiskey bottles. They are called “dusties,” and some collectors hunt for them in liquor stores. The writer knows someone who sold filled bottles of bourbon to a shop owner who sells “pours” to customers.
TIP: If you use valuable glass or pottery vases for flowers, use dried plants unless you protect the vase. Put a smaller glass vase inside to hold the water and the flowers. Hard water will leave a stain on pottery or glass.
Current Prices
Sterling silver glove stretcher, hammered finish with sea creatures, beaded scrollwork, monogramed FA on handle, marked, Whiting, c. 1890, 9 inches, $125.
Blenko bottle, clear blown glass, pear form, flared and flattened rim, faceted hollow teardrop stopper, 20th century, 33 3/4 inches, $250.
Pair of Bohemian glass lusters, green cut to clear, thumbprint cutting, gold trim, notched rim with 10 hanging spear prisms, early 1900s, 11 x 5 5/8 inches, pair, $440.
Clothing, scarf, Hermes, Couvertures et Tenues de Jour, 10 horses under blankets with owners’ colors, yellow ground, gilt frame, 38 x 38 inches, $570.
For more collecting news, tips and resources, visit www.Kovels.com.
© 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.
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