#Middlebury #Kovels
This wooden Uncle Sam sold for over $500 at an auction in Maine.
Uncle Sam wearing a blue tailcoat with stars, red striped pants, a red striped top hat and sporting a beard and goatee is not the first symbol for the United States, but probably is the best known today. Columbia was the first symbol, starting in 1738. She remained popular until the 1920s, but was not as favored as Brother Jonathan and Uncle Sam. Legend says Uncle Sam was the result of the initials “U.S.” on kegs of meat inspected by Samuel Wilson during the War of 1812. When asked what the initials meant, he gave his nickname “Uncle Sam.” But the Uncle Sam known today was created first by cartoonist Thomas Nast, who drew a tall, young man with a beard wearing the top hat, striped pants and waistcoat.
Similar Uncle Sams were used in many ways, even as an 1886 mechanical bank. The Uncle Sam figure designed to hold a mailbox outdoors was made as early as the 1890s, but the most famous Uncle Sam was created in 1916 for a recruiting poster by James Montgomery Flagg. The figure is pointing and saying “I Want You.” Hundreds of homemade wooden Uncle Sam mailboxes have been made since World War I ended. The Uncle Sam figure in the photo is made of flat-shaped boards, but he is missing the tray for mail. He was sold by James Julia Auctions for $533.
Q: What can you tell me about Splashme dolls? I’ve seen these little seated figures online and would like to know who made them and how old they are.
A: Splashme dolls were designed in 1917 by Genevieve Pfeffer (1890-1985), who used “Gene George” as her business name. The doll’s shape, with head in hands and elbows on knees, is based on Rose O’Neill’s Kewpie doll “The Thinker.” Splashme dolls also have similar large, side-glancing eyes. The dolls were made of bisque, composition or plaster of Paris, had painted features and wore painted bathing suits and bathing shoes. They were first sold at beaches and vacation spots. Splashme dolls with a mohair wig or a scarf tied around painted hair were first made in 1918. Pfeffer also wrote books about the Splashme dolls. Splashme doll items included baby talcum containers, soap, party favors and postcards. The dolls sell today for about $35 to $50.
Current Prices
Fred Astaire button, portrait, black-and-white photo, top hat, celluloid, pin back, Personality Buttons, 1960s, 2-inch diameter, $15.
Card game, The Merry Game of Old Maid, color illustrations, 17 pairs of cards, cardboard box and instruction card, c. 1880, $125.
Doorstop, Little Red Riding Hood, standing with wolf and holding basket, wearing cape, cast iron, painted, c. 1900, 8 x 6 inches, $600.
Begging bowl, hammered copper, wood interior, pierced and brass repousse, Islamic calligraphy, boat shape, 1800s, 12 x 5 inches, $1,280.
TIP: Old Burmese glass will fluoresce yellow-green under a black light. Recent reproductions will not.
For more collecting news, tips and resources, visit www.Kovels.com.
(c) 2018 King Features Synd. Inc.
You must be logged in to post a comment.