Antiques column
Q. Is our jardiniere an American Indian piece? – Katie, Bristol, Pa. A. Your Indian Ware piece was actually copied from the pottery of the American Indians, but was made by the Clifton Art Pottery of Clifton, NJ The firm was founded in 1903. It made wall and floor tiles in the early production when it added an artware line in 1911. The Indian Ware line was usually decorated in black geometric designs on red clay. White sometimes was used with the black in decorating and this two-colored decoration is considered rare, but for some reason does not appeal to collectors. Your Indian Ware jardiniere is valued at $500.
Q. Can you list prices on books pertaining to golf? – Lou, Murfreesboro, Tenn.
A. Highly collectible are early reference books on the game of golf. Did you know that the game was outlawed in Scotland in the year 1457 by King James II because his soldiers were golfing more than practicing their archery skills? Prices for books on the subject are governed by condition, edition, scarcity and desirability. Here are some values: Scotland’s Gift, Golf, C.B. MacDonald, architecture, 1928, $700, reprints available at $35; Life of Tom Morris, by W.W. Tulloch, biography, 1908, $1,200; Power Golf by Ben Hogan, instructional, 1948, $35.
Q. How can you tell if a glass paperweight is old? – Joe, Cambridge, Mass.
A. Valuable American-made paperweights are still being found at sales. Many times they are underpriced because dealers think they’re reproductions. If the colors in the glass are too vibrant, buyer beware. Modern glassmakers are not able to replicate many of the earlier colors. Copies of earlier weights are often dated. Very rarely will you find an old weight with a date. The most sought weights were made between 1845 and 1860. If you find miniature examples under two inches, these would of course be less valuable. Search for New England Glass Company paperweights made earlier in your town of Cambridge. Value guide: Paperweight, New England Glass co, varied colored twists, minor bubbles, small, $2,500.
Q. Can you date “fern” motif items? – Leslie, Provo, Utah.
A. Fragile ferns provided a decorative airy touch to living rooms between the 1850s and the 1870s. Ladies made dried fern arrangements in vases and encased them under dustproof glass domes. Manufacturers of the time, realizing the potent power of the fern, made fern engraved tableware glass, wallpapers, fabrics and hand-painted and transfer-printed chine – all designed with the fern lover in mind. Value guide: hat pin holder, porcelain, fern d’cor, $90.Current Prices
– Aquarium, bronze, figure of girl with geese, 21 inches, $6,325.
– Ivory, thimble and needle sewing case, French, 1760, $1,600.
Write to Charles Mather in care of the Herald-Standard at Crown Syndicate, Inc., P.O. Box 99126, Seattle, Wash. 98199 or call (206) 285-1888.