ON THE COVER -
January Issue 2005
Happy New Year Collectibles .. by: Robert
Reed
While the celebration of the first day of the calendar
year is one of the world's oldest events. the collecting of related memorabilia
is still relatively new.Yet the interest is clearly rising in the United States
and other countries. Party hats, postcards, holiday menus, lithographed noise
makers, magazine covers, even specially illustrated transit tickets are being
gathered as New Year's Day collectibles.
January Issue 2005
Hall China And The Jewel Tea Company
The Hall China Company has
produced many lovely patterns of dinnerware and cookware but
one that was popular in the 1930s and 1940s is Autumn Leaf.
The three-piece mixing bowl set was introduced in 1933 and
remained in production until 1976. Although new items were
added periodically and old items were discontinued, the bowl
set remained in the Autumn Leaf line.
New Year's Day Postcards . . by Roy Nuhn
When
the picture postcard fad hit America nearly a century ago, publishers
found a ready market for special greeting cards for every holiday,
including New Year's. The public eagerly purchased seasonal postcards to
exchange with relatives, friends, neighbors and co-workers. They were also
lovingly saved in keepsake albums.
THE ANTIQUE DETECTIVE
Old Cookie
Cutters - Worth Lots of Dough
The tinsmith who fashioned cookie
cutters for the lady of the house in the 19th century would
probably shake his head in disbelief at their current prices.
Made of humble materials such as tinned sheet iron and and
galvanized sheet metal , they depicted a variety of subjects
from people and animals to hearts and domestic implements.
Q. When I acquired an old buffet several years ago the top right hand drawer had a piece of ragged, worn out cloth glued to the inside of the drawer with enough loose cloth to fold over the drawer again. In my haste to refinish the buffet I tore out the fabric and stripped and refinished the entire thing, including the insides of the drawers. Now I have been told that the fabric was some kind of “silver cloth” or “tarnish cloth” and that I should not have removed it. Have you ever heard of that and where can I get it if it is still available?
Old Brass - Or Is
It?
.. by Fred Taylor
When you read the catalog for an auction
that will be presenting some genuine antique furniture, it's
always interesting to read the descriptions. Some the most
alluring will describe a piece of furniture as having "original
finish" or "original brasses". That's a real selling point when
looking at a chest of drawers that may be 200 years old and
think that those brass pulls have been there undisturbed for
that whole time. Can that be?
Currier & Ives -
Portraits of America
.. by Judy Penz Sheluk
Nathaniel Currier was born on March 27, 1813, at a time
when lithography was in its infancy. By the time of his death in 1887, his
company would have produced more than a million prints, featuring over 7,700
different images.