SPECKLED PLASTIC MIXING BOWLS

For Christmas we gave our daughter Kim some speckled melamine plastic mixing bowls, reproductions of the old ones she collects. They are lightweight and colorful and she likes to use them in the kitchen. Today we saw a "Rachel Ray garbage bowl" advertised for sale at Kohl's. The same speckled plastic. We had noticed the bowls on her Food Channel TV show when she was making some thirty minute meals. The old bowls were made by Plastics Manufacturing Company in Dallas, Texas, and are marked "Texas Ware." The new ones are made by Zak!

PRINCE VALIANT COMIC STRIP

The Prince Valiant comic strip runs only on Sundays. The strip, started in 1937, reached its 3,700th episode on January 6. Early original drawings of the strip, not the newspaper printed version, can sell for $30,000 or more. Who says you are wasting your time collecting comics?

SAD NEWS

Richard Knerr, the founder of the company that made the Hula Hoop, Frisbee, and other toys great successes, just died at age 82. He and his friend Arthur Melin started in business selling sling-shots. They soon sold boomerangs and cross-bows. In 1958 they heard about a hoop used to exercise in Australia and they turned the idea into the enormously popular Hula Hoop. Later they had other successful toys like Slip 'N Slide, Silly String and Superball.

"SUN GLASS"

A decorating magazine recently ran a full page picture of a dealer selling light and dark purple "sun glass." He says the bottles turned purple over decades of exposure to the sun's UV rays. Value up to $180 apiece. Only old bottles and jars, those made from about 1860 to 1915 with manganese in the glass, will become sun-colored amethyst (also called SCA), a lighter shade of purple. But beware, the dark purple and many lavender bottles you see at the flea markets have been irradiated--an artificial process. Collectors know those altered bottles are decorative only and should sell for very little.

CROWN ROYAL BOTTLES

More uses for the Crown Royal Bags we mentioned last week. Readers have emailed that they use them to store spin-fishing reels or Scrabble pieces. Members of one chapter of the Red Hat Ladies are using them as purses. But the most interesting reason sealed Crown Royal bottles are selling online is because of the value of the contents. You are not allowed to sell liquor on eBay but ads for older sealed bottles are getting by. Hope they are selling only to those who are old enough to buy alcoholic drinks legally.

FRENCH VASE BY GEORGES HOENTSCHEL

Q: I purchased this vase at an auction, and despite my best efforts I'm unable to identify the mark. A dealer told me it might be French Arts and Crafts from the early 20th century. The vase is 4 inches high and 2 3/4 inches in diameter. Do you have any idea who made it, when it was made and what its worth?

A: The mark on your stoneware vase was used by Georges Hoentschel (1855-1915), a Paris architect, decorator and potter. Hoentschel was primarily a designer of pieces made by other artisans, including Emile Grittel. Hoentschel's mark was incised on both the pieces he designed and the stoneware he made himself. Hoentschel was a friend of French sculptor and potter Jean Jacques Carries. When Carries died in 1894, Hoentschel moved into Carries' workshop, where he continued making stoneware until 1900. After that, Grittel was allowed to continue to make pieces bearing Hoentschel's mark until 1915, the year Hoentschel died. Your vase was probably made sometime between 1890 and 1915. French art pottery is selling well. Stoneware vases with this mark have sold for as much as $3,000.

CARRYING THE TORCH

Q: I have a plate with this mark on the back and the name Angelica Kauffmann on the front. Can you tell me who made it and how old it is?

A: Angelica Kauffmann (1741-1807) was a famous English artist who painted portraits, murals and furniture. Her paintings were copied by china painters who reproduced them on plates, vases and cups and saucers. She never painted china. Her name on the front of your plate means it was decorated in the style of Angelica Kauffmann. Her name is often misspelled with only one "f" or one "n." The shield and crown mark with the initials MCP and a hand holding a torch was used by J.S. Maier & Co. Poschetzau Porcelain Factory from 1939 to 1945. The company was in business in Poschetzau, Bohemia (currently Bozicany, Czech Republic) from 1890 to c.1945. The same mark with the word "Germany" instead of "Czechoslovakia" was used from 1919 to 1939.

GLASS DECANTER

This is an old tip from a book called The American Frugal Housewife. When the stopper of a glass decanter becomes too tight, a cloth wet with hot water and applied to the neck will cause the glass to expand so that the stopper may be easily removed.

Visit Kovels Online Store -The Ultimate Antiques & Collectibles Marketplace

Special reports and leaflets by Kovels of interest to collectors. Instant Download in PDF:

A Beginner's Guide to Selling Antiques on the Internet and Through Newspaper Ads: How do you sell on the Internet? How do you place ads in a trading publication? How do you get paid? How do you ship the item? This leaflet answers the questions anyone who wants to sell on the Internet or through a printed ad might ask.

A List of Current Price Guide Books about Antiques & Collectibles: This leaflet lists the very latest price guides on antiques and collectibles—both general books and books about specific subjects, from Advertising and Clocks to Pottery and Toys.

Dating and Refinishing a Trunk: Learn how to figure out the age of an old sea chest or trunk and whether it's a good idea to refinish it or to leave it as is to retain its value as an antique.

American Ceramics 1850-2000: A quick Guide to 210 Makers of Today's Most Collectible Pottery: This 56-page report is a handy guide to 210 makers of American pottery and porcelain most often seen at shows and sales—everything from Rookwood to Blue Ridge.

Subscriptions:

Kovels.com Premium

Kovels on Antiques & Collectibles - Monthly Newsletter (Print)

Other Items: