Rochester, Minnesota-Part II

This show had many dealers with oak furniture at bargain prices. But the best bargains we saw were hand-embroidered pillow cases ($5 a pair) and dresser scarves ($3). Printed 1940s tablecloths and 1970s Liquid Embroidered pillow cases were also low-priced. Liquid Embroidery is a trade name for the craft of painting an embroidery-like design on fabric.

Minnesota was settled by Norwegians and other Scandinavians, so it was not surprising to find a dealer selling Scandinavian antiques. Nineteenth-century painted chests were $400 and up. Carved butter molds were $495 and up, bowls with dragon-head handles were hundreds of dollars, and a 14-inch tankard was $895.

Traditional silver filigree pins with a crown and long dangling bits of flat silver sold for $100 to $1,000, depending on age and size. The dealer also had rare pins set with real gold coins that tradition said could only be worn after you became a bride. Twentieth-century collectibles were less expensive. Christmas items from the 1940s, found in a long-closed store in Norway, were for sale. Ornaments made from painted cotton shaped like apples and other fruit were $12.50 each. Cotton Santas with paper-sticker faces were $12; a box of icicles, $12; and wooden candleholder mushrooms, $12.50. Some painted iron candleholders shaped like holly leaves and berries, made in the United States in the 1920s, were $25 to $45, depending on size and number of holes for candles.

We learn something at every show. We interviewed a dealer with hundreds of ceramic salt and pepper shakers. Many were marked with the letters PV in a circle. She said the mark is found on top-quality shakers as well as cookie jars and snack sets. The mark may belong to a 1980s importer. Another dealer told us the dolls most in demand today are all bisque, jointed, with glass eyes. The best also have swivel necks. They were not as popular just a few years ago.

A very pleased dealer showed us a rare 8-inch Mt. Washington glass vase decorated with carnations. It was numbered 616 on the bottom. He said the numbers are being identified for a soon-to-appear book about the glass. He had just found it and was asking $600. A very displeased dealer showed us his unsatisfactory Internet buy. It was a blue pottery figural teapot that he said looked great in the online photo. When he unwrapped it, he saw that the top was shades lighter than the bottom. It was a “marriage” of two different teapots. The seller would not refund his money so he was selling it as a “marriage” at $315, half the price of a good one.