August 2002 Hotlines

Colorful neckties are back in style, and vintage ties are selling at flea markets. Be sure to notice the width of a tie; it changes with the style. Wide ties were worn in the 1940s and early ’50s; narrow ties, often unlined, from the mid ’50s through the ’60s; then wide ties again in the ’70s.

Cameo glass marked “Le Verre Français,” the mark used by Charles Schneider in the 19th and 20th centuries, is being reproduced, probably in the Middle East.

Ads featuring cowgirls sell for higher prices than those with cowboys.

Formal furnishings from the 19th century are attracting younger homeowners. They want traditional dining rooms with chandeliers and carved dining tables, printed fabrics in the 18th-century tradition, formal china and crystal, and silver candlesticks. Either they’re searching for a way to have a different “look” after years of country and peeling paint, or they want to return to the “more secure” days of the past.

The ban on the sale of hawksbill tortoiseshell is causing problems for Japanese artists who have used the material for centuries. Stocks of shells will last only about three or four more years. It is still legal to buy old tortoiseshell dresser sets and boxes, but it may prove difficult to take them from one country to another. Some other varieties of tortoiseshell are still legally harvested.

It pays to join a collector club. The Kettles ‘n Cookware newsletter written for collectors of iron kitchen wares, featured some “mistakes” posted on an Internet auction site. One was a picture of a “Wagner Double Broiler” that was really a Wagner single broiler with a Wagner No. 9 griddle. Strangest was a pictured piece listed as “an unusual cast iron mold” that comes with a pedestal marked “Tru-Fit.” The item is actually a cobbler’s nail-holder, not meant for the kitchen.

Crested china with names of cities or coats of arms sell well in England. There is limited interest on this side of the ocean but the small pieces, especially those by W.H. Goss, are being recognized as items that are good buys in the United States that could sell for much more abroad. The small size makes them good items for Internet auctions.

Nancy Drew book collectors were sorry to hear that the books’ original author, Mildred Wirt Benson, died in May. She was 96. Benson, the author of 130 books, used the pseudonym Carolyn Keene for the 23 Nancy Drew books she wrote. Other writers continued the series, also using the Keene name.

Springbok puzzles are being discontinued by Hallmark after 30 years of production. Puzzlers are puzzled. They want more Springboks to put together and to collect. So they’re petitioning Hallmark to reconsider. Mint Springboks sell for up to seven times their original price.

Painted furniture made in Soap Hollow, Pennsylvania, by Amish-Mennonite workmen from 1834 to 1928 can be identified by style and by a stenciled “Manufactured by” mark and the maker’s name or initials. To learn more and see dozens of color pictures of well-documented pieces, see the new book, Soap Hollow: The Furniture and Its Makers by Charles R. Muller (Canal Press, Box 113, Groveport, OH 43124, $35).