May 2005 Alerts on Confusing Collectibles

Coon Chicken Inn, a restaurant chain that was in business from 1924 to 1957, used a logo of a grinning bellboy. Fake pieces of Coon Chicken Inn china, glass, jugs, paper menus, ashtrays, bags of marbles, and money clips with the logo are being made. Be careful when buying anything with this restaurant logo.

Don’t be fooled by fake or fantasy Shirley Temple glassware. Cobalt blue glass dishes decorated with a white silk-screened image of Shirley were made in the 1930s by the Hazel Atlas Glass Company of Washington, Pennsylvania. The dishes, originally ordered by General Mills as cereal premiums, came in only four shapes: plate, bowl, mug, and cream pitcher. The plate was made in Hazel Atlas’s Moderntone pattern; the other three dishes have a honeycomb pattern. New dishes like the originals or in completely new shapes (including funnels, salt and pepper shakers, tumblers, and relish plates) are heavier, thicker, and coarser than originals-and some of the images on the dishes don’t even look like Shirley. Genuine dishes are thin, delicate, and evenly molded, with Shirley images that may have yellowed and worn off a bit. (The Journal of Antiques and Collectibles)

Reproductions of Art Nouveau glass pitchers with ornate silver fittings are available from at least one U.S. wholesale company. Know what you’re buying and who’s selling if you’re shopping for one of these pitchers.