Postcards from the Attic

QUESTION: My grandfather collected postcards for years. Now I have his collection. While it’s great to look at, I have no idea of where to start finding out about the hundreds of cards he collected. Can you please help me?

ANSWER: To begin, deltiology—postcard collecting—is one of the fastest growing hobbies in the world. Most people collect postcards for four reasons: (1) Nostagia. Many older collectors seek out pictures of “the good ole days” or "the way it used to be.” Younger ones seek out the places or characters from their childhood. (2) Cost. Many items have soared in price, but postcards can still be obtained for from 10-cents to $10 each. (3) Investment. Postcards that sold for 10 cents less than 10 years ago now bring $1 to $5 and more. (4) Art and printing. The art on a postcard often determined the printing process and vice versa, from the lithochromes of the 1890's to the photochromes (photo cards) of today.

There are still many millions of postcards packed away in attics. Many, neatly tucked away in albums for the last 90-100 years, are in pristine condition. When postcards sold for 1 cent to 10 cents each, not very many people thought it worthwhile to search a dusty attic for them. Today, that’s all changed.

You’ll find postcards for sale at garage sales, flea markets, antique shops, and stamp shows. The most popular ones are the “hometown views.” Many show main streets with gas lights, trolleys, horse-drawn vehicles, store signs, sidewalk sales, bustles, hoopskirts, knickers, hightop shoes, and Model-T Fords. Those who collect for nostalgic reasons love these.



Then there are those from family vacations and foreign tours. Those who travel frequently often bring back views of the places they’ve been on postcards to put into albums either in place of their own photographs or in addition to them. They could pick up free cards from motels, hotels, resorts, and restaurants and, of course, purchase many scenic view cards of popular vacation spots. In fact, the act of sending picture postcards to the folks back home began as an American pastime.

And you shouldn’t ignore the greeting postcards, sent by Victorians in the latter part of the 19th century to express holiday and birthday greetings.

Postcard collecting was a huge craze in the early 20th century, with peak years running from about 1907 to 1913. People used these cards to keep in touch with friends and family, much as people use Facebook today. Couples courted using postcards and strangers met other strangers in foreign countries. By the end of the peak period in 1913, people had sent over 968,000,000 postcards. If even a fraction of all those cards have made it into the hands of dealers, the supply would be overwhelming. In fact, because so many have come into the market, the price for most postcards remains relatively reasonable.

Most collectors seem to collected cards for their pictorial value and not as much for their condition. During the peak years, many seemed willing to pay a few cents for old cards, focusing on topics like bridges and courthouses which are of little interest today. And with over 120 different topics to choose from, it’s no wonder that the hobby has grown so much.

Many collectors refused to consider any card made after 1920. They especially liked photographic postcards for their historical significance. Mid-20th-century roadside and local views have now increased in popularity and price. And it’s become difficult to find city views from the 1940s and 1950s.

Dating used postcards is simple—just check the postmark on back. However, it can be harder to figure the date of unused ones. Early cards from before 1900 to 1918 have good detail and no border.

Those with a white border date from 1919 to 1932. Most of the cards were view cards which were often pale with low contrast. Paper stock at the time had a coated surface, resulting in a flat non-glossy appearance. 

Linen texture-cards dominated the market from 1933 until the early 1950's. The majority of view cards from this era are boring and unattractive, especially those featuring scenery. Real photos of tourist areas were also fairly common in this era because the linen texture actually took away from the picture. Photographic cards from this time are generally glossier and more contrasty than earlier ones and have titles in white letters close to the bottom of the picture.





As with postage stamps, the condition of a postcard falls into one of six categories—mint, near mint, excellent, very good, good, and fair. Cards in the last condition aren’t considered collectible unless they’re very rare.

To find out more about your cards and to maintain and grow your collection, you might want to join one of over 70 postcard clubs in the U.S. Most of these clubs issue bulletins that have valuable postcard information, stories, and pictures. Even if a club isn’t close enough to make it convenient for you to attend meetings, it’s worth joining, if only for the bulletins and membership rosters, so that you can begin trading with other members.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Article section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the other 18,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about western antiques in the special 2019 Winter Edition, "The Old West," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques & More Collection on Facebook. 

The Look of Beauty

QUESTION: I recently have become interested in possibly collecting ladies’ compacts. I see them at flea markets all the time and the prices are reasonable enough to fit my budget. Also, I live in an apartment, so their small size is a plus. But I don’t want to randomly begin collecting them without knowing a little about their background. What can you tell me about ladies’ compacts? Are they a good item to collect? Will I be able to find enough of them to make collecting them worthwhile?

ANSWER: They say good things come in small packages and ladies’ compacts are a good example. These little treasures not only represent a lost art but are also a connection to the past that’s still affordable.  With so many different types on the market, you’ll have no problem finding plenty in to fit your collecting budget.

For the sheltered few who may not know, compacts are devices women carry that help them pursue their quest for beauty. Many of the compacts are works of art themselves. They first appeared during in the early 1900s. In 1908, Sears, Roebuck & Co advertised a hinged, silver-plated case that sold for 19 cents, described as “small enough to carry in the pocketbook.” This small and round housing for face powder, puff, and mirror became known as a compact. By the 1920s, during the age of the flapper, the compact had become a fashion accessory. And right from the beginning there was lots of competition.

Manufacturers used metal because it was readily available, cheap to produce, and could be brushed, enameled, engraved, and painted. Sterling silver was extremely popular, as was brass, aluminum, gunmetal, nickel, and gilt bronze. Those made at the close of World War I featured shapes, patterns, and motifs that reflect the geometric style of what would become known as Art Deco.

The companies making compacts had intensive marketing campaigns, assuring women that they simply had to have a collection of compacts, not just for every occasion, but also to make a particular statement during each occasion. A Coty double compact advertisement urged women to "be lovely always”— morning, noon and night... and it is so exquisitely smart with its polished platinum tone that you will feel a subtle bit of pride in having it in your handbag.”

The ones most sought after by collectors, however, include those made by obscure companies such as Fisher, La Mode, F & B, R & G, FM Company, DFB Company and the makers of Italian silver vermeils.

Volupte, founded in 1920 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, made one of the most desirable designs —the Golden Gesture Hand, designed by Ruth Warner Mason for a special promotion of "Genuine Collector's Items." These compacts are also referred to as the "Praying Hands" or "Gay Nineties" compacts. The most desirable and costly ones feature either a black or white lace mitt and enhanced with a faux engagement ring, diamond bracelet, or with manicured fingernails or multiples of these enhancements. The hand compacts are about five inches long and can cost as much as $800 each.

These compacts are extremely fragile and dent easily. They’re relatively rare to find in anything but the plain gold version, which sells cheaply compared to the decorated ones. The latter are rare and even then, to get one in mint condition is like finding a needle in a haystack. Condition on these is very important with compacts, as with other collectibles. Dents and wear will lessen their value considerably. Beginners should always seek the unusual over the commonplace.

At one time, compacts were all similar in design. Collectors call these "flapjacks" because of their shape. They measure approximately 4½ to 5 inches and their size allowed a woman to see herself from her chin to the top of her hairdo. However, the cases of these large flapjacks often warp. If the mirror is intact and the case closes, collectors usually overlook any side gaps. The design and overall condition is the deciding factor when it comes to value.

Divine compacts, on the other hand, are small but often have fantastic designs. Many are souvenirs, depicting buildings, cities, landmarks, or world's fairs. Generally, prices for souvenir compacts are lower, but there are still some very stunning examples out there.

Guillouche compacts are highly collectible. The guillouche technique was an attempt to copy Faberge. By using colored foil stamped with appropriate patterns and topped with a clear plastic dome, the results were surprisingly effective. Not to be confused with cloisonné, guillouche enameling always has a translucent pattern. Faux guillouche is stamped on foil with a plastic top. Compact experts define genuine guillouche as machine-engraved decoration on metal, over which a translucent enamel is often applied.

Many companies marked their compacts on the powder cover or inside the powder well and on the puffs. Sterling compacts may have a word or number stamped into the tiny rims of the mirror or base. These marks are highly desirable by collectors. These can be identified by old catalog advertisements or simply by getting a feel for the quality of workmanship that particular company produced. However, even an unknown compact with no identifying features can still be a work of art and be of high value.

Before purchasing a vintage compact, the beginning collector judge the quality of construction, detail of artwork, and the type of base metal. Top quality items will always retain their value —an unmarked piece may have been produced by a small company that made excellent pieces and therefore there will be fewer of them, thus the price will be higher.

Collecting compacts should be fun. Part of the fun is in discovering unique pieces. It’s like finding a piece of history.

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Shaken Not Stirred

QUESTION: A couple of years ago, I happened to be browsing in my local Goodwill Store and noticed an elegant cocktail shaker. Its chrome exterior glistened in the light of the florescent bulbs overhead. The price tag said $3. How could I resist? I couldn’t and didn’t. Now I have a small collection of this elegant barware. Since I’m not really a drinker, I don’t know much as mixed drinks, especially martinis. I’d like to know who made the first martini and how the cocktail shaker came into being. What can you tell me about these elegant items?

ANSWER: Cocktail shakers weren’t always this elegant. The first shakers were hollowed out gourds. Back in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia they served to mix liquids together and as such were a practical accessory for books back then. But they lacked the style of 20th-century shakers.

Collectible cocktail shakers arrived just after the invention of the martini. However, there seems to be some controversy as to just when that happened.

It isn’t known for certain who first mixed and served the first martini. The best guess places this great event in late 19th-century America. There are several theories as to its origin. One  credits a bartender named Jerry Thomas at San Francisco's Occidental Hotel in the 1860s with mixing a special drink for a traveler bound for the nearby town of Martinez. But for some reason, Thomas didn’t include the recipe for a martini in America's first cocktail book, How to Mix Drinks, or The Bon Vivant's Companion, that he first published in 1862, until the 1887 edition.

There are those, however, who insist that the martini, consisting of equal parts of gin and dry vermouth, was a New York invention, probably first mixed at the Knickerbocker Hotel by bartender Martini di Arma di Taggia. But if both sweet and dry vermouth were used, then the honor could belong to William F. Mulhall, who served drinks of this sort at Hoffman House, also  in New York City, in the 1880s.

Ever since those first concoctions, martinis have been a stylish drink, appreciated not only for the kick they deliver, but also for the accessories used in their preparation and enjoyment. The first recipe calling for an accompanying olive can be traced to 1888, with the v-shaped martini cocktail glass appearing early in the 20th century. Bartenders who made early martinis  either stirred the liquors together or poured them from one glass to another to mingle them together.

By the time that Prohibition came to an end in 1933, people throughout the nation enjoyed drinking martinis. Often viewed as the drink of trendsetters and glamour seekers, martinis became associated with movie stars, including William Powell and Myrna Loy. People at the time saw martinis as very American, urbane, high-status, masculine, optimistic, and adult— a drink for the wealthy and the powerful, or those aiming for that status. 

Wealthy bon vivants of the 1920s shook theirs up in silver, while their less affluent counterparts turned to glass or nickel-plated models. By the following decade, mass- production made shakers a reality for those with fewer means, manufacturing the shakers in chrome-plated stainless steel.

Every maker of decorative home furnishings made cocktail shakers in the 1920s and 1930s, from Tiffany to aluminum manufacturers. While the Chase Chrome Company, Revere Brass and Copper, and Farber Brothers were leaders in the production of metal shakers, Hazel Atlas, Imperial, Duncan Miller, and Cambridge Glass made them of glass.

As the demand for barware grew in the 1930s, the designs became more varied. Makers produced sleek shakers from silver and silver-plate. Some even sported Bakelite handles and trim. The shakers themselves featured Art Deco designs, from airplanes to dirigibles, dumbbells to golf bags. Some even took on the shapes of modern buildings.

The golden age of cocktail shaker design came to an abrupt end with the beginning of World War II. Metals were earmarked for the production of armaments, and cocktail shakers no longer seemed a priority to a country at war.

While cocktail shakers can be found at garage sales, flea markets, and thrift shops for under $10, the better designed ones can sell for four or five figures.

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Would You Like to Have Tea With My Dollies?

QUESTION: I have a child’s tea set that once belonged to my grandmother’s mother.  Each piece has an illustration from a nursery rhyme. Each piece is stamped “Made in England” on the bottom. Can you tell me more about it?

ANSWER: You have child’s tea set made by Bilton’s of Staffordshire, England made sometime after World War I when the pottery began producing what they called  “nursery wares for children.” Each piece features a traditional nursery rhyme---Little Red Riding Hood, Little Bo Peep, Old Mother Goose, Ride a Cock Horse, Tom Tom the Piper's son, and others. The set, in particular the teapot, has pure the Art Deco styling of the mid 1920s..

Biltons Limited began making ceramics in 1900. The company continued until 1911 when Joseph Tellwright acquired it and changed the name to just Biltons. Prior to World War 1 they had specialized in the manufacture of tea and coffee pots, jugs, kettles, and such. After the war, the pottery produced tablewares, plus figures and devotional wares known as “grotesques.” 

However, when technical advances occurred in the 19th century, faience and porcelain became widespread since their use was no longer restricted to making tableware and decorative vases. Potteries began using faience and porcelain to make certain types of toys, and European faience factories started to produce toy tea sets and doll's accessories, in addition to their usual production.

Potteries began to make toy tea sets on a small scale for children to play with their dolls. Originally, potteries made these sets by hand. As such, people gave them to little girls as precious gifts. Because of their fragility, parents only let their daughters play with them on special occasions under their supervision.
                   
While toy tea sets belong to the world of toys, the art and craft required to make them is directly linked to the skills required to handle whatever material used, whether it be copper, pewter, tin, silver, faience, or porcelain. In the 19th century, France, together with England was one of the leading producers of faience in Europe. While porcelain was for a long time the prerogative of Germany, the situation in the 18th century changed, and the French revival raised faience production to a peak. While contemporary toy tea-sets continue to be made in ceramic, the quality is no longer  equal to the former production.

The first toy tea sets appeared in the 16th century. These early sets, made in pewter and copper, came from Germany, a country known for producing toys in wood and metal. Until the end of the first half of the 19th century, France turned to Germany for many of its toys. Before the era of faience and porcelain toy tea sets, most of them were made from metals, including gold and silver, pewter and copper. Silver and goldsmiths especially catered to the wishes of the young princesses of Europe.

But back in the 18th century, when faience and porcelain tea sets weren’t yet a phenomenon, potteries made them only on order for wealthy customers. These toys didn’t reach the height of their popularity until 100 years later, with the advent of the Industrial Revolution. Toy tea sets finally came into vogue during  the 1850's, specifically when they appeared on display at the Universal Exhibition of 1855.

And while this tea set may not be the most exciting or the most valuable, it’s a great example of a phenomenon that still exists today.

Sweets from a Queen

QUESTION: I have an old tin candy box with a picture of the Queen Mary on the front. It says on the side that the box contains candies made by Bensons Confectionery Ltd. of Bury, England. I’ve always like this box and keep extra buttons in it. What can you tell me about it and the Queen Mary?

ANSWER: Bensons was the official confectioner of the Cunard Line, the company that built and operated the R.M.S. Queen Mary. While your box is the more common type, they come in a variety of shapes, including a full rectangle with rounded corners, a more angular rectangle with the corners cut off, and one that has its corners cut off further to almost produce an oval.

The Queen Mary her illustrious career as the most luxurious passenger liner of her day, catering to the rich and famous, on May 27, 1936, the day she departed Southampton, England, on her maiden voyage to New York City, with a stop in Cherbourg, France.  Measuring 1,019 ft long, 118 ft wide, 185 ft high, and weighing in at more than 81,000 gross tons, it was built to accommodate 815 first class, 787 second class, 573 third class passengers and 1,200 crew members.

But the liner’s early days weren’t so smooth sailing. Construction began as job Number 534 on December 1930 at the John Brown Shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland. A year later, Cunard halted construction as the Great Depression took its toll. To get things going again, the British Government loaned Cunard the money to get the project going again with one requirement—that the company merge with its rival The White Star Line.

The infusion of cash was enough to get the ship afloat, and in September 1934, Cunard launched the ship it now called the Queen Mary to great fanfare.

Everyone wanted a piece of the action. Fashion magazines positioned themselves in association with the Queen Mary, as the pinnacle of style and elegance. Advertisers, including   the National Hotel Management Company, which operated a chain of top-end U.S. hotels, also used the maiden voyage to launch promotions of their own.

Unfortunately, World War II put a temporary hold on the ship’s main service. The Queen Mary was just two days way from ending its 143rd crossing cross the Atlantic. The British Admiralty instructed Captain Irving of the Queen Mary to put his ship on war alert in a coded message.

Warned of possible submarine attacks, Irving posted additional lookouts and ordered work crews to extinguish all exterior lights and black out the ship's 2,000 portholes and windows. He also instructed his helmsmen to steer a zigzag course.

Apprehension gripped the passengers as its 2,332 passengers, many of them Americans, realized that they had narrowly escaped Europe as the threat of war became a reality. Two days later, on September 5, 1939, the Queen Mary arrived safely in New York Harbor.

She remained docked at Pier 90 on the Hudson River until March 1940, when the British Admiralty called her into active service. A coat of drab gray paint replaced the bright Cunard livery of black, red, and white. Workers also blocked out the huge letters spelling out the ship’s name. They also removed most of her carpeting, furniture, artwork, as well as 200 cases of crystal, china and silverware and stored them in Cunard warehouses along the Hudson.

The ship then sailed to Sydney, Australia, where Cunard workers transformed the Queen Mary into a troopship. They removed any remaining furniture and all 2,000 stateroom doors
put them into storage. Then they installed wooden bunks and hammocks for troops, converted shops into military offices, and converted her ballroom into a 50-bed hospital.

On her first wartime voyage in 1940, the Queen Mary carried 5,000 troops. Between 1940 and 1946, she made 72 voyages, safely transporting 765,429 military personnel. In fact, in July 1943, she carried 16,683 troops, the largest number of humans ever transported on one vessel at one time—a world record that still stands today.

Until Cunard installed stabilizers in 1956, the Queen Mary was also known as “Rolling Mary.” Cunard even had peach-colored glass used in mirrors in first class so that green-skinned complexions could take on a rosy glow. During a wartime crossing, Bing Crosby spent three days in the cargo hold because the lower on the ship, the steadier the ride.

Following the war, Cunard demilitarized the ship and refitted her. From February to September 1946, she made 13 round trips between Southampton and New York under the U.S. Army's "Operation Diaper," more commonly known as the “Bride and Baby Shuttle.”

A typical war bride menu included a choice of roast loin of fresh pork or cold roast beef, mashed or baked potatoes, salad, fruit, cheese, biscuits and coffee. Not the luxury of prewar meals, but certainly a feast by the standards of the time.

In July 1947, the Queen Mary resumed its role as a luxury passenger liner. She continued to make transatlantic crossings for another 20 years, eventually falling victim to a decline in the number of passengers, as modern travelers embraced air travel.

In May 1967, the Queen Mary had outlived her usefulness. Cunard put her up for sale and the City of Long Beach, California became her new owner for $3,450,000. The ship made a final voyage from Southampton to Long Beach but was too  large to fit through the Panama Canal. As a result, she had to travel down the coast of South America and around Cape Horn.

Conversion from luxury passage liner to floating hotel and tourist .attraction took four years to complete. Today, you can experience her Art Deco opulence and marvel at the 56 different varieties of wood veneers used throughout the ship.

Today, collectors actively seek out any piece of Queen Mary memorabilia, such as this Benson’s candy tin. While the tin sells for around $40 online in good condition, a variety of other items, including posters, timetables, commemorative medallions distributed by the Daily Record, and brochures issued by Cunard White Star Limited announcing the "Launch of No. 534, in the presence of Their Majesties, The King & Queen, Wednesday, September 26, 1934, at Clydebank, are also available.

Carrying on the Tradition

QUESTION: I recently purchased a small wooden sculpture of a crane. It looks to be carved from an exotic wood, but I’m not sure what kind. It has a sleek, streamlined appearance, much like sculptures from the Art Deco Period of the 1920s and 1930s. Can you tell me anything about my sculpture—when and where it was made and perhaps who made it?

ANSWER: It looks to me as if you have a piece of Balinese wood carving. Your crane has the style and shows the fine workmanship of pieces from that part of Indonesia. Dating it is more of a challenge because much of the contemporary wood carving of Bali was heavily influenced by the style of Art Deco. And even more recent pieces have that look.

Wood carving, dating back 3,000 years, is the most popular medium for artistic expression in Indonesia, and the diversity of Indonesia's wood carvings is remarkable.

In the times of Bali's old feudal kingdoms, woodcarving served as temple decoration. Wood was also utilized in such everyday household features as carved beams, columns, doors for houses, and implements like musical instruments, tool handles, and bottle-stoppers. Carvers painted these carvings in bright colors, lacquer, or gold leaf and seldom left the wood raw.

There are two main types of Balinese woodcarving. The first is traditional carving in bas-relief tableaux and plaques, used mainly for decorating temple doors, walls and columns, plus small statues of deities and mythical heroes, designed for use in public buildings. The second type is contemporary woodcarving, featuring highly stylized human or animal figures, often grotesque, almost psychotic—expressing the Balinese fear of the supernatural and a strong, sensual feeling for nature.

One of Bali’s most noted wood carvers was Ida Bagus Nyana, who worked in the village of Mas. His son, Ida Bagus Tilem, carries on the tradition today.

Ida Bagus Njana created abstract sculptures of human beings and surrealistic knotty "natural" sculptures out of gnarly tree trunks. He used small incisions on the surface to indicate contours while the wavy grain of the wood contributing to the motion of the figure. He was also the original creator of the fat statues of toads, elephants, and sleeping women now on sale all over Bali.

Nyana allowed his son, Tilem, to develop his skills, unhindered, while teaching the boy to be patient. Gradually, Tilem developed his talent, carving tiny birds, animals, and traditional figures, despite battered hands from his first few attempts with his father’s razor-sharp chisels. He was able to sell his carvings to tourists and pay for his schooling.

Tilem decided to leave school and set up a studio at his home in Mas in 1958, where he sold his own work to help his family. He furnished wood and tools to local boys who couldn't afford them. Eventually, he had over 100 apprentices and 100 carvers working with him. He was chosen to represent Indonesia at the New York Worlds Fair in 1964 and has had numerous overseas exhibitions.

During the 1930s and 1940s Balinese wood carving underwent a transformation when the main art center shifted to Ubud and its surrounding villages. The 1930s brought an influx of tourists, and a dramatic change in the perspective of Balinese wood sculptors. Shops, street corners, hotel lobbies, marketplaces, the airport, and harbors suddenly blossomed with objets d'art   produced to sell. In contrast to the traditional polychrome, mythological religious carvings, more realistic statues of peasants toiling, nude girls bathing and deer grazing appeared, themes that found a very ready market among the tourists. All in natural polished woods.


Most Balinese wood carvers favor teak wood, though it has become increasingly expensive. Teak is one of the best woods because it is easily carved and is less susceptible to warping, splitting, insects and rot. Carvers will occasionally use mahogany and ebony, both of which are also very expensive. Besides the more exotic woods, carvers use jackfruit, a cheap, common wood, though it tends to warp and split, as well as tamarind, hibiscus, frangipani, and kayu jepun, and sawo, a beautiful dark red wood.

The texture of the grain determines the nature of the piece to be carved. Dark ebony, particularly pieces with striped grain, are best suited for vertical shapes or faces. Rarer are pieces made of unpolished ebony (sanded and brushed only) where you can make out the grain in the wood. The blackest ebony might be used to depict a subject of great dignity. Satinwood, a light striped, beige-colored wood native to Bali, may inspire pieces of a softer theme. The grain often follows a skin pattern or veins in the arms of the statue.

The sounds of gentle hammering, sanding, and spontaneous chatter of the woodcarvers fill the lanes in villages like Mas. They sit cross-legged on the floor surrounded by piles of freshly carved wood chips and rough, uncut blocks as chickens peck their way around the tools. The sweet aroma of clove cigarettes and coffee hangs over the warm, humid air.

Carvers work with simple tools—a hand-held knife or a chisel struck with a hammer or mallet. The art of the wood carver depends on knowledge of specific woods, skill in fashioning the material, and talent in design.
     
Traditionally, they smoothed their pieces with pumice and gave them a high polish by rubbing them with bamboo. Traditionally, they treated and stained their carvings with oils to achieve a pleasing subtle gloss, but now Balinese artisans find that neutral or black shoe polish produces much the same result with half the effort.
    
In the main woodcarving centers, high-quality carvings sell for as much as US$3,500 apiece. Contemporary carvings in natural woods begin selling for around $25 and go as high as $500 online.

But regardless of how commercial the subject matter, all carvings share certain characteristics and techniques uniquely Balinese. Even the copyists work strictly within the self-imposed rules of an established style.

Schlock Clocks

QUESTION: I have a clock made by United Metal Goods Manufacturing Company, Inc., in Brooklyn, New York, in the shape of a pirate ship. Can you tell me who made my clock and when? It has three chrome masts, each with three sails, a ship’s wheel containing the clock dial mounted on the front, and a light imbedded in each end. 

ANSWER: Your ship clock is an Art Deco stylized version of a pirate ship, made in the mid-1930s. United Metal Goods Manufacturing Company produced unique and decorative timepieces as well as staple clocks and timepieces, mostly electric with reliable electric motors produced by the Westinghouse Corporation.

The foundation of most of these clocks was a remarkable electric motor and gearing designed by Anthony William Haydon between 1931 and 1939. His power system allowed these clocks to also perform other functions, such as twirling a cowboy's lariat or moving a figure in a graceful Hula. United Metal Goods made an astounding variety of animated clocks by using the Haydon patents.

braham Levy founded the United Clock Company in Brooklyn, New York in 1905. He remained president of the company until his death in 1961.In August of 1968, United bought the inventory, equipment, and tools of the Sessions Clock Company of Forestville, Connecticut, and for a short time marked clocks made at the Sessions factory “Sessions-United.” Eventually, United expanded its operations and became United Metal Goods Manufacturing Company.

The clocks that United Clock Company produced became known as "Carnival” clocks because carnival owners gave them as the "big" prizes at carnival games. Most of the time, however, players were never able to win these clocks because carnival owners often rigged the games. They eventually earned the monicker “schlock” clocks for their tasteless design.

United cast many of its clocks from spelter, a zinc alloy, including its ships clocks. The company offered its clocks in a variety of styles including the banjo clock, leaf sculpture clock, wagon wheel clock, and the traditional wall clock. Mantel clocks included a carriage and horses clock, Statue of Liberty clock, scales of justice clock, and an animated light-up fireplace clock. United also made other styles of clocks for the home including trophy bowling clocks, ship clocks, teddy bear clocks, and train clocks. They even produced pocket watch clocks that hung on the wall or from the ceiling.

These often tasteless clocks became a necessary decorative accessory for mantels in the homes of prosperous young couples in the 1930s and 1940s. The tradition of a ship model on the mantel comes from New England, where older families made much of their wealth in whaling. In that case, the ship model represented a constant reminder of the source of the family wealth. It was natural that the ship model eventually merged with the mantel clock.

As people moved to apartments in the cities, space for the tall clock vanished, leading to the popularity of mantel clocks. Often, manufacturers combined these clocks with figurative elements such as dogs, horses, goddesses, or whatever, limited only by imagination and their bad taste. United Metal Goods produced a long line of cheap, tasteless clocks that have since become cultural icons.

Linking the Past With the Present

QUESTION:  I purchased a pair of antique finger pronged cufflinks stamped, "Pat. 2 Dec. 1884" a while back on eBay. Can you tell me more about these cuff links?  The cuff links are finger pronged and clearly marked on the back, "Pat. 2nd Dec 84" although there’s no brand name. I did some research and found out that finger prongs first came into style in 1885, so I presume the date is 1884. I also wonder about the carnelian. If it’s not stone, could it be molded glass?

ANSWER:  Cufflinks are one of the few accepted items in a limited line of men’s jewelry. No other collectible causes such an array of reactions. And this is precisely why so many people collect cuff links. Other reasons are their relatively inexpensive cost, easy storage, and availability. A search through virtually any antiquing site attests to the seemingly endless styles, shapes and designs produced in the last 200 years.

Cufflinks, which are small, and spend most of their lives under coat sleeves or in drawers, are  pieces of adornment which have much to say about society and about the individual who wears them. They mirror the fashions, the economy, the manufacturing and the art of their era, usually  larger and more colorful in good times, smaller and more conservative in bad times.

Cuff links originated long ago as removable buttons for shirts and jackets. When buttons became mass-produced and cheap enough to sew onto the material itself, men used these little studs only at the cuffs. The variety of cufflinks increased dramatically with mass production techniques. Of course, the need for cufflinks increased, too. Every member of the peerage, as well as every business man who wanted to socialize in high society, had to wear "tails" at every dinner party and evening activity. And tails required a shirt with French cuffs.

The earliest cuff links date from the same period as the cuff-fastening slit. Handmade of various metals, usually gold and silver, and set with gemstones, they became a luxury for the wealthy.

Hand-casting and other manual jewelry-making techniques continued until 1840 to 1870 when three mechanical developments—the tour a’guilloche machine, the steam driven stamping machine, and electro metallurgy—opened up men’s jewelry to a much wider clientele. The French or double-cuff shirt sleeve also became a popular fashion accessory in the 1840s.

After 1840, cufflinks were affordable. Victorian lucky charms, hearts, flowers, love birds, ivy, love knots, angels, snakes, even babies found their way to cufflinks of the era. As did the horseshoe. Horse racing was a passion of Edward, Prince of Wales and many commoners apparently liked the idea of linking themselves and their shirt sleeves to royalty through this symbol.  Cufflink makers employed free-flowing whiplash lines, organic motifs and stunning, romantic feminine figures and faces during the Art Nouveau period.

The publication of Alexander Dumas’ novel The Three Musketeers in 1844 stimulated this new elegant touch in fashion, as detailed descriptions of the turned-back sleeves of the men guarding King Louis XIII inspired European designers to modify the single cuffed, link-holed shirtsleeve that had been the mainstay of English fashion since 1824.

The English middle class adopted cuff links during the reign of George IV, toward the end of the Industrial Revolution. Unable to afford gemstones, they turned to replicas of the real thing. Designers used “rhinestones” and pastes to represent diamonds, pinchbeck, a copper and zinc alloy, as a substitute for gold, and cut steel and marcasite as a substitute for silver.

Late Georgian and Victorian jewelers favored a rose or flat cut for real or fake gemstones. They typically used foil or paste, a type of leaded glass, for backings.

Reverse intaglio was also a popular way of embellishing 19th century cuff links. After carving a figure or scene in great detail into the back of a cabochon crystal, an artisan would carefully fill in the work with paint and apply a mother of pearl backing. Manufacturers used this elegant process almost exclusively for jewelry worn by men.

Cuff link makers used this same process to carve designs, often of classical gods, into carnelian, a brownish-red mineral, which gets its deep rust color from impurities of iron oxide in the silica mineral chalcedony, commonly found in Brazil, India, Siberia, and Germany. Used as a semi-precious gemstone, its color can vary greatly, ranging from pale orange to an intense dark rust.

Men favored enameled cuff links during the late Georgian period, but it was during the Art Deco period that enamels reached their peak of popularity. Metal decorated with baked enamel— colored lumps of glass ground into a powder with a mortar and pestle—has been an art form since the 13th century.

Manufacturers of the 1950s arid 60's frequently marketed cuff links in a series, for example pairs featuring cars, sports themes, and so on. Various caricature cuff links, images of sports, political and theatrical celebrities were also popular during that time. One interesting category of cuff link is the "do-ers" category. As. the name implies, cuff links in this category do something in addition to fastening. Nail clippers, thermometers, music boxes, and watches have all been built into the links.

But the front design on cuff links is only have of the story. Fasteners on the backs have their own intriguing history. Late Georgian fastening devices featured wire loops, curb chains and string. Makers introduced the dumbbell form earlier in the mid-Georgian period in the late 18th century. Small and in one solid piece, craftsmen carved the dumbbell from ivory in the early part of the 19th century and by mid-century, from pearl. Carved dumbbells had a slightly curved shank. They looked like exercise weights whose ends were too heavy for the bar. Dumbbells of glass, coral, gold, gold plate and various hard stones became fashionable by the 1890s.

A metal button fastener, circa 1880, looked like an oversized shirt stud. Another, the "one-piece link" from the 1890s, continues to be produced today. It has a metal face, slightly curved fastening device and a metal oval to hold it fast to the inside of the cuff.

The patent, dated 1884 on the back of these cuff links, most likely refers to the closing mechanism. By that time celluloid collars and cuffs were popular. And since they were stiff, cufflinks with that mechanism would have been very compatible.

Generally, cuff links backs can be classified into the following groups: Flipbacks are turn-of-the-20th-century on English and Scandinavian ones; chain-backs are 18th, 19th, and 20th century until the 1920s and usually look like a big “S” or a figure; spring-backs date from the 1930s, 1940s, and later. All Swank cufflinks feature this sort of clasp.

As far as brands go, cuff link manufacturers didn’t begin to mark there products until somewhat into the 20th century.

Many collectors tend to specialize in cuff links from a particular era such as Art Deco, Victorian, or contemporary. Some prefer to concentrate on a theme like animals, sports or automobiles, while others look for novelty pairs incorporating watches, music boxes or other devices. With so many styles to choose from, most collectors concentrate on one particular type. Some look for a particular material, like silver, Bakelite, wood or brass, while others look for military issue, fraternal emblems or a particular era. Still others search for unique fastening devices like snaps or springs.

For more information, go to Button Down a Collection of Antique Cuff Links .

Those Oldies But Goodies

QUESTION: My husband recently purchased an old jukebox for a game room we created in our basement.  It’s a Wurlitzer 1015, and considering it’s 68 years old, it still plays pretty well. He paid $3,500 for it. Can you tell me more about this machine and others like it? Did my husband get taken on this deal?

ANSWER: While the jukebox is more or less a thing of the past, a few still exist in arcades and roadhouses off the beaten path and in the private collections of people who yearn for a return to those happy days. The one your husband purchased is the most popular of the oldies but goodies and normally sells for twice that amount. 

A jukebox, for those of you who may not know, is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that plays selections from self-contained media, at first records, then CDs. The classic jukebox has buttons with letters and numbers that patrons to restaurants, diners, and bars pushed  in combination to choose and play a specific selection at first for a dime, then later a quarter, fifty cents, and upwards.

Although jukeboxes, in one form or another, had been around since an Edison phonograph with a coin slot was exhibited in San Francisco in 1889, the early machines were staid affairs.

In 1928, Justus P. Seeburg, who manufactured player pianos, combined an electrostatic loudspeaker with a coin-operated record player and gave the listener a choice of eight records. This Audiophone machine was wide and bulky and had eight separate turntables mounted on a rotating Ferris wheel-like device, allowing patrons to select from eight different records. Later versions of the jukebox included Seeburg's Selectophone, with 10 turntables mounted vertically on a spindle. By maneuvering the tone arm up and down, the customer could select from 10 different records.

The term "jukebox" came into use in the United States around 1940, apparently derived from the familiar usage "juke joint", derived from the word "juke" meaning disorderly, rowdy, or wicked.

While jukeboxes had once been enclosed in wooden cabinets, the machines of the era beginning in 1937 were made of gaudy plastic, frosted glass, jeweled mirrors, and chrome ornaments. Many of those Art Deco creations were self-contained light shows with polarized revolving disks, bubble tubes, and flashing pilasters.

During those golden years, the Leonardo da Vinci of jukebox design was Wurlitzer's Paul Fuller, who was responsible for 13 full-size machines, five table models, and numerous speakers. The Golden Age of jukebox design ended when he suffered a heart attack in 1944 and died the next year. By then a new generation of larger jukeboxes had appeared, and the classic machines from the golden years—1937 to 1949—were, for the most part, relegated to the junk heap and forgotten.

Forgotten except for a small group of admirers of the design achievements of the 1937—49 period, who began busily picking up the pieces and reassembling the classic jukeboxes.

The popularity of jukeboxes extended from the 1940s through the mid-1960s, but they were particularly fashionable in the 1950s. By the middle of the 1940s, three-quarters of the records produced in America went into jukeboxes.

And even with all of today’s high-tech music devices, the sound from one of those old machines was fabulous. Nothing beats hearing an old 78 on a machine created just to play it. Those were the days.

Ooolala...Art Deco French Style

QUESTION: I have a pair of upholstered arm chairs that originally belonged to my great grandmother and were passed to my grandmother and then to me. They have an unusual shape. Can you tell me anything about them?

ANSWER: Your chairs seem to be classic French Art Deco, dating from the late teens to mid 1920s of the last century.

The term Art Deco, actually coined in 1966, refers to a design style that originated around World War I and ran through World War II. It’s epitomized by the works shown at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International Exhibition of Modern and Industrial Decorative Arts), held in Paris in 1925. Indeed, the name of this vast exhibition would later be abbreviated to Art Deco, giving a catch-all and rather imprecise label to an enormous range of decorative arts and architecture.

Most people associate Art Deco with the mechanized, metalicized objects that appeared in the U.S. in the 1930s. Like haute couteur fashion, this high style was more popular with the wealthy and avant garde than with the average person, mostly because this group had more education and its tastes ran to fine art and design.

Developed by a group of French architects and interior designers who banded together to form the Societe des Artistes Decorateurs, the Art Deco style incorporated elements of style from diverse artworks and current fashion trends. Influence from Cubism and Surrealism, Egyptian and African folk art are evident in the lines and embellishments, and Asian influences contributed symbolism, grace and detail.

Disillusioned by the commercial failure of Art Nouveau and concerned by competitive advances in design and manufacturing made by Austria and Germany in the early years of the 20th century, French designers recognized that they could rejuvenate a failing industry by reestablishing their traditional role as international leaders in the luxury trades, a position they once held during the 18th century. The founding in 1900 of the Société marked the first official encouragement of new standards for French design and production through annual exhibitions of its members’ works.

In 1912, the French government voted to sponsor an international exhibition of decorative arts to promote French pre-eminence in the design field. The exhibition, originally scheduled for 1915, had to be postponed because of World War I and didn’t take place until 1925. If the exhibition had taken place as scheduled, the sophisticated style of Art Deco probably wouldn’t have evolved.

The Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris was a vast state-sponsored fair that dazzled more than 16 million visitors during its seven-month run. The works exhibited—everything from architecture and interior design to jewelry and perfumes—were intended to promote and proclaim French supremacy in the production of luxury goods. The primary requirement for inclusion was that all works had to be thoroughly modern, no copying of historical styles of the past would be permitted.

But creating from scratch isn’t something that occurs in the arts. All art—painting, sculpture, writing, music, theater—evolves from what’s been done before in some way. So many of the objects exhibited had their roots in the traditions of the past. The stylistic unity of exhibits indicates that Art Deco was already an internationally mature style by 1925—it was just getting started before World War I but had peaked by the time of the fair. The enormous commercial success of Art Deco ensured that designers and manufacturers throughout Europe continued to promote this style until well into the 1930s.

In France, Art Deco combined the quality and luxury of the French furniture tradition with the good taste of Classicism and the exoticism of distant, pre-industrial lands and cultures. Many designers used sumptuous, expensive materials like exotic hardwoods, lacquer, ivory and shagreen in order to update traditional forms like armchairs, dressing tables and screens. Motifs like Meso-American ziggurats, Chinese fretwork, and African textile patterns offered a new visual vocabulary for designers to play with in order to create fresh, modern work.

Early Art Deco furniture introduced sleek, rounded corners, and futuristic styling. Seating often curved slightly inward, suggesting intimacy and sensuousness. Geometric designs and patterns often provided a counterpoint to the soft rounded lines of classic Art Deco furniture. Designers often incorporated fan motifs using layered triangles, and circular designs were common.

The concept behind French Art Deco furniture was one of luxury and comfort using rich wood and textural elements. Finishes were shiny or glossy. Wood was heavily lacquered or enameled and polished to a high sheen.

Fabric choices enhanced the feeling of luxury and opulence in Art Deco furniture. Designers used bold geometric, animal or exaggerated floral prints in soft, sumptuous materials to contrast and compliment the sleek styling.

French Art Deco reflected the general optimism and carefree mood that swept Europe following World War I. Sunbursts and chevrons represented hope and prosperity. They also employed vivid colors in paint and upholstery. Both furniture and textiles tended to use decorative designs that exhibited a strong painterly quality reminiscent of Impressionist, and post-Impressionist, Fauve, and Cubist techniques.

Sometimes ornamentation was straightforwardly applied to the surface of an object, like a decorative skin. At other times, potentially utilitarian designs—bowls, plates, vases, even furniture—were in and of themselves purely ornamental, not intended for practical use but rather conceived for their decorative value alone, exploiting the singular beauty of form or material.

After the 1925 Paris Exposition, American designers began working in the Art Deco style in the U.S. For American audiences, however, there was less of an emphasis on luxury and exclusivity and more interest in mass-production, accessibility and the machine age. The modern influences heralded a bright and shining future outlook that found its way to architecture, jewelry, automobile design and even extended to ordinary things such as refrigerators and even trash cans.