Captivating Cameos

QUESTION: A few years ago, I went on a trip to Italy. While traveling along the Amalfi Coast south of Rome on my way to visit the ruins of Pompeii, I discovered shop after shop filled with beautiful cameos. I bought several and would love to buy more. What can you tell me about the origins of cameos, and how can I tell if cameos are genuine? 

ANSWER: Cameos have been collectible since the Renaissance in the 15th century when wealthy women collected them as status symbols. Today, elderly Italian master carvers are retiring, causing an escalation in the prices for finely carved cameos. Plus, new laser-cut cameos from China have been flooding the market. It’s now a buyer-beware market where only an expert is able to discern a really good cameo.

A cameo is a form of carved bas-relief, which features portraits, landscapes, and mythological figures cut into a variety of materials, but most often into gemstones and shells. Artisans, both ancient and modern, have crafted cameos from two layers of one piece of material, the top of which protrudes from the background, creating a multi-dimensional artwork. Throughout history, these detailed reliefs have adorned pieces of jewelry, such as brooches, necklaces, bracelets, and rings. But the earliest cameo carvers took their inspiration from prehistoric petroglyphs, which documented important religious and symbolic imagery onto rock faces.

Cameos first appeared as far back as 15,000 BCE. where ancient Egyptian civilizations carved figures into rocks to record important events. Cameo artistry traveled between the ancient Mediterranean cultures through trade routes connecting Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and often depicted mythological themes while paying tribute to gods and goddesses. As the Roman Empire grew, cameo carvers began to incorporate political portraits into their pieces. Wealthy people could afford to buy the expensive gemstone cameos, while less wealthy ones bought glass cameos.

During the reign of Alexander the Great in the 3rd century B.C.E., Greek and Roman cameos incorporated religious figures and mythological images. Also during this time, specifically in the Hellenistic era, women wore cameos to display their willingness to engage in the act of lovemaking. By the 15th century, cameos produced in Italy began to differ from the ancient ones.

In the 18th century, wealthier women began wearing impressively carved gemstone cameos as a sign of wealth and prestige. Carvers soon realized they could use Plaster of Paris molds to recreate cameos from notable collections. Scottish gem engraver and modeler James Tassie began using molds of these famous cameos to recreate glass pastes that could pass as authentic, carved jewels.

Carvers realized just how easily they could replicate expensive jewels. They discovered the use of Cornelian shells, which were soft, durable, and easy to carve. Queen Victoria popularized shelled cameos, featuring natural and humanistic scenes carved onto deep-sea shells. Meanwhile, as interest in collecting cameos grew, French military leader Napoleon  He brought carvers from all over Europe into France to create cameo jewelry for both men and women. He even commissioned furniture to be designed with cameos carved out of precious gemstones like opal, sapphire, and garnet.

A new type of cameo made from lava rock also appeared during this time. Colored lava extracted from an archaeological dig at Pompeii proved useful for highly detailed carvings. Women often purchased lava cameos as mementos from their travels on their Grand Tours, which established the objects as a symbol of status and wealth.

Over the centuries, artisans have created cameos by carving figures in bas relief from precious gemstones such as onyx or agate, one of the most commonly used. The most common motif of antique cameo jewelry depicted a profile of a face or mythical creature. Whether ancient or modern, cameos typically have two colored layers—figures  carved in one layer raised on the background of the second layer. Today, workers in “cameo factories” carve cheap imitations in paste glass or in seashells. The best shells come from the coast of Africa. The shell, itself, has no value. It’s the quality of the carving that gives a shell cameo value.

The rareness of a cameo outweighs its age when determining its value. For example, though the Roman Empire predated the Renaissance era, experts consider Renaissance cameos more valuable as there were fewer produced back then.

It’s important to examine a cameo by holding it up to a light to ensure there are no major cracks. Those that have three or four layers of color and a metamorphic image, which includes several subjects, are particularly valuable. Further, colored stones like opal, lapis, and emerald are rare, so they’re even more expensive.

When purchasing a cameo, it’s necessary to use a magnifying glass to look on the inside of the rim of the setting for the gold value and for sharper cuts or fewer details. A signature makes it more valuable, but collectors seek some signatures more than others. Unfortunately, it takes an expert to find the signature of a laser-cut cameo. It’s easy for a novice collector to be fooled into buying them at greatly inflated prices.

Two sought-after designs are “The Three Graces,” a scene of three full figures in flowing garb. The other is “Rebecca at the Well,” a theme that usually includes a full figure of a woman, a cottage or a well, and often a bridge. Both are late 19th-century favorites.

Cameos made of gemstones are generally more valuable than those made of shell. But the medium isn’t as important as the quality of the carving.  Graceful, smooth-flowing lines with much detail are signs of a good one. The inferior ones seem to have sharper lines, fewer details, and a harsh look.

Scenic cameos, on the other hand, are generally pricier than bust cameos. A very popular motif around 1860 was what is known as ‘Rebecca at the Well.’ There are many variations on this theme, but they usually include a cottage, a bridge, and a girl.

Prices for cameos continue to rise, making them a good investment. One with a small bust or portrait might sell for $30 to $400 if well carved. Prices for larger scenes and unusual themes or with sought-after signatures may begin at $500 or $600 and go up from there.

Collectors often find smaller cameos at antique shows or shops for $100 to $150. But for those prices, experienced collectors don’t expect top quality. These cameos may be less expensive for several reasons. First, they usually have less detailed settings. Second, they’re usually smaller and unsigned. And third, they have been carved more recently and less artistically.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about old-time winter objects in the 2022/2023 Winter Holiday Edition, with the theme "Winter Memories," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Relics of Early Communication

 

QUESTION: I recently purchased a box of glass insulators, like the kind used on telephone and electric poles. Several have little white specks in the glass. I bought them because of their beautiful colors, but do these things have any value as a collectible? And just how were they used?

ANSWER: There’s nothing like the beauty of colored glass, especially when placed in a window where the sun can shine through it. Many people collect these glass electrical insulators for just that reason. But some, especially retired linemen, collect them because they’re a part of the history of telecommunications.

The first electrical systems to make use of insulators were telegraph lines; but directly attaching wires to wooden poles gave very poor results, especially during damp weather. Ezra Cornell invented the insulator in 1844 as a means of protecting electrical wires front the elements and reducing the loss of current from the wire to the ground. As technology developed, power and telephone companies needed more insulators. 

The earliest insulators had unthreaded pin holes. Because linemen simply pressed them onto a tapered wooden pin, extending upwards from the crossarm of an electric pole, they didn't stay on very well since the wires contracted and expanded in the heat and cold. When Louis A. Cauvet improved the insulator by patenting the threaded pin hole type in 1865, he sold his invention to Brookfield Glass Company of Brooklyn, which remained a major producer of insulators until 1922.

Though threaded pin holes helped insulators stay put, moisture still presented a problem since wet glass served as a conductor. In 1893, the Hemingray Company, another major manufacturer, obtained a patent for insulator "drip points." These bumps, which line the outside bottom rim of the insulator skirt,  helped prevent shorts by causing moisture to drip off. The earliest points were sharp but these were easily broken, leading to the manufacture of more rounded ones.  must have discovered that these really didn't work, since they eliminated them from later models. However, other companies continued to make insulators with drip points.

Porcelain insulators began to replace glass examples in the early 20th century, particularly on high voltage lines since glass insulators only worked on lines handling up to 60,000 volts.. By the late 1940s, only a few producers of glass insulators remained, by 1969, Kerr Manufacturing was the only company still making them. 

Manufacturers produced glass Insulators in a variety of colors and types of glass. They used remnants of window or bottle glass for earlier ones. Most companies made insulators only as a sideline,  pressing them out of whatever kind of glass happened to be available. Because of this, objects like nails, screws, coins, and bits of furnace brick would get mixed into the glass. Collectors call the little white furnace brick bits rocks. Some makers, like Hemingray, would cull out these blemished pieces, but others like Brookfield Company would just sell the blemished pieces along with the good ones.

The most common insulator colors are clear and light bluish-green or aqua. Other colors include sun-colored amethyst, green,  milk glass, royal blue, cobalt, amber and Carnival glass. The only color not made in glass is red, because red requires gold as a colorant. The most popular colors are royal blue and cobalt, with amethyst a close second. Insulator makers originally produced purple ones, ranging from  light lavender to deep amethyst, from clear glass. Manganese, used to clarify the glass, turned the glass purple after being exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. After the start of World War I, manganese became scarce since it was needed for arms production. Manufacturers switched to selenium, which the sun turned to the color of wheat.

Common clear and aqua insulators sell for as little as a dollar each. But prices climb steadily for rare ones such as the Buzby or the Twin Pin. Aqua ones made by the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company can sell for as much as $125 each while a threadless Canadian insulator, also known as a snow cone, can sell for about $2,000.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about old-time winter objects in the 2022/2023 Winter Holiday Edition, with the theme "Winter Memories," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

 

 

Kitty Kollectibles

 

QUESTION: I love cats and have several. My friends call me the “Cat Lady.” My love of cats has spilled over into collecting just about anything that has to do with them. But my collection has sort of grown like Topsy. I’d like to make some sense of my collection and perhaps create a focused direction for it. What advice can you offer?

ANSWER: Any successful collection depends on good organization and a definite direction. But what’s most important is the passion that goes into it. Your love of cats is what fuels your collection. However, collecting without a focus leads to chaos. 

Consider a theme and perhaps the type of cat you want to collect. With this in mind, make an inventory of your present collection. Keep only those pieces that follow your theme. 

The ancient Egyptians believed cats were magical creatures, capable of bringing good luck to the people who housed them. To honor these treasured pets, wealthy families dressed them in jewels and fed them treats fit for royalty. When the cats died, they were mummified.

The Egyptians depicted several deities with sculptured cat-like heads such as Mafdet, Bastet and Sekhmet, representing justice, fertility and power. The deity Mut was also depicted as a cat and in the company of a cat. They also praised cats for killing venomous snakes and protecting the Pharaoh since at least the First Dynasty of Egypt. 

Archaeologists have discovered skeletons of cats among funerary goods dating to the 12th Dynasty. The Book of the Dead indicates the protective function of cats in the afterlife. By the New Kingdom of Egypt cats the cat cult became more popular in daily life.

Cat collectibles range from an Egyptian bejeweled cat made in 600 B.C.E. to Tony the Tiger and Garfield today. The images of cats have been around 2,500 years and have seldom been more popular than today, be it an Art Deco lamp or a bronze statue. 

For over a century, advertising executives have used images of cats. By the early 20th century, ad agencies used cats to sell just about everything. Some cats, such as Chessie the C&O Railroad cat and Everyready Battery cats, got to be major advertising stars. Felix the Cat rose to stardom in cartoonland.

Cat ephemera, or paper goods, have also inspired collectors. Besides a variety of sheet music, there were such early advertising trade cards as Standard Sewing Machine and Dr. Thomas Electric Oil. Eventually, even Coca Cola began using cats in its advertising in leading magazines in the 1920s. Turn-of-the-20th-century postcards also featured cats and kittens drawn by famous artists of the time. 

As impossible as it may seem, there was a major advertising link between cats and cigars in the 1880s. Booming cigar companies hired artists to design lavish labels and boxes featuring animals, including cats.

Some of these old and treasured cigar boxes have lasted for years, mainly because they were attractive enough and sturdy enough for people to use them to store other items for a long time.

After over 100 years, collectors can still find examples of the Brenner Brothers Cats cigars, Old Tom and Pussy of the K.H. Jacobs Company of Pennsylvania, Tabby of H. Traiser Company of Boston, and ME-OW cigars offered by Austin-Nichols of New York.

Cats were also in tune in 1915 with an issue of sheet music entitled, “Pussyfoot Fox Trot” which promoted the latest dance craze. The Frank Root Company published it. In 1923, another popular cart number, “ The Cat’s Whiskers,” was published by Ed Gladstone and Felix. 

The cat image can also be found in cookie jars to traditional ceramic figurines, from Berwick to Royal Doulton and from Royal Worcester to chalk ware. Glass and bronze figures of cats had also become popular over the last two centuries.

Cats from the Victorian Era to the Roaring 20s also made the scene in children’s books, on bottles, rugs, and jewelry. 

One of the most popular items to collect are cat figurines. Most cat figurines have very realistic features. Some are free standing while others are created with in a variety of themes. Figurines have been made from a variety of materials, including glass, wood, clay, porcelain, ceramic, fine crystal, and metal. Ceramic cat figurines are the most popular with collectors. 

There are many breeds of cats. Some collectors focus on just one or several. For those who prefer a more exotic collection, there are the big wild cats—lions, tigers, panthers, cheetahs, and such.

Besides collecting cat items for the kind of cat they represent, there are also sleeping cats, funny cats, fat cats, cartoon cats, crazy cats, and angel cats. Some figurines depict cats doing things like climbing a tree or pawing a goldfish in a bowl. 

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about old-time winter objects in the 2022/2023 Winter Holiday Edition, with the theme "Winter Memories," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Festive Fiesta Ware

 

QUESTION: My aunt had a large collection of Fiesta dinnerware which she left to me. I added a few pieces that I found at flea markets over the last few years, but now I want to sell it. Is this pottery worth much and where would be the best place to sell it?

ANSWER: Depending on what pieces you have, your collection of Fiesta dinnerware could be worth a small fortune. But before you get dollar signs in your eyes, there are a few things you should know about it.

The style and bright colors of Fiesta dinnerware look very 1950s. But actually it appeared during the Great Depression in the mid-1930s. Englishman, Frederick Hurten Rhead, designed the simple Art Deco shapes while chief engineer Victor Albert Bleininger fabricated the colorful signature glazes. Both worked for the Homer Laughlin China Company of Newell, West Virginia.

Originally, the company offered 37 different affordable pieces, ranging from candle holders and ashtrays to large serving dishes, each in five bright colors: red-orange, yellow, green, cobalt blue, and ivory. It added turquoise in 1939 for a total of six basic colors.

Homer Laughlin pioneered a whole new concept in dinnerware with Fiesta. When it first introduced the dinnerware at the annual Pottery and Glass Exhibit held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in January 1936, its line was the first widely mass-marketed, solid-color dinnerware in the country. It was also the first dinnerware that consumers could purchase by the piece instead of in complete sets, as was the custom at the time. This allowed customers to mix and match, perhaps choosing a different color for each place setting, or have all their dinner plates one color, their cups and saucers another, and so on. This concept became instantly popular with the public, and soon Fiesta dinnerware became a runaway hit.

At its introduction, Fiesta dinnerware consisted of the usual place settings of dinner plates, salad plates, soup bowls, and cups and saucers, plus occasional pieces such as candle holders in two designs, a bud vase, and an ash tray. A set of seven nested mixing bowls ranged in size from five to twelve inches in diameter. The company also sold basic place settings for four, six and eight persons. But the idea from the start was to create a line of open-stock items from which the consumer could pick and choose based on their personal preference.

The Homer Laughlin Company quickly added several additional items to their line and eliminated several unusual items—a divided 12-inch plate, a turquoise covered onion soup bowl, and the covers for its set of mixing bowls. The Fiesta line eventually consisted of 64 different items, including flower vases in three sizes, water tumblers, carafes, teapots in two sizes, five-part relish trays, and large plates in 13- and 15-inch diameters. 

But with the onset of World War II, the company was forced to reduce the number of items in the Fiesta line as public demand declined and companies cut back non-war related production. By the end of the war, Homer Laughlin had reduced the items in its Fiesta line by one third. 

The design of the original dinnerware pieces remained unchanged from 1936 to 1969. However, the company did change its colored glazes to keep up with home decorating color trends. It introduced four new colors—rose, gray, dark green, and chartreuse, replacing the original blue, green, and ivory. Yellow and turquoise continued in production.

By the end of the 1950s, sales again dropped, so the company reduced its offering of items and changed the glaze colors once again. This time, it introduced a medium green, to distinguish it from other green glazes which the company had produced. This shade of green is in high demand by collectors, and certain pieces in this color command extremely high prices.

Homer Laughlin removed the original red-orange color, the most expensive glaze to produce, before 1944 because it contained uranium oxide which the government needed to construct the atom bombs. Therefore, red pieces also usually command a premium price in today’s collectible market.

By 1969, the company restyled the finials on covers, handles on cups, bowl contours and shapes to give them a more contemporary style. 

Fiesta dinnerware became popular once again as baby boomers began establishing their own homes. Not long after Homer Laughlin discontinued the brightly colored dinnerware line in January 1973,  collectors began buying up what remained at garage sales and second-hand shops. Prices for it hit the roof and by the mid-1980s, prices of Fiesta items reached $100 for scarcer pieces. 

Generally, serving pieces such as casserole dishes, carafes, teapots, and water pitchers almost always have higher values than normal place setting pieces. As mentioned earlier, certain colors are also priced higher, no matter what the piece.

It’s also important to look on the back of each piece for the familiar “Fiesta” backstamp,  followed by 'HLC USA', 'MADE IN USA' or 'H.L. CO. USA.' You may also discover some pieces with the word 'GENUINE' stamped near the Fiesta signature.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about old-time winter objects in the 2022/2023 Winter Holiday Edition, with the theme "Winter Memories," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Santa—All Dressed Up and Everywhere to Go

 

QUESTION: For most of my adult life, I’ve been discovering and purchasing unique Santa dolls with the image printed on fabric and stuffed. I know virtually nothing about these dolls. I started collecting them because I liked them—they were fun. What can you tell me about my dolls?

ANSWER: Most people are more familiar with a variety of Santa toys and decorations, including many made of plastic from the mid-20th century on. But the origins of these dolls go back a lot further.

The British call him Father Christmas. The French Pere Noel. The Germans Kris Kringle. The Dutch Sinterklaas. To Americans, he’s Santa Claus.

Pictures and drawings depicted him as a tall, stately, thin man wearing bishop’s robes, with a broad-rimmed hat, and big breeches. He smoked a long pipe and rode a white horse or rode in a wagon. 

The original 17th-century British Father Christmas, wore a dark beard, and his clothing  was green, not red. Early representations of Father Christmas saw him dressed in green, representing the green shoots of spring in the depths of winter. Scandinavian myths contributed to Santa’s reindeer-pulled sleigh.  His elves have a Germanic and distinctly devilish background.

Father Christmas’s first name, “Father,” originated in pre-Christian times. Historians believe it evolved from ‘Woden’, or the better known “Odin,” the chief god of North European and Scandinavian mythology. Americans prefer to refer to him as Santa Claus, and this name derives from the 3rd century saint, Nicholas. He was a charitable bishop from Myra in Turkey. He delivered his first gifts of bags of gold coins  anonymously to a man so that a he could afford to have his daughters married. Some accounts say he left a gold coin in each of the daughters’ stockings and in others that he dropped his gifts down the man’s chimney because the door was locked.

But the Santa known by American children appeared on December 24, 1822 in New York City. That was the day that Clement Moore penned the Night Before Christmas. 

His poem inspired artists to draw the character of Santa Claus based on Moore’s descriptions. His poem first appeared in book form in 1848, illustrated by T.C. Boyd. Over the years, many other artists have created their own interpretations of Santa Claus. The most famous are the ones done by Thomas Nast which appeared in Harper’s Weekly from 1863 to 1866.

As with many things designed for children, the idea of Santa Claus grew and grew. Soon American companies began producing Santa toys, including Santa Claus dolls. Edward Peck designed one of the oldest dolls, produced by the New York Stationary Envelope Company. Made from 1884 to 1886, this lithographed cloth doll may have been the first commercially made type of doll in the United States.

Peck’s Santa was a forerunner of the Santa later made by Celia and Charity Smith for the Arnold Print Works, one of the country’s largest producers of printed cloth dolls. 

Santa dolls have included both stuffed immovables and animated characters. Many of the stuffed Santas that exist today are the kind that mothers cut and stuffed at home. Because these dolls rarely had marks, it’s difficult to date them. The other thing to consider is that many of these cut and sew at home are replicas of toys from the past.

Antique cloth Santas are nearly impossible to find because they’ve already been purchased and are part of collections. But collectors are still interested in Santas of any material made from 1900 on. Cloth Santas of the 1940s and 1950s have grown in popularity with collectors, with the Coca-Cola Santas selling for the highest prices if they’re still holding their bottles of Coca-Cola. Next in line is the Pepsi Santa.

The Santas from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s are the least valuable. While prices vary, the differences are because Christmas and Santa collectors often pay more for a Santa than a doll collector.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about militaria in the 2022/2023 Winter Holiday Edition, with the theme "Winter Memories," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

You Can Go Home Again

 

QUESTION: As with many people today, my husband and I have moved several times since graduating from college and now live over 1,000 miles from my parents. At times, I do get a bit homesick for my hometown, even though I try to visit when I can. Recently, while searching for some old postcards on the Internet, I came across several from my hometown. On a subsequent phone call, I mentioned my finds to my mother. She said she had several items, including a souvenir history booklet sold during our town’s sesquicentennial celebration. I’m interested in starting a collection of memorabilia from my hometown. How do I go about it, being that I live so far away?

ANSWER: Collecting hometown memorabilia is not only fun but can be very enlightening. Most people really don’t know all that much about where they were born. And in today’s mobile society, a lot of them move on to several other places during their lifetimes. So just where do you begin?

The first thing to do is investigate the history of your city, town, or village. This will give you clues to your community’s identity. Many places changed their names more than once during their lifetime.

Just as if you were compiling your family’s social history, so should you begin at your town’s county library and historical society. Both offer knowledgeable resources of information that will help you in your search. If you live a good distance away, you may find links to both on the Internet, but a direct phone call is your best method of making contact. Once you have your foot in the door, you can use Email or messaging to exchange questions and answers. 

As people move farther and farther away from home, there seems to be a need to possess artifacts of that place. Historical societies publish newsletters, plus you may even find someone in your town has published a local history. And knowing the history of your town is the key to finding its memorabilia.

As cities, towns, and villages celebrate their founding anniversaries, they often publish a history booklet that they sell to help pay for the celebration. Sometimes, it’s just a small booklet, but at other times, the town’s newspaper will comb through it’s archives for interesting stories and publish a book of them. This was very popular during the early to mid-20th century. 

If you haven't moved away from home yet, start saving items now that have significance to you. It’s possible that you may already have some items. The old screwdriver packed in an old toolbox sports a Bakelite handle and the telephone number and advertising logo of a local lumber yard. Decorative paper fans from the county fair grace a hall mirror. Search through old housewares, sewing boxes and tool chests. Advertising collectibles evolve from items that eventually become more sentimental than utilitarian. 

Rescuing an item that’s headed for the dump is one of the most exciting and economical ways to collect hometown memorabilia. Perhaps a grandparent or older relative has died and you volunteer to help sort out their belongings or the contents of their house. As you do so, keep a watchful eye out for memorabilia of your town. 

Souvenir glassware can often be found in cupboards, especially ruby-flashed little cups, glasses, and pitchers with the town’s name and date etched into the red coating. If your town is a tourist destination, you’ll find all sorts of items available with the its name imprinted on them. 

And don’t forget to spread the word to older relatives and friends. Both can be an excellent source of hometown collectibles. When people have to move to smaller quarters, they often look for a home for possessions that might have largely sentimental value. 

When all else fails, you can always buy that special hometown collectible. If your community ever contained any type of commercial, civic or church structure, there’s bound to be some advertising memorabilia or paper items connected to it. As you search, you may want to broaden your collection.

Another readily available item is postcards. They’re one of the most popular and plentiful hometown collectibles. Photography flourished in the first quarter of the 20th century and there was a big business in printing inexpensive postcards that would put tiny towns on the map—at least locally. Hometown pride was high and if its claim to fame was a grain elevator near the railroad tracks or a post office with the flag unfurled, some enterprising artist sketched or photographed it.

Most postcards of this type range from $1 to $20 with real photo postcards being at the high end. Where you buy the card also affects the price. Flea market and garage sale dealers often have a box of assorted old postcards on their tables. Since they don’t catalog them, they’ll most likely sell for less. Postcard and mid-range antique shows are another good source. And don’t forget eBay and other online auction sites.

And just with antiques, if you frequent a postcard dealer at a general, regularly scheduled antique show, let him know what town you’re interested in, and he or she may start putting cards back for you.

Churches and schools, the cornerstones of many small communities, also produced many mementos, including programs of special functions, graduation invitations, awards, meeting minutes and photographs of school groups and church confirmation classes. Granges and civic associations brought neighbors together for community improvement and fellowship and also left a rich reserve of paper items.

Like paper items, commonly referred to as ephemera, advertising collectibles can often be found at specialty shows as well as at general shows. With some brand name advertising collectibles, the addition of a small-town name on the item may actually make it more expensive because it is specialized and rarer Advertising collectibles are a hot field and the casual collector should do some homework before entering the market.

You may not be able to go home again, but you can certainly bring home some great hometown collectibles.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about militaria in the 2022 Fall Edition, with the theme "After-Battle Antiques," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

On the Lamm

 

QUESTION: My grandmother has been collecting fancy cups and saucers for several decades. Some in her collection are simple in design, but others are artistically decorated. Two sets have an unusual shape with pedestal cups decorated with ornate paintings. The mark on the bottom of the cup and saucer is a blue lamb with the word "Dresden" below it. Who produced these cups and saucers and when were they made?

ANSWER: Chances are that the two cups and saucers in your grandmother’s collection are from Dresden, Germany. Ceramic factories such as Rosenthal and Meissen produced blanks that were later decorated by independent studios. Ambrosius Lamm owned and operated one of the top decorating studios, producing consistently high quality wares. 

The city of Dresden became a leading cultural center in the 17th century. In the 18th century, the city became known as the "Florence on the Elbe" because of its magnificent Baroque architecture and its outstanding museums. Artists, especially  porcelain decorators, took up residence there.

Between 1855 and 1944, more than 200 painting studios existed in the city. The studios bought porcelain white ware from manufacturers such as Meissen and Rosenthal for decorating, marketing and reselling throughout the world. Ambrosius Lamm owned one of the top decorating studios consistently producing high quality wares.

Lamm operated a porcelain painting studio and arts and antique shop from 1887 to 1949. It was located at Zinzendorfstrasse 28 in Deesden. He had approximately 25 employees by 1894, which grew to about 40 in 1907. 

 studio became well known for painting in the Meissen, Vienna, and Copenhagen style. Lamm's specialties included Old Dresden flowers, Watteau and mythology, as well as decorated luxury and utility articles in the old and new styles. Lamm bought blanks from a number of manufacturing firms, including Meissen, Rosenthal, Hutschenreuther and Silesia.

Lamm used at least three different marks by Lamm, including a pensive angel with Dresden and Saxony, an L within a shield, and the most common mark, an outline of a lamb with Dresden underneath.

He also produced cabinet cups and saucers. Middle and upperclass Victorians often had display cabinets in their dining rooms in which they displayed fine decorated plates and cups and saucers. A set of six flared cups with scrolled handles, hand painted with French court beauties, such as Mme. Lebrun, sell for between $3,000 and 4,500.

Collectors can still find desirable cabinet cups, as well as sherbets and goblets can be found, decorated  on Rosenthal blanks with a gilt cutout star or flower inside the cup. Usually, well-painted portraits of men and women in period dress appeared on the outside with heavy gold paste work.

Lamm often used rich cobalt blue and luster glazes for his ground colors. His favorite decorative techniques were jeweling and beading. His studio was well known for using heavy intricate gold paste work on borders of plates and cups.

 also enjoyed painting cherubs or putti. Many of his pieces featured cherubs holding fruit, flowers, and playing musical instruments. He often portrayed them floating amid fluffy clouds.

His paintings on porcelain cups and saucers and cabinet plates rivaled the quality of Royal Vienna and Sevres porcelains.  For example, he pronounced a series of 12 plates portraying ones from various oil paintings displayed in the famous Scamper Gallery in the Zwinger Palace. These plates had cobalt blue borders with elaborate gold paste gilding.

Lamm’s excellent reputation as a top porcelain decorator encouraged wealthy families in Germany and abroad to commission demitasse sets and dinner services from his studio. These sets included the monogram of the owner in intricate gold work. Examples for sale today include dinner plates and serving items with one to four hand-painted courting scenes within medallions on the border.

 occasionally decorated dinnerware with the floral and gilt patterns typically used by other Dresden studios. But he preferred to be more creative in his designs. His studio produced a line of dinner and tea ware featuring bold, large vibrant flowers covering each piece. Lamm’s studio was particularly known for its artistic rendering of flowers.

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