Mesh purses are back in style.

They were first used in the 1820s. The expensive early bags were made of real woven gold or silver. Chain-mesh bags were in style by the 1870s.

	Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.James Dean commemorative plate, large photo in center, four small photos on rim, eulogy to him on back, Kettlesprings Kilns, 1955, 10 inches, $75.Disney television car, Donald drives, Mickey is passenger, Goofy in window, Thumper and Bambi on doors, TV screen in roof, Marx, 8 inches, $800.Daum Nancy cameo vase, gray glass, alternating bands of yellow, cranberry cut with thistle, shades of brown to gilt, circa 1900, 5 inches, $840.Sheffield silver dish, covered, rectangular, rounded corners, gadrooned rim, detachable rococo handle, circa 1820, 6 1/2 inches by 9 1/2 inches, $920.Kathe Kruse doll, VIII Girl, cloth, hazel eyes, rounded mouth, blond, red-print cotton dress, white pinafore, 1950s, 20 inches, $1,000.North Pole tobacco tin, lithograph of polar bears and walrus, snow-topped mountains, brown on white ground, 9 inches by 6 inches, $1,100.Victorian child’s push sleigh, upholstered velvet, 46 inches by 17 inches by 32 inches, $1,450.Tiffany bronze-and-glass hand mirror, gold dori finish, Grapevine pattern, amber slag glass, beveled-edge mirror, 7 1/2 inches, $1,800.Acoma Indian pot, geometric design, white, brown, orange, 1920, 10 inches by 9 inches, $1,950.Donald Deskey bedroom set by Widdicomb, burled maple, black lacquer, refrigerator pulls, circa 1930, four pieces, $4,000.

The first bags were made by hand from interlocking metal rings. The companies sent the links to housewives, who assembled the mesh at home. Early chain bags had handles with a finger-ring attachment so a small purse could be held by a finger while a woman was dancing.

Mesh purses were made of nickel silver by 1895. By 1899, some were made of steel with a gold finish. Sears & Roebuck sold silver-finished, white-metal link bags by 1902. The price was a steep $75.

But a machine was invented in 1909 that could make mesh purses from many different metals. The purses were plated with nickel, silver, gold or platinum. They were low in price and were fashionable. Enamel-decorated mesh bags were made by the 1920s.

The only interruption in the manufacture of mesh purses occurred during World War II, when the metals were needed for the war effort.

The best-known American maker of mesh purses was the Whiting & Davis Co., originally of Plainville, Mass. Whiting & Davis started as a jewelry store in 1876. The Whiting & Davis trademark remains in use today. Mesh purses and accessories like wallets, lipstick cases, key cases, eyeglass cases and lighters are still being made.

A furniture company in Tell City, Ind., used to make a popular line of Early American maple furniture. I have a dining-room set from this line and wonder if there is still a market for this type of reproduction?

The Tell City Furniture Co., also called the Tell City Chair Co., manufactured various lines of reproduction furniture starting about 1910. The company is no longer in business. Judging from the number of collectors searching for Tell City furniture or parts, the company made high-quality pieces. You should be able to sell your furniture locally by placing a classified ad.

About 30 years ago, I bought an ironstone vegetable dish with a cover at an antiques shop in upstate New York. The dish is decorated in a blue floral pattern and is in mint condition. The mark on the bottom is a crown with the word “Dartmouth” above it and “Johnson Bros. England” below it. Can you date and price my dish?

Johnson Bros Ltd. has worked in Staffordshire, England, since 1883. Today it is part of the Wedgwood Group. The mark you describe was used on ironstone and other earthenware dishes made between 1883 and 1913. Dartmouth is the name of the pattern, which might be a flow-blue pattern (the blue pattern “flows” onto the white background). Flow-blue covered vegetable bowls sell for $100 to $500.

My 97-year-old grandmother died a few months ago and left me a pair of pink lustres. These are glass mantel decorations with prisms hanging all around. Mine are made of pink layered glass with a ruffled edge and a white interior. Small floral decorations are painted around the top. Can you give me an idea of its origin and value?

Lustres date from England’s Victorian era. They look like a cross between a fancy candlestick and an oil lamp. Some held candles, but most were purely decorative. Yours was made of cased glass layers of glass fused together. The value of antique lustres varies widely, depending on condition and glass quality. Some sell for a few hundred dollars, others for up to $3,000.

I have an old, wooden rowing machine made by the Narragansett Machine Co. Can you tell me anything about the company?

In 1882, the A.E. Tenney Manufacturing Co. was founded in Pawtucket, R.I., to manufacture foot-powered lathes. The company incorporated in 1889 as Narragansett Machine Co. It was in Pawtucket and Providence, R.I. The company’s products eventually included light machinery, gymnastics equipment, bowling alleys and lockers.

A rowing machine like yours would have been used in sports clubs, homes or schools. Physical fitness and sports were very popular at the end of the Victorian era. Narragansett Machine Co. was purchased by Manufacturers Trading Co. of New York in 1948.

Can you tell me anything about my Ginny Bones construction toy? She is a stick-figure doll made of pink plastic bones and joints. When she’s assembled, she stands 3 feet tall. Only her hands, feet and head look real. Her feet are weighted so she can stand, and her joints bend so she can sit. I got her when I was little, and I’m now 41.

Louis Marx & Co. made Ginny Bones in 1970. The famous toy company made other construction dolls Skinny Bones (Ginny’s brother), a dog named Ham Bones and a horse with no name. They were marketed as the “Bones Family.” A complete Ginny Bones set with box sells for less than $100.

Tip

Never use your hairbrush on your doll. Your hair’s oils will harm the doll’s wig. Dolls should have their own brushes.

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