Odd eggbeaters gain attention from collectors

For centuries, cooks have tried to find new and better methods of beating eggs.

The first eggbeaters were probably just forked sticks. The first rotary-crank eggbeater, similar to the one used today, was patented in America in 1856. More than 1,000 patents were granted during the next 100 years.

Eggbeaters were pushed, squeezed or run by water power. Rotary beaters were made with beater blades of different shapes. The crank and wheel were tipped or moved to make beating easier.

Some eggbeaters fit in special jars or were clamped to a table. One ingenious design was a beater attached to a wall. The beater blades could be moved down to fit inside a jar, and only one hand was needed to crank the beater and whip the eggs. This strange eggbeater with thin wire blades was made by Keystone Manufacturing Co. of Philadelphia. Very unusual beaters are very collectible.

Can you tell me the value of a Buck Rogers map of the universe? It has colorful cartoon drawings all over it. The paper map, 18 by 25 inches, is thumbtacked to my bedroom wall.

Buck Rogers is a science-fiction character created by novelist Phil Nowlan in 1928. The following year, Buck Rogers made its debut as an American comic strip. From 1932 to 1947, he was the star of a radio show. The solar-system map was an advertising premium offered in 1933 by Cocomalt, one of the show’s sponsors. The original map was printed on nonglossy paper. A 1970s reprint was made using glossy paper. An original map in pristine condition is worth up to $1,200. An original with thumbtack holes is still worth $100 or more. A reprint has little value.

We saved a few things from my grandfather’s attic. One is a 5-inch-long clear glass racing car. The four stamped tin wheels are 1 1/4 inches in diameter and have six embossed spokes. There’s a tin snap-on closure on the bottom that’s embossed “Westmoreland Glass Co., Grapeville, Pa., Net Wt. 1 oz.” What was this made to hold, and is the car worth anything today?

Your grandfather saved a glass candy container made in the late 1920s. Glass toy candy containers were manufactured by many companies between about 1876 and the Depression. One of the manufacturers was the Westmoreland Glass Co. of Grapeville, Pa. You should be glad your grandfather saved the car. It’s worth about $2,000 today because so few have survived.

I have a 1919 stock certificate issued by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Co. It’s for 100 shares of preferred stock and is signed by officers of the company. There’s a picture on the top left side of the certificate showing railroad tracks running through a gorge. The back is signed by the same person named as the owner on the front. At some point, the ownership must have been transferred. Is this stock certificate worth anything?

THIS 1885 EGGBEATER could be attached to the wall. The 13 1/2-inch iron beater was sold recently for 25.

Old “worthless” stock certificates, particularly railroad certificates, are in demand by a group of collectors. The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad was founded in 1871. It operated trains between Denver and Pueblo, Colo., competing with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. In 1918, the two railroads agreed to share tracks. In 1921, a corporate reorganization led to the formation of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. The picture on your certificate shows the famous Hanging Bridge along the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas River. If you want to sell your stock certificate, you could look for a buyer via the Internet. You could also run a want ad in a publication for collectors of paper ephemera.

I inherited a pair of Delft figural salt and pepper holders from my mother. She had inherited them from her mother, and so on for I don’t know how many generations. One figure is the shape of a woman standing. The other is a man sitting. They are both double-sided, with a face and outstretched arms on each side. Each figure is white with multicolored painted designs. Each one holds a small dish for salt and pepper. The year 1792 is painted on the edge of the woman’s dress, and the initials “LPK” are marked inside both figures. Can you tell me more?

The initials LPK were used by De Porceleyne Lampetkan, a pottery in Rotterdam, Holland. The pottery was in business from 1637 to 1811, but the LPK mark was not used until the 1770s. The firm made decorative and practical objects for everyday use. If your salt dishes are old and are original works by De Porceleyne Lampetkan, they could sell for more than $1,000.

Tip

Always use your hair spray or perfume before you put on your jewelry. Both products damage some metals and stones.

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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.

¢ Edgewater Beach Hotel menu, marine dining room, cardboard, Sept. 15, 1939, $25.

¢ Majolica creamer, swan, brown-and-green glaze, swan neck forms handle, 4 x 6 1/2 inches, $145.

¢ Doll bed, blue paint, tapering octagonal head and foot posts, pierced heart design, mattress and quilt, 8 x 10 x 14 inches, $240.

¢ Carnival-glass bowl, Wild Strawberry pattern, amethyst, exterior basket weave, marked “Northwood,” 9 inches, $255.

¢ Sterling-silver berry spoon, embossed tulip floral handle, gilt bowl, impressed with Gorham hallmark, c. 1900, 10 1/4 inches, $300.

¢ Art Deco cedar chest, rosewood, cedar lined, hanky drawers, lift top, yellow Bakelite pulls, trestle base, 1930s, 20 x 44 inches, $410.

¢ Zenith Tombstone radio, model 6S27, black dial, round, cloth grill, wood, 1935, $480.

¢ Effanbee Patsyette Red Riding Hood doll, composition, painted features, 5-piece body, original outfit, 9 inches, $500.

¢ Walt Disney’s “101 Dalmatians” movie poster, Pongo and Perdita on front, yellow ground, 1961, 36 x 46 inches, $715.

¢ 1936 Landon/Knox jugate campaign pennant, navy-blue ground, portraits of candidates, “Elect Landon and Knox,” 23 1/2 inches, $1,360.