Halloween is an American holiday that was probably inspired by European agricultural holidays.

It started in the United States in the early 1900s and was an adult celebration. It was not until the 1920s that it became a children’s holiday. It is second in popularity only to Christmas among collectors of holiday memorabilia.

In the past 10 years, jack-o’-lanterns, witches and black cats have gone up in demand and in price. Candy containers, sparklers, tambourines, postcards, costumes, paper lanterns, magazines, garlands, cutout cardboard figures, bisque figurines, noisemakers, games and trading cards with Halloween designs can be found.

At a recent auction, early-1900s Halloween candy containers sold for $200 to $500, and a 1902 tin jack-o’-lantern auctioned for $990. So after the children go out to trick-or-treat, save the bags, noisemakers, paper plates and even the special Halloween candy wrappers. Start a new collection.

My father gave me a hardwood octagonal table. He was a carpenter who specialized in decorative woodwork. At one time he made a replacement leg for the table, and even I have a hard time telling which of the eight legs was replaced. A trademark logo is attached to the underside of the table. The logo is a large lowercase letter “h” surrounded by the words “Hannahs Furniture, Kenosha, Wis.” Can you provide any history?

Hannahs Manufacturing Co. was originally named the Kenosha Co. It was founded in 1884 as a manufacturer of children’s cribs. The firm incorporated in 1892 as Hannahs Manufacturing Co. It gradually expanded its lines to include library and parlor tables, and sold its furniture throughout the United States, South America and Australia. By the second decade of the 20th century, Hannahs employed 250 people at its Kenosha plant. It had discontinued making children’s furniture but was manufacturing 300 library tables and 500 smaller tables every day, most in the Colonial Revival style. The firm was still in business at the end of the 1920s.

I work for a charitable organization that has been given a large Royal Dux figurine. It’s a shepherdess holding her apron in her left hand and feeding clover to a lamb from her right hand. The apron is filled with clover. The figurine is 29 inches tall, including the base on which the shepherdess and lamb stand. The marks on the bottom include a circle with the words “Made in Czechoslovakia” and the Royal Dux raised pink triangle. Any assistance you can give us would be appreciated.

Royal Dux porcelain is made in Duchcov, a small town northwest of Prague, Czech Republic. The Dux Porcelain factory was founded there about 1853. It is known as a manufacturer of high-quality figurines and other porcelain items, including clock cases. The pink triangle mark was first used in 1900, but the “Made in Czechoslovakia” mark dates your figurine to after 1918, the year the country was established. Your figurine was probably made during the 1920s or ’30s, before World War II and the nationalization of the factory. (The factory was privatized again in the early 1990s.) The shepherdess figurine came in at least one other, smaller size. And she is often seen with a matching shepherd figurine. A 21-inch pair has sold for $1,100.

My grandmother made me a sock monkey when I was a little girl, in the early 1950s. I thought my monkey was one of a kind, but I just read an article about an art exhibit of 100 sock monkeys. What’s the story about these cute creatures?

An American crafts magazine published directions for making a sock monkey in 1955. But soft, stuffed, handmade monkeys have been around since at least the 1920s. Their bodies were made from heavy cotton work socks with red toes and heels. The toe made a perfect mouth. If your monkey dates from before 1955, your grandma made it using her own imagination. A book on sock monkeys and an art exhibit in Philadelphia increased collector interest. The better a monkey’s condition and the fancier its clothing and features, the more interest it attracts. New monkeys are still sold at crafts shows.

I am decorating my kitchen walls with old tools. I comb flea markets and house sales hunting for tools, and I usually look for things that are big enough to mount on a wall. But recently I couldn’t pass up a 4-inch folding ruler marked “Stanley” that I was told was close to 100 years old. Have folding rulers been around that long?

They’ve been around even longer. But the Stanley Rule & Level Co. didn’t introduce its 4-inch folding ruler until 1907. Stanley, which was founded in 1857 in New Britain, Conn., started making folding rulers in 1897. All of the early ones were 6 inches long when folded. German manufacturers were the first to make a 4-inch model.

Tip

Do not use soap on the bottom of sticking drawers. Eventually it will become sticky. Use paraffin wax.