Screens made to protect people from drafts, the heat of a fire or observation by others are occasionally seen at shows and auctions.

The idea of a screen is not new. Some were made in China in the second century. Asian screens were usually constructed of wood with carved, painted or inlaid decorations. Some were covered with embroidered fabrics. Screens were made of panels numbering from two to as many as 40, but the most popular had six panels. In the Middle Ages, Europeans used screens to protect themselves from the heat of the fireplace. By the 18th century, screens had shaped wooden panels covered with embroidered or printed textiles, or painted scenes on canvas.

There were three basic types of screens:

• A flat screen held by two upright supports with sturdy, wide feet.
• Small pole screen that could be adjusted up or down on a tripod base to protect a person’s face from heat.
• A folding panel screen decorated with carvings, fabric, painting, decoupage or needlework.

The screens were made in the style of the day. A rare English screen was auctioned recently in New Orleans. It was carved “in the Egyptian taste,” with a relief-carved pharaoh and hieroglyphics. The two end panels are silhouettes of pharaohlike figures. The 6-foot-wide screen sold for $10,600.

I saw an ad offering a Goofy wristwatch by Helbros for $1,000. I have a Goofy wristwatch made by Lorus. Does it have the same value?

The Goofy watch, introduced by Helbros in 1971, is an oddity — it runs counterclockwise. The numeral 12 is at the top, but the 1 is the first number to the LEFT of the 12. Because telling time backward is not easy, the watch was not a big seller, and relatively few were manufactured. Lorus is a subsidiary of Seiko, a Japanese watchmaker that was granted a Disney license in 1986. Lorus reissued the backward Goofy watch in 1991. The Lorus watch sells for about $100.

I have a small china ewer that belonged to my grandmother. The body is cream-colored, embossed with scales and decorated with painted flowers. The base and spout are painted gold. The mark helped me identify it as a piece of Royal Worcester, but I would like to know how old it is. Do the additional marks on the bottom help? One is “RdN 13580” and the other is the number 1028.

The other marks help a lot. The first number is an English Registry mark, which is similar to U.S. design patent numbers. The second number is a factory number that refers to the shape of your ewer. Royal Worcester records list the shape as an “embossed scale jug.” Both the shape and the registry mark were issued in 1884. Your ewer was not made before that year, although it could have been made shortly afterward.

We would like to know something about our old typewriter. It’s labeled “Blickensderfer, Stamford, USA, No. 7.” There are seven different patent dates between 1890 and 1892. It is mounted on an oak base, and we have the oak cover, also. What’s really odd about the typewriter is that the keys are not in the same order as they are on keyboards today.

In 1893, George C. Blickensderfer introduced his first typewriter at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The company’s factory in Stamford, Conn., was manufacturing large numbers of its first model, the No. 5, by 1895. The No. 7 model was introduced in 1897. Most “Blicks” were made with what the company referred to as “scientific” keyboards. The letters most often used were placed on the bottom row (DHIATENSOR). A customer could order the “universal” QWERTY keyboard (the one we still use), but the company advised against it. No. 5 and No. 7 Blicks are fairly common. Your typewriter would sell for about $75.

I bought a framed four-tile vertical panel at a tag sale. Each tile is 4 inches square. The panel is painted with multicolored, stylized birds. There is no signature on the panel, but a label on the back reads “High-fired hand-painted ceramic tiles by Harris G. Strong.” Can you tell me something about Strong and the value of his tiles?

Harris Strong was born in Waukesha, Wis., in 1920. After working at different potteries in New York City, he started his own business in 1952, producing decorated lamps, ashtrays and ceramic tiles. By the early ’60s, he was concentrating on contemporary-style tile panels like yours — and they were selling well, at affordable prices. Most of the tiles Strong decorated were imported from England or Holland. Strong moved his company to Trenton, Maine, in 1970. The type of label on your panel was used between 1952 and 1958. Prices for most Strong panels range from about $100 to $300.

Tip

Printed game boards from the 1940s-’60s fade very quickly. Older printing seems to better withstand exposure to ultraviolet light.

Current prices

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.

¢ Swift’s & Co. pocket calendar, 1905, premium for hams and bacon, 1 3/4 x 3 3/4 inches, $45.

¢ Buffalo Pottery Deldare bowl, “The Fallowfiezld Hunt –The Death Scene,” c. 1908, 9 inches, $400.

¢ Woven coverlet, red and navy blue, natural white, eagle and diamond border, signature blocks with grapevine, signed John Long, Holmes County, Ohio, 1851, 68 x 80 inches, $490.

¢ Orphan Annie wristwatch, Annie on face, New Haven, box, 1948, $510.

¢ Dewey & Warren campaign jugate, 1948, photo of both, red, white and blue ground, 3 1/2 inches, $550.

¢ Kestner doll, plaster pate, sleep eyes, square tooth, kid body, original clothing, c. 1880, 11 inches, $575.

¢ Philco 49-501 radio, The Boomerang, 1949, dial glows, turquoise and cream color, 11 x 6 1/2 inches, $815.

¢ Maple stand, 4 drawers, lift lid, swing-out supports, turned legs, c. 1840, 29 x 25 inches, $1,265.

¢ Hawkes cut-glass tray, North Star pattern, signed, 15 inches, $2,645.

The Kovels answer as many questions as possible through the column. By sending a letter with a question, you give full permission for its use in the column or any other Kovel forum. Names and addresses will not be published. We cannot guarantee the return of any photograph, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. The volume of mail makes personal answers or appraisals impossible. Write to Kovels, (name of your newspaper), King Features Syndicate, 888 Seventh Ave., New York, N.Y. 10019.