The 1940s and early ’50s was an era of new technologies and materials.

Many were developed during the war and resulted in furniture designs that were unlike any seen before. The Museum of Modern Art in New York organized a competition to encourage new designs for low-cost housing and for furnishing small houses and apartments. Teams of experts, including designers and “technologists,” were invited to compete. Charles and Ray Eames, well-known designers, submitted designs for several stamped aluminum or steel chairs that could be made for less than $12.

Zenith Plastics submitted a design for a chair with a molded fiberglass-and-polyester plastic shell. Eames thought fiberglass would be a good alternative to stamped metal chair parts. Soon Zenith and Eames were able to create a fiberglass armchair, and Herman Miller Furniture Co. manufactured and sold it.

The first fiberglass chairs were made in three shades of gray-beige. Other colors were offered later. Slight changes in the chair have continued. The back curve has become sharper, and the upholstery, if any, is glued to the shell. The legs could be wooden, metal rods or a pedestal, and the way the legs are attached to the base varies. There was even a rocker. The chair was so successful that it is still being made by Herman Miller and has been copied by many others. It is surprisingly comfortable.

I have an old baseball that belonged to my grandfather in the late 1800s. It’s covered in leather and stitched twice all the way around the circumference of the ball. In other words, if the ball were a globe, the stitching would be at the equator and the prime meridian. I saw a ball like it at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Does it have anything besides sentimental value?

Your baseball is called a “lemon peel” ball because the stitched sections look like a lemon cut lengthwise into quarters. Baseballs today are stitched in a pattern called a “figure eight.” Most lemon peel balls were made before 1880. These balls are not rare, but an example in excellent condition is worth about $500.

We would like to know the value of a small Griswold egg skillet. We’ve never seen another like it. The skillet is 4 3/4 inches square, with the handle at one corner. It’s made of cast iron. The bottom is marked with the word “Griswold” in a cross inside a circle. Under it are the words: “Since 1865, Square Egg Skillet, 129.”

Griswold Manufacturing Co., of Erie, Pa., was organized in 1887, but its history can be traced back to 1865. The marks on most of its cast-iron cookware included “Erie, Pa.” until 1957, when the company was sold. From 1957 until 1969, wares marked “Griswold” were manufactured by a series of companies that owned rights to the name and trademarks. Your skillet was probably made between 1957 and 1969. It sells today for $35 to $50.

I have a lady-head vase that is the base of a lamp. Can you tell me what the lamp is worth?

Most lady-head vases were made in Japan between the early 1950s and the mid-’70s. They were sold here by American importing companies. It is likely that someone here in the United States later mounted your vase on a lamp base. If a hole was made in your vase during the mounting, the value is lowered. The value of the vase depends on its condition and rarity. Early unmarked vases sell for $50 and up.

Can you give me an approximate value for an old Girl Scout medal? It’s round and 1 1/4 inches in diameter. The front has a Girl Scout emblem, a picture of a Girl Scout wearing a wide-brimmed hat, and the words “Girl Scout War Service.” The back reads “Presented by the U.S. Treasury Department for service in the Liberty Loan Campaign, 1918, Gorham Co.”

The Girl Scouts were founded in the United States in 1912. Your bronze medal was made by famous silver manufacturer Gorham & Co. The Girl Scouts introduced the medal in September 1918. It was called the Liberty Loan medal because a scout earned the medal by selling a certain number of Liberty Bonds. The medals sell for $50 and up.

My great-grandmother left me a purse that’s handmade from strings of apple seeds. It must have been made about 1900, but I’m not sure if she did it herself. I do know that she was born in Sweden and immigrated to Minnesota. Have you ever come across another like it?

No, we haven’t. We have seen purses made from cigarette packs, watermelon seeds or dyed seashells. Purses like yours, handmade using unusual materials, are great conversation pieces. And yours has a personal connection to your family, which makes it even more interesting.

Tip

Never dip a piece of rhinestone jewelry in water. It will cause damage.