Political pieces sell for high prices

Political slogans or emblems are often mysterious years later because the original issue that interested voters is no longer important.

If you study old campaigns, you might find some valuable old political pieces. Campaigns were publicized with ceramics, glass, printed bandanas, canes, hats, jewelry and even lampshades or pipes.

How many know why buttons were shaped like a dinner pail in 1896 to represent the Republican slogan advocating full employment? Or that the bumper sticker “AuH2O,” the chemical symbol for gold and water, was displayed on cars supporting Barry Goldwater for president in 1964?

In 1901, the political news was about the organized power of the railroads and how it concerned the finances of the farmer. A glass flask was sold that looked like a silver dollar covered by the tentacles of an octopus — because a popular novel about farmers and the Railroad Trust was titled “The Octopus.” Look for unusual political pieces. They sell for high prices.

My family has owned an unusual china coffee set for at least 50 years. Each piece is blue and white with raised decorations of dragons. The mark on the bottom of each piece is a crown with the words “Fairyland China” inside and “Hand painted china” below. Can you tell me anything?

The raised dragons on your coffee set indicate that it’s a set of “dragonware,” made in Japan. Dragonware was popular from the end of the 1890s until the 1960s. The Fairyland China mark was used during the 1940s and ’50s. Many pieces are also marked “Made in Occupied Japan.” Dishes made for export were marked with that phrase from 1945 to 1952, the years of Allied occupation after World War II. Fairyland China coffee sets are not hard to find and sell for less than $50.

Ten years ago, I bought a Pyrex measuring cup at a thrift store in England. One side measures up to a 1/2 pint in quarter-cup marks. But the other side measures up to two “gills,” again in quarter marks. What is a gill?

A gill (pronounced “jill”) is a unit of volume equal to 1/4 pint (or 1/2 cup, or 4 ounces). The term has been more commonly used in England than in the United States. Pyrex glass ovenware was introduced in 1915 by Corning Glass Works of Corning, N.Y. The first Pyrex measuring cups were manufactured in 1925. Pyrex measuring cups made and marketed in other countries are marked with appropriate measurements.

Why do some doll collectors refer to china doll heads as either low-brow or high-brow? Does this relate to the dolls or to their collectors?

It refers to the hairstyle of the dolls, not to their collectors. Doll heads made of glazed porcelain were manufactured in Germany beginning about 1840. For about 40 years, the foreheads of these china dolls were high, with the hairline near the top of the face. Many collectors refer to this hairstyle as “high-brow.” Starting about 1880, china doll heads were made with hair molded lower on their foreheads — a hairstyle called “low-brow.”

Tip

The surface of Niloak marbleized pottery and other unglazed pottery is porous. Oil from your skin, glue residue from sticky labels and other oils will make permanent marks.


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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.

¢ Boy Scouts of America 1941 calendar, “A Scout is Helpful,” by Norman Rockwell, full pad, 8 x 14 inches, $65.

¢ Fi-na-st peanut butter pail, red ground, photo of man in white suit, First National Stores, Somerville, Mass., 1 lb., 3 3/4 x 3 1/2 inches, $110.

¢ Madame Alexander Marlo Thomas “That Girl” doll, vinyl, dark-brown sleep eyes, real lashes, closed mouth, blue-green knit dress, boots, 1966, 17 inches, $200.

¢ Ivory figural seal buttons, Inuit, c. 1900, 1 in., set of 3, $450.

¢ Quilt, flower basket weave, green ground with colored flowers, c. 1930, 76 x 86 inches, $695.

¢ Lalique bowl, Nemours, black enamel details, 1929, 4 x 10 inches, $745.

¢ Staffordshire soup tureen, cover, oval, blue transfer-printed creamware, Chinese Red vermicelli ground, 7 1/2 inches, $805.

¢ Handel boudoir lamp, domed chipped-ice shade with reverse-painted landscape, No. 6661, signed, 14 1/4 inches, $1,200.

¢ Biedermeier-style occasional table, blond, circular top, columns and paneled standard, ebonized accents, 28 x 20 inches, pair, $1,160.

¢ Regency Sheffield sterling-silver warming dish and cover, 2 handles, 4 scroll supports, gadrooned rim, shell design, handle modeled as rampant lion, 15 x 23 inches, $1,795.