Golf has been a popular sport since the 15th century. In 1457, it was banned by the king of Scotland because he thought it kept his soldiers from practicing archery for battles. By the 1700s, there were social golf clubs for men. Women were not allowed on most golf courses until the 1900s. Clubs were first made of wood, then had iron, then steel shafts. Balls were made of wood, then feathers. In 1848, gutta-percha balls were developed, replaced by liquid rubber cores in 1908. Now golf balls have cores made of balata or surlyn, the sap of tropical trees. Throughout the past 300 years, artists have pictured golfers. Golfing porcelain figures, metal whiskey flasks, bronze ashtrays and enameled match holders can be found. So can advertisements, books, jewelry and many other decorative golf items. Porcelain has been made in France since 1769. In the 1920s, some French factories started making pieces with the new art deco look. Comical figures, including golfers, appealed to buyers and were made by several porcelain factories, including some in Limoges, France. Figurines, boxes and bottles made of porcelain were designed to make fun of golfers and their clothes. Any decorative item that pictures golf sells well today.

Q: A pressed-wood door in my 1902 house in Wisconsin is exactly like one on display at the Smith Museum at Navy Pier in Chicago. Both doors have the same frosted-glass window, too. The window is 29 inches high by 19 inches wide and is decorated with an image of a woman feeding a horse. An ornate oval border surrounds the image. The museum says the door and designer are unidentified. Can you tell me anything else?

A: Pressed-wood doors with oval door lights (windows) were mass-produced around the turn of the 20th century. The design was applied to the glass by a process called “acid etching.” A special wax coating was applied to the glass using a stencil. Then hydrofluoric acid was applied to the surface of the glass to create the stenciled image. Generally, doors like yours sell for $100 to $200 today.

This golfer in his bright-yellow clothes and dapper hat is really a 10 1/2-inch-high container. The head comes off to reveal a hollow body. A bidder, probably a golfer, paid 19 for the piece at a Mastro online auction.

Q: Nearly 34 years ago I picked up a lithographed tin toy that still works. It’s a 2-foot-long “Lincoln Tunnel” with two lanes of cars that move when you wind up the toy. Can you tell me who made it and what it’s worth?

A: Your toy Lincoln Tunnel was made about 1935 by Unique Art Manufacturing Co. of Newark, N.J. The company produced its first tin windup toys, including a Charlie Chaplin toy, in 1916. The Lincoln Tunnel, in mint condition, sells today for about $400.

Q: My brother was given a group of silver tags on chains. Each has a name. Some, like Brandy, Bordeaux, Port, Sherry and Madeira, make sense. But other labels say Cowslip, Lovage and Spruce. How were they used?

A: Your silver tags were hung on bottles of wine or decanters to identify the contents. They were called bottle labels or bottle tickets in 19th-century England. Many types were made in varied shapes, sizes and materials. The silver labels are usually hallmarked. There are also silver-plate and white-metal labels. Cowslip is a wine, Lovage is a cordial that was considered a cure for sore throats, and Spruce was a type of beer made from spruce-tree branches. Bottle tickets were popular collectibles in the early 1900s, but interest has waned.

Q: How can I tell if an old black-and-white autographed photograph is an original or a copy? My photo pictures Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig standing and leaning on their bats. Ruth is wearing a black uniform that reads “Bustin’ Babe’s,” and Gehrig is wearing a white one that reads “Larrupin Lou’s.” Each player has signed “Yours Truly” and his name twice.

A: Your photo is a famous one copied (with the signatures) and handed out all over the country during a 1927 off-season cross-country baseball tour that featured the two biggest stars of the day. The photo has been copied countless additional times over the years, and it comes in two versions – one with one signature for each player and one with two. Your photo is not an original print (a photo developed, often by the photographer, from the original film used to shoot the picture). And it is very likely that the signatures are facsimiles. If you think any one of the autographs might be real, take the photo to a sports-collectibles expert who can examine it in person.

Q: Please help me identify the blue mark on the bottom of my china breadbasket. The mark is a large “X” with a small crown at the top. On each side of the “X,” there’s a letter and a period – an “R.” on the left and a “C.” on the right. Between the two bottom lines of the “X” there’s an ampersand.

A: The mark on your breadbasket was used between about 1891 and 1907 by Philipp Rosenthal & Co. of Selb, Bavaria, Germany. The company, now controlled by Waterford Wedgwood, continues to make dinnerware, figurines and decorative ceramics.