Don’t always trust the date you find in a pottery mark. A well-known mark, often found on porcelain clock cases for Ansonia clocks, says “Royal Bonn, 1755” in a shield. But the maker was Franz Anton Mehlem, who had a pottery in Bonn, Germany, from 1836 to 1931. The 1755 date refers to an earlier pottery in Bonn. “Royal” was a word that added prestige and helped to sell dishes, so many companies used it. In England the right to use the word usually meant the company had sold something to the royal family. In other countries, consent from royalty wasn’t needed. Royal Bonn ceramics included porcelain and earthenware. The most interesting today were made from about 1880 to 1920. The factory produced everything from sets of dishes with floral designs and gold trim to heavy art-nouveau pottery vases with three-dimensional decorations of women or plants. The factory was purchased by Villeroy & Boch in 1921 and closed in 1931. The best Royal Bonn ceramics are expensive today; everyday dishes are not.

Q: I have a large antique cylinder music box in a carved wood case about 2 feet long. It sits on a matching table with a side drawer to store extra cylinders. Inside the box there’s a metal plate with patent dates between 1885 and 1890, the word “Switzerland” and the initials D.R.P. in front of a series of numbers. The phrase, “Jacot’s Patented Safety Check, Sept. 22, 1886,” is printed on the starter lever. Please tell me who made my music box and what it’s worth.

A: The Jacot Safety Check, which prevented the wild spinning of the cylinder if a machine part broke, was used only on music boxes made by Mermod Freres of St. Croix, Switzerland. Mermod Freres music boxes were the most popular large boxes sold in the United States in the late-19th century. Cylinder boxes dominated the market from the late 1880s until the late 1890s, when disc music boxes entered the market. Your music box and matching table, depending on their condition, could sell for a price well into the thousands of dollars.

This exceptional Royal Bonn vase is decorated with a painted floral design. The 6-inch vase sold for 26 at a Treadway-Toomey Galleries auction in Oak Park, Ill.

Q: I hate to throw things out, which is why I still have a paper Eclipse-o-Scope made to view the Aug. 31, 1932, solar eclipse. It’s made of paper, with two eye filters. One side is printed with an explanation of an eclipse. The other has a map of New England that shows the path of best viewing. On both sides there’s an ad for Harvey & Lewis Co., Opticians. The original price of the scope is printed on it – 10 cents. I doubt that the scope has much monetary value today, but does it have historical value? Or should I toss it?

A: It would sell for more than 10 cents today, but its major value is historical. The 1932 total solar eclipse was a big event in the northeastern United States. More viewers were made for this eclipse than any other until the 1990s. A lot of them advertised New England businesses. Your viewer was made by Art Photo Co. of Springfield, Mass. It came in several colors, including red, blue and tan.

Current prices

Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States.

¢ Pez candy shooter gun, hard plastic, shoots out Pez candy, 1960s, 5 1/2 inches, $255.

¢ Tiffany & Co. sterling silver candelabra, 3-light, engraved monogram, c. 1907, 8 inches, pair, $2,800.

¢ Wavecrest bowl, decorated with blown-out flowers, pink on green ground, ormolu frame, signed, 5 1/2 inches, $495.