Ever hear of the medical terms “catarrh,” “scrofulous humor,” “dyspepsia,” “bilious attacks,” “torpidity of the system,” “ague” and that all-encompassing ailment, “summer complaints”? These illnesses and more could be cured in the 19th century by Dr. Flint’s Quaker Bitters. Take just a swig of the liquid in the bottle, and you felt better. It even said on the label, “Try this and thou shalt be benefited.” Henry S. and Ezra H. Flint were part of Flint & Co., a furniture and housewares store in Providence, R.I., in 1864. The Flints had three stores by 1867. Harvey Flint, a cashier, left the stores in 1872 and started making Quaker Bitters. His two sons and other Flint relatives, including Henry S., joined Flint & Co. Henry became a physician in 1876, took over making and selling Old Dr. Warren’s Quaker Bitters, then renamed the “medication” Dr. H.S. Flint & Co. Quaker Bitters. It was a popular product sold by druggists until 1881, when the company closed. Harvey died in 1882, and Henry turned from medicine to the family trade. He bought Providence Furniture Co. and merged it with Flint & Co. It became the largest furniture business in Rhode Island until the 1930s. Quaker Bitters bottles, trade cards and other advertisements are very collectible today. Those who want bitters bottles and those who are interested in anything Quaker search for the items. Recently a labeled bottle sold for $3,450.

Q: We had to move our mother into a nursing home and are in the midst of cleaning out her house. We thought everything in the house was junk, but we asked a local auctioneer to come and take a look at what he might want to sell. Turns out a lot of the costume jewelry, pottery, cut glass and even furniture in her house is much better than we’d ever imagined. The auctioneer is ready to take an old washstand marked “Doe & Charmois, East Cambridge, Mass.” He says it’s Eastlake style. How old is the washstand?

A: Doe & Charmois is listed in the 1870 Boston city directory. The company was founded by James M. Doe and Victor Charmois. Eastlake-style furniture has square angles, but its decorations are elaborate. Pieces have incised lines, lots of shallow carving, turned spindles and contrasting woods. The lines and carvings are often rubbed with gold highlights. The style was popular in the United States from about 1870 to 1900. You’ll learn your antique washstand’s value when it is auctioned. We’re guessing that it will sell for more than $200.

Q: When we bought the general store in a small Ohio town in the 1970s, we found a Maxwell House electric advertising sign. It’s a framed reverse painting on glass showing the ocean liner Leviathan on the open seas. On the left side there’s a picture of an overturned empty cup and the phrase “Good to the last drop.” The title runs across the top and bottom and reads, “The world’s finest steamship serves Maxwell House coffee exclusively!” Behind the sign is a metal case with a hinged top. The case holds three light bulbs within three slotted cylinders. When the sign is turned on, the ocean waves appear to move, smoke comes out of the ship’s smokestacks and a last drop of coffee drips out of the coffee cup. What do you think this sign is worth?

A: The USS Leviathan, an American passenger ship from 1923 to 1938, served Maxwell House coffee. So that’s when Maxwell House used the ocean liner in its advertising, including print ads. During that decade, the Leviathan, like the United States, couldn’t serve alcohol because of Prohibition, so it’s likely a lot of coffee was served onboard. The Leviathan was launched in 1913 as a German passenger ship, the SS Vaterland. But it happened to be in New York harbor in 1914 when World War I broke out in Europe, and it was not allowed to leave. When the United States entered the war in 1917, the U.S. Navy seized the ship and used it as a troop carrier. It was turned into an American passenger liner after the war. Your unusual animated sign works like a motion lamp. Heat from the bulbs produces just enough energy to turn the cylinders. If it still works and is in good shape, it would sell for $500 or more.

Q: I recently bought an unusual teapot to add to my growing collection. The top is closed, and there is no lid. You fill the teapot through a small hole in the bottom. When you turn the pot over, the water does not spill out. Where did this idea come from?

A: You have a “Cadogan teapot,” sometimes called a puzzle pot. Inside the hole at the bottom, there’s a long, cone-shaped tube that goes up inside the pot and keeps the water from spilling. This type of pot was invented by the Chinese to hold wine, but in the late 1700s the English adapted the form for hot water. (The pot cannot be used to brew tea, however, because the leaves will clog the tube.) The pot was named “Cadogan” in the 1800s, either because England’s Lady Cadogan brought a Chinese wine pot back to England after a trip or because she liked to mystify her guests with this kind of pot.

Tip: Sterling silverware should be used often. It reduces the tarnish, adds to the patina and lessens the need for cleaning.

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