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By RALPH and TERRY KOVEL
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 19, 2001
ANTIQUE UPDATE: For many years, retiring public officials took government office furniture with them when they left. Collectors like the pieces because the historic ownership adds to the prestige, value and "aura."
The White House was redecorated over and over again by presidents, and the old pieces were either sold or given away. In 1873, the desks used in Congress were replaced by more modern ones, and all of the Victorian desks were sold, often to the member of Congress who used them. A desk that had been used by a representative during his term from 1869 to 1872 was auctioned recently at Weschler's in Washington for $14,950.
In the 1960s, when the Kennedy administration redecorated the White House and the State Department rooms, a law was passed that made sure the old, discarded furnishings remained the property of the government and were kept in storage. Today, retiring politicians are not supposed to take government furniture to their new homes.
Question: My ceramic Uncle Wiggily mug was given to me in the early 1930s. There are two pictures on the mug.
One shows Uncle Wiggily and Grandpa Goosey Gander dressed in formal wear and standing near a tree trunk called "Ovaltine House." The other shows Uncle Wiggily running above the phrase "Uncle Wiggily wants his Ovaltine."
The bottom of the mug is marked "Uncle Wiggily, c.1924, by Fred. A. Wish Inc., licensed to Sebring Pottery Co., manufactured for the Wander Co., Chicago, Makers of Ovaltine.
Can you tell me its history and value?
Answer: Uncle Wiggily Longears was the central character in a series of children's stories written by Howard Garis beginning in 1910. In the 1920s, a rabbit character also starred in a radio show sponsored by Ovaltine.
This was the period when radio-show sponsors started offering premiums to listeners. A child listening to the show could mail an Ovaltine label to the Wander Co. in Chicago and receive a mug like yours.
Today, your mug is valued at $80 or more if it is in excellent condition.
Question: What can you tell me about my lithographed tin Buck Rogers windup spaceship? It's 12 inches long and orange-red, yellow, green, white and black. The mark on the bottom reads, "Made for Daisy Manfg. Co. by Louis Marx & Co., 200 5th Ave., N.Y., U.S.A., patented March 15, 1927, 1,621,266."
Answer: You have a Buck Rogers 25th Century Rocket Ship, a toy tied in to the Buck Rogers comic strip, introduced in 1929. A radio show started in 1932.
In 1934 the Daisy Manufacturing Co. of Plymouth, Mich., started working with the National Newspaper Syndicate to market toy pistols and other Buck Rogers licensed merchandise. Daisy had exclusive rights to make Buck Rogers toys, but it could also give approval to a toy that it could not make on its own. That's how Louis Marx & Co. was able to produce your rocket ship, which shoots sparks as it moves.
Although the patent date on your ship is 1927, the patent was actually filed in 1924, but the toy was not made until 1934. Depending on your toy's condition, it would sell for $200 to $600.
Silver flatware orange knife, silver-plate blade, Old Newbury pattern, Towle, 8 inches, $85.
Morton Salt sign, box of salt with baked potato, "What's a potato without Morton's?" 1940-'50s, framed under glass, 18 by 36 inches, $185.
Stoneware crock, incised swan, Medsford, McFeat and Swan Ship Grocers, about 1850, 7 1/2 inches, $255.
Pressed glass berry set, Valencia Waffle pattern, cranberry stained, seven pieces, $345.
Mahogany dresser, four drawers, brass hardware, carved bracket feet, about 1930, 38 inches, $550.
Bill Blass sequined evening trench coat, navy blue, full length, belt, size 4, labeled, 1970s, $975.
Kathe Kruse doll, girl, brown hair, green eyes, closed mouth, pouty lips, about 1915, 17 inches, $3,400.
- Send questions to Antiques, Ralph and Terry Kovel, c/o the St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122.