Jul 6, 2013 4 min read

Remember the Shmoo? It started one of the biggest assortment of collectibles in the 20th century. The animal was first seen in a L’il Abner comic strip in August 1946, and it became a sensation. Al Capp, the artist, had invented an animal that laid eggs and glass bottles of milk, tasted like whatever you liked to eat and purposely died when someone seemed hungry. Its button eyes made terrific suspender buttons, and its skin could be used for leather or lumber.

They gave rides, played with children and were so amusing people stopped watching television. They multiplied quickly so there was always a good supply, and they needed no food, just air. A Shmoo was shaped like a large upside-down comma with feet, but had no ears, arms or noses. The Shmoo became a collecting sensation in the 1940s and ’50s. There were dolls, toys, planters, sheet music, wallpaper, clothing, books, jewelry, clocks, salt-and-pepper sets, banks and even air fresheners and earmuffs. All are collected today. But while they were lovable and wanted only to bring happiness, Shmoon (the plural of Shmoo) brought misery to the comic-strip people of Dogpatch. Because there was no need to work, society changed. Grocery and meat stores closed, and the owners organized squads to kill the Shmoon until they were thought to be extinct. But they managed to come back in later comic strips. And collectors search for them today.

Q. Grand Rapids Desk Co. made our mahogany roll-top desk. It is 46 inches tall, 40 inches wide and 28 inches deep. We were told when we bought it that it had been used at the old Angus Hotel in St. Paul, Minn. What can you tell me about the desk and its value?

A. The Grand Rapids Desk Co. was in business in Grand Rapids, Mich., from 1893 to 1898. The company moved to Muskegon, Mich., in

1898 following a fire at the Grand Rapids factory, but it kept the same corporate name. If the company mark on your desk reads “Muskegon,” the desk was made after 1898. Grand Rapids Desk Co. manufactured desks and other office furniture in mahogany and oak.

Many were sold to hotels in the Midwest. From 1911 to 1971, the Angus Hotel occupied a Victorian apartment building built in 1887 at the corner of Selby and Western avenues just west of downtown St. Paul.

The fact that your desk may have been used at the hotel probably does not increase its value, except to a St. Paul collector. But high- quality antique roll-top desks like those made by the Grand Rapids Desk Co. are valuable. One auctioned for $1,400 a few years ago.

Q. I have an old wooden crank-type wall telephone handed down in our family. The nameplate on it says: “B-R Electric & Telephone Mfg. Company, Manufacturers of the Celebrated K-C Telephone, Kansas City, Mo., Portland, Oregon.” Please tell me something about this company.

A. B-R Electric Co. and Kansas City Telephone Manufacturing Co. merged in 1903 to form B-R Electric & Telephone Manufacturing Co.

B-R continued to market the phones using the Kansas City (K-C) brand name. A phone like yours with the same nameplate recently auctioned for $85. Of course, price depends on condition as well as age and manufacturer.

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Tip: Some vintage and antique dishes have overglaze decorations that will eventually wear off. All gold trim is overglaze and could even wipe off a plate hot from the dishwasher.

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.

• Fourth of July postcard, boy, girl, skyrockets, bell, lithographed, Germany, 1910, $15.

• Black cat firecrackers, cat’s head, red and yellow package, 40 pieces, $20.

• Pressed-glass cake stand, moon and star, 10 inches, $105.

• Cinderella board game, backdrop, wand, cards, slipper, box, 1950, 19 inches by 9 inches, $210.

• Clewell bowl, embossed fruit, copper clad, 8 inches by s 3 inches, $375.

• Brass candlestick, push up, England, c. 1860, 19 3/4 inches, pair, $710.

• Bronze sculpture, Moor warrior, astride camel, holding staff, c. 1900, 8 3/4 inches, $1,045.

Write to Kovels, Observer-Reporter, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.