Advertising signage can fetch high prices
Collectors like advertising signs and packages. In the 1950s when restaurants began decorating with old signs, they wanted material from the 19th century with graphics that featured husky women in period gowns and large hats or scenes with horse and buggies, high-wheel bicycles or old cars and buildings. But collectors and their collections got older, and by the 1980s, a younger group was buying advertising from the 1930s to ’50s, with scenes of happy housewives wearing aprons while making cookies with their children or landscapes with new cars, airplanes or trains. While old advertising was expensive and hard to find, ’50s pieces turned up at garage sales and flea markets for very low prices.
Today there are collectors who hunt for recent rock posters, advertisements and packaging by artists like Andy Warhol or Peter Max. It is the design that catches the eye and attracts collectors. Some wonder if ads, packages and shop signs are going to be valuable in the future. Go back to the mid-1800s, when store signs often were simply pictures because many people could not read. A cigar-store figure represented a shop that sold tobacco, and a cutout wooden board shaped like a shoe or a red and white barber pole were instantly recognized by customers. These signs are now classed as “folk art,” and many sell for thousands of dollars.
Great graphics that tell a story, products that represent the past, and nostalgia keep advertising collectibles selling well, even though the ads are getting younger.
Q. I am a retired U.S. Air Force sergeant. Sometime during my 20 years of service, I received a chrome-plated “Camp David” Zippo pocket lighter. The front has a black engraving of the camp’s entryway, with a rope-like circle around the image. I understand it has some value. True?
A. Zippo lighters were first made in Bradford, Pa., in 1932. When smoking was more socially acceptable than it is now, lighters were popular souvenirs. The military, as well as U.S. presidents, purchased them to give as souvenirs to servicemen and visiting dignitaries. Camp David was built in the 1930s and was used as a presidential retreat starting in 1942. But it wasn’t called “Camp David” until 1953, when President Dwight David Eisenhower renamed the retreat after his grandson, David Eisenhower. Other marks on your lighter may help you date it. A lighter matching yours, made in 1972, is for sale online with its original box and insert. The asking price is $45.
Q. My mother-in-law gave my daughter a vintage dress that has a label inside that says “Harvey Berin, designed by Karen Stark.” My mother- in-law was a music instructor at the local high school and put on musicals every year. This dress was donated to her to use in the musicals. When she retired, she gave the dress to my daughter to wear to the prom. Can you tell us anything about the designer and maker of this dress?
A. Harvey Berin started his clothing business in 1921. He is known for his cocktail and evening dresses made from the 1940s until 1970.
Berin bought dresses in Paris and had the designs adapted by designer Karen Stark, his sister-in-law. He approved the designs before the dresses were made. First Lady Patricia Nixon wore a gown designed by “Karen Stark for Berin” to the 1969 inaugural balls. The dress is now in the Smithsonian. Berin closed his business in 1970.
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Tip: When putting on earrings in front of the bathroom mirror, be sure the sink stopper is closed. Don’t risk dropping the jewelry down the drain.
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.
• Shelley porcelain creamer, bridal rose, fluted, 2 1/2 inches, $30.
• Pewabic Pottery vase, blue, flared rim, 1995, 5 3/4 inches, $40.
• Red and White Coffee tin, white letters, red ground, key, 3 1/2 x 5 inches, $40.
• Vinyl “wicker” purse, double-horseshoe leather handles, gold-tone turn clasp & pegged feet, c. 1950, 11 x 6 x 4 inches, $45.
• Nippon hatpin holder, fluted flared ribbing, berries, leaves, ribbon, 1930s, 4 1/4 inches, $60.
• Pressed glass sugar and creamer, Heart and Thumbprint, scalloped rim, Tarentum Glass Co., c. 1890, $65.
• Occupational shaving mug, bicyclist, A.R. Deming, gilt, stamped CFH, 3 1/2 inches, $300.
• Boneshaker bicycle, wire, miniature, c. 1920, 6 inches, $560.
• Gothic Revival chair, oak, folding, carved, X-curved legs, upholstered seat, pair, $1,340.
• Sculling team toy, eight figures, coxswain at helm, cast iron, painted, U.S. Hardware, c. 1910, 14 1/4 inches, $1,900.
Write to Kovels, (Name of this newspaper), King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.