Nov 30, 2013 5 min read

The ancient Greeks collected bottles, but only a few wealthy American collectors were buying bottles in the early 1900s. At the time, only commercial flasks that held whiskey and a few other hand- blown bottles were considered important. Probably the earliest book for bottle collectors was written in 1921 by Stephen Van Rensselaer.

In 1941, George and Helen McKearin wrote “American Bottles” and created a system of identification that listed, numbered, described and sketched all known historic American flasks. Bottle collecting became a hobby of the middle class in the 1950s. Valuable bottles were dug from backyards and river banks or found at resale shops or yard sales. The first collectors club, the Antique Bottle Collectors Association of California, started in 1959. By the 1960s, articles on old bottles were being published in magazines and books. Kovels’ “Bottles Price List,” written in 1971, was the first of 13 editions.

We wrote the last in 2006. Interest in bottles has gone up and down during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, but clubs, shows and collections remain. Prices of historic flasks have gone from less than $100 to thousands of dollars. Fruit jars, soda bottles, commemorative bottles, perfumes, poisons and inks attracted new collectors. But who would have guessed that old bottles could become part of modern art? Amateurs could buy kits that helped them take old bottles and stretch them into elongated modern shapes. Early 1900s bottles were turned purple by exposure to the sun or radiation.

Claire Falkenstein became famous for sculptures made from iron rods and drooping bottles. An English artist, Barry McGee, made modern art from bottles he painted with pictures of heads. He chose empty whiskey bottles to picture street people. His bottle art sells for thousands of dollars. Still, the most expensive commercial bottles today remain the historic flasks. Rarities can sell for more than $40,000.

Q. A few months ago, my husband and I bought a mahogany bookcase with four leaded glass doors at an estate sale. It’s about 54 inches high, 66 inches wide and 12 inches deep. There is a small brass plaque on one of the shelves that reads “Library Bureau Sole Makers.” Can you give us the history of this bookcase?

A. Library Bureau was founded by Melvil Dewey (1851-1931), a librarian and the inventor of the Dewey Decimal Classification System used by many libraries today. He published his system in 1876, the same year he founded a company that sold library supplies. The company operated under different names until it became Library Bureau in 1881. It made a bookcase that could be joined with others to create a long wall of bookcases. The company was bought by Remington Rand in 1927 and became part of Midwest Library Systems in 1976.

Library Bureau products still are being sold.

Q. I’m trying to identify a plate that was given to the Point Cabrillo Light House Museum. It has a white background with roses in the center and on the border. There is no mark. A couple of people have told me it was a Quaker Oats premium. I found that Quaker Oats gave Homer Laughlin’s Tea Rose pattern plates as premiums. Our plate has similar flowers but in a different arrangement. The interior of the museum is being restored to the way it would have been in 1935 and we want to know if the plate is from that period.

A. In 1891, Quaker Oats became the first company to include dishes as premiums in its packages. Dinnerware made by Homer Laughlin, Royal China and Taylor, Smith & Taylor were included as premiums from the 1920s until the 1960s. Tea Rose is the name of a Homer Laughlin shape. Plates have a scalloped edge and a six-panel border. The shape was decorated with different decals, many of flowers, and also was made in solid colors. Tea Rose was introduced in about 1937, but it is not known when it was used as a Quaker Oats premium.

Tip: Never store celluloid jewelry with metal or rhinestone jewelry. Celluloid ages and gives off an acidic gas that eats metal.

The metal will become pitted and greenish. Celluloid “disease” also attacks pearls, paper and other organic materials. Store celluloid by itself.

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.

• Bottle opener, clown shape, cast iron, painted, 4 x 4 inches, $20.

• Barber pole plaque, wood, red and white, c. 1910, 36 x 12 inches, $210.

• Silver-plated tray, pierced, scalloped, faux tortoiseshell interior, wood handles, England, 6 x 26 inches, $355.

• Toy fire wagon, pumper, horse-drawn, cast iron, red and black, gold trim, Hubley, 22 inches, $505.

• Chatty Cathy doll, composition, blond pigtails, sleep eyes, freckles, 1961, 19 1/2 inches, $550.

• Menorah, wrought iron, seven twisted arms, scrolled base, c. 1820, 34 x 28 inches, $800.

• Birdhouse, redware, inscribed “Rent for a Song,” c. 1850, 5 3/4 inches, $1,895.

• Safe, Wells Fargo Co. Express, cast iron, wall, Dodge City, Kan., 10 x 13 x 16 inches, $3,705.

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