Apr 23, 2016 5 min read

Antiques and design shows today often have attractive pieces of furniture that have been transformed by painting, decorating or removing the original finish. In the 1980s, the transformed look often was created with a layer of white paint encouraged to peel to look old.

Today the industrial look is “in,” and shows have old workbenches, industrial tools attached to wooden tables, lamps made of old gears and gym lockers stripped of their original paint. All have been given a modern look by exposing the original silvery finish of the metal parts.

InCollect, the upscale website that sells expensive antiques, offered a long rectangular desk with a polished aluminum finish. The desk had been used during World War II. It is made of the aluminum used in airplanes in the 1930s and ’40s. It was originally painted green (some of the paint is left in a drawer as a part of its history). The desk was hand stripped and polished for about 80 hours. It is more than a desk – it can fold into a box to be moved, which was a war-time necessity.

Look at some of the used metal furniture selling for offices or workshops, or scrap metal that can be changed in a do-it-yourself project into unique “modern” furniture.

Q. Are old books of any value? I have a copy of “Aesop’s Fables” translated from the Greek by the Rev. Geo. Fyler Townsend and published by George Routledge and Sons. The cover looks like leather and has two color pictures of children and drawings of leaves.

A. Some old books are valuable, but it takes an expert to appraise them. The fables were first told about 600 b.c. and didn’t appear in print until 1557. Several editions of the version translated by Reverend George Fyler Townsend (1814-1900) were published in the late 1800s. They sell online for about only $12 and up. If you want to sell your copy, you can take it to a store that sells used books.

Q. My grandchild is named Sarah, a nice old-fashioned name. I wanted to buy an antique child’s cup with her name on it, but after looking at antiques shows for months, I have found lots of other names. Was a “Sarah” cup made in the 1800s?

A. Mugs and small plates for children were popular in England but not in America during the 19th century. Many ceramic factories made them. Some were decorated with names like Hannah, Louisa, Sophie – and yes, Sarah. But children’s tablewares also had sayings like “A Birth Day Gift,” “For my dear boy,” “For a good girl” or other phrases so the mugs could be given as rewards or gifts. Pictures from children’s books, educational decorations like the alphabet or pictures and names of animals also were popular. Some had messages like “Make hay while the sun shines.” The cups helped children learn manners and moral character. You might be lucky enough to find Sarah through an internet search, but the odds are against you.

Q. I have an old typewriter made by a company called Blickensderfer of Stamford, Connecticut. On the side of the frame is a shield with patent numbers from July 15, 1890 to April 12, 1892. The typewriter’s letters and numbers are on a cylinder that rotates to the desired key when pressed. Is this of value? Is there a market for something like this?

A. In 1891 George Blickensderfer invented a small portable writing machine that used a cylinder instead of striker keys to print letters. It had a keyboard, but the order of letters was different from the “qwerty” keyboard used today. The machine was lighter, less expensive and designed to avoid the key “hang up” of other typewriters. The user could change type styles by changing the cylinder without using a tool. The idea was similar to the IBM Selectric, which came along almost 75 years later. The first models were probably made in very limited numbers since none have been found. The Model 5, nicknamed the “Blick,” was introduced at the Columbian Exposition in 1893 and was made for many years. Later models were deluxe versions of that design, though qwerty keyboards became available. Blickenderfer’s company was successful, but he was hit by a car and died in New York City in 1917. Attempts to run his company failed and the company went bankrupt. In 1927, Remington bought the inventory and the intellectual rights and introduced the Rem-Blick, which was similar to the Blick 5. Blickensderfer typewriters sell between $300 and $400.

Tip: If there are raised applied decorations on your art glass, be careful when cleaning it. Gold or silver accents, painted enamel decoration and beads must be kept in fine condition to maintain the value.

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.

• Sewing pattern, Vogue, no. 5121, dress for casual to cocktail, size large, bust 36, waist 28, hip 38, original price 75 cents, 1960s, $8.

• Advertising banner, Yardley’s Old English Lavender, woman, basket, lavender, 1920s, 30 x 35 inches, $175.

• Toy, boxers, 2 men, wheels, tin lithograph, clockwork, marked D.R.P., Germany, c. 1920, 6 1/2 inches, $210.

• Stained-glass window, slag glass, religious, gothic decoration, roundels, frame, c. 1880, 51 x 29 inches, $360.

• Furniture, mirror, George II, giltwood, pitch pediment top, crossed eagle’s head crest, 1700s, 52 x 29 inches, $860.

• Rolex wristwatch, Aviator, Sky Rocket, stainless steel, shockproof, manual wind, c. 1936, 1 1/4 inches, $980.

• Tortoiseshell box, lid, carved, pierced, figures, leaves, initial l, round, 1800s, 4 inches, $1,265.

• Weller, Sicardo vase, lobed, flowers, multicolor, signed Jacques Sicard, 1903-17, 11 x 7 inches, $2,625.

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