Lithographed tin signs popular among collectors
In the 1980s, a series of restaurant chains started decorating with old advertising signs, figures, bottles, and boxes to promote the idea of old-time menus and traditional food favorites. There were already serious advertising collectors searching for signs that pictured authentic examples of past lifestyles, choices of merchandise and printing technology. Metal signs were the most expensive.
A method of printing on tin was developed in 1876. One popular but rare sign is the 16-1/2 by 10-inch Egg-O-See cereal self-framed, lithographed tin sign. Egg-O-See was a processed wheat cereal created in 1906 that was well-advertised. The sign pictures a boy in overalls eating at a Mission oak breakfast table in an up-to-date 1910 room. There is a potted fern on the windowsill of a leaded glass window. On the table is a blue-green box of cereal, a glass sugar bowl and a glass of milk. With the boy are his dog and two cats hoping for some scraps. The slogan on the frame reads “Dere aint go’n’er be no leavin’s.”
Four of these signs sold for announced prices at large auctions between 2007 and 2015. All were excellent condition with only a few flaws in the paint or a slight dent. The earliest sold for $664, and five years later, another brought $750. Then a year later one sold for $950, and last year, $2,250. Great advertising signs have been going up in price, but only when the graphics are great and the condition is excellent.
Q. I have a table that was passed on to me by an aunt. It is 27 inches high and has three tiers, a round one in the center and two lower ones on either side. The table has four legs, flared, under a harp pedestal. There is a mark stamped on the bottom, a triangle within a triangle and the name Mersman. Can you tell me how old this table is and what it is worth?
A. J.B. Mersman owned sawmills in northeastern Indiana, moved to northwest Ohio in 1876, and began to make tables. By 1900 he had opened a factory in Celina, Ohio, and was making dining and library tables and beds. Mersman turned the company over to two of his sons and by 1927, after a series of name changes, the company was known as Mersman Brothers Corp., with warehouses in about eight major cities. The company specialized in medium-quality occasional tables – they made millions – and radio cabinets. Mersman Bros. was bought by Congoleum in 1963, sold to a private investment group in 1977, and stopped production completely in 1995. Your table was made in the 1940s and is worth $100 to $200.
Q. My 11-inch high copper colored vase has iridescent abstract flowers and squiggles as decoration. The bottom is marked with a cluster of five skinny towers in a dotted line circle. The words “Zsolnay Pecs” are inside the circle. Can you tell me how old it is and some history?
A. Zsolnay Pecs is part of the mark for a Hungarian pottery started in 1853.The Art Nouveau pieces, often with three-dimensional women clinging to the sides of a vase, were made in the 1900s until about 1930. These were very out-of-favor with American collectors in the 1930s to 1960s and then slowly gained in price. Today a figural vase can bring thousands of dollars. A large, less elaborate piece as early as yours also will sell for thousands. Modern pieces that are marked with the 1996 and after mark that includes the symbols and words of your vase plus the founding date of 1853 sell for hundreds of dollars.
Q. We were given a document my wife’s cousin discovered while working as an engineer on the excavation of the Chunnel, the underwater tunnel from England to France. It’s an Indenture dated June 22, 1854, written on thick parchment and in good condition. Do you think it has any value?
A. An indenture is a legal contract between two parties and usually is for labor, a real estate transaction or debt. In the 1700s, many immigrants came to the United States as indentured servants, obligated to work for the holder of the indenture for a set period of time in order to pay for their passage. Most later indentures were for land leases or other property transactions. Your document has historic interest and is worth about $50, unless the people mentioned in the agreement are famous.
Tip: Rotate your dining-room chairs and turn the table once a year to keep the finish an even color. The sun will fade it. Put the leaves in a sunny window for a while to help them fade to the color of the table, or just keep a cloth on the table during the day.
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.
• Aluminum tray, two swivel trays, embossed flowers and scrolls, crimped edge, c. 1950, 14 inches, $30.
• Barber pole, glass cylinder, red and white, electrified, John Oster Manufacturing, 20 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches, $190.
• Bitters bottle, Doyle’s Hop, cluster of hops, semi-cabin, deep amber, double collar, 1872, 10 inches, $575.
• Plastic aquarium figure, “Creature from the Black Lagoon,” air tube, moves, box, 1971, 6 inches, $635.
• Armoire, Adam style, walnut, carved, 5 drawers, paneled back, sides, c. 1890, 79 x 53 inches, $1,180.
• Advertising poster, Bartlett’s Blacking, leather, man, black boy valet, chromolithograph, c. 1863, 12 x 15 inches, $1,555.
• Art glass bowl, squat, folded design, peach, tan, color splashes, black lip, Dale Chihuly, 1984, 8 x 14 inches, $8,750.
Write to Kovels, Observer-Reporter, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.