Nov 23, 2013 4 min read

It’s time to think about Thanksgiving and the abundant dinner expected for the holiday. Tradition today suggests a menu of turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce, creamed onions, sweet potatoes and apple or pumpkin pie. A green-bean casserole and deep-fried turkey are newer ideas. But the first Thanksgiving probably featured very different food: deer, turkey, wild birds, perhaps even passenger pigeons, fish, clams, mussels, some nuts and a grain called maize that was used to make bread. But by later Colonial times, pies were popular for a main course when filled with meat and for dessert when made with fruit.

There were no refrigerators, not even ice boxes, but a cooked pie could be safely stored for about a week if kept away from bugs and mice. A “pie safe” was used for food storage by the 19th century, especially in the Midwest. A wooden cupboard on four tall thin legs was made with shelves and drawers. But the sides and the cupboard doors had panels made of pierced tin. The sharp edges of the holes kept out most creatures and the holes let in air so the cooked fruit did not create mold. The cabinet was kept on a porch on the cool, shaded side of the house. Collectors today like handmade informal kitchen furniture.

The best pie safes had tin panels with the holes placed in attractive patterns. Sometimes the tin or the wood was painted. Some experts today say a pie can stay on a shelf for two or three days and still be OK to eat. Refrigerating a fruit pie lowers the quality the pie.

Q. My mother has some Royal Doulton figurines of women dressed in elaborate ruffled hoop skirts, bonnets and shawls. But one figurine seems a bit risque for Royal Doulton. She is wearing a tight, revealing dress while sprawled on a couch. Could it be a fake?

A. The Royal Doulton figurines made by Doulton and Co. after 1902 were made to sell in gift shops. Most of the figurines were sentimental, lovable, beautiful ladies from a more romantic century.

But one of Doulton’s designers, Leslie Harradine, made small anthropomorphic animals and other figures that were unusual. He designed several figurines of women lounging on couches in provocative poses. One called “Dreamland,” made in the 1930s, was in the Art Deco style. Another, “Siesta,” made between 1928 and 1938, featured a shapely blond in a flimsy dress leaning on a sofa covered with a pink shawl. Both of these figurines are rare and expensive today. Siesta sold in 2013 for $1,560. Dreamland was listed a few years ago for $7,000, but is worth a little less today. The fame of the artist is the reason the figurines sell for high prices.

Q. A gumball machine was left in a commercial building we bought back in 1968. There is a one-cent decal on the glass top. A metal label on the silver lip where the gum comes out reads, “Parkway Machine Corp., 715 Ensor St., Baltimore 2. Md.” Can you give me any information about the machine?

A. Parkway Machine was founded in 1938 by Irv Kovens. He was a Baltimore cab driver who repaired and sold stamp machines on the side. Parkway Machine initially repaired vending machines. The company began selling vending machines and supplies in 1941. Your gumball machine was made between 1943, when one- or two-digit postal zone numbers were first used, and 1963, when five-digit ZIP codes were introduced. In 1999 the company’s name became A&A Global Industries. It’s still in business, run by members of the Kovens family, but is now based in Cockeysville, Md.

Tip: When cleaning a chandelier, do not spin it around. This could damage the wiring or the chain holding it. Instead of moving the fixture, move your ladder around it.

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.

• Bed warmer, copper, pierced bird design, long wooden handle, c. 1865, 43 inches, $180.

• Tiffany pie server, silver, Thanksgiving pattern, serrated edge, year 2000, 10 5/8 inches, $190.

• Honey pot, glass, silver base and lid, embossed Hebrew text, c. 1980, 3 3/4 inches, $225.

• Wedgwood pie dish, lid, caneware, relief-molded game and grapevines, hare finial, oval, c. 1860, 12 inches, $250.

• Horse-drawn toy dray wagon, driver, cast iron, red paint, Wilkins, 20 1/2 inches, $305.

• Spode Thanksgiving plates, central turkey, flower and fruit border, 10 3/4 inches, 12 pieces, $325.

• Shaker box, pine and maple, Mt. Lebanon, N.Y., c. 1850, 1 3/4 x 4 inches, $375.

• Arts & Crafts umbrella stand, oak, tapered, c. 1915, 30 x 15 inches, $565.

• John. F. Kennedy press pin, Election Night pass, green, cardboard back, 1960, 3 1/2 inches, $2,210.

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