THE KOVELS | Antiques and collecting If it's got a logo on it, someone's looking for it
There are many collectors of old advertising -- signs, figures, cans, bottles, giveaways, grocery-store products, auto-related items, paint cans, flower seeds -- anything that shows a company name or logo are popular.
Less well-known are advertising pieces for pottery and porcelain.
Eighteenth-century Chinese Export plates have been found with many different borders or center designs. The plates must have been sent to England from Asia to help a buyer select a china pattern.
Popular with salesmen
In the 19th century, samples of pitchers that could easily be carried to customers were popular with American salesmen. These were flat versions of actual pitchers, showing just the front and part of the handle. Potteries also made oversized pitchers for display in stores.
By the early 20th century, salesmen would carry samples of special-order dinner sets. Many different restaurant or school logos were shown on one plate. Today, this plate is worth about $100 to $150. Sometimes you can find a glazed sample with many sections. Each glaze was a different color.
Ceramic "giveaways," ashtray-size dishes with the name of the factory on it, are the most popular.
Sometimes a full-size dinner plate was made with an advertisement, including a slogan and a logo for the pottery company. A few factories gave away paperweights with the company name in hopes these would be displayed on a desk to remind store owners to buy more dishes.
By the 1930s, pottery and porcelain companies made plaques to be displayed in stores alongside dishes. These sell for about $150 to $200 each. Some are still being made.
Q. In the 1950s, my dad traded a horse (really!) for a matching chair and couch upholstered in wine-colored, over-stuffed mohair. The upholstery is attached to the wood frame with decorative steel tacks. The frame is visible only at the front edges. The labels read "Pullman Quality Living Room Furniture, Chicago."
A. The Pullman Couch Co. was founded in Chicago in 1906 by Jacob Schnadig and his brother-in-law, Julius Kramer. The two gave the name "Pullman" to the small furniture-manufacturing business because they planned the new company while eating lunch in the Pullman Building on Michigan Ave. The Pullman Couch Co. made parlor suites like yours and overstuffed rockers. What made the business profitable, however, was a patent it bought for an inner-mattress davenport-bed. Pullman was in business until 1954, when it became the Schnadig Corporation. Schnadig is still working near Chicago.
Q. You ran a picture of a toy motorcycle in a column. I had no idea these could be valuable. I have a windup motorcycle toy that I know is original, because it was given to me in 1936, when I was 6. Mine is lithographed tin and is marked "Marx." A policeman is riding the cycle. When you wind it up, it travels around in a circle and falls over on its side. But then it rights itself and continues around, making another circle and repeating the falling/getting up pattern.
A. Louis Marx & amp; Co. introduced your "Police Tipover Motorcycle" toy in 1933. It originally sold for 59 cents. Depending on condition, it could sell for more than $150 today. The original box, in excellent condition, triples the value.
When buying antiques, beware of stickers, Magic Marker numbers or other dealer-added labels that might damage the surface. Any sticky tape or label will mark paper or paint finishes. Metal with an oxidized finish is damaged when ink marks are removed. Pencil or pen notations often leave indentations.
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