THE KOVELS | Antiques and Collecting Shellwork carries mark of seaside locations

Shells have been collected for centuries.
In the 19th century, shells were made into souvenirs at many seaside resorts.
Small boxes, bouquets, plaques or figurines were made to be sold to tourists. Some pieces were in unusual shapes, such as shoes, mirrors or small bureaus. Many included the name of the town or island.
Experts can recognize the types of shells and tell where the souvenirs were really made.
In the past, as well as now, shellwork pieces were sometimes made where shells are plentiful, then shipped to other shops.
Today, small shellwork figures and boxes with paper labels on the bottom that say "Made in China" can be found in the Bahamas and the Caribbean islands.
The 19th- and early 20th-century shellwork is usually made of cardboard that's painted inside and out and then covered with shells.
Modern boxes have less detail and often no paint.
Q. My wife paid about $600 for a modern-looking dinette set in the early 1970s. I know it's not an antique, but it's interesting and I'm thinking about selling it. The chairs are a smoky-colored hard plastic with furry yellow cushions. Each one has a plastic pedestal base. The round table has the same kind of base, but the tabletop is glass. The only label I can find says "Chromcraft." Can you give me any information?
A. Chromcraft was a subsidiary of Knoll, a well-known manufacturer of midcentury modern furniture. Your set was based on the "Tulip" chair and table created in the mid-1950s by Eero Saarinen, a famous American architect and furniture designer. The Tulip dining set was manufactured by Knoll in the '50s using fiberglass and aluminum. In the late 1960s, Chromcraft produced the same design in Lucite and glass. A Chromcraft set in original condition sells today for roughly the same price as your wife paid for it.
Q. My old crib toy is on a cord that can be stretched across the bars of a crib so a small baby can play with it. What's unusual about mine is that the three teething rings (two elephants and a circle) on the hanging strings are made of Bakelite. Across the bar are the words "Crib Circus, An Alan-Jay Product, N.Y.C." Can you provide any history?
A. Crib toys made of Bakelite and other brands of phenolic cast resin, an early synthetic plastic, were introduced in the 1930s. That is probably when your toy was made. Vintage Bakelite jewelry sells quickly and for high prices. Crib toys like yours are not as popular. But we have seen a toy similar to yours offered at auction for $200.
Q. I inherited a china platter from my mother-in-law, who inherited it from her mother. The platter is white with a mishmash of decorations in shades of brown. About two-thirds of the surface is decorated with a scene of a town and trees. The other one-third has sections with floral and geometric designs. There are three marks on the bottom: a crown-and-shield with the words "T. & amp;R. Boote, England," the word "Yosemite" and an English registry mark. The registry mark has a Roman numeral IV at the top and under that, clockwise, a 13, K, C and 17. Can this help identify the maker and date when it was made?
A. The wonderful thing about an English registry mark is that it dates a plate precisely. Yours left the pottery at T. & amp;R. Boote Ltd. in Staffordshire, England, on Jan. 13, 1883 (the 13 in the mark is the day of the month, the C refers to the month of January, and the K refers to the year 1883). "Yosemite" is the name of the pattern.
Q. My mother paid $25 for a tall, silver-trimmed pitcher at a recent auction in North Dakota. It's 10 inches tall and sits on a matching 6-inch base. It's marked "St. Louis Silver Co., Quadruple." Can you tell me anything about it?
A. The trim on your mother's pitcher is silver-plated. The word "quadruple" means that the trim has four layers of silver plating. The St. Louis Silver Co. was in business in St. Louis, Mo., from about 1893 to 1912. The pitcher is worth about $300, so your mother paid a bargain price.
Q. My mother gave me an 11-by-14-inch cardboard advertising sign that she had for 40 years. It's dark green with a big, round, yellow moon behind a little black girl eating a slice of watermelon. The words on the sign include "Picaninny Freeze, 5 cents" and "Hendler's Ice Cream, The Velvet Kind." There's a 1922 copyright date on the front of the sign, but no manufacturer's name anywhere. Can you suggest a value?
A. Your Picaninny Freeze ice-cream sign is well-known among collectors of advertising and black memorabilia. Because the sign is famous, it has been widely reproduced in both tin and cardboard. If yours is in excellent condition and you can prove that it is old, it could sell for $200. Because the age of a cardboard sign is hard to prove, most Picaninny Freeze signs sell for about $50. Hendler's Ice Cream was a famous Baltimore brand from 1905 until the 1960s.
Tip
It can be hard to thread a needle, especially with the old pure-cotton thread that should be used for repairing old fabric. Put hairspray on the end of the thread to stiffen it. Or use a wire needle-threader.
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