THE KOVELS | Antiques and collecting Clever designs gave banks appeal

Thrift is a virtue that was once taught from childhood.
Banks that seemed like toys were made to help make saving money more fun.
The complicated iron mechanical banks of the late 19th century were designed so a penny saved would trip a lever that made birds flap their wings or a donkey kick. The banks were expensive to manufacture.
By the 1920s, many clever banks were made from lithographed tin. These banks sometimes had moving parts. Most were made in comic shapes with brightly colored decorations.
Collectors might find iron banks too expensive, but tin banks -- even those made in the 1920s -- are still affordable.
We have seen banks shaped like Humpty Dumpty, a man, a stove, a radio, a windmill, a globe, a child's head and even a sewing machine.
Another group of advertising banks was made in the 1950s. Some were shaped like cans for real products such as Old Dutch Cleanser, Camel cigarettes, Calumet Baking Powder and many brands of motor oil.
Questions
Q. I have a very old Milton Bradley boxed game called "Happy Harry Ring Toss." The cover pictures a clown wearing a red-and-green hat. I have all of the game pieces. I would like to know what it's worth.
A. Milton Bradley (1836-1911) opened a lithography business in Springfield, Mass., in 1860. Within a year or so, he produced his first board game, "The Checkered Game of Life." It sold so well that by the end of the decade, his company was manufacturing various board games, game manuals, children's books and educational materials. Your game was manufactured around 1900. It sells today for about $75 if it's in very good condition. Milton Bradley Co. was acquired by Hasbro in 1984.
Q. My antique wooden shelf clock has a glass door with two sections. The upper section covers the clock face, which has Arabic numerals and no second hand. A portrait of Daniel Webster is painted on the inside of the lower half of the door. Inside the bottom half of the clock, there's a paper label that reads "Modern Improved Clocks, made by Riley Whiting, Winchester, Conn." The clock is 32 inches tall by 173/4 inches wide, with a curved and stenciled top. The clock works but doesn't keep time very well. I bought it 25 years ago at a farm auction in New Hampshire. Can you tell me anything about it?
A. Riley Whiting and two partners started a clock-making business in Winchester, Conn., in 1807. One of Whiting's partners died, and the other retired about 1819. Whiting mainly manufactured 30-hour wooden movement and tall-case clocks until 1828. After that, his expanding company started making shelf clocks. Whiting died in 1835. By 1841, his company had become Clark, Gilbert & amp; Co. So your clock was originally manufactured sometime between 1828 and 1841. Its value depends on many factors, including condition, quality, repairs and maintenance. Have an expert look at it. It could be worth $200 or $2,000.
Q. I have a collection of pressed glass that I inherited from my mother. It still sits on a kitchen windowsill in our house in California. The pieces have all turned beautiful shades of lavender. Is this good or bad for the value?
A. Before about 1905, American manufacturers of pressed glass used manganese oxide to make the glass clear. It was later discovered that glass with manganese oxide gradually "purples" if it is exposed to sunlight -- or to ultraviolet light of any kind. The process cannot be reversed. Some collectors of old pressed glass buy only pieces that have not purpled. Others don't care. And still others like the color if it's not too dark. During the 1960s, some dealers in sunny states deliberately exposed old glassware and bottles to sunlight because they wanted the glass to turn purple. Today some people expose their glass to radiation using modern machinery. This turns the glass dark purple.
Q. I have had a small Elvis Presley suitcase since I was a kid, in the mid-1950s. The case is 12 by 8 by 6 inches and has black-and-white photos of Elvis all over it. The trim and the plastic handle on the top are blue. The bottom is marked "Copyright 1956, Elvis Presley Enterprises, All Rights Reserved." Can you tell me what it's worth?
A. Elvis Presley Enterprises was incorporated in the spring of 1956 to copyright and market Elvis memorabilia. That's the same year Elvis hit the national scene and had five No. 1 singles. Your overnight case was one of more than 180 licensed Elvis products introduced in 1956-'57. All of these early products are wanted by Elvis collectors. An overnight case like yours auctioned in 2002 for $370.
Tip
Keep photographs away from a humid environment. High humidity causes the images to deteriorate. And any form of glue will harm the pictures.
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