Collectors search for vintage holiday pieces

Easter bunnies are older than you think.

They were part of pre-Christian fertility stories, and since rabbits are known to have many, many babies, they are symbols of new life in the spring.

They first became the symbol of Easter in Germany in the 1500s.

But it took until the 1800s before edible Easter bunnies in the form of sugared pastries became part of the celebration.

The bunny came to America with some settlers from Germany who immigrated to Pennsylvania in the 1700s.

The “Oschter Haws” (Easter Bunny) was popular with children who were told that if they were good, they would find a nest of colored eggs left by the bunny.

The children made a nest in the house or yard using a hat and hoped for some eggs.

The nest later became an Easter basket.

Easter celebrations in the 19th century, especially in Germany, included all sorts of rabbits and bunnies.

Stuffed toys were popular, along with carved wooden toys, candy containers, iron doorstops, mechanical walking rabbits and even automatons in the form of fur-covered bunnies holding Easter baskets.

Many collectors search for vintage pieces made for a specific holiday.

Most popular is Christmas, then Halloween, then the Fourth of July or Easter.

If you prefer Easter, don’t ignore postcards, greeting cards, table and wall decorations and, of course, all sorts of special eggs that still are often inexpensive.

Q. We have a B.L. Marble office chair and would like to know what it’s worth. Can you help?

A. The B.L. Marble Chair Co.’s history can be traced back to 1894, when Barzilla L. Marble (1851-1932) founded a chair- manufacturing business in Bedford, Ohio. It made household chairs until 1910, then started manufacturing office furniture, including chairs. The company closed in 1985. B.L. Marble office chairs sell for $25 to $200, depending on age and condition.

Q. I was one of many women who worked as welders at the Kaiser Shipyards in Oregon during World War II. When my husband returned to the States and called me to meet him in California, I quit my job. I never cashed the last payroll check I received from Kaiser in 1945. After deductions, including one for a war bond, my check totaled 3 cents. It’s a keepsake, but I’m wondering if it has any monetary value.

A. There were seven Kaiser Shipyards on the West Coast during World War II. Four were in the San Francisco Bay area, where today there’s a park dedicated to Rosie the Riveter — the symbol of women’s contributions to the war effort. It’s called “Rosie the Riveter World War II/Home Front National Historical Park” and is located in Richmond. The first Kaiser Shipyard was established in San Francisco Bay in December 1940 by Henry Kaiser. At that point, Kaiser was building ships for England. Your check in the amount of 3 cents might be of interest to the park or another historical society dedicated to World War II. Its value to a collector would be minimal.

Q. I have a small watercolor of a village market in a landscape that I bought in 1992. It is by Edward Dobrotka, who is a listed artist. He is best remembered today as an “inker” for the Superman comics and several other early comic books. Do collectors of comic books care about anything but the original comic strips, or would they want to buy a painting by one of the comic artists?

A. Dobrotka is not a major name among comic-book artists and a landscape is not closely related to the look of a strip. Your painting will not bring a higher price because of the comic connection. Perhaps the only comic artist today whose art is wanted by comic-book collectors is Frank Frazetta (1928-2010), who drew important fantasy comics.

Q. Many fortunate baby boomers are inheriting their relatives’ tea sets, but there seems to be no practical use for them. My question is, are they worth more than their weight in silver? I cannot find a set like mine. It was purchased 65 years ago in Mexico and is marked “PG Sterling Mexico.” The handles on the lids are 3-D figures of dogs. The teapots, creamer and sugar are modern-looking flattened globes. Some of the handles and hinged parts look as if they were riveted in place.

A. Your silver was made at Platerk Guadalajare in Guadalajara, Mexico. A modern-looking set with unusual trim like yours should sell for more than the meltdown value. But selling any silverware or silver jewelry is very tricky today. Dealers go to auctions and sales with a small scale to check meltdown value. Coin silver items, especially thin spoons, are not popular, so many are melted. Sets of silver knives, forks and spoons must be complete to sell. That means eight or 12 of each item. Only Georg Jensen and Tiffany partial sets seem to sell. But Mexican silver, handmade American silver of the past 75 years, Danish silver and some types of English silver sell as art — good design and popular makers attract higher prices. Because the cost of the metal has gone up so much in the past year, the value of your tea set has gone up. Even if you sell it for scrap, you will make a profit.

Tip

Times change and products change, so shortcut tips for cleaning have changed too.

Don’t use tartar-control or whitening toothpaste to clean silver.

Don’t use grainy bread to clean wallpaper; just use plain commercial white bread.

Don’t use a feather duster; it just spreads dirt. Buy a new “picks-up-the-dust” cloth.

Terry Kovel answers as many questions as possible through the column. By sending a letter with a question, you give full permission for use in the column or any other Kovel forum. Names, addresses or e-mail addresses will not be published. We cannot guarantee the return of any photograph, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. The volume of mail makes personal answers or appraisals impossible. Write to Kovels, The Vindicator, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019. For more information, visit Kovels.com.

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