Marilyn contacted WorthPoint, requesting information through Ask a Worthologist about an iron she owns that is in the shape of a steam locomotive. This figural iron is a unique household collectible, as only two other similar examples have been documented.

This locomotive-shaped iron, owned by a WorthPoint member who used WorthPoint’s consignment service to place it in auction, may go for more than $10,000 next month. With almost pristine original paint and pin striping, it is apparent that it was hardly used, if ever.

WorthPoint’s brokering program placed the E.B. Cosby Flat Iron in a specialized Iron auction to be held by the Simmons & Company Auctioneers on August 5 and 6, at the Cleveland Marriott Airport Hotel, Cleveland, Ohio. You can attend the auction in person, or watch it online www.proxibid.com/simmons. If you are an iron collector, you can appreciate how this is going to be a very interesting two-day auction, where a large number of unique irons will cross the block. It is possible that bidding on Marilyn’s very rare figural iron could go for more than $10,000.

With the additional weight of the alcohol fuel required to heat it, this locomotive-shaped steam iron would weigh in at a more than 10 pounds, and would have taken a woman with biceps like Popeye’s to use it. With almost pristine original paint and pin striping, it is apparent that it was hardly used, if ever.

Unfortunately, little to nothing is known about the maker of this piece, E.B. Cosby. It is possible that this unique figural iron was a presentation piece, or perhaps it was an example of the maker’s design and production capability.

This is a copy of a drawing of the iron from the original E.B. Cosby patent; many changes appear to have been made to make the iron much more functional. The turned wood handle has a wonderful appearance in the drawing, but would have played havoc and caused many blisters on the user’s hand.

Marilyn Detwiler, who found the iron while out shopping with her mother years ago, now has an empty space on the hearth of her fireplace where this amazing iron took center stage for years, being a topic of conservation to all who saw it. That empty spot is just waiting for Marilyn’s next Great Find.

Filed with alcohol fuel, Marilyn’s locomotive-shaped steam iron would weigh in at a more than 10 pounds, and would have taken a woman with biceps like Popeye’s to use it.

Some of the irons that will be auctioned off on Aug. 5-6 in Cleveland, Ohio, including Marilyn’s locomotive iron.

Lisa Townley’s great grandmother’s bride and groom “pulgas vestidas” or dressed fleas.

One of the most unusual and interesting Ask A Worthologist questions that we have come across was posed by Lisa Townley, a WorthPoint member from Texas, regarding a small matchbox that contained miniature wedding dress and tuxedo—worn by a flea bride and groom. Lisa told me that she remembered the small box from when she was a child; she was told it had belonged to her great grandmother. Lisa further remembered that when she was a child, the flea groom had a top hat and the flea bride a veil, which have since disappeared. Oh, the things that people did for entertainment before radios, TV and computers. Women sewed and dressed these fleas in very elaborate costumes. One can only imagine the hours spent laboring on the itty-bitty costumes. It’s an unusual form of folk art that has all but disappeared, and I wonder who had the job to catch the fleas. Mike Wilcox, one of WorthPoint’s Generalists Worthologist, did the valuation for Lisa.

Dressed fleas from the Tring Museum.

“Flea brides and grooms (dressed, but dead) were popular collector’s items in the 1920s,” Mike reported. “In Mexico during that period you, might find “pulgas vestidas“—or “dressed fleas”—for sale. Fleas were dressed in tiny costumes. The history of flea art appears to have originated in Mexican convents, and was later taken up by the general tourist trade during the early 1900s.” There were also traveling shows, carnivals and flea circuses that went from town to town, where the audiences were amazed by that they saw. Or, might I say, what they thought they saw. Trained fleas were pulling and pushing objects much larger and many times the flea’s weight, as well as performing other amazing gymnastic triumphs. There were many tricks of the trade that gave the illusion of the fleas doing these tricks and performing. The curiosity for the flea circus died out in the 1930s, due to the general public’s increase knowledge of hygiene. The dressed fleas survived on as folk art souvenirs a while longer, until around the 1960s. To take a look at this short video to see a flea circus in action, watch this video.

A poster for Profesor Likonti's Flea Circus.

Mike Wilcox placed a fair market value for the dressed fleas at $75. The dressed fleas ranked a rare factor of 5 on our scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being most rare. Lisa’s wedding fleas remind me of one of the great pleasures of being a collector: to put yourself, if even for an instant, in the mind set of the people who created and treasured things long ago. Although we will never know who sat sewing these tiny costumes, we do know that flea circuses were bringing pleasure and entertainment to people as early as 1833, as they were advertised in England at that time. And we can imagine that the fleas belong to Lisa’s great grandmother, who probably took this little couple home, and kept them as a reminder of a very special trip to the circus. I always think how fortunate it is when family members hold on to special mementos and pass them on to younger generations. This is one of those little things that so easily could have been tossed away and forgotten about, but thanks to Lisa’s relatives, we all got a little look into the past. Dressing fleas belongs to a bygone era, but you can still see videos of flea circuses and how fleas are “trained” in the Internet. While the idea of flea circuses is fun and nostalgic, the way the insects were “trained” is a different and less-pleasant story. You can read about some of training techniques here. You can also find a list of current flea circus performers.

————————-

WorthPoint’s Consignment and Brokering Service can make it easy for you to sell your valuable antiques and collectibles for the best price

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Join WorthPoint on Twitter and Facebook.

]]> http://www.worthpoint.com/blog-entry/dressed-fleas-flea-circus-necessarily/feed 4 http://www.worthpoint.com/blog-entry/big-finds-oddest-places%e2%80%94cut http://www.worthpoint.com/blog-entry/big-finds-oddest-places%e2%80%94cut#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:21:09 +0000 Maggie Turnipseed http://www.worthpoint.com/?p=2481449 I have always thought the life of an archeologist would be a life of excitement, with heart-racing finds from civilizations long gone. Bottle diggers must get the same type of excitement, when after hours of back breaking digging pays off as they unearth a wonderful old bottle fully intact.

An amethyst-colored Victorian lady’s flask found during a bottle dig at a site where an outhouse once sat. The owner of the flask used WorthPoint’s Ask a Worthologist service to determine its idently and fair-market value.

WorthPoint member Suzanne from Massachusetts must have had that same rush of excitement when, in 1980, when she found an incredible, cut-glass flask with a sterling top. Suzanne told me that she found the flask during a bottle dig. You must be thinking, “a big hole with a bunch of bottles just waiting to be discovered? “ And then think, “How did those bottles get there?”

Bottle digs are mostly nothing more than the excavation of an outhouse. There were no weekly garbage pickups. Much of the everyday trash was placed in the outhouse. Outhouse were known by many different names: Nessy, Privy, Thunder Box, Crapper, Back House; whatever it was called, they all served the same purpose. Every house and business had one prior to indoor running water and plumbing. Enquiring minds: Yes, everything that can decompose has decomposed over time.

The valuation on Suzanne’s flask was done by Audra Blevens, a generalist Worthologist for WorthPoint. The flask that Suzanne found was a ladies flask, very ornate, with a sterling hinged top. The glass flask was made of a layer of amethyst-colored glass and a layer of clear glass. The design is made when the amethyst layer was cut away to reveal the clear glass. There are English Hallmarks in the silver top, which dates the flask to Birmingham, England, and the year 1901. The maker’s marks B&F remain unidentified, but a fair market value of $300 to $350 was placed on the flask. Today flasks are highly desirable and collected, particularly ladies’ flasks, which were very ornate.

Some examples of Victorian ladies’ flasks. These items are available for purchase on GoAntiques.

Ladies did have flasks. There were many different reasons for ladies to carry a pocket flask like the one Suzanne found. Apparently, there was much more imbibing going on than is generally thought. Social drinking was widely acceptable in Victorian times, and doctors frequently prescribed alcoholic beverages to alleviate a host of ailments. It would be quite reasonable for a lady to have a flask full of brandy, gin, absinthe or any numbers of homemade or quack cures. Laudanum, a liquid made of opium and alcohol, was prescribed for pain, as a cough suppressant, for sleeping problems and to calm down fussy babies. Many doctors neglected to inform their patients that laudanum was highly addictive, which is just one more reason to carry a flask.

Who knows how that flask ended up where it did at the bottle dig. It could have been secretly hidden away in the Privy for years and forgotten, or dropped in the hole by mistake, with the owner not daring to go in after it. Perhaps, during prohibition, someone felt the need to discard it. However the flask landed where it did, Suzanne was very happy to have found it and is happy knowing just a little bit of history about it. If only the flask could talk.

If you have an item you’d like to know more about, Ask a Worthologist.

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Join WorthPoint on Twitter and Facebook.

‘The Myriopticon, A Historical Panorama: Rebellion’

The name “The Myriopticon, A Historical Panorama: Rebellion” is not one that rolls off the tongue very easily, and “Myriopticon” is a word very few of us have ever come across. But suppose you find yourself at a flea market and come across a cardboard box that sports the word Myriopticon and looks like it might contain an old game. Upon closer inspection, you find the name Milton Bradley printed on it along with an inscription in pencil, dating the box from the 1860s. You’ve never seen anything like this, but the price is set at just a couple of dollars. What do you do?

The inscription on the underside of the lid.

The interior of the box.

One of the scenes Milton Bradley copied from Harper's Weekly.

Another scene, this one of an artillery battery.

A battle scene. A script, which accompanied the Myricopticon, explained what was happening in each scene.

Well, WorthPoint member Kathleen, from North Carolina, came across such an item at a flea market some 13 or 14 years ago on the grounds of the Hershey Museum in Hershey, Pa. While looking at a table of odds and ends, she came across a small, colorful box. It read, “The Myriopticon A Historical Panorama Rebellion.” She recognized the name Milton Bradley, and when she opened the box, she saw that the colors of the contents were even brighter. Inscribed on the underside of the lid were the words: “Christmas 1869 from the clerks in Coley Newhaven, Conn.” Kathleen quickly made her purchase from the rather large, burly vendor. She can’t remember what she paid for it, but she is sure it was not more than a few dollars.

Like many flea-market finds, Kathleen set it aside for further investigation. Eventually, the small box ended up in storage and was forgotten. Recently, after moving, Kathleen came across the forgotten Myriopticon while going through some of her stored items. Wanting to know what this mysterious little box and contents were, she used the “Ask a Worthologist” feature on WorthPoint to obtain a valuation on the Milton Bradley game. Kathleen had done considerable research herself on the Internet, and she was looking for confirmation of her findings.

Liz Holderman, WorthPoint’s children’s books, toys and games Worthologist, did the valuation for Kathleen. Liz’s research confirmed much of what Kathleen had learned and much more.

Milton Bradley—a draftsman and printer from Springfield, Mass., who would become a household name for his board games—developed a boxed toy in 1868 that might be the seed that bloomed into today’s home theaters. The Myriopticon was a social/political statement of the day, The box simulated a staged show with a roll of paper depicting several scenes. The original box included the panorama, two winding cranks, a large advertising poster (measuring nearly 16″ x 11″), an eight-page booklet of instructions, a pair of admission tickets and a script, or “lecture.” Bradley copied the pictures depicting scenes from the Civil War from the magazine Harper’s Weekly himself, starting with General Anderson and his men entering Fort Sumter and ending with the burning and evacuation of Richmond. Bradley also wrote the script.

The instructions suggested placing a lit candle behind the panorama in a darkened room to illuminate the scenes as a narrator read the script while turning the rollers. There are variations and different editions of the panorama itself, which were updated to keep up with the current developments. Different editions contain 22 to 29 scenes, and some have scenes advertising other Milton Bradley toys.

While the panorama was not complete, Liz judged that the condition of the paper scroll and brightness of color was excellent. The Myriopticon is an amazing toy that provides a visual history of the Civil War in scrolling scenes. It is a fabulous piece and valued by both Civil War collectors and by toy collectors. Kathleen was very pleased with a fair-market value estimation of $6,000 to $7,000.

If you are in the area of Hershey, Pa., the 14th Annual Museum Car Show & Flea Market will beheld on June 27, 2009.

To view a working example of this panorama, click here.

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Join WorthPoint on Twitter and Facebook.

The word “chatelaine” means keeper of the castle. The person trusted to have the keys.

For many years, ladies wore the tools that they needed for the day’s activities. These tools or implements were clasped to the waist because clothing of 1780 did not have pockets. A clip or a brooch with chains were used to suspend the tools. If you are interested in buying a chatelaine, do your homework, as chatelaines have been reproduced for years.

Chatelaines might be comprised of items all used for one task…sewing, for instance… or a combination of various tools that suited the wearer. The later chatelaines of the 1900’s era were dance chatelaines. There was a finger ring with chains and they could hold a compact for powder, a perfume vial, aide de memoire (a note pad), pencil, and perhaps a coin holder. The finger ring chatelaine especially was the precursor of today’s purse.

Chatelaines were made of precious and non-precious metals; they could be simple or very ornamented with embossed work, pierced work, enamel and gem stones. They were made of materials such as gold, sterling, gold wash, and cut steel.

Chatelaines might be comprised of items all used for one task, sewing, for instance, or a combination of various tools that suited the wearer. Some were matching sets, like cut steel chatelaines, and others were compiled over time by the owner, especially the sterling chatelaines. Sometimes a chatelaine would hold a single watch. Most fashionable from about 1870 to the 1920’s, they remain popular with collectors today.

Tea balls, also known as tea infusers and tea eggs, were most popular around 1890 to 1910. Tea balls are perforated metal ball-shaped containers in which tea leaves are placed. The infuser/tea ball is placed in a cup or pot of hot or boiling water, allowing the tea to brew without loose tea leaves spilling into the pot or cup. A chain is commonly attached to the container of the infuser to make retrieval from the pot or cup easier.

The number and shapes and different styles is quite astounding. A fierce competition between silversmiths produced some of the most beautifully crafted tea balls that are now highly sought after by collectors.

Tea balls were not produced in the United States until after 1880 but quickly became popular in many American homes. Two well-known American makers were Tiffany and Gorham, but many other companies made high quality tea balls as well.

In the early 1900s, New York tea merchant William Sullivan began sell his tea in silk sachets instead of small tins to reduce the cost. With his cost cutting move he unknowingly developed the tea bag. From that point on, tea balls/infusers quickly fell out of favor to the convenience of tea bags.

How to use a tea ball
One of the most common mistakes made when using a tea infuser is to over fill it. When it’s packed too full the tea leaves aren’t able to open up fully and release their flavor. In addition, tea leaves will escape and end up floating around in your tea cup. Only fill the bottom half of the infuser; this can best be done by using the bottom half like a spoon to scoop up the tea leaves, then tapping the infuser lightly to shake out any excess tea. After it’s filled, close the infuser and you’re all ready to make your cup of tea.

What size tea ball should you use?

Use a 1.75″ ball for small cup sizes
Use a 2″ ball for large cup sizes
Use a 2.5″ ball for a small teapot
Use a 3″ ball for a large teapot or iced tea pitcher

Additional information

A great book on tea balls is:
Sterling Tea Balls Date: 1997
Shapiro, Dottie and Seymour. Silver Tea Balls. Great North Coast Tea Company, PO Box 2974, Gary, IN 46403, 1997.

A fabulous website you have to visit,with the largest collection of tea infusers you will ever see in one place : http://www.teainfusers.com

Have you ever passed up purchasing a wonderful piece of art pottery, flow blue, transferware or any other collectable ceramic or porcelain because it had horrible crazing or other stains? I know I have. Condition, condition, condition is the mantra that has been drilled into our heads. Only buy the best when purchasing our collectables and antiques.

However, it is possible to improve the condition of your china, pottery and porcelain finds using a cleaning solution.

Here’s the method I use to make my art pottery, porcelain and china bright and white.

The 40% peroxide solution

First, use only 40% hydrogen peroxide. This is not the peroxide you buy at the drug store. You need to buy the stronger type that is found at a beauty supply store. Always wear protective gloves to protect your skin from the burning peroxide.

I usually use a good size plastic storage container that can be sealed. I use plastic storage boxes that are large enough to lay a platter flat on the bottom. I will generally purchase 3 to 4 large 32 oz bottles of peroxide and pour into the plastic container. I soak the items sometimes for a month, and up to 6 months. I like my items to be completely covered as they soak.

The peroxide loses strength over time. You will know when to replace the peroxide because it tends to get discolored, and starts to have an odor. The brown crazing is usually old grease that has become trapped in the crazing of the glaze. This old grease darkens with age.

If I have a piece of porcelain that is more delicate, and I don’t want it soaking in peroxide for any length of time, I simply wrap the piece in old white rags soaked in peroxide, only putting the wet rags on the spots that need whitening. I place it in a large trash bag, and seal it. If using trash bag method, the rags will need re-soaking every few days, as they dry out.

Clean your pieces very carefully

Use great care with any cleaning method. It’s a good idea to try the method on an inexpensive piece before attempting to clean valuable pieces. After you have the piece as clean as you can, wash it with soap and warm water to clean off and residue of the peroxide.

NEVER USE CHORINE BLEACH! This will destroy the pottery, porcelain or ceramic piece. It literally eats it from the inside out. It makes the glaze flake of the piece.

Also, please make sure that you carefully look over any piece that you are going to soak. If restoration or repair has been made on a piece of pottery, porcelain or ceramic, chances are the piece will be ruined in this cleaning process. If in doubt ask a specialist in restorations before you try this.

Along the way, I try not to over-clean a piece. I don’t want to remove all the age; I just want the piece to display nicely. And if I’m careful, that’s just what happens.

Careful cleaning gets great results

Bear in mind, though, that I have even used this method on a piece of Limoges that was trimmed in gold, and it did not harm the gilt design, even though it was so badly discolored it had to soak for months.

As you’ll see, with patience, a little work and a lot of time, a bargain-priced and slightly-damaged collectable can be cleaned and its value increased.

Hat Pins, a Deadly Weapon?
In the 1890‘s enormous hair and hats was all the rage. Hatpins/Hat pins were made not for style but out of necessity. Up to 6 hatpins could be used at one time, some being up to eighteen inches long, to make sure that a fashionable woman with her hair in an up do and her chapeau did not have any issues with the wind. The bigger the hair do resulted in even bigger hats.

Imagine what it would have been like when a Judge passed a law that limited the length of one’s hat pin. That’s exactly what happened in 1908; a judge ruled that the length of a hat pin could not exceed the length of nine inches. The courts were afraid that suffragettes would use their hatpins as weapons. Many women had to cut length off their hatpins and trim the size of their hats to stay within the laws. Today a hat pin is still considered a concealed weapon in the city of Chicago.

Collecting antique hat pins can be rewarding. Make sure that you take the time to research and learn about them before you buy as there have been reproductions made for years. Hatpins can range in value from $20. up to the $1000’s A great source of information is The American Hatpin Society http//americanhatpinsociety.com

Collectors of vintage hat pins often also collect hat pin holders, which are recognized by their series of tiny holes for keeping a wide range of pins at hand on a lady’s vanity for all occasions. Often made of porcelain or metal, these holders can sometimes sell for thousands of dollars at auctions or estate sales.

There are many types of collectible plastics. Distinguishing their traits and characteristics can be challenging.

Bakelite is the most popular and most widely collected vintage plastic. In 1909, Dr. Leo Baekeland patented the process of making Bakelite out of phenol formaldehyde. Bakelite can be molded or carved into almost any shape. Because of its versatility, Bakelite was sometimes called “The Material of a Thousand Uses.” It was widely used for jewelry, crib toys, cutlery, kitchenware, napkin rings and containers. Because of its heat resistance, it was used in electrical devices and radios, too.

Bakelite was made in many colors. As it ages, it develops a patina that darkens or yellows the color.

Modern Bakelite artists make wonderful jewelry out of old Bakelite stock. They clearly mark their pieces and sell them as newly crafted items that are collectible in their own right. Carving old Bakelite yourself produces a dangerous dust, so leave this to professionals.

There are several simple tests to determine if a piece is made of Bakelite. Always clean the surface of the piece with a damp cloth or your test results may be misleading.

1. Rub the item vigorously with your thumb until you feel the plastic heat up. Warmed Bakelite will produce a distinctive formaldehyde odor, similar to the medicinal smell of an old Band-Aid. Some find this test to be more effective by holding the piece under hot tap water. This smell test works especially well with Bakelite bangle bracelets.

2. Bakelite is denser than other plastics. A Bakelite piece will feel heavier than other plastics of comparable size.

3. Listen for the telltale “clunk” when two pieces of Bakelite are tapped together.

4. There are no mold marks in Bakelite pieces.

5. To test by chemical, dip a cotton swab in Formula 409 household cleaner and touch a small area of the piece that won’t be visible. If the piece is vintage Bakelite, the patina will show up as a yellow stain on the cotton swab. (EXCEPTION: black bakelite does not always turn yellow.) Quickly rinse the cleaner off the tested spot.

6. A safer chemical test uses Simichrome metal polish, which can be purchased at most hardware stores. Dip a cloth in Simichrome and rub gently on a non-visible part of the object. If it is Bakelite, it will leave a yellow residue on the polishing cloth – even black Bakelite! Try not to over-polish with Simichrome because it will remove the patina.

7. There is a material out there called Fakelite. It can be distinguished by a chalky appearance in the ridges of carving. This looks like dust, but will not wash away.

Celluloid jewelry dates to about 1900 and was quite popular during the Art Deco period. Celluloid items tend to be thinner and lighter than Bakelite. Celluloid can be damaged by moisture, temperature extremes or chemicals. To test Celluloid, dip an inconspicuous edge of the piece into hot tap water for three seconds. Celluloid will smell like vinegar or camphor.

Lucite is a resin created by DuPont in 1937. It was widely used in jewelry and accessories. While still produced, its popularity peaked in 1940-1953. Lucite feels slick and light. It has no odor.

French Galalith, also know as French Bakelite, is a milk-based plastic. It feels solid and weighty like Bakelite, but does not respond to typical testing.

It’s called a Tussie Mussie, a Posey Holder, Nose Gay, or a Porte-Bouque. The names are different, but they are the same thing – a small, cone-shaped flower holder that holds a very small bouquet.

This antique lady’s accessory usually was made of silver or other metals, or, in its simplest form, a wrapping of lace and ribbon around the flowers themselves. A long pin held the flowers in place. Most had a finger ring that allowed the Posey Holder to dangle while ladies attended to other duties.

These accessories were created in medieval times, but became widely used in the Victorian Era. There were practical reasons for a lady carry a tussie mussie (or tussy mussy) beyond a love of flowers. Personal hygiene was not a priority and public sanitation was poor. A walk down the city street was much like a walk down an open sewer. Women would hold these tiny, fresh nosegays close to their faces to sniff the fragrant leaves and mask the odors of their surroundings.

What a lady carried in her tussie mussie was important, too. Flower appreciation (sometimes formally known as The Language of Flowers) was a course offered in Ladies finishing schools. There was meaning or symbolism associated with each and every flower, leaf or herb included in a bouquet. It was very important for that young lady to know the meaning or the message behind the flowers that her admirer sent. Victorian brides often walked down the aisle carrying these elaborate and beautiful bouquets.

For collectors today, the tussie mussie is a desirable antique. An exceptional example made of silver and semi-precious stones may sell for $1,000 or more. There are attractive silver-plated reproductions that are useable for $25 or less, and could also be the starting point for your collection.

Some flowers and their meanings:
• Basil – Best Wishes;
• Rose – Congratulations, Love;
• Ivy – Friendship;
• Lavender – Success, Luck and Happiness;
• Three Leaf Clover – The Holy Trinity;
• Mint – Warmth of Feelings;
• Pansy – Loving Thoughts.