This 1906 Rock Island Railroad reverse glass train sign, measuring eight feet long and in the original frame, netted $71,500 in an auction facilitated by Showtime Auction Services.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – An 8-foot-long 1906 Rock Island Railroad reverse glass train sign brought $71,500 at an auction held Sept.30-Oct. 2 by Showtime Auction Services, at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds in Ann Arbor. It was a new auction record for an 8-foot Rock Island sign, more than doubling the previous record of $30,000. It was also the top lot of the sale.

If a Rock Island Railroad sign rings a bell, it’s because another sign for the same railroad, also from around the turn of the century but of a different size and look, soared to $165,000 at Showtime’s last big auction, held April 1-3, also in Ann Arbor. It was the most ever paid for an advertising sign, a record that still stands today. Both signs were housed in original gilt frames.

This Yeungling’s Beer reverse glass sign, made by the John L. Dawes Mfg. Co., drew a $43,125-winning bid.

The sign (99 inches by 24 inches overall) was designed by the same maker of the Pullman Car chandeliers. It was given to the Western Sandblasting Company in Chicago, with a contract to produce 50 more. It is also quite possibly the only one with verbiage on the original frame and sign. It was considered highly desirable to collectors, with the train in the foreground.

The auction attracted around 250 people a day on the first two days and about 200 people on the last day. Internet bidding (facilitated by LiveAuctioneers and iCollector) was brisk, with nearly 1,500 online bidders (a record for Showtime). Phone and absente bids were also recorded. Overall, close to 2,000 lots changed hands in an auction that grossed $1.6 million.

“This was our biggest and best fall auction ever, no doubt,” said Michael Eckles of Showtime Auction Services. “I was very pleased with the level of Internet bidding activity, which I know was driven by factors such as increased travel costs and the hassles of airport security. But the in-house crowd was great, too, and they really got into the spirit of the event.”

Headlining the auction was the lifetime country store, advertising and toy collection of Mike and Colleen Empey. The sale also featured barber shop, coin-op, gambling, folk art, toys, banks, Coca-Cola and other soda, gum, candy, firearms and gunpowder, tobacciana, coffee, salesmen’s samples, whiskey, breweriana, petroliana, automobilia, match safes and pedal cars.

Following are additional highlights from the sale (all prices quoted include a 10-percent buyer’s premium for in-house sales or an 18-percent buyer’s premium for Internet bidders):

• A circa-1880s Cigar Store Indian attributed to Thomas Brooks, 69 inches tall, in excellent condition, brought $49,500; a Yuengling’s Beer reverse glass sign, made by the John L. Dawes Mfg. Co. (Pottsdown, Pa.), in near-mint condition, realized $43,125; and a Moose Beer reverse glass sign, made by Duluth & Malting Brewing Co. (Duluth, Minn.), near-mint, rose to $38,500.

This Alcazar cigar tin manufactured by the American Can Company in mint condition sold for $9,350.

• An extremely rare John Deere sand and wood one-sided sign, one of only two known and in excellent condition, breezed to $14,960; a rare oak six-foot double tower showcase with nickel corners (69 inches by 35 inches), in remarkable shape, climbed to $13,750; and a scarce Heinz Pickles string holder, near-mint and the best example ever offered by Showtime, made $12,100.

• A circa-1840s museum-quality Dutch child’s sled, exquisitely hand-painted with swans and other birds and in excellent condition, with a beautiful patina, coasted to $12,100; an inlaid gold quartz match safe with multi-colored diamond pattern and engraved detail throughout went for $10,620; and an Oak Motor Oil two-sided ‘lollipop’ porcelain sign, near mint, made $10,350.

• An Alcazar cigar tin with exceptional graphics and color, made by the American Can Co., in mint condition, commanded $9,350; a Rodeo Coffee 5-pound pail with bale and “Let-R-Buck” image on both sides, made by the H.E. Starbrooks Co., Ltd. (Winnipeg, Man.), brought $7,150; and a Pratts Veterinary Remedies (Philadelphia) tin front store cabinet realized $6,900.

This Oak Motor Oil “lollipop” porcelain two-sided sign in near-mint condition hammered for $10,350.

• A DeLaval Cream Separators self-framed tin sign made by H.D. Beach Co. (Coshocton, Ohio), 25 ¾ inches in diameter, hammered for $5,775; a hand-carved shotgun trade sign, 65 ½ inches long and in excellent condition, rose to $5,500; and an oak, nickel-cornered, curved glass showcase with original brass tag made by Excelsior Showcase Co. (Quincy, Ill.), fetched $4,950.

• A Swift Wing sand and painted wood trade sign, beautifully constructed and in superb condition (41 inches by 11 inches) garnered $4,675; a hanging apothecary show globe and original griffin bracket, with no chips or cracks (22 inches tall) finished at $4,675; and a Johnson Halter papier-mâché trade sign with the original manufacturer’s label on back went for $4,400.

• A Sampson Bachrach Collar Button store display, with original brass tag and decals and collar button finial on top, brought $4,125; a Super Greyhound Motor Fuel porcelain sign, 58 inches by 34 inches, crossed the block for $4,125; a circa-1950s near-mint White Owl cigar tin made $3,025; and an R. O. Beitel jeweler’s watch trade sign, 16 inches by 25 inches, hit $3,960.

• A scrimshaw ivory tusk, 8 inches in length and decorated with the images of three women, went to a determined bidder for $2,950; a Signal Gas round porcelain tin sign, 72 inches in diameter and in excellent condition, found a new owner for $2,200; and a Sharpleigh’s Razor Blade store display case with product, wood and glass with original decals, finished at $1,210.

For more information about this auction, call 951.453.2415, e-mail to MikEckles [at] aool [dot] com or visit the Showtime Auction Services website.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

This AC Spark Plugs tin die-cut flange sign with iconic “Sparky” logo, rated 9+, helped “spark” biding at an estate sale held Sept. 24 by Matthews Auctions. The sign garnered $2,310.

JAFFREY, N.H. – An AC Spark Plugs tin die-cut flange sign, dated 1936 and featuring the iconic “Sparky” logo, sold for $2,310 at an on-site estate sale held Sept. 24 by Matthews Auctions. The sale was conducted at the former home of the late Bradley Jackson of Jaffrey, who collected items in many categories prior to his untimely death.

It was a new record auction price for the AC Spark Plugs sign, which measured 15 by 11 inches and featured the words “Cleaning Station Blue Top Dealer” on one side. Both sides were rated 9+ out of 10 for condition, which added to its desirability to collectors. In all, nearly 600 lots crossed the block in a sale that attracted around 350 people.

“Bradley Jackson was a dedicated collector of petroliana, automobilia, snowmobile collectibles, vintage Volkswagen Beetles and other vehicles and trailers,” said Dan Matthews of Matthews Auctions. “It doesn’t surprise me we had a strong crowd, and those folks came to spend money. Online bidding, through Proxibid, only accounted for 15 percent of the gross.”

Matthews said air meters, especially, were hugely popular with bidders and some fetched “almost ridiculous money.” One that hadn’t even been cataloged (it was found in the attic of the home right before auction day) brought $1,000. “That’s what’s so great about a discovery auction like this,” he said. “Great items like that turn up literally right before the sale.”

Matthews added, however, that crawlers and tractors sold for substantially less than what he had expected. “Some folks walked away with some tremendous bargains,” he remarked, adding, “overall, it was just a great sale. And thank goodness I had the help of Ron Pelletier of Brookline Auction (in Brookline, N.H.). Thanks to Ron, things went smoothly from start to end.”

Following are additional highlights from the auction (all prices quoted include a 10-percent buyer’s premium):

This Gilbarco model #914 double-computing gas pump with sight glass, restored, was the day’s top-lot, selling for $5,225.

• The top lot of the sale was a Gilbarco model #914 double-computing gas pump, with sight glass. It soared to $5,225. The pump was professionally restored in Sunoco colors, with decals and Blue Sunoco globe, a new hose and the original aluminum handle. Also, a Wayne model #60 computing gas pump with two Atlantic pump plates, in good condition, hit $1,595.

• Four Eco air meters did extremely well. They were an unknown model number in primer, with hose reel base, in very good condition ($1,650); a model #93 with large hose reel base, with rust to the sheet metal head ($1,430); a model #37, head only, with heavy old paint ($1,221); and a Tireflator (unknown model) on a stand with light tower with cover, restored ($2,200). Also, a nicely restored Erie air meter with wall mount bracket went to a determined bidder for $1,760.

• A Polaris Sno-Traveler single-sided tin “Authorized Sales” snowmobile sign with great snowmobile graphics, self-framed, 57 inches by 45 inches, rated 7, went for $1,320; a Sno-Sport by Rupp “See How Much Better a Snowmobile Can Be” plastic lighted sign with sled graphic, rated 9, rose to $770; and a Moto-Ski “Proven Best By Test” plastic panel insert, with great snowmobile graphics, rated 9, commanded $660, a remarkably high price for a plastic insert.

• A 1974 Airstream travel trailer in need of a good cleaning and in fair to good condition rolled off for $3,850; a Massy Harris pony tractor that had been professionally restored, with head lamps, belt pulley, rear wheel weights and average tires coasted to $1,650; and a Cletrac model R tractor, made by the Cleveland Tractor Company, with an electric starter, made $3,025.

• A Sinclair Gasoline double-sided porcelain sign, 48 inches in diameter, rated 9+ with great gloss and color, finished at $1,870; an International Motor Trucks “Sales and Service” double-sided porcelain sign with triple diamond logo, rated 8, with great gloss and color and a clean field, knocked down at $1,320; and an “Ask Here for Gargoyle Mobiloil Authorized Service” single-sided porcelain sign, 24 inches by 20 inches, rated 9.75, finished at $715.

• Rounding out the day’s top lots, a Cities Service “Service Provided Products” round thermometer, 12 inches in diameter and rated 9, was a bargain buy at $248.

For more information about this auction, call 877.968.8880, e-mail danm [at] matthewsauctions [dot] com or visit the Matthews Auctions website.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

This Gilbarco double computing gas pump (Model #914), with sight glass, will be among the many petroliana and automobilia collectibles up for sale of the lifetime single-owner collection of Bradley Jackson, to be facilitated by Matthews Auctions on Sept. 24, 2011.

JAFFREY, N.H. – A two-session auction featuring a lifetime single-owner collection of Bradley Jackson—featuring petroliana, automobilia, snowmobile collectibles, antique Volkswagen Beetles and other vehicles and trailers—will be held Saturday, Sept. 24, by Matthews Auctions.

Bradley, formerly of Jaffrey, N.H, amassed a substantial number of items in a wide array of categories prior to his recent untimely death. The event will be held in Jaffrey, a town located in southern New Hampshire, west of Nashua and not far from the Massachusetts state line. Online bidding will be facilitated by Proxibid. Phone and absentee bids will also be taken.

The first session, slated to start at 9 a.m. (EDT), will feature uncataloged items, including vintage gas pumps and gas pump parts, a City of Newell sign and several other uncataloged signs, old Volkswagen Beetle parts, a Wards Art Deco-style lady’s bicycle and other bicycles. Also set to cross the block in the uncataloged session will be big-block Chevrolet engines and parts, a 40-foot storage container, a wringer wash, 1946 Chevrolet truck parts, Massey Pony parts, an Arhiems Model #ST1032 snow blower, a Fairbanks Morse Art Deco-style riding lawnmower, shop tools, hand tools and more.

Then, at around 11 a.m., the second ring of the sale—packed with cataloged items—will begin. This session will feature most of the petroliana and snowmobilia items, plus several highly desirable vehicles, including a 2008 Ford F-350 Super Duty XLT V-8 power stroke diesel truck (low mileage, 4X4, with snow plow), and a 1974 Airstream travel trailer in fine condition.

More than 50 metal and plastic petroliana and snowmobile signs will be sold, to include a Polaris Sno-Traveler Authorized Sales sign with great snowmobile graphics, an International Motor Trucks Sales and Service double-sided porcelain sign with triple diamond logo (24 inches by 48 inches), and a Sinclair H-C Gasoline double-sided porcelain sign, 48 inches in diameter.

Also in the cataloged session will be more than 30 air meters and 40 gas pumps, some of them beautifully restored. A couple of expected top lots will include a Gilbarco Model #914 double-computing gas pump—with sight glassa—and an Eco Tireflator air meter on a stand, with light tower and cover. To view the lots in both sessions, log on to matthewsauctions.com.

A 2008 Ford F-350 Super Duty XLT truck with V-8 power stroke diesel engine and snow plow.

A 1974 Airstream travel trailer (Model #I31-AJ5-1233), in fine condition considering its age.

Other vehicles will include five vintage Volkswagen Beetles dating from the 1940s through the 1970s, a Massey Harris Pony Tractor (Serial #PGA20748) and a Cletrac Crawler (Model R, made by the Cleveland Tractor Company)—both professionally restored—International Harvester Farmall H and F-20 tractors, a 1989 Chevrolet Suburban SUV and a 1941 Plymouth car with extra parts.

Also due to cross the block in the second session will be an Ultra Karvan snowmobile trailer, a Hough Payloader, two forklifts, a 1999 Dandy dump trailer with 7,000-lb. axles, a 16-foot car trailer, an air compressor, grinders, a drill press, a one-cylinder marine engine, some modern tools and modern equipment, a large Snap-On tool box, and a bucket lift for trucks.

A Polaris Sno-Traveler Authorized Sales snowmobile sign with great snowmobile graphics.

A preview will be held on Friday, Sept. 23, the day before the auction.

Matthews Auctions, LLC’s next big auction will be held Friday, Oct. 14, prior to the popular Chicagoland Petroliana & Advertising Show, held each spring and fall in Peotone, Ill. Featured will be the Jerry Parker collection (which is heavy on Atlantic items) and the Ronnie Baker collection (loaded with pump plates, license plate attachments and paper items).

For more information about the Jackson Collection auction, call877.968.8880, e-mail to danm [at] matthewsauctions [dot] com or visit the Matthews Auctions website.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

The top lot of a two-day auction hosted by Matthews Auctions on Nov. 6-7 was this Texaco Marine Lubricants single-sided porcelain sign, which realized $6,325.

RAYMOND, Ill. – An outstanding Texaco Marine Lubricants single-sided porcelain sign, made in 1959 and rated 9.25 out of 10 for overall condition, sold for $6,325 at a two-day, three-session sale held Nov. 6-7 by Matthews Auctions. The auction was held at the gallery of Gavin Pope Auction, with whom Matthews Auctions often partners.

The sign—measuring 15 inches by 30 inches and featuring a ships and speedboats graphic, with great gloss and color—was the top lot in an auction that saw a staggering 1,500-plus lots cross the block over the course of the three rings (sessions) and two days. And since many of the lots were sold in multiples, the final tally of items sold may actually have hit the 3,000 mark.

Headlining the event were the estates of Joe Srholez of Sussex, N.J., and Art Childers of Evansville, Ind., plus Part 2 of the sale of the oil bottle collection of Ron Throckmorton. The Nov. 6 session had 500 lots of petroliana and automobilia signs (to include porcelain, painted steel and cardboard), gas pumps, globes, soda machines, oil and additive cans, and other items.

Nov. 7 was split into two sessions, each one comprising around 500 lots. Session 1 featured a variety of oil and additive cans, original Packard artwork for magazine ads, several radiator mascots, Model A and other brand showroom posters, postcards and various automotive-related literature. Session 2, held later the same day, was dedicated almost entirely to toy cars.

This tin litho wind-up toy Vespa Scooter with sidecar and riders, 6-inches long and rated 6.5, brought $935.

These included nearly 50 lots of promotional toy cars, Metal Craft trucks, Steelcraft blimps and Mack pedal trucks. The session also featured over 100 lots of Japanese tin litho cars, trucks, airplanes and more (some new in the box), German toys (including Bing, Lehmann and others), an Arcade gas pump, toy gas stations and an original Scwhinn Black Phantom bicycle.

“This was a successful auction by any measure,” said Dan Matthews of Matthews Auctions. “Attendance was high both days, the phones were ringing and around 45 percent of the successful bids were either online or absentee. The Internet bidding, facilitated by Proxibid and LiveAuctioneers.com, attracted winning bids from Europe, Australia, Canada and the U.S.”

Following are additional highlights from the auction (all prices quoted include a 10-percent buyer’s premium):

Three lots from Nov. 6, Session 1 (aside from the Texaco sign) topped the $4,000 mark. A Ford anniversary crest neon single-sided porcelain rolled edge die-cut sign, rated 8.9, made $4,950; a United Motor Service single-sided porcelain die-cut arrow sign with early touring car graphic rose to $4,950; and an Oilzum Motor Oil single-sided tin sign, framed, brought $4,510.

A Manhattan Trop-Artic Auto half-gallon flat metal can with sedan graphic and rated 9+, sold for $3,300.

A Francisco Auto Heater “Summer Here All the Year” single-sided tin sign with great cutaway car graphics, framed and rated 9+, breezed to $3,410; a Genuine Ethyl gas globe with great graphic, a 9.5-rated 13-inch lens and a new Capco globe body gaveled for $3,300; and a Hoosier Pete 100 Regular Gasoline glass gas globe with 13.5-inch lens, rated 6.5, hit $3,310.

A Texaco Certified Lubrication die-cut cardboard sign, 37 inches by 24 inches, with Marfak cardboard easel back display, rated 8.9, topped out at $2,970; a Weed Chains “As Necessary As Gasoline” single-sided tin sign with wood back, rated 7.5, with price wheel, rose to $2,530; and a Gulf Gasoline and Supreme Auto Oil single-sided tin sign, rated 8, hit $2,420.

A “We Sell Socony Motor Gasoline” porcelain flange sign, 24 inches by 20 inches, both sides rated 9, garnered $2,310; a Michelin Bibendum, 11 inches tall, sitting on top of a small air compressor, in very good condition despite a broken dial, realized $1,430; and a Defiance Spark Plugs “Your Engine Knows” double-sided tin flange sign, both sides rated 9, went for $1,430.

This Sinclair Opaline Motor Oil one-gallon flat metal can with race car graphic and rated 8.5, gaveled for $3,300.

The top lots of Session 2 (Nov. 7) were a Sinclair Opaline Motor Oil 1-gallon flat metal can with an early open wheel race car graphic, with good color; and a Manhattan Trop-Artic Oil half-gallon flat metal can with early sedan graphic, rated 9. Both pieces brought a respectable $3,300. Also, a 1910 print on oil cloth of an Oldsmobile Racing A Train commanded $2,475.

Also from Session 2, Nov. 7: A Standard Oil of Indiana Polarine Motor Oil one-gallon flat metal can with early touring car summer-winter scene, rated 7/8, brought $1,980; an oil on canvas rendering of a Packard Phaeton Deluxe convertible car, for a magazine ad, coasted to $1,760; and a Standard Oil of New Jersey Polarine Gear Oil one-gallon flat metal can hit $1,650.

A Wonder-Mist Cleanser and Polisher half-gallon flat metal can with limousine graphic, both sides rated 9, climbed to $1,072.50; a 1957 Chevrolet full-line showroom catalog filled with color plates, rated 9, fetched $770; and a 1922 framed print of a “Careful Crossing Campaign” showing a car about to be hit by a train at a train crossing, 30 inches by 36 inches, rose to $770.

This Marx Sparkling Rocket fighter ship tin toy wind-up toy, new in the box and rated 9.75, cashed in at $715.

The top lot of Session 3, Nov. 7 (all toys), was a West German-made Gama 300 Cadillac four-door sedan tin litho friction-power toy car, 12 inches long, rated 8.5 with good paint. It sold for $852.50. Runner-ups were an Arcade “Andy Gump” cast iron car, rated 7 with paint wear ($770); and a Marx Sparkling Rocket fighter ship tin litho wind-up toy, 12 inches long ($715).

Other star lots from Session 3 included a Fontaine Fox Toonerville tin litho wind-up trolley by Dent, new in the box, 5 inches long ($632.50); a large 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air 2-door Japanese tin litho friction car, 15.5 inches long and rated 8.5, with very light wear ($605); and a tin litho wind-up toy Vespa Scooter with sidecar and riders, 6 inches long, rated 6.5 ($935).

For more information about this auction, call 877.968.8880, e-mail to danm [at] matthewsauctions [dot] com or visit the Matthews Auctions Web site.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

– AD, Youngstown, Ohio

ANSWER: My reference library, which contains several books about World’s Fair memorabilia and the 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair memorabilia in particular, is currently packed in boxes in the auditorium of my home/school in Vera Cruz, Pa. As a result, I had to rely on the Internet, not always the best information source.

I did not find any reference to this specific doll. However, I discovered that the 1939-1940 World’s Fair Committee issued several licenses for “official” World’s Fair dolls. Further, many of the foreign pavilions sold native-costume dolls in their gift shops.

The pictures that accompanied your e-mail alleviated any doubts I may have had that this was not an officially licensed doll. The jacket color is ample proof. Orange and blue are the dominant colors found on 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair memorabilia. The orange of the doll’s jacket is an exact match to the Fair’s orange color tone.

Thanks to Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, who were at the peak of their popularity in the mid- to late 1930s, ventriloquism was enjoying a renaissance. “The Home Workshop” section of the June 1938 issue of “Modern Mechanix” contained Kenneth Murray’s article entitled “Popsy: A Simply Made but very lifelike dummy for the amateur ventriloquist.” It only makes sense that the New York World’s Fair Committee would license a ventriloquist doll.

The tragedy is the condition of the doll’s head. It is beyond repair. Not only is it cracked but the back half appears to be splitting off from the front half.

When encountering an object in this condition, you should walk away no matter how alluring it may seem. The only value in respect to the doll you own is its clothing. It can be switched to a World’s Fair doll whose head and body are in better condition, but whose clothing is badly faded or torn.

Its worth at the moment is under $25. In very good condition, the doll is valued between $125 and $150.

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QUESTION: My father has a Jefferson Bible. The last time I visited him in Oregon, I asked him to show it to me. I believe it is one of the 9,000 copies distributed in 1904. He paid a dollar for it at an antiques shop. I have no idea how much it is worth, but have a feeling that it should be insured. Can you help?

– RP, Lehigh Valley, Pa., via e-mail

ANSWER: Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1783 – July 4, 1826), third president of the United States, had a strong interest in ethics, morals, philosophy, and Christianity, which he referred to as the “Christian System.” He was a deist, believing in the power of a supreme being as the creator and man’s ability to use reason and observation of the world about him to understand his divinity. Christ was a great teacher, but not the son of God.

Jefferson cut apart the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and arranged the texts in chronological order. The result was his “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth,” completed in 1820. While Jefferson showed it to a few friends, he never published it.

The manuscript eventually came into the possession of Thomas Jefferson Randolph, his grandson. Working with the National Museum in Washington, he published Jefferson’s work in 1895. In 1904 Congress authorized a new edition. New members of Congress received a copy. Eventually Jefferson’s text entered the public domain. More than a dozen editions are in print today, for examples, a 2004 Akashic Books paperback, 2006 Applewood Books hardcover, and a 2006 Dover Publications paperback.

The 1904 Congressional edition was published by the Government Printing office. There are reference points that indicate that your example is not the 1904 Congressional edition. First, the publisher is Geo. W. Ogilvie & Co. of Chicago. Second, the title page clearly indicated that your book is a “reprint,” something the Congressional edition does not do. The advertisements in the back, such as the one for “Conklin’s Vest-Pocket Argument Settler,” would never appear in a government publication. Finally, it is the wrong size, binding style, and cover color.

Your example, however, is one of the early editions, most likely printed before 1915. The pictures attached to your e-mail indicate the book is in poor to fair condition.

1904 Congressional editions in good condition or better usually retail on the secondary market for $750 or more. Your edition has a secondary market value between $40 and $50. Professionally rebound, its value will double, possibly even triple.

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QUESTION: In the past, you answered an e-mail question from “VK” about a G. Heileman Brewing Company advertising piece featuring a printed image on canvas of a French Cavalier holding a bottle of beer in one hand and a full glass in salute in the other. I have the same print on canvas. I acquired it about 12 years ago when the dad of an old girlfriend who had it hanging in his basement passed away. I do not know when he obtained it, but I believe he had it as far back as the 1950s or earlier. I recently came across Paul Koeller’s and David DeLano’s “Brewed with Style: The Story of the House of Heileman.” The image is pictured in the book. My print is in a copper-colored cheap wood frame. I have searched the Internet and cannot find another example with the frame. My question is simple. If I removed the print and had it professionally framed in a nicer frame, would this deter from the print’s value?

– JG, via e-mail

ANSWER: The answer is yes, if the frame on the print on canvas is period—that is to say, started out life with the print. If the print was framed initially, the frame is an integral part of the complete unit. If the frame is missing, the print is considered incomplete.

This was barroom and beer distributor advertising, made to hang on a wall for a few years and then discarded. While well made, it was done as cheaply as possible.

The color tones of the late 1950s were turquoise, copper, and chrome. Hence, the copper color on the frame is a strong hint that the frame is period.

My recommendation is to continue your research and do nothing to the print and its frame. If after another year or two you can find no evidence that the frame is period, then replace it.

How about a little help from the G. Heileman Brewing Company collectors among my readers? Is the frame period or not? E-mail the answer to me at harrylrinker [at] aol [dot] com.

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QUESTION: I have a “Carigas Emergency Gasoline Can” that my Dad gave me approximately 35 years ago. As I recall, he mentioned that it came with a Model A or Model T Ford. I am not certain which one he specified. He carried it behind the seat in the event he ran out of gas. I checked for this item on eBay and was unable to find anything like it. Any information that you can offer regarding its resale value would be greatly appreciated.

– WT, Lehigh Valley, Pa., via e-mail

ANSWER: This is one of those cases where I know what you have, but I do not know what you have. As indicated by the images that accompanied your e-mail, a label on the can reads: Aetna Sales Co. / Baltimore.” My first thought was that the Aetna Insurance Company used the can as a form of advertising. In 1913 Aetna established its Automobile Insurance Company for the purpose of writing fire insurance on cars. But, is it the correct Aetna?

Google research resulted in a number of hits for an Aetna Oil Company, which was based primarily in Tennessee, Kentucky and Illinois and was part of Ashland after a 1948 merger. I found sale listings for several Aetna Oil Company maps and other memorabilia. None had a logo that was remotely close to the one on your can.

I failed to find any information on an Aetna Sales Co. located in Baltimore. However, I did find a WorthPoint.com reference for an almost identical can. The can pictured on WorthPoint.com had an extra information strip beneath the Aetna Sales Co. logo. The listing indicated the can was patented on March 3, 1925. The color scheme of the can, red background with yellow and black label information, is a typical Art Deco color pattern.

I also was not able to establish if this emergency gas can was standard equipment on a Ford Model A. I strongly suspect that it was not.

After reviewing the pictures you sent, your “Carigas Emergency Gasoline Can” is in fair to good condition. Its secondary market retail value is between $15 and $20. Its wholesale value is around $6.00 to $8.00. The principal buyer is someone who owns a Ford Model A and wishes to acquire the can to add a bit of ambiance to his car presentation.

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Rinker Enterprises and Harry L. Rinker are on the Internet. Check out his Web site.

You can listen and participate in Harry’s antiques-and-collectibles radio call-in show “Whatcha Got?” on Sunday mornings between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Eastern Time. It streams live on the Genesis Communications Network.

“Sell, Keep Or Toss? How To Downsize A Home, Settle An Estate, And Appraise Personal Property” (House of Collectibles, an imprint of the Random House Information Group), Harry’s latest book, is available at your favorite bookstore and via Harry’s Web site: http://www.harryrinker.com.

Harry L. Rinker welcomes questions from readers about collectibles, those mass-produced items from the 20th century. Selected queries will be answered on this site. Harry cannot provide personal answers. Photos and other material submitted cannot be returned. Send your questions to: Rinker on Collectibles, 22 Stillwater Circle, Brookfield, CT 06804. You can e-mail your questions to harrylrinker [at] aol [dot] com. Only e-mails containing a full name and mailing address will be considered. Please indicate that these are questions for WorthPoint.

Copyright © Rinker Enterprises, Inc. 2010

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

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‘Red Flag Law’ Figurine

By Dave Bausch

Automobilia art objects take several forms, some are made just for pleasure to the eye, but others were made to tell a story or help record a historic event. This art item was made to tell a story about “Red Flag Law.”

In 1865, a law was passed in England that limited speed to not more then four miles per hour in the country and two miles per hour in the city. It also required a walking attendant to carry a red warning flag or lantern preceding the vehicle. This law remained on the books until 1896.

This porcelain is in the shape of a chauffeur with a lantern and horn. The quality of this figurine is very much like Royal Doulton, but, on this example there are no markings. The figure is 10-and-three-quarter-inches high and an automobile object of this quality would be priced in the range of $3,000 to $5,000.

Automobile Flower Vases

By David Bausch

The flower vase is both an automobile accessory and an object of auto art. The flower vase added a touch of elegance to a rather dull interior of many of the cars of the 1920’s.

While many of the expensive sedans and limousines sported flower vases as part of standard equipment, the more common automobile lacked that grace. So, companies like Sears offered flower vases in their auto supply section of their catalogue. The prices of such elegance would cost in a range of 75cents to more than $3, depending on the quality of glass and the engraving and the mounting frame. I have a pair of sterling silver vases that are embossed with automobile scenes, and to be sure it was a custom design and was quite expensive. The vases come in many designs and colors including carnival glass, green, blue, Vaseline, amber, mercury glass and other colors I have not seen in my years of collecting.

Prices rage from $10 to $65, depending upon the quality of the item. As always, condition is important.

Caution: Just because the vase is cone-shaped, it doesn’t always mean it was designed for an automobile. Many glass vases of similar shape were made to be used in epergnes. Most car vases were small and had a ridge for the bracket that held the vase. Try and collect vases with their brackets for easy display. Some of the brackets are quite decorative with etched designs.

For Bernstein, it all began when as a 9-year-old at summer camp, the cook staff gave him outdated Florida and Mississippi license plates. That acquisition turned Bernstein into a boy with a mission.

Andy would cruise through shopping-mall parking lots on his bike, and if he spied an out-of-state plate, he’d linger until the driver came back to his car and ask if he could have the plate when it expired. “Often they were people who had just moved, and they had to get new plates,” Bernstein said.

1958 plate depicting a favorite Colorado pastime (left), New Hampshire’s Live Free or Die plate (is that referring to the moose?) (right)

Though, it wasn’t all that easy. “People’s reactions were usually suspicious, ‘Why do you want those plates?’ or ‘You can’t have them, they have to be turned in,’” Bernstein said. A couple of times a week, he would pedal over to the local junkyard in search of plates on wrecks. “At first, the owner was pretty unfriendly. He didn’t want a kid in there where he could be hurt,” Bernstein said. “But over time, we became friends.”

“It was a long uphill battle, but after about five years, I had managed to collect a license plate from every state and the District of Columbia,” Bernstein said. It was also around this time that a now teenage Bernstein discovered the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association. “I couldn’t believe it,” Bernstein said. “I realized I wasn’t in this alone. I wasn’t the only crazy one.”

Bernstein immediately joined and began building a network of friendships that has been even more valuable than the licenses plates he has collected—and he has amassed more than 65,000 plates.

Texas plate remembering the space-shuttle disaster (left), a to-drool-for Maine lobster plate (right)

The license plate, as we know it, began in Massachusetts in 1903, and by the late teens, all the states had adopted some type of standardized license plate. The most sought-after plates are from this early period, particularly those that were porcelain or enamel, which were soon replaced with painted, metal plates. For more on license-plate history and markets, see Bernstein’s blog, The Lure of Collecting Automobile License Plates.

There has been an explosion of varieties and styles of license plates—with specialized plates, vanity plates, and changing styles and graphics. “It is quite common now that when a state is going to change its license plate, it posts several designs on a Web site and lets people vote,” Bernstein said.

A vanity plate from Alabama where someone loves Jon (left) and one from Kentucky showing allegiance to the Louisville Cardinals (right)

The rise of Internet selling, (including at Bernstein’s site, Plate Hut), the variety of plates and the advent of new collectors—including a rise in international collectors—have all led to the creation of “micromarkets,” Bernstein said. “For a 1931 Model A Ford owner in Illinois, the finishing touch is getting 1931 Illinois plates. That is a specialized market.”

In fact, Bernstein sometimes gets calls from film companies looking for period plates to put on a car being used in a scene. License-plate art and handicrafts is another market, as license plates have been used to make items as varied as CD cases, purses, dustpans, toolboxes and birdhouses, Bernstein said.

Europeans have been especially fascinated with American license plates, Bernstein said. “License plates in Europe tend to be long and black with just numbers and maybe a letter to indicate the country, so our plates with their designs and colors really catch the eye.”

The prices for license plates, as a result or these complex and varied markets, have remained strong, Bernstein said. Still, while the rarest porcelain plate can fetch $10,000, a beginner starting out with a one-plate-per-state goal can manage for between $150 and $350.

As for his own collecting, Bernstein is in the hunt to add commemorative, political and picture plates to his collection—as well as those rare and elusive porcelain plates. And where does he store them all? Well, some are with his parents and some with a friend. But a large portion are arranged on a bookshelf in his apartment. “My brother says he feels sorry for the people who live downstairs,” Bernstein said, “because one day they are going to be buried in an avalanche of license plates.”

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Automobilia China Part Two

By David Bausch

While most of the early china objects depicting the automobile were from Europe (the home of the automobile), it wasn’t long until the automobile fever caught on here in the U.S. of A. While Royal Doulton of England, and Villeroy and Boch of Germany were making china picturing the automobile, it was Roseville of Zanesville, Ohio, that took up the effort to portray the automobile on China in America.

Roseville produced a large series of pottery known as “Tourist.” There were 29 different shapes of pottery that carried the Tourist design. I should say designs, because there was more then one design in the series. Usually, two autos are found on the larger items and one on the smaller pieces. Some of the cars are roadsters and others are touring cars of different styles; one of the series shows a car broken down with a flat tire. A flat tire was not an unusual problem; at least not in the very early days of motoring. I am sure many of the motorists could relate to that experience.

A large jardinière on a pedestal base will command a price of $2,500 to $3,000. A small bowl can run around $300 to $500. Condition is very important, crazing is very common on this pottery, and crazing reduces the value of any item in this series.

Automobile China by Royal Doulton

By David Bausch

Nothing speaks of the Edwardian era more clearly then the series of china produced by Royal Doulton of England. This china was designed by John Holdcroft, and was known as the Motorist Series. This series was produced in its factory in Burslem England from the years 1903-1913.
Royal Doulton produced a full line of china in this Motorist pattern including: dinner plates (large 10 3/8 inches and small 9 5/8 inches); mugs; biscuit jars; spittoons; flower vases (large and small); and a chocolate pitcher.

The different scenes were: “After the Run;” “A Horse, A Horse;” “Blood Money;” “Deaf;” “Itch yer on Gov’no;” “Nerve Tonic;”; “Room for One;” and “The New and the Old.”

John Holdcroft also designed a series of china at the same period of time using aircraft on china, including plates and pitchers. This aircraft series is quite scarce, but not a subject for this article; the aircraft china has a limited audience compared to the number of collectors of the Motorist series of china.

The value for a Motorist Dinner Plate (10 3/8 inches) has a range of $250-$300; a large compote can demand a price of $400-$450. Condition is always important.

Early Car Makers Desired Hit Song to Boost Sales

By Dave Bausch

In the field of Automobilia, the one subject most collected is advertising. Advertising took many forms: posters, prints, toys, magazine ads, postcards just to name a few. But the one that most of the automobile makers yearned for was to have their specific model of car depicted on sheet music.

If the tune was catchy, and the words embellished the car and the effect the owner/driver had on the young ladies, it would be a sure winner for the automobile manufacturer. Many examples of early songs can still be found at antique paper shows and even at garage sales, and still at an affordable price. The rarer the featured automobile, the more pricey the sheet music.

The most common sheet music would be “In My Merry Oldsmobile,” a tune which was used over and over again for many years. A more scarce piece of music would be “In My Mercer Racing Car,” or “Packard and the Ford,” from 1913 and 1915, respectively.

Condition, like for most collectables, is important. If the featured car in the music is rare enough, though, condition may be less important. But surely the price will certainly be higher for those in better condition.

Graphics on the cover of the sheet music will also contribute greatly to the value. There were more then 100 different song sheets picturing early automobiles. The range for automobile sheet music is anywhere from $5 to $125. You just might be lucky and find a rare copy at a good price. That, after all, is the fun of collecting.

This scenario is certainly not the case today. No other hobby related to the automobile has become more popular in the past 10 years or so than the collecting, studying, researching, trading, buying, selling and the quest for valuable automobile tags, with shiny new plates sought after as avidly as the rusty older ones.

With the advent of the silk-screening process in license-plate manufacturing, thousands of colorful elaborate designs now adorn the bumpers of automobiles in the United States, Canada, Mexico and many other foreign countries. These newer attractive designs are being used to generate what has become a plethora of optional issues. Optional-issued license plates are plates issued for an additional fee, whereby motorists can opt to support all kinds of environmental organizations, a particular university or college, or simply show an affiliation to a particular group. Specialty or optional license plates have proliferated at an unprecedented rate, and it is this phenomenon that has further fueled the interest in license-plate collecting.

Valuation of license plates

Like many collectibles and antiques, the value of a license plate depends greatly on supply and demand. Key factors in determining value include age, the number of plates issued in that particular year and jurisdiction, condition, whether plates for the year in question were issued in pairs or singles, the type of material from which it was manufactured and the desirability of colors, slogans and/or number combinations.

While mass production of state-issued license plates began in Massachusetts in 1903 (see photo), by the late teens, all states had adopted some style of standardized license plate. It is from this period that today’s most sought-after plates originated. The true gems of this period are the porcelain or enamel license plates. These are often quite colorful, durable, attractive to display and very scarce. By the mid-teens, most of the porcelain-style issues had been replaced with cheaper, painted metal plates. Prices of even common porcelain license plates like those of Pennsylvania have definitely escalated, but many can still be purchased in nice condition for $75 or less. (See photo.) On the other end of the spectrum, we find that the scarce and more elusive porcelain license plates can easily fall into the $5,000-$10,000 range. (See photo.)

It is worth noting that as in any hobby or collecting realm, reproductions have also surfaced, but this on a much smaller scale. Often these can readily be identified by a “new” appearance and lack of a maker’s seal on the reverse of the plate.

License-plate collecting approaches

Collecting license plates is one of the most challenging hobbies around. With so many thousands of categories to choose from, it is important to focus on collecting goals, as well as to a set budget. Probably one of the most common projects a collector embarks on is that of completing a “one-per-state” display, usually composed of passenger license plates of recent vintage. One can easily complete this goal with a budget of $150-$350 depending on the type of plates sought. The toughest plate to complete a U.S. set? The elusive Washington, D.C., license plate! This is due to the fact that few of these are issued and that plates in the District of Columbia are permanent.

While the “one-per-state” project is going on, the average collector usually begins his own state “run.” A “state run” consists of one passenger-car plate for each year of issue since the first plates came into use in that particular state. If your state began motor-vehicle registration in 1910, you would seek a plate for each year with the eventual goal of an almost 100-year span!

A popular third goal for many collectors is a “birthyear set” with one-plate-per-state for the year of your birth. If you were born in 1929, you were lucky in the sense that every state did issue a plate that year. For those born during the 1941-1946 era, this would represent an extremely challenging endeavor due to the fact that most states issued windshield stickers, tabs or decals during the war years as a result of the metal shortage. Many of these windshield stickers that validated the license plate would bring $100-$250 each when available.

The main thing to remember is to keep within your budget and storage space. You can have just as much fun in the license-plate hobby with a few limited goals as the collector who collects everything in sight.

What links the history of the automobile and the history of automobilia? The answer is the love/hate relationship with the automobile. Much autombilia–prints, sheet music, steins, postcards, valentines–illustrates the conflict between automobile lover and hater.

One such item is the pictured beer stein, made in Germany around 1905. It depicts an early motorist who has just run over a farmer’s goose, a common event in the early days of motoring.

The value of such a stein is in the range of $350-$550, dependent upon the detail of the scene and the condition of the stein. A number of steins have been made in the past 20 years. Steins made in South America for companies such as Avon and some beer companies have little or no value to the antique stein collector. Many of the newer steins, though nice and well made, command no more then $35-$45.

P.S. I have some of the later steins in my collection because I collect almost anything picturing an early automobile.

“Automobilia” comes in many forms. Often, these objects are cross collectibles (i.e. ashtrays). One of the most interesting early ashtrays is the one pictured.

The tray is from the early 1900s and made of cast metal. It has no manufacturer’s mark, but is probably French. It depicts a very early motorist driving his car at a great rate of speed (somewhere around 35 miles per hour). Embossed on the ashtray is a road sign reading “1.000km” and some geese scattering.

Much early automobilia depicts the age of speed and the dangers the speeding auto brought to the rural countryside. It is no wonder the farming community pushed for restrictive motoring laws such as the Red Flag Law in England, which required a person to walk in front of the auto carrying a red flag to warn anyone of the approaching motorcar.

The value of this ashtray is in the range of $250-$350, if you can find a good example.

Not too many years ago the automobile was considered the work of madmen, determined to corrupt the morals of our society, not to mention upset the enterprise of the blacksmith, the horse breeder and the harness maker. (They weren’t far from the truth.) It is difficult for the current generation to understand how the automobile caught the world’s imagination.

The artist with his canvas was best to capture the new found exciting event. No one artist was able to capture the excitement better then Ernest Montaut of Paris, France. Ernest Montaut, artist and lithographer, was the first to mass produce automobile art. Not only were his lithographs sold in Europe, but Motor Magazine of the United States used some of his images, in printed form, as inserts in some of their early issues.

Pictured is a 1908 lithograph showing an early race car with a blue bird on the righthand corner of the lithograph. These, like so many early lithographs, fade quickly if not properly displayed, always away from direct sun light.

The value depends upon the condition, but his lithographs sell for around $250-$350.

While you are out there finding all those great license plates I talked about in the blog the other day, be sure to keep your antenna up for other collectible automobile items. There isn’t a larger group of collectors than the car enthusiasts, with the exception of sports collectors.

My neighbor,”Miss Susan,” as my son Joshua calls her, has been writing about this very subject for many years. In fact, she has a website called Women With Wheels, and I hope she will be a frequent guest writer on our blog in the future. The 31 Club may be involved with her in a joint venture in the near future, and I hope you will be hearing more about that. Listening to her has taught me that the number of items collected by the car enthusiast is almost unlimited.

I have known about the special hood ornaments sought after by collectors for a long time, and the value of these can be tens of thousands of dollars. If you go to eBay’s Completed Sales list and do a search, you will find Lalique ornaments of a nude sold for over $$2200, and one in the shape of an Indian face for $2000.

Let’s look at some other items to keep your eye out for. Tin Signs from the car factories, especially automobiles that are no longer manufactured are prized, as well as hub caps, gasoline station tin signs, and pieces from famous race cars such as fenders grilles and hoods are also collected. Oil and gas cans, replacement parts for older cars and auto industry paper collectibles also have a place on this list. Antique gas pumps are a great collector item, and the glass globes from these antique gas pumps are collectible. This is only a partial list, and truthfully, it would take many blogs to cover them all.

Paper collectibles has been something that Miss Susan has been selling for years. Some of the most collectible items are the owners manuals for special models. These can bring in some fancy money if they are for the right car. Also, dealer signs and advertisements often catch the collectors fancy. Magazine ads are also serious collectibles.

I have been a car enthusiast since I was a teenager, and while still in high school, can remember meeting a man at an auto show in Indiana who had driven his Cord to the show from Kansas City wanting to sell it. It was the model with the huge supercharger pipes and retractable head lights. He was asking only $1,800 for it, and I almost died when I had to tell him I just didn’t have the money for it.
My love of the automobile has continued even till this date. I have owned a MG-TD, supercharged Corvette and several Mercedes, however my favorites have always been what I call my “junkers.” I’m still searching for a 1953 Super 88 Oldsmobile. If you want to make a true friend for life, just tell me where I can find one of these. This is the car I drove in high school, and most people wouldn’t believe the stories it could tell.

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Interesting motels lined its path. Mom and pop grocery stores, private gas stations, unique diners and many other services sprung up to service all the traffic. It was a time when America was feeling its pride and showing its distinct colors and especially from the 1940s through the 1960, driving Route 66 was a great way to see America.

Though Route 66 was officially decommissioned in 1985, much of the old road can still be driven and some of what could be seen is still there to be admired. What’s not on the Route could be here as collectibles, hence this category.