Mexico’s tradition of magnificent silverwork dates as far back as the 1530s. Mexico has abundant deposits of precious metals, so it was natural that a thriving jewelry and hollowware market would evolve there. But establishing authenticity, purity and age – especially for vintage and antique pieces – can be challenging.

Silver hallmarks stamped on a piece are supposed to signify a certain minimum purity – i.e. .925 and higher – and indicate that taxes and duties had been paid on the materials. Precious metals are linked to the currency reserves in many nations, so it’s imperative that nations keep a running inventory of available resources and an accounting of what’s been used. This process has been followed in Great Britain and France since the 14th century, and hallmarks can be used to accurately date silver pieces from there. However, these standards have not been strictly enforced in Mexico – or in the U.S. for that matter.

Since the 16th Century, this duty mark has been the image of the Mexican eagle. It often was referred to as “El Quinto Real,” or the one-fifth of the value of the silver used in the piece that was paid as taxes.

During the first half of the 20th century, the eagle disappeared. Mexican silver was generically marked with a SILVER or STERLING stamp.

The use of a newly-designed Mexican Eagle silver mark with outstretched wings appeared in 1948. It was meant to strictly represent a minimum of .925 silver content, but this was not always enforced. It also was used in association with specific numbers to indicate a manufacturer. There are numerous lists available online and in reference books to help you trace specific makers.

From 1955-80, the shape of the Mexican Eagle silver mark became more abstract, almost triangular. (See photo.) These marks were also assigned a specific number corresponding to a maker or the location.

Since 1980, the official notation is a registration code. The first letter denotes the location, the second denotes the workshop and the number denotes the actual silversmith. For example, MT-01 would indicate Mexico City, Tane (a famous workshop) and the person who registered it. Many studios also stamp a separate trademark or logo to help establish authenticity.

Alex and Elizabeth are WorthPoint Worthologists.

Faience pottery, also known as Fayence in France, is often used as a synonym to Majolica because of their similar appearance and use of tin glaze. Yet, most collectors distinguish Faience pottery by their characteristic polychrome (multi-colored) designs and mostly white background, whereas Majolica tends to have decoration all over along with pronounced raised decorative details (relief).

Although the earliest specimens date all the way back to 1200 BC in Greece, most Faience items found in the antiques market or many museums today are made circa 16th century onwards, and primarily in Italy, France, Holland and England. The most desired of Faience pottery originates from France, such as the Quimper, Ruen, Luneville regions, or from Italy near Turin or Savona and Florence. Of course, as with most other popular pottery or porcelain, some Faience pieces now also come from China and other Asian economies, and in spite of their decorative appeal, these are not antique.

Most antique Faience pottery was of a quasi-utilitarian nature, like jugs or plates, but with a distinct aesthetic flair. Vases and other decorative ware were also made in those older days, but many tend to be of rather regular shapes. Designs tend to be floral or geometric in nature, and some have simple depictions of pastoral scenes with one or two persons carrying farm duties.

The vast majority of antique Faience was made in small studios or by individual artists. These early pieces were signed with the artist’s initials or monogram, along with a symbol or the full name of their location. Hence, QUIMPER or other names of regions where Faience pottery was made do not reflect any actual manufacturer or maker, but rather a number of art studios or artists that worked in the area. Much later, around very-late-18th century onwards, some studios were much larger or became collectives, and some marks and signatures from that period are linked to a specific company, as in the case of the HENRIOT factory in Quimper, France.

Old Faience is very popular nowadays and can fetch high prices at auction. Because early examples were made of earthenware and, as noted above, were of utilitarian nature, many show clear signs of distress and wear such chips or cracks. However, this is to be expected and in most cases it does not detract from their value. In fact, some collectors believe it adds character to a Faience piece. This is unlike what you would expect on a Meissen porcelain figurine or a pair of Sevres urns that are usually more valuable if in perfect condition, even though they date from a similar period, since the latter were meant to be used for display only.

Please see “My Collections” for some examples. The above is by no means an exhaustive account on Faience pottery, but rather a starting point for an interesting discussion. Please feel free to contribute your own experiences with Faience to this blog.

Alex and Elizabeth are WorthPoint Worthologists.

One of the most pervasive and longest running myths in the world of bottle dating is that the side mold seam can be read like a thermometer to determine the age of a bottle.(See image #1, which is an illustration pointing out the major “parts” of a bottle, including the side mold seam. Illustration from my Historic Bottle Website – a purely educational website.)

The concept is that the higher the side mold seam on the bottle (i.e., the closer to the lip) the later it was made – at least in the era from the early to mid 19th century until the first few decades of the 20th century. This dating tool was first devised by Grace Kendrick in her 1963 book “The Antique Bottle Collector.” This book was pioneering and reprinted many times into the 1970s and is probably the most common and widely quoted bottle book ever written, containing a wealth of generally good information.

This concept was articulated by Kendrick’s in a chapter entitled the “The Applied Lip” which contains an “Age Gauge: Mold Seams of Bottles” chart (Figure 9). Kendrick’s explains in the text (pages 45-47) that:

It is true that the mold seams can be used like a thermometer to determine the approximate age of a bottle. The closer to the top of the bottle the seams extend, the more recent was the production of the bottle.

The chart accompanying this statement notes that bottles made before 1860 have a side mold seam ending on the shoulder or low on the neck, between 1860 and 1880 the seam ends just below the finish (the glassmaker term for a bottle lip), between 1880 and 1900 the seam ends within the finish just below the finish rim (top lip surface), and those made after 1900 have mold seams ending right at the top surface of the finish, i.e., rim (Kendrick 1963).

Dating bottles is complicated

There are examples of bottles having mold seams that fit these date ranges properly. For instance the newest of bottles – those that were machine-made – do have seams ending right at the top (or on top of) the lip or finish. However, the issue of dating bottles is much more complicated than the simple reading of side mold seams. If it were indeed that simple a large chunk of my Historic Bottle Website would be unnecessary!

For example, the mouth-blown process that produces a “tooled” finish frequently erases traces of the side mold seam an inch or more below the base of the finish whereas the typical – and older – “applied” finish has the seam ending higher – right at the base of the finish (Lockhart et. al. 2005e). See image #2 which shows the side mold seam on a “malt tonic” bottle (entire bottle shown in image #3) dating from 1906 to 1916 based on information from business directories, other references, and additional manufacturing related features present on the bottle (the subject of future articles). As a side note, this bottle also has a crown cap accepting lip which was not even invented until 1892. Using the dating “thermometer,” this bottle would presumably date from the 1860 to 1880 period.

The reason I address this issue is that the concept keeps popping up in the literature of bottle dating and identification, ranging from Sellari’s books (Sellari 1970:5) published shortly after Kendrick’s book to as recent as Fike (1998:4) and Heetderk (2002:15). It is also frequently noted by sellers on websites such as eBay® when describing their offerings. For a broader discussion of this subject see the Bottles and Extras magazine article, which I co-authored, entitled Debunking the Myth of the Side Seam Thermometer (Lockhart et al. 2005e). This article is available on the Historic Bottle Website at this link: http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/Thermometer_BLockhart.pdf

The complicated issue of mold seams and dating is explored in various portions of my Historic Bottle Website (www.sha.org/bottle/index.htm), though in particular on the Bottle Body Characteristics & Mold Seams page (www.sha.org/bottle/moldseams.htm) and the Bottle Bases page (www.sha.org/bottle/bases.htm).

(For more information on the subject of bottle dating and typology – and the terminology used in the above descriptions – please consult my Historic Bottle Website at www.sha.org/bottle/index.htm. The references used in this article can be found listed on my website’s References page at: www.sha.org/bottle/References.htm)

Many old books do not include publication dates. Copyright dates, which are often incorrectly used to determine a book’s age, are usually much earlier than actual publication dates, because most classic books were eventually produced by a variety of publishers and sometimes with a variety of different illustrators. L. Frank Baum’s many Wizard of Oz books were produced in various editions, often with no publication dates.

The following guidelines, sorted by titles, can aid in identifying the age of the different editions.

- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – The first edition of the first book in Baum’s series was published in 1900 (with a copyright date of 1899). It was illustrated by W. W. Denslow and published by George M. Hill Company.

- The New Wizard of Oz – Bobbs-Merrill published this title in1903 from the original George M. Hill plates (with minor changes) and published further editions between 1920 and 1925, although the copyright date still read “1903”. (The only way to tell the true age of the Bobbs-Merrill editions is via fine textual points, illustration coloring, endpaper styles and cover styles.) Bobbs-Merrill also printed a Photoplay version in 1925 (in conjunction with the silent film The Wizard of Oz featuring Dorothy Dwan) and an MGM studio version in 1939. In 1944, the publisher again re-issued the book, but this time with new illustrations by Evelyn Copelman.

- Reprint publisher M. A. Donahue produced an edition with this title in 1913 from leased Bobbs-Merrill printing plates.

- The Wizard of Oz Waddle Book – Blue Ribbon Books used the original Bobbs-Merrill plates to create a version in 1934 with 6 die-cut “waddle” toys (which, when assembled, would waddle down a sloping yellow brick road).

- The Wizard of Oz Picture Book – Whitman Publishing Company produced a small book stitched with saddle wire on textured stock with illustrations signed by “Leason” in 1939.

- The Story of the Wizard of Oz – Whitman published this title in 1939, illustrated by Henry E. Vallely.

- The Wizard of Oz – Reprint publisher Grosset and Dunlap produced a version in 1939 illustrated by Oskar Lebeck.
The Saalfield Publishing Company printed their version of this title in 1944 illustrated by Julian Wehr.
Reilly & Lee Company published this title in 1956 illustrated by Dale Ulrey.

From 1926 to 1947, London publisher Hutchinson & Company produced several versions with this title. They used a scattering of Denslow’s illustrations, movie stills and other various adaptations. A version in 1947 also included color plates by H. M. Brock.

After the success of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum produced many additional titles in the series. But he and illustrator W.W. Denslow parted ways due to creative differences and ownership issues. John R. Neill, a much more talented artist, became the illustrator for the remainder of the books. These titles were produced in chronological order as follows:

- The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904) later changed to The Land of Oz

- Ozma of Oz (1907)

- Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz (1908)

- The Road to Oz (1909)

- The Emerald City of Oz (1910)

- The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913)

- Tik-Tok of Oz (1914)

- The Scarecrow of Oz (1915)

- Rinkitink in Oz (1916)

- The Lost Princess of Oz (1917)

- The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918)

- The Magic of Oz (1919)

- Glinda of Oz (1920)

Most of the early versions of these books contain the original copyright dates but no publication dates. However, dating these books, for the most part, is relatively easy by following a few simple points:

1) Reilly & Britton published all the first editions between 1904 and 1918 (the last title they produced was The Tin Woodman of Oz). In some cases, Reilly & Britton published more than one edition. The true first edition of The Road to Oz has tinted internal pages in pastel colors. The true first edition of The Emerald City of Oz has a front cover of several characters in a coach traveling through the city, with distinctive metallic green highlights.

2) Reilly & Lee published reprints and subsequent editions from 1919 until the mid-1930s, when the internal color plates were replaced with black and white illustrations. Therefore, if the books do not contain internal color plates, they are newer than 1935.

3) In the 1960s, the color covers with paste-on illustrations were replaced with white covers and stamped-on illustrations. These versions are very prolific and contain only the copyright dates, although they are actually 50 years newer.

4) Dover Publications issued paperback versions of the Oz series in the 1960s and 1980s.

5) William Morrow published editions in the 1980s.

6) Coles Publishing in Canada also produced some titles in the 1980s.

Modern editions usually contain new publication dates and are easier to recognize as new.

Multitudes of offshoots have also been produced in various sizes and titles, too many to mention here. These include editions by W.W. Denslow (with no mention of Frank Baum), versions written by other authors after Baum’s death, junior condensed versions, boxed sets, small-size stories in a 1913 Little Wizard Series and 1932 Jell-O booklets, among many others.

The best guide for dating and identifying all early editions of Oz books is Bibliographia Oziana by Douglas Greene and Peter Hanff, published by the International Wizard of Oz Club. It contains all of the textual, style, illustrative, advertising and thickness points which differentiate the various versions and explains the printing history of each book. It also includes photographs of the books’ covers.

Edward Stratemeyer (1862 – 1930) created a literary syndicate in the early 1900s which was responsible for the publication of thousands of juvenile series books. These included the Rover Boys, Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Dana Girls, Honey Bunch, Bomba the Jungle Boy, X Bar X Boys, Campfire Girls, Happy Hollisters and scores of others. Stratemeyer dreamed up series ideas and characters, created the story lines and then contracted with ghostwriters who wrote under various pseudonyms to flesh out the story details. Stratemeyer edited the manuscripts and had them printed by dozens of publishers (with the most common being Grosset and Dunlap). The syndicate continued to be run by Edward’s daughter and other partners until 1979, when Simon and Schuster took over publication rights and drastically changed the style and format of the books.

During the Stratemeyer Syndicate/Grosset and Dunlap publishing control of the Nancy Drew series, from 1930 to 1979, approximately one new title was produced every year (although 6 books were created in the first two years). Throughout these 49 years, the physical formats of the books were constantly updated with numerous changes, combinations and variants. Most of the other Syndicate books in production were kept in sync and went though similar style changes at the same time. Thus, the information presented here for Nancy Drew can be associated with similar changes to other Stratemeyer series books over the same time frame.

Early Nancy Drew books

The first six Nancy Drew books began as thick editions with blue or bluish-gray slick covers, each containing four finely detailed glossy illustrations. The end papers were blank and the simple title lettering was light orange. The dust jackets had an illustration only on the front, leaving wide, white spines to display on the shelf. The six books with blank end papers were produced only in 1930 and 1931 and are now highly collectible. (End papers are the pages that are pasted onto the insides of the front and back covers.)

With volume #7 in 1932, a garish orange silhouette of Nancy was embossed on the book cover and the end papers were changed to depict vivid orange silhouettes. Due to production costs, three glossy internals were eliminated in 1937, leaving only a glossy frontispiece. And in 1941 (volume #18), a blue silhouette of Nancy was added to the white dust jacket spine. Around 1943 (volume #20), the wonderful, high-resolution glossy frontispiece was replaced with a plain and simple line drawing on regular paper. Also that year, the books gradually started to become thinner as the thread count in the paper was continually reduced.

A dramatic change occurred with volume #23 in 1946. The white spine dust jackets changed to the wraparound style, where the cover art continued onto the spine. The orange silhouette end papers changed to dark blue. The silhouette on the book cover also changed to dark blue (thus eliminating all orange). The cover stock remained slick.

The silhouette spine symbol on the dust jacket remained for only four more volumes, and then was changed to a circular color portrait, which gradually became smaller over the years. In 1947 and 1948, perhaps to advertise another popular series, random volumes contained marvelous maroon Dana Girls end papers, which were quite a big change from the previous orange and blue silhouettes. These very rare volumes are very hard to find and are also highly collectible.

Dust jacket style changes

In 1950, most of the older volumes also transformed to the wraparound dust jacket style and began to use updated dust jacket art by a new illustrator. (Volumes #12-22 continued to be produced only with white spine dust jackets – although they were issued in much thinner formats and now had new end papers and new cover art.)

Beginning with volume #30 in 1953, the book’s cover style changed from a slick blue to a blue cloth tweed (but retained the dark blue lettering and silhouette), and this format eventually became the most common. For a brief period from 1953 to 1958 (first introduced in volumes #30 – 35), the end papers depicted Nancy peering from behind a tree, watching a mysterious man digging in the night. These end papers, dubbed “digger ends” by Nancy collectors, are often sought specifically for this format. Starting in 1959, the well-known multi-scene end papers were adopted and used in various styles until 1979 (volume #56). The white oval cameo end papers were a later offshoot of the Simon and Schuster reprints.

The last volume to contain a dust jacket was volume #38, The Mystery of the Fire Dragon, and it was only produced in this format for one year in 1961 (in 3 editions). Therefore it is a rare find. In 1962, the formats changed to the cheaper, yellow spine picture covers. Also, the text was revised and updated and the page count was drastically reduced. The books were never to be the same again.

Nancy Drew reprints continue

Because of their popularity, all the old titles continue to be reprinted, over and over again, often several times a year, in the latest style. Thus, the oldest books appear in virtually every format. (Volume #1, The Secret of the Old Clock, has well over 100 separate editions by Grosset and Dunlap alone.) However, whenever a new format was introduced, the older one was usually discontinued, so the oldest formats are naturally the hardest to find.

As mentioned earlier, the changes to the Nancy Drew series happened in parallel with similar changes to other series. When Nancy Drew cover stock switched to blue tweed, for example, The Hardy Boys switched to tan tweed and Dana Girls switched to green tweed. All the major series adopted the wraparound dust jacket in about the same time period and all went to the picture cover format in the early 1960′s (at the same time that the text was reduced and revamped).

Grosset and Dunlap did not put a publishing date in their books, retaining only an outdated copyright date. Therefore, understanding the style changes can help date the books. As another reference point, paper quality was poor for brief periods in the 1940s, causing darkened and more brittle pages. (This is sometimes called “war paper”, as its poor quality was tied to the rationing of better goods during World War II.)

Because each Grosset and Dunlap book listed all the books in that series, it is often assumed that a first edition can be identified if the book list goes only to the current subject title (often described as “lists to self”), and not beyond. However, Grosset and Dunlap sometimes produced as many as five different editions of a book in a single year (before the next title was printed). Furthermore, the listings inside the book lagged well behind the listings on the dust jacket flaps, so it is very risky to make a first edition assumption with a book lacking a dust jacket. The only sure way to identify a first is by the changes in advertising on the dust jacket (particularly when listing other series) and by comparing points using reputable guides.

A very good source for identifying the various editions of Nancy Drew books is Farah’s Guide by David Farah.

“Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.” – The Flag Act of 1777

Always start with the stars. Since 1818, while the stripes were set at 13, alternate red and white, the number of stars would change on the admission of a new state. So, if you want to identify the year your flag was manufactured, count the stars, then check it against the list of official U.S. flags above. Unless, you count 13 of them.

IF YOU HAVE A 13 STAR FLAG

Officially, the U.S. flag had 13 stars from 1777 until 1795. During the time of the 13 star flag, though, many patterns of stars were created and since Congress didn’t specify any particular pattern of stars as official, they all were. The problem is, relatively few 13 star flags have been identified as surviving the 18th century. Most of those are military banners and all are in museums, like the Schuyler Flag.

The Schuyler Flag dates to about 1784, is silk and is part of the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This flag shows the eagle in the canton with an arc of 13 stars above, similar to many star pattern variations during the 18th century, including the circle of stars and the familiar 3,2,3,2,3 pattern of stars. The chart above shows the different patterns utilizing 13 stars in the 18th century.

I mention all this, because your flag will probably be similar to some of these designs and you will make the obvious connection that your flag is from the 18th century. Except it isn’t. The U.S. Navy continued using a 13 star flag at sea until about 1918, the centennial of 1876 brought back the spirit of a nation with a resurgence of 13 star flags and international celebrations like the Columbian Expositions brought forth even more 13 star flags. So, how do you tell when your particular flag was made? You first look at the material used and then how it was manufactured.

MATERIALS USED FOR U.S. FLAGS

Through the years, the U.S. flag has been manufactured using a variety of different materials, mostly worsted wool, cotton, linen, muslin and silk, mostly in that order. Of the surviving flags of the 18th century, and there are only a few, most are regimental flags and they are made from silk as was the custom then.

Throughout the late 18th and 19th centuries, flags were made from worsted wool bunting manufactured, oddly enough, in Great Britain. Yes, it is an ironic twist that all of our earlier Revolutionary War flags were made from British wool. Worsted wool was a lighter wool fabric made from long fibers that was manufactured to be light and thin, but still with considerable strength.

Next, is the manufacture process and the time when innovations change the way flags were created. You won’t be able to understand all the nuances here, but these are the kinds of details that textile experts will be looking for when trying to identify your flag.

INNOVATIONS IN FLAG MANUFACTURE

Use of thread from linen to cotton, 1820s

Until about 1814, the stars on the flags were hand cut from linen and were sewn by hand using a 2 ply linen or silk thread. By the early 1820s, though, cotton became cheaper to use and, being lighter in weight than linen, was used for the stars and the thread thereafter.

Material for the stars and heading, 1820

Throughout the 18th century, the stars and the heading (the part on the hoist end that attachs the flag to a stationery object like a flag pole) were cut from linen. By about 1820, muslin was used for stars and a heavy cotton for the heading, although linen was still used throughout the 19th century for stars, too.

The use of a sewing machine, 1850

The dividing line between hand sewn flags and machine sewn flags was about 1850 with the commercial availability of the mechanized sewing machine using a foot operated treadle. It was now possible to stitch together the stripes and stars in a continuous feed making the stitches more uniform and saving time. The invention of a 3 ply, Z twist thread was used as it was more durable for the use of machines.

Grommets change from hand sewn to metal, 1860s

The grommets, the part of the heading with a hole to connect a halyard (the rope) to a stationery object like a flag pole, changed from completely hand sewn holes to the use of a piece of metal between the fabric and the connecting halyard. Mostly used with official Navy flags, with civilian use much later. A sleeve was also created to house a thick rope with loops to hold the flag to a stationery object.

6 ply cotton thread introduced, 1860s

With the advent of the mechanized sewing machine, the lighter woven silk and cotton stitching thread used for stitching by hand were too soft to be pulled through the eye of the sewing machine. And so, about the 1860s, a 6 ply cotton thread was introduced to help pull it through the machine.

Thread manufacture changes, 1865

Just about 1865, the end of the Civil War, 2 ply thread with an S warp twist became more prevalent in the production of flags. Prior to this innovation, thread was usually a single ply with a Z warp twist. An S twist was yarn that was twisted from left to right , while a yarn that was twisted from right to left / is called a Z twist.

Clamp dyeing, 1870s

In order to produce a cheaper flag, sewing stars and stripes had to be eliminated and so, the United States bunting Company introduced a method to eliminate sewing altogether. Take the canton which is to be dyed blue, place blocks on top in the shape of stars, clamp them down, and dye as normal. The blocks, once pulled off, leave a white star that looks as if it was silk screened. The stripes were done the same way. But, it was still an expensive process and not used often.

Zig zag sewing introduced, 1900

Even with the introduction of the sewing machine into commercial use, it still wasn’t possible to sew stars with any accuracy. Hand sewing was still required. However, with the invention of the zig zag attachment, hand sewing of stars would be finally eliminated.

Use of cotton instead of wool, 1940s

During World War II, the wool bunting normally used for the product of flags was diverted to the manufacture of uniforms for the military. Cotton became the fabric of choice until the advent of a true synthetic material beginning with nylon in 1939 and the 48 star is the one flag that can easily be dated. The wool version was official between 1912 and just before World War II. A cotton 48 star flag was made during the War until 1960 when the addition of Alaska and Hawaii produced the 50 star flag.

LASTLY

Hopefully, the above information will help you to at least begin to understand as to what era your flag belongs based on the material, the manufacture, the use of metal grommets, and the weave of the material.

Those with flags with more than 13 stars can easily use the chart above to date their particular flags.

The information was summarized from a very detailed booklet titled “Thirteen-Star Flags: Keys to Identification,” by the late Grace Rogers Cooper, Curator of Textiles for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of History and Technology in Washington, DC and originally published in 1973 by the Smithsonian Institution Press. It has long been out of print. While I labored to remain faithful to the original text, any and all errors are mine.