Paul Anka signed a contract with RCA Records in 1960 which would date this postcard in the early 1960s

Totally unexpected, there in the middle of a shoebox full of postcards, were several promotional postcards for pop singer Paul Anka. I was at an antique auction preview and the other browsers gathered around couldn’t understand why I was so excited. It’s doubtful anyone—other than me—understood the importance of my find and how a postcard of a teen idol could be of interest to a collector of circus memorabilia.

Clarification was in the text under the photo:

Paul Anka
Recording Exclusively for RCA-Victor
Personal Management – Irvin Feld

Who was Irvin Feld? On the card he was listed as Paul’s manager and he played a major role in Paul Anka’s early career. In the 1950s and early ’60s, Irvin Feld produced and promoted rock ʹnʹ roll shows featuring some of the biggest recording stars of the day. The circus connection comes in 1967, when Irvin and his brother, Israel Feld, bought Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. The New York Times dubbed Irvin Feld “The Man Who Saved the Circus.” Irvin’s son, Kenneth, took control when his father died in 1984.

The legend goes that Paul Anka sneaked backstage when the touring rock ʹnʹ roll show featuring Fats Domino, the Platters and Chuck Berry was in Anka’s hometown of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Irvin Feld caught him and told him to get out, but Anka made sure Irvin took down his name “because one day, Feld would have to hire him to be on one of his shows.”

Irvin Feld in the backyard of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

In a previous article about the Feld-rock ‘n’ roll connection, you’ll see a souvenir program for The Biggest Show of Stars of ʹ57, which featured Paul Anka, along with more than a dozen other stars. Anka was then part of Irvin’s touring shows. In time, Irvin would become his personal manager.

In 1959, Anka was touring with “The Winter Dance Party.” Some of the performers were to fly from Clear Lake, Iowa, to Fargo, N.D., but Irvin Feld told the young singer he wanted him to stay behind because he had promised Paul’s father he would watch out for him. That was “The Day Music Died.” It was the flight that took the life of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson.

For more information about Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey and Irvin Feld’s role in The Greatest Show On Earth, check out my previous article”Circus Show Names and the Greatest Show Name of All Time.”

It all goes to show that you’ll never know what you’ll find digging through boxes of old postcards that nobody else seems interested in. I can never resist!

Larry Kellogg is a WorthPoint Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

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– JC, New York, NY, via e-mail

ANSWER: I forwarded the photographs that accompanied your e-mail to Debbie and Randy Coe, authors of “Elegant Glass: Early, Depression, and Beyond, 3rd Edition” (Schiffer Publishing, 2007; coesmercantile.com) and among the best glass pattern identifiers I know. Your bonbon or nappy (candy dish works as well) is Jefferson Glass Company’s Pattern #192, known to collectors as Sea Spray, and was made between 1906 and 1907. The piece is found in three colors—blue, green, and white.

Harry Barstow, Grant Fish, George Mortimer and J. D. Sinclair founded Jefferson Glass, located in Steubenville, Ohio, around 1900. Steubenville is the county seat of Jefferson County, hence the firm’s name.

Jefferson Glass produced fancy tableware, e.g., vases, and plain and decorated novelties, many of which were made in opalescent glass. Jefferson Glass remained in Steubenville until 1906, at which time it moved to Follansbee, W.V. Imperial Glass leased its former Steubenville plant. The Follansbee site produced non-opalescent glass and remained in operation until 1933.

A link existed between Jefferson Glass and Northwood. William Heacock, a leading glass researcher focusing on late 19th- and early 20th-century glassware, revealed Jefferson Glass sold a few of its opalescent molds to Northwood. Heacock’s “Collecting Glass, Volume 3” states: “George Mortimer, a prime force in the establishment of the Jefferson factory, went to work for Northwood in 1905, which may be why Northwood copied some fast-selling Jefferson designs.” With these few exceptions, most of Jefferson Glass’s opalescent molds vanished following the move to Follansbee.

Debby and Randy also noted that some collectors confuse Jefferson Glass’s Sea Spray pattern with the S-Repeat pattern. “We don’t feel that it is close to it. The piece shows the beading below the pattern and this is different than the S-Repeat … the pattern really looks like ocean waves as they are breaking on the beach.”

While many glass patterns included numerous forms, often enough to set a complete table, Sea Spray was only available as a bonbon/nappy. As a result, it has more appeal to opalescent rather than pattern glass collectors.

When I assumed the editorship of “Warman’s Antiques and Their Prices” in the early 1980s, opalescent and pattern glass were hot collecting categories. This is no longer true. Many glass collecting categories fell upon hard times after the dawn of the twenty-first century. Pattern and opalescent glass are on the list.

Your bonbon/nappy is more than 100 years old. If age determined value, its value would be high. Alas, age is now a minor value consideration and often discounted completely. The buyer is the key. If there is no buyer, there is no value.

Your Jefferson Glass Sea Spray bonbon/nappy has a secondary market value of between $30 and $45, down more than fifty percent from what it was worth 10 years ago. Its value derives from its conversation/decorative potential as opposed to its collector interest.

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QUESTION: I own a FADA Model 605W radio. It works. What can you tell me about it?

– C, Reading, PA

ANSWER: FADA, because several of its radios were housed in Modernist design catalin cases, is a magic name among radio collectors. Although your Model 605W has a plastic case, it is not catalin.

Frank Angelo D’Andrea (1888-1965) founded FADA. As a youth, he worked for Frederick Pierce Company, a firm that helped inventors develop working models of their inventions. Frank D’Andrea left Frederick Piece and founded FADA (his initials) to produce crystal detectors for radios. D’Andrea’s company was operating in three different locations on Jerome Street in the Bronx, New York, by 1921.

FADA began manufacturing radios in 1923. FADA had a stormy employer-employee relationship, and 500 of the 600 works went on strike in 1926. Lewis Clement, FADA’s chief engineer, left in 1927 for a better offer, as did Dick Klein, second in command. A group of Boston businessmen purchased the company in 1932, filing for bankruptcy in 1934.

A group headed by Jacob M. Marks bought the company and renamed it Fada Radio and & Electric Company. It remained in operation until 1955.

An advertisement in the August 1946 issue of “Radio News” pictures FADA models 605W, 1000 (the famous bullet case), and 1001. The Model 605W is listed as having five tubes.

Had your FADA Model 605W not worked, it would have little to no value. A dealer who restores radios might pay $5 to $10 for parts salvage. Even in working condition, the value is low, i.e., between $50 and $60. Collector interest in the common radios of the 1920s through the 1950s is fading. The collecting community is graying, i.e., collectors are getting older and not being replaced by younger collectors. If you are thinking of selling your radio, the longer you wait, the less you will receive.

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QUESTION: I have a copy of “The Ku Klux Klan in Prophecy, 2nd Edition.” What is its value?

– CB, via e-mail

ANSWER: Bishop Alma Bridwell White authored “The Ku Klux Klan in Prophecy,” a 144-page book, in 1925. White was the founder of the Pillar of Fire Church and author of more than 35 books. The Reverend Branford Clarke provided the illustrations. Arthur H. Bell, the Grand Dragon of the New Jersey Ku Klux Klan, wrote the introduction.

“The Ku Klux Klan in Prophecy” was a compilation of articles written by White for “The Good Citizen,” the Klan’s political periodical. The book’s primary focus was a violent diatribe against the Catholic Church. In addition, it promoted anti-Semitism, white supremacy and women’s equality.

“The Ku Klux Klan in Prophecy” enjoyed numerous editions and printings. It is still in print. Apparently, it is very popular in India. Unfortunately, your e-mail provides only a minimum of information. Go to abebooks.com or bookfinder.com and research the printing you have. If you are fortunate enough to have a first or very early printing of the second edition in very good or better condition, your book can be worth between $75 and $100.

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QUESTION: You write that most 78 rpm record albums are not worth much. There must be exceptions, and I hope I might have one. Attached to my e-mail is a picture of the RCA Victor record album cover for Robert Merrill’s Brooklyn Baseball Cantata, with music by George Kleinsinger with words by Michael Stratton. The piece was composed in 1937 but not recorded until 1948. There are two 78 rpm records in the album. Play time is approximately 12 minutes. What is its value?

– LE, Reading, PA, via e-mail

ANSWER: Robert Merrill, one of the Metropolitan Opera’s leading 20th-century baritones, was an ardent baseball fan. In fact, he died in his chair listening to a World Series game.

Although best known for the playing of his recording of the national anthem at Yankee Stadium, especially on opening day, Robert Merrill recorded the “Brooklyn Baseball Cantata” about a legendary World Series game between the Brooklyn Dodgers—“dem Bums” —and the New York Yankees. The 12-minute cantata is somewhat disjointed. A disgruntled umpire takes out the frustrations of his own failed baseball career on the players. The game seesaws back and forth. A Cookie Lavagetto-pinch-hit homerun wins the game. Alas, it is all a dream. The cantata ends with a “wait until next year” theme.

“The Brooklyn Baseball Cantata” faded from the scene before the runner reached first base, albeit it often is include on Robert Merrill greatest hits albums. “The Brooklyn Baseball Cantata” was one of several Dodgers’ songs recorded in 1948-1949, including Negro bandleader Buddy Johnson’s “Did You see Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?”

George Kleinsinger (1914-1982) is far better known as the co-author, along with Paul Tripp, of “Tubby the Tuba” and the numerous musical scores that supported the book. Kleinsinger’s “Brooklyn Baseball Cantata” is a mere footnote.

Copies of the RCA “Brooklyn Baseball Cantata” are readily available. The album sells for between $15 and $20 in the general marketplace. Collectors of Brooklyn Dodgers memorabilia pay a bit more.

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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 “WHATCHA GOT?,” Harry’s antiques-and-collectibles radio call-in show on Sunday mornings between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Eastern Time. It streams live on http://www.gcnlive.com 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 letters 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, 5093 Vera Cruz Road, Emmaus, PA 18049. You also 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. 2009

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Brimfield, Mass., is a small New England town with a population of about 5,000 or so. Settled in 1706, it shows its traditional New England quaintness rather well. It has its large, steepled church, and with the leaves of autumn or the snow of winter, looks the part in any Norman Rockwell painting. And then for one week every spring, fall, and summer, the population doubles with 5,000 antique dealers converging on Brimfield to create the “Antique Capital of the United States.”

I had the most unique opportunity to go antique hunting with Will Seippel, CEO and founder of WorthPoint.com to learn about furniture and other things that caught his eye. Will is quite the collector himself and he finds the most fascinating items.

We wandered to the original show that started it all back in 1959; J&J Promotions. There are 20 different shows now at Brimfield, and Will was glad to be back to the place where he himself was a dealer about 20 years ago.

The first stop was the RCA, Edison Electric booth. We were greeted by an oversized Nipper, the original RCA Victor logo and mascot—you remember, the perplexed black and white dog looking into the new fangled Victrola that played the original 78 rpm records. Will found quite a stack of original Edison wax cylinders used for the original phonograph or gramophone. “The thing you have to be careful for is that they don’t end up with a mold on them. When that happens, no more sound.” Will says. These cylinders are very plentiful and the WorthPoint Worthopedia has many auctions where similar cylinders sold on average of $3 to $5 each.

Interestingly, Will walked into a trailer displaying early phonograph cabinets and noticed one from the Sonora Phonograph Company of New York, N.Y.

“It actually belonged to my great-grandfather and that was his record company,” Will says. The company produced phonographs from about 1907 and later also distributed radios until the company closed in 1930. Will tells the story of his grandfather locking the plant after a union strike which bankrupted the firm, all while his father, the true owner of the company, was on vacation. Still, a well preserved Sonora phonograph has been sold at auction for $200 to $300.

I pulled a surprise on Will that day. As the Worthologist recruiter for WorthPoint then, I passed a box full of old license plates and informed Will that we just brought on our own Worthologist for license plates, a very collectible item these days. We found plates for Massachusetts 1966, California 1974, New Hampshire, Kentucky 1970, and Michigan 1976 still in its wrappers.

“I always like to see the ones from Washington, D.C. with ‘No Taxation Without Representation,’” Will says. To get a good idea as to the value of any early license plates visit WorthPoint’s Worthologist Andy Bernstein. Some very early license plates have values into the thousands if you know what to look for.

As always, antiquing with Will Seippel is a great educational experience. Will’s stories, knowledge and the practiced eye made me a better collector. Everyone should go antiquing with Will at least once. It was a great treat.

To watch a video of Will Seippel’s tour of Brimfield, click here.

To see an example of an Editon gramaphone, click here.

To see an example of an Sonora phonograph, click here.

To visit Andy Bernstein’s Worthologist home page, click here.

Tom Carrier is a general Worthologist, with an expertise in a wide variety of subjects, including vexillology, or the study of flags.

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth