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By Terry Kovel and Kim Kovel

ome schooling and extra time spent with family because of Collecting Tip:
coronavirus health rules have created a demand for maps, globes and Swish some vinegar in a stained coffee or tea cup.
Hmore information about other countries. It is not difficult to figure Then wash and dry the cup. The stains will disappear.
out the probable age of a globe. The older the globe, the higher the price Terry Kovel
might be. The first terrestrial globe known to historians was probably made in
1492, a globe showing what the land mass looked like on a sphere. It was Q. Are old newspapers reporting the assassination of President John F. Kennedy
created in Germany. worth anything? I have two full Wall Street Journal newspapers dated Nov. 22,
A terrestrial globe you might buy today at a flea market or house sale is 1963, and Nov. 25, 1963.
probably less than 100 years old. Look for the name of the manufacturer. You A. The value of old newspapers is based on rarity as well as the historical
can research when the company made globes. Early makers are listed online significance of the event it’s reporting. A newspaper from the city where
and in schoolbooks. You can note the country names on a globe and make a the event happened, published when it happened, is worth more than
list to guide your search for a date. There have been many name changes and newspapers from other areas. The assassination of President John F.
they overlap in time, so a list helps. Russia became the Soviet Union in 1922. Kennedy, while he was riding in a motorcade in Dallas, made headlines in
Israel was created in 1948. The Gold Coast became Ghana in 1957. Ceylon newspapers all over the United States and beyond. Many people saved the
became Sri Lanka in 1972. Czechoslovakia split into two countries in 1993 newspapers, thinking they might be valuable someday, but there are so many
and a new map or globe now calls them the Czech Republic and Slovakia. copies around that most have no value. However, the Nov. 23 edition of the
The first celestial globes showing the positions of stars were created in the Dallas Morning News in good condition is worth $200 or more.
second century and they are also made today. Probably the most expensive
new globe available is one sold by Hammacher ***
Schlemmer for $14,000. A new school globe can sell for
as little as $70 Q. I have a set of dishes: Greenwood, Old Ivory, Syracuse China. There are eight
place settings that include dinner plates, soup bowls, salad plates, bread plates,
This terrestrial globe was made by Rand-McNally in the 1930s. cups and saucers. There is also a meat platter, serving dish and gravy boat. There
The stand is made of mahogany. The 17-inch globe has a are 51 pieces in all. They are pristine, no chips. Is the set valuable or should
calibrated meridian, and a paper horizon band. It sold at I offer it to my granddaughters?
Locati Auctions for $154.
A. Syracuse China is a trademark used by Onondaga Pottery of Syracuse,
New York, beginning about 1893. The company changed its name to
Syracuse China Corporation in 1966. Syracuse China closed in 2009.
ntique mixing table” is what the auction catalog said. Meant to mix
what? How did you use it? When was it made? Where did it belong Greenwood pattern dinnerware was made from 1949 to 1967. You can find
“Ain the house? An online search was no help. Today the name asking prices for individual pieces of Syracuse Greenwood dinnerware
“mixing table” refers to the electronic consoles that are used to create music online. Sets of dishes are hard to sell and difficult to pack and ship. Offer
recordings. A search of several large modern dictionaries, books on period them to your granddaughters as part of your family heirlooms. Dinner plates
furniture and more online searching got pictures but no explanation. But there sell at retail for $10.
was a clue. The auction’s piece was probably made by Anthony Quervelle
(1789-1856). He was a popular furniture maker who worked in Philadelphia ***
about 1815. He specialized in carved wooden, usually mahogany, pieces in Q. How much is a deck of playing cards from Air Force One worth? The cards
the Classical style. have a facsimile signature of President Lyndon B. Johnson.
The mixing table was used in a Southern dining room to mix drinks. There
were special shelves to store bottles. Its marble, not mahogany, top was A. In 1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first president to travel in an
airplane. His successor, President Harry Truman, was the first to give decks
less likely to be stained if a drink was spilled. The top of the table was 40 inches of playing cards to VIPs and guests who flew on the presidential plane. The
from the floor, the perfect serving height. To add to the room’s decoration, presidential plane was not called Air Force One until 1953. The tradition of
mixing tables were made with decorative scrolls and giving playing cards continued, except under President Carter, who thought
panels. A Neal Auction in New Orleans sold a mixing the giveaway was a waste of taxpayer’s money. The first playing cards to
table attributed to Quervelle for $3,200. Several include the president’s signature were those given by Johnson in the 1960s.
other similar tables sold in the past few years for a Unopened decks, still in their cellophane wrap, are worth more than decks
comparable price.
that have been opened and used. Prices for memorabilia from some presidents
This is an antique mixing table that is 40 inches high and are more than those from others. Recent prices for President Johnson’s Air
36 inches wide. It is used to store liquor, mix drinks and become Force One playing cards include a boxed set of two unopened decks for $125
a serving table in a dining room. It sold for about $3,000.
and a boxed set with two decks that have been opened for $50.
Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States.
Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.
CURRENT PRICES
Roseville vase, Wisteria pattern, pink, green leaves, blue Tea caddy, wood, pear shape stem, hinged lid with stem, Silver flatware sterling, Acorn pattern by Georg Jensen,
drip ground, 2 angular handles, 4 inches, $80. bone inlaid escutcheon, lock, lead lined interior, early 6 each dinner forks, dessert forks, spoons & knives,
20th century, 7 inches, $590. butter knife, cheese knife, 26 pieces, $1,025.
Furniture, rocker, faux leather, rounded form, stuffed,
curved arms, wood rockers, marked Vladimir Kagan, Sampler, needlework, alphabets, flowers, verse, Go Toy robot, revolving, flashing, door opens on chest, tin,
25 x 27 inches, $175. Forward, Rachel C. Pittenger, May 3rd 1845, lithograph, battery operated, box with robot & flying
Manalapan, New Jersey, frame, 18 x 17 inches, $750. saucer, Alps, Japan, 10 x 6 inches, $1,845.
Doll, Madame Alexander, Wendy Goes to a Garden
Party, plastic, titian hair, bent knee walking body, Cut glass tumble up set, Hindoo pattern by J. Hoare, Cut Glass, rose bowl, Persian pattern, round, closely
embroidered Swiss organdy dress, satin shoes, 1956, vertical ribs, rayed base, jar & fitted inverted tumbler notched rim, rayed base, American Brilliant Period,
8 inches, $345. top, 7 1/2 inches, $805. 2 x 3 inches, $95.
Terry Kovel and Kim Kovel answer questions sent to the column. By sending a letter with a question and a picture, you give full permission for use in the column or any other Kovel forum. Names,
addresses or email addresses will not be published. We cannot guarantee the return of photographs, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. The amount of mail makes personal answers or
appraisals impossible. Write to Kovels, (Journal of Antiques & Collectibles), Kovels.com P.O. Box 23192, Beachwood, Ohio 44122.
September 2020 43