Page 50 - April 2024

WHAT’S SELLING ON eBay
WHAT’S SELLING ON eBay

by Jessica Kosinski

$519.99 (Bids 105, Bidders 20) 1896 Antique Cookbook Vintage Even in the admitted
Cookery Victorian Recipes Pastry Confectionery Old. Food for the not perfect condition
Hungry: A Complete Manual of Household Duties. Well-tried recipes described above, bidders
compiled from famous sources. Together with bills of fare for all seasons. went wild over this
By Julia McNair Wright and Marion Harland. Published in 1896. 9” x 6” engine. There are multi-
hardcover. Illustrated with color frontis, full-page black and white illustra- ple groups devoted to
tions, etc. 532 pages. VERY GOOD ANTIQUE CONDITION. Exterior the collection, restora-
has some surface wear. Binding is solid, strong hinges, firm text block. tion, display, and use of
Pages are clean and complete. No torn, loose, or missing pages. Very nice Lionel trains. Therefore,
example of this rare late Victorian antique cookbook. it is no wonder this one attracted so much attention.
As far as why Lionel is so popular, its name has been synonymous with
JK: The above is only a partial excerpt from quality ever since its first train, the Electric Express, was released in 1901.
the detailed description provided by this That was the year after Lionel Cowen founded the company in New York
seller, who also pointed out the many recipes City. The company sold the rights to its train product lines in 1969. Lionel
and interesting illustrations from the book. trains produced during those six decades are described as either pre-war
It is one of several books to sell well on eBay (World War II) or post-war, with the pre-war trains like this example often
in the last several months. The reason it being the most sought after by collectors.
attracted so much attention may be the The term “standard gauge” used in the description of this engine refers
simple fact that it was a cookbook. People to the track size on which the train runs. At the time, other companies had
are often fascinated by recipes of the past been using a certain gauge since 1891 for their train tracks which was
and wish to try to recreate them. This book considered the industry’s standard gauge. That gauge was later officially
was also well illustrated, which may have dubbed “O Gauge.” However, Lionel did not initially use that standard
been an additional draw. However, the gauge. Instead, the company created a new larger track gauge and called it
names attached to the book were likely “The Standard of the World” (later shortened to “Standard Gauge”).
attractive pieces of the puzzle as well. Eventually, the company also started producing “O Gauge” trains.
As the seller points out, the book was That sparked some speculation as to weather its initial gauge was
compiled by Julia McNair Wright (1840- intentionally different from that used by other model train producers
1903) who was born in New York, and or whether the unusual size was a mistake, but that question was never
Marion Harland (1830-1922), who was definitively answered.
born in Virginia. Both women were authors,
with the latter’s career spanning the better
part of seven decades. Wright was the wife of $3,150 (Bids 70, Bidders 18) Antique Catholic Church Altar French
mathematician Dr. William James Wright. Sterling Silver Gothic Chalice France Wow! Presented here for auction
She wrote several books, and all were is a very rare antique Catholic church altar chalice. It is a solid French
financial successes. Two of her most popular Sterling silver piece and is Gothic in design with elegant filigree and
works were the four-volume The Nature Readers and the 626-page The engraved detailing throughout. It has medallions with Jesus, the blessed
Field Of Fortune or Practical Life. Harland’s novels, many of which took Virgin Mary, and St. Joseph, as well as a blue enameled cross. Around the
place around the time of the Civil War, were known for their unique cup in Latin, it reads “hic est enim calix sanguinis.”
perspectives and often conflicting narratives. That conflict existed in Which translates to “This is the cup of my blood.”
Harland herself, who moved North with her husband around that time Overall it stands 9 1/4 inches tall, the cup is 4 inches
but grew up in the South. She was also known for her practical guides for in diameter, and the base is 6 1/2 inches in diameter.
women regarding household cleaning and general management. The underside is marked “Made
in France.” The overall weight is
22.460 troy ounces.
$2,150 (Bids 74, Bidders 15) Lionel
Early Pre-war Standard Gauge No. 5 JK: Many people enjoy collect-
Steam Locomotive! 1913-15! Nice! PA. ing Sterling silver objects. This
Here is a nice 100% original 5 steamer. It chalice is also highly desirable
has never been serviced or cleaned. The due to its depictions of religious
paint is C7, with some dings and dents figures and lovely intricate ele-
mostly confined to the left rear. When ments, such as the blue enameled
tested it ran well, but I could not get cross the seller mentions. Any collector of religious icons would love to
reverse to engage, the switch needs adjust- have it, which explains why several collectors battled over it.
ment. This will clean up beautifully and is
very hard to find freshly picked like this Jessica Kosinski has been a freelance researcher and writer since 2001. She developed a passion for
one! Sold as-is, as shown! 1980s pre-1980s TV and films as a kid, and she has never grown out of it. Recently, she turned
that passion into a retro TV and film blog. Follow along with her at medium.com/@jkos_writing,
as she dives deep into the characters, actors, quirks, and trivia that brought us some of the greatest
JK: Train and general toy collectors have films and shows in TV history and also discusses some of the more obscure films and shows most of
been swooning over Lionel trains for years. us may have forgotten.

48 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles