ANTIQUEHAVEN

I have found what I believe to be a 17th c Painting on wood signed Crosio. Can you help me identify it? You have what appears to be a processed painting of a work by Luigi Crosio (1835-1915) an Italian Artist. The work is on masonite, which was not invented until the 1920's. The work is called "Grandpa's Birthday" and can be found for sale on the internet as a Chromolithograph print, so, his original work was commercially reproduced. Your piece is likely from the 1930's.

You have probably seen the term "Gay Fad" associated with various hand decorated glassware from the 1940's-1960's. The term originated from Gay Fad Studios (1945-1962) which was formed by Fran Taylor and mainly based in Lancaster, Ohio. Gay Fad Studios painted blanks from Anchor Hocking (Fire-King), Hazel Atlas, Federal Glass and Imperial Glass among others. There is a terrific 2 volume resource book on Gay Fad written by Donna McGrady and Kitty Hanson which can be purchased at www.santafetradingpost.com which shows over 900 designs and gives examples of numerous pieces misidentified as Gay Fad. Misidentifying Gay Fad pieces is very common. Fire King reference books have "Gay Fad" patterned pieces which actually might be attributed to Washington Co out of PA which was another glass decorating Co. Not every piece of hand decorated glass is "Gay Fad". Gay Fad sold their own wares and I recently purchased a Martini Mixer which was painted on a Feder...

I have an item that I can’t find any info on. It is a Board game of sorts. It was made in Trenton, Michigan, 1974 (dated) by Henkel G & T Company. It also say’s Donald G. Henkel 1974. You will also notice that the Illustration was done by Henkel. Henkel G & T Company was formed in 1974 by Donald G Henkel, still a current resident of Trenton, MI. Henkel is a local MI author who has written a couple terrific children's books. He has set up at the Wyandotte Art Fair and makes appearances at local schools and libraries. Apparently in the mid 1970's, he tried his hand at game making as he also copyrighted "Call Plays Football" and "Call Stick Hockey". This particular game, "Call Plays Baseball" would have negligible value. These types of sports games do not have sport's collector's appeal. Baseball game collector's prefer games that are player endorsed or that are older (Pre-1960's) with boards or covers with great graphics. Wh...

I need this deed appraised. You have a land grant that was given during the time of the presidency of Martin Van Buren. This 1837 grant, would have been signed by one of his secretaries which may have included one of two of his sons. Land grants were being issued in the tens of thousands and it would have been impossible for a president to sign such minor documents. The practice of secretaries signing such documents regularly started under Andrew Jackson in 1833. These Van Buren era land grants are quite common and I sold one at one of my auctions in the last year or two for under $50. Major auction houses seem to sell them for anywhere from $10-200. Your example has some soiling and damage, so, I would expect it to bring on the lower end of that scale. I am not an autograph expert, but, I examined a legit example of Van Buren's signature and it does not look anything like the one on your grant.

I have 8 pieces of Ford Rotunda China. Could you please tell me what they might be worth? From the 1930's-1960's, Ford had restaurant china with it's logo made for use at the Ford Rotunda Pavillion Cafeteria. There were many pieces including plates, bowls, celery dishes, butter pats, cups and saucers, creamers, sugar bowls and soup and salad bowls. Most pieces out there were made by Shenango China, but, you will find pieces made by Buffalo and Wellsville China. Plates that have the Rotunda pictured on them are popular and very eye appealing. Odd pieces, such as the fluted creamer, can command hundreds of dollars. Trying to put together a complete set of china with the serving pieces could be both challenging, fun and rewarding. I will also add.......expensive. Your Salad Plates are worth about $20-25 each and the Cup and Saucer Sets are worth about $50-65 a set. So, you are looking at about $180-230 retail.

I recently saw your blog online and am desperately trying to find answers about a lamp I recently purchased. Its more of a vintage piece. It is a F. Cooper Soldier Statue Table Lamp. I was wondering if you could tell me anything about the piece, like when it was made and how much it might be worth? Your lamp was made by Frederick Cooper Studios out of Chicago. It appears to be from the mid-late 1950's-early 1960's period. The "soldier" looks like a naval officer. I believe this would have been part of a pair of lamps. Having just one can affect value a bit. It is my estimation that this guy would bring anywhere up to $50 at live auction. I wrote an article about older Frederick Cooper Studio pieces which can be found on my blog.

Please let me know if you think it is worthwhile restoring the attached clock. I have all of the parts. I need to find somewhere to have the metal replated. If costs to repair would exceed value, I was thinking I’d just paint the metal to clean it up, and resurface the felt on the wooden base. This clock's movement was made by the well known and prolific Samuel Marti & Son (c1850-1920). The actual manufacturer of the case would be near impossible to figure out without any markings. Finding this exact case would be almost as difficult. Comparing it to similar styles, the clock would be in the $500-1,100 range at live or internet auction in nice condition. Not being a clock repairman, I could not tell you what it would cost to repair, but, from experience, I would think it would be all of that for a repair/replating.