Carbonated-Drink Ad Pieces Have Yet to Fizzle

Carbonated drinks were served in drugstores before they were bottled and sold at grocery stores. The drinks originally were promoted as medicinal, but by 1900 they were marketed as delicious.

Pepsi, Coke, Hires, Moxie and a few other brands were popular in the early 1900s. Each company advertised with calendars, tin trays, mugs, dispensers and small paper giveaways.

Collectors now search for old and new carbonated-drink advertising pieces. This year, an old Hires syrup dispenser set a record when it sold for $106,700.

Charles Hires was a Philadelphia druggist. In the 1870s, he mixed a syrup that was diluted to make a health drink of roots and herbs. He sold the syrup at soda fountains, where it was mixed with carbonated water.

Some of the Hires pieces in greatest demand feature the Hires Boy, usually in a bib. He wore a dress from 1891 to 1906, a bathrobe from 1907 to 1914 and a dinner jacket from 1915 to 1926.

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Q. Does the name “Lobach” carved on the undersides of the seats of our bamboo Windsor chairs mean anything to you?

A. Samuel Lobach made chairs in Pike Township, Berks County, Pa., in the early 1800s.Windsor chairs were more practical and less expensive than the fancy chairs with rush or cane seats.

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Q. I have my grandmother’s 100-year-old black-and-white clip-back cameo earrings. The clips are not holding. Can they be fixed?

A. Your earrings were either post earrings that were changed by your grandmother in the 1930s or they are not 100 years old. The clip back for earrings was not introduced until the 1930s. A good jeweler can tighten the clips unless a part is missing. A broken clip can be replaced.

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Q. My stuffed printed-cloth “Tabby Cat” is 11 inches high. It is gray and brown. On the bottom piece of fabric making the paws are the printed words “Pat. July 5, 92 and Oct. 21, 92.”

A. Your stuffed toy was made from fabric manufactured by the Arnold Print Works in North Adams, Mass. The prints were made from 1876 to 1925. The company made numerous fabrics that could to be cut and stitched to make toys, including several types of dogs, a monkey, a hen and chicken, cats in several colors and sizes, a rooster, a rabbit, an owl and the full set of the famous Palmer Cox Brownies. The company also made more traditional dolls. The uncut fabric for one of the toys is worth about $150. A well-made stuffed toy in good condition brings $75.

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Q. I paid $20 at a tag sale for a cast-iron stand used by a cobbler. It is 22 inches high and flares out at the base. It came with four cast-iron “shoes”--sizes A, C, E and G--that fit into a series of grooves on the top of the stand. The stand is marked “Enterprise Mf’g Co. Phil’a, U.S.A. Pat. Dec. 24. 95. No. 7.”

A. You have what is known as a “last,” which was indeed used to make shoes. Shoe lasts were widely used by 1785. The earliest ones were made of hardwood.

Enterprise Manufacturing Co. of Philadelphia was founded in 1864. It made all sorts of cast-iron tools and kitchen equipment, including meat choppers, coffee mills, nutcrackers, cherry pitters, trivets and irons.

Your last is worth about $40.

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Q. Our only heirloom is a vase marked “Danmark.” It is 4 inches tall and decorated in blue, white and gold. Does the mark mean anything?

A. It means the vase was made in Denmark. Danmark is how Danes refer to their country. The word was used in marking pottery shipped from Denmark to the United States between 1850 and 1890; after that, the American spelling was used.

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Q. When were flower wreaths made of feathers in vogue? The one I have is in a frame backed by black velvet. In the center of the wreath is a design of carved wood.

A. Many different types of handmade ornaments were popular in the last half of the 19th century. Shadow-box frames filled with woven hair, dried flowers, cut paper, wax flowers or feather wreaths were popular. The women’s magazines of the day gave detailed instructions for making the wreaths. Those made from a variety of colored feathers were used as wall decorations. Wreaths made of white feathers were made to honor a dead family members.

If you wish other information about antiques, include a self-addressed, stamped (55 cents) envelope, and the Kovels will send you a listing of helpful books and publications. Write to the Kovels, The Los Angeles Times, King Features Syndicate, 235 E. 45th St., New York, NY 10017.

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Current Prices

Values are recorded from antique shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.

* Popeye the Sailor bubble-blowing pipe, white plastic, boat shape, 5 inches: $35.

* Living Barbie doll, brunet, original silver-and-gold swimsuit, 1970s: $75.

* Beatles wallet, vinyl, Day-Glo pink, autographed, copyright Ramat & Co., London, 1964: $110.

* Stanley Tool catalog, No. 110, hardcover, circa 1911, 52 pages: $375.

* Manhattan Optical Co. camera, double bellows, circa 1890, 8 by 10 inches: $445.

* Schwinn J.C. Higgins bicycle, three speeds, 1951, Sears, Roebuck & Co, 71 by 22 1/4 by 39 inches: $635.

* Pairpoint candy jar, Flame & Urn pattern covered, 12 by 5 inches: $710.

* Pilkington pottery vase, stylized lions, frothy green glaze, marked, 8 inches: $920.

* Patchwork quilt, calico, circles, heart border, signed in squares, circa 1850, 84 by 98 inches: $1,275.

* George III library chair, molded flower head, padded arms and back, circa 1770: $3,450.