THIS OLD THING
Q. I received this little trunk as a gift more than 55 years ago. As far as I can recollect, it was purchased in a small antiques shop on Sherbrooke Street in Montreal. It is approximately 35 cm wide by 20 cm deep and 12 cm high (14 x 8 x 5 inches). It is made of wood covered with an animal hide (perhaps beaver), with leather bands and brass tacks. A provenance label inside the lid includes the information “Wheeler & Travel, Trunk Manufacturers, Entrance of the St. Antoine Suburbs, Montreal.” I am curious as to its age and purpose. — Jacques, Ottawa
A. This little trunk is a gem, and was probably made for some lucky little girl to store her doll clothes and accessories. Hide-covered trunks were in vogue from 1780 to about 1830, and the slightly domed lid was used throughout the 1800s, so this was likely made between 1800 and 1830. The intact and very rare label of this until-now unknown company will be of great interest to collectors of Canadian trunk manufacturers. There is great interest in rare luggage today, making this worth $375.
Q. I’m wondering if this brass item might be of some historical value. It was given to my wife by the owner of an antiques store in Paris, France, in the 1960s. It weighs about 24 grams and is about 8 cm high and 6 cm wide (3 x 2.4 inches). The thickest part of it is a little over 5.5 mm (0.216 inches). I feel its appearance resembles a sheaf of wheat strung together by clamps of wood consisting of two sticks which are tied together by three cords or wires. There is a loop by which this pendant could be suspended. I have shown this to museum professionals in Ottawa and Toronto but no one could even venture an opinion. — Wolf, Gloucester
A. This small mystery is a bookmark. The thin end, designed to look like a tassel, was meant to slide between the pages, and the looped handle would very likely have had an actual tassel draped from it. Bookmarks were a luxury item from about 1880 to 1920, and many were made with precious stones and metals. This one is much more recent — mid-20th century at the earliest — produced in China for the western market, along with a plethora of other inexpensive novelty charms and other brass items. Some are cleverly marketed as “vintage retro,” but for very little money. While fun and interesting, and a collectible item for sure, I’d value it at not more than $20.
Q. We have admired this pair of sweetly sentimental Victorian figurines which we display on a china cabinet. We believe they were given to my grandmother Etta when she was married in 1897 in the house we now live in. They are 28 cm tall (11 inches) and the only marking we can spot is the faintly impressed number 5368 on the side of the bases of both figurines. Etta’s older brother worked in Chicago, so they could have been a gift from her brother and sister-in-law. As they are one of the few things we can attribute to Etta, we are not likely to sell but are curious about their origin and their value in today’s market. — Harold and Lynne, Kitchener
A. Your Chicago hunch is spot on. Chicago-based department store Montgomery Ward & Co. list these figures in their 1895 catalogue as “genuine imported,” likely from Germany. The larger size like yours would have cost about 55 cents for the pair — a handsome wedding gift in an age when an experienced coachman might make a monthly wage of $20. Twenty years back I would have valued the pair at about $150 retail. Today both bisque and figurines, in general overall are not being collected avidly, and their value will be about half. Still, they are infinitely more valuable as a treasured family heirloom.