Value is all in the name
This is the sixth of an occasional feature on This Old Thing where we revisit items submitted for appraisal some years ago, and see how their values have changed. This week we look at a set of Beatles dolls, a silver model of Casa Loma and a Martin Brothers pottery clock, comparing their current values with those between nine and 11 years ago.
Q. I bought this 1963 set of Beatles dolls for $600 in 1986. They are in great shape and all have their original hair and instruments. Was it a good investment? — Richard, Toronto
A. Put it this way: you haven’t lost money, but you haven’t made any either. This Fab Four set was actually made in 1964 by the New Jersey-based Remco toy company. It was the year The Beatles made their first visit to North America and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. The set sold at Woolworths for $3.77 at the time. The tiny dolls (standing just 13 centimetres or five inches high) were wildly popular and flew off the shelves. I’m not entirely sure your Ringo drum set is original, since most Ringos I’ve seen only had a single drum which hung around his neck. Today, your Fab Four will still perform but more to the tune of $300.
Q.This antique model of Toronto’s Casa Loma was made shortly after the castle was completed around 1915, and it’s been in our family ever since. It was made by the jeweller William Nassau McKendry, who came to Canada from Ireland in the 1880s and ran a jewelry store on Yonge Street in Toronto. The piece is made of Cobalt silver with a gold dust wash and small polished stones. It weighs approximately 3.6 kilograms (eight pounds) and stands about 30 cm tall (12 inches.) A newspaper article from the time described it as “a masterpiece.” — Rick, Prince Edward County
A.I totally agree. This is a masterpiece. It’s also the ultimate piece of Canadiana, with its arch of maple leaves and beaver crown. As you probably know, Casa Loma was built by Toronto financier, industrialist and military man Sir Henry Pellatt. Construction began in 1911 and took $3.5 million and three years to complete. “Cobalt silver” is silver from one of the many mines in the Cobalt, Ont. area which, in 1908, were producing nine per cent of the world’s silver. According to Joan Crosbie, curator of the Casa Loma Museum, Sir Henry had considerable interests in these mines and served at one time as president of several area mining companies. Why this model was made, or who commissioned it, if anyone, is still a mystery. It’s very likely one-of-a-kind and definitely valuable. In 2008 Bill Kime, head of Decorative Arts at Waddington’s auction house in Toronto, suggested a conservative value of $10,000. What it’s worth today is anyone’s guess — definitely more!
Q.My grandmother bought this clock at an auction in London, England, then gave it to me as a wedding present in 1946. She told me to take care of it because it was valuable. It’s 25 cm tall (almost 10 inches) and there are two places for candles, one on either side of the clock face. The pocket below the face is decorated with two lizards and it’s a receptacle for burnt matches. There’s also a rough spot where you can ignite the match, hence the word ‘strike’ on it. The clock face is marked ‘Lund & Blockley’ and the back of the pottery body is marked ‘RW Martin, England.’ — Pamela, Brampton
A.This was a fabulous wedding present. Pretty much anything made by the four Martin Brothers is both rare and valuable. All their pottery pieces are handmade, so no two are exactly alike. They’re best known for their grotesque creatures, many of which have strangely human features. (One of their grotesque birds brought $50,000 at auction.) The company was founded in Fullam, England in 1873. Lund & Blockley made the clock works for this and Martin Brothers made the pottery case, which dates to the 1870s or ’80s. As then, it is still wonderful and desirable — worth about the same at $7,500.