Easter bunny arrived via Germany
Terry & Kim Kovel
Where did the Easter bunny come from? There is no suggestion of an egg-laying rabbit or hare in the Bible’s scriptures. There were stories about decorated eggs at Easter as early as the 1300s. And children made nests for the colored eggs.
In America, the bunny arrived in the early 1700s with German immigrants in Pennsylvania.
The idea of eggs at Easter was universal, but instead of a bunny, countries had foxes, cuckoo birds, hares and more.
The rabbit symbolizing Easter is now a fluffy, young bunny, even though it was an adult rabbit in earlier years.
A doorstop shaped like a rabbit probably was not originally made as a symbol of Easter. The iron figure of a sitting rabbit was made in the early 1900s by Spencer Manufacturing Co., in Guilford, Connecticut. The 15-inch-high doorstop was so rare it auctioned at Bertoia in New Jersey for $5,400 — three times the estimate.
Q: Could you tell me how much my barber chair is worth? It is white metal and brown leather and reads “Berninghaus” on the footrest.
A: Eugene Berninghaus was born in Germany in 1845. He moved with his parents to New York in 1849, then to Cincinnati in 1856. Berninghaus also lived for a short time in Chicago, but after the 1871 fire, he and his family moved back to Cincinnati where he began making perfumes and barber’s lotions.
In 1875, he opened the Eugene Berninghaus Co., which made barber chairs, other barber furniture and shaving implements from custom-decorated shaving mugs to razors, clippers and shears.
Berninghaus died in 1924 and his business lasted until 1938.
Berninghaus was the first to design a barber chair that both reclined and revolved called “Paragon.” One of his best-known and most collectible models is the “Hercules.” Its hydraulic mechanism cranks up the chair with a lever, and then down when the lever is released.
Older and more elaborate Berninghaus chairs made with woods such as mahogany, oak and walnut can sell for more than $1,000. Chairs such as your Berninghaus Hercules model with porcelaincoated metal and leather upholstery have sold in poor condition for $100 and in good condition Iron doorstops were made by many cast-iron toy makers. This rabbit doorstop was made in Connecticut. Bertoia Auctions sold it for $5,400. for $400 to $600.
Q: I have a 10-volume set of “Works of Edgar Allan Poe” by Harper & Brother Publishers. They are 5 by 7½ inches and have a dark-green binding with gold lettering. I can’t find any date, but it reads “Preface to the 1849 Edition” in the first volume. Can you give me an idea of its value?
A: Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49) wrote poems, stories, novels and mysteries. His work became well-known after his narrative poem, “The Raven,” was published in 1845.
Two volumes of his poems and stories were published by J.S. Redfield in 1849. The preface in your first volume is from this version. The owners of the rights to publish Poe’s works and the number of volumes published varied during the next few years from four volumes to 17. The undated 10-volume set by Harper sells for about $175.
CURRENT PRICES
Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.
• Hampshire, vase, wide-angle handles, support, green matte, round foot, 8 by 5½ inches, $95
• R.S. Germany, plate, parrot, green and darkgreen leaves, silver overlay, 7¼ inches, $120
• Lamp, electric, glass, opalescent, nude woman, seated in waves, shell at back, footed,
23 by 13 inches, $310
• Batchelder, tile, castle, turrets, trees, blue, brown, 11¾ by 5¾ inches, $395
• Mochaware, sugar, lid, marbleized bands, brown, blue, flower finial, 1800s, 4¼ inches, $2,195
• Doll, automaton, dandy smoker, black, papiermache head, marbled wood cabinet, 1935, 37½ by 18½ inches, $8,055