Some vintage doorstops have soared in value
Terry & Kim Kovel
Finding ways to keep heavy doors from slamming shut became a problem by the mid-18th century when huge brass hinges held the doors.
The solutions arrived in the form of wedges, heavy rocks or doorstops of many sizes and shapes.
Cast-iron figural doorstops were made in the early 1900s but did not became popular until U.S. companies began making them in the 1910s.
One of the most interesting is called "Huckleberry Finn," a figure of a farm boy in blue overalls and a yellow shirt carrying a fishing pole and bait bucket. The doorstop is marked Littco and was made by the Littlestown Hardware & Foundry Co. that opened in 1916.
The company made doorstops, bookends, hammers and fireplace accessories until 1940. After the war, the company made castaluminum products until the 1990s.
One of their most famous doorstops, Halloween Girl, a costumed girl with a pumpkin, in excellent condition, sold for $29,500 in 2016.
And a Huckleberry Finn doorstop — based on the book of the same name by Mark Twain — sold for $325 in 2016 during a Bertoia auction of only doorstops.
Q: My daughter has two Norman Rockwell collector plates. One plate is titled "Balcony Seat" and the other is "Quiet Reflections." They still are in the This Huckleberry Finn doorstop sold for $325 a few years ago.
original boxes. What are they worth?
A: Collector plates made in "limited editions" were popular in the 1970s and '80s.
Most Norman Rockwell collector plates sell for less than $25.
Q: I found an old Orange Crush bottle that's made of ribbed clear glass. It says "pat D July 20, 1920" on the front and "Crockery City Farms Ice Prod." on the bottom. Is it worth anything?
A: Orange Crush was developed by Neil C. Ward, a chemist in Los Angeles, in 1915. He and Clayton J. Howel incorporated the Orange Crush Bottling Co. in 1916, and the name of the drink later became Ward's Orange Crush.
The Crockery City Brewing Co. opened in East Liverpool, Ohio, in 1900. During Prohibition, the company bottled soft drinks and near beer. The company name was changed to the name on your bottle "Crockery City Ice and Products Co."
Orange Crush bottles with this patent date were made in several sizes. A 6-ounce Orange Crush bottle "pat D July 20, 1920" is worth about $6 to $8. 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.
• Inkstand: porcelain, figural winged leopard feet, gilt wings, turquoise highlights, France, 1900s; 11½ inches; $ 140
• Halloween Jack-inthe-box: pumpkin man, turnip nose, bug eyes, plaid paper litho wood box; 7 inches; $350
• Lunch box: Hogan's Heroes, dome top, barracks, barbershop scene, yellow, gray, 1966; $410