Great horses and advertising are blue-chips
This is the 10th 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 painting, a crock and an oil lamp comparing their current values with those of 11 and 12 years ago.
Q . This painting has been in our family for generations. It belonged to my mother’s grandfather and, while it’s not dated, we expect it must be over 100 years old. The painting is signed J.J. Kenyon and it’s clearly stated that the horse, Stockwell Chief, belonged to my great-grandfather, Robert Conlin of Grand Valley, Ont. It measures 43 by 56 cm (17 by 22 inches) and is in pretty good shape, with only some slackness in the canvas. My great-grandfather wouldn’t have been a wealthy man so I doubt the painting was commissioned, but rather that Mr. Kenyon was a travelling livestock artist that approached farmers. Greg, Guelph A . J.J. Kenyon (1862-1937) owned and loved horses. He was born in the southwestern Ontario hamlet of Washington, in Oxford County. He was a photographer as well as a painter, and attended fairs c. 1890 to 1910 so he could photograph and later paint the animals he saw. He also went to race tracks in New York and Kentucky where he made some money painting portraits of the winning horses. Kenyon’s paintings are quite rare and desirable. I estimated this painting at $5,000 in 2007. Today this horse will easily gallop to $7,000. Q. We purchased this lamp in 1998 from an antique dealer for $1,600. It stands 93 cm high (36.5 inches) to the top of the glass chimney. There’s also a manufacturer’s paper sticker on the bottom indicating it was made by Pairpoint. It was already converted to electricity when we bought it. That’s all we know, but we hope you can tell us more. Dick, Uxbridge
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. These oil lamps are commonly called ‘three-tier’ parlour or banquet lamps by collectors — each section being made of milk glass with hand-painted apple blossom decoration. Pairpoint, of New Bedford, Mass., opened in 1880 producing silver-plated household goods. They amalgamated with the Mount Washington Glass Co. in 1894, becoming the Pairpoint Corporation, and began offering a full spectrum of glass and silver plate items. As long as there are no holes drilled in the glass or original parts, electrification is fine. It’s a great lamp being complete and with its original label. Eleven years ago I stated this lamp would realize $2,000 at auction. Today, unfortunately this fine piece might only fetch $400. Q . While vacationing in Florida 40 years ago, my nine-year-old son discovered this in a place where people dumped unwanted items. He convinced me to let him take it home to Canada. It stands about 33 cm high (13 inches). I wasn’t aware Maxwell House ever produced iced tea in a crock pot. Can you tell me anything about this? Emily, Windsor
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Your son has a good eye. Maxwell House was a coffee developed in 1892, named after the hotel in Nashville by the same name. Their in-house coffee became popular, and the rest is advertising history. The well-known slogan, ‘Good to the last drop,’ was actually coined in 1907 by President Theodore Roosevelt after having a cup. By 1900, green, black, sweetened and unsweetened ice teas were all available to the general public and were especially popular in the hot southern states. This 1920s dispenser, made by one of the many U.S. stoneware makers of the time, would have been used in a commercial setting originally. It’s missing a spigot, but otherwise looks to be in good condition. Your son’s freebie is worth about the same now as it was in 2006 — a cool $600.