When buying glassware, it’s best to do some research
Terry & Kim Kovel would like to sell. My understanding is that they are part of an original set. Both are framed and in mint condition. The prints are “The Knitting Lesson” and “An Increase of Family.” I’m looking for a general value of the prints and maybe a place to sell them.
A: Currier & Ives made the famous American lithographs marked with their name from 1857 to 1907. Nathaniel Currier was the printmaker who started the business. James Ives was the bookkeeper who became Currier’s partner in 1857.
Neither was an artist; prints were drawn and lithographed by others. Many reprints have been made. The name Currier & Ives appears on all original prints; if it’s not there, it’s either a copy or a trimmed print — both of which are less valuable than untrimmed originals. The prints also included their street address in New York City, and it’s possible to date the year of the original issue from this information.
A local auction house or print dealer can examine the paper and the print to ascertain whether your prints are original lithographs or reproductions. They were not made as a set. If original, “The Knitting Lesson” is worth $325 to $375 and “An Increase of Family” is worth $275.
Q: My family found an old stove door in a swamp on our family farm. It has the words “Maple Channon Emery Stove Co. Quincy Ill” on it. It’s rusty and appears to be very old. Do you have any information about the company and the type of stove?
A: The ChannonEmery Stove Co. was founded in Quincy, Illinois, by Joseph Emery and William Channon about 1880. The company made various types of heating and cooking stoves and ranges. It’s bestknown for the Never Fail line of ranges that burned coal or wood. The Maple model was listed as a “heater” in a 1904 issue of “The Metal Worker,” a trade journal.
The Maple was an airtight variety with a polished steel body, a cast-iron top, nickelplated footrails and a spun brass nickel urn on top. It was made in two sizes and was designed to burn wood. A few other models by Channon-emery also were named after trees — the Cheerful Oak and the Cherry. It’s not clear when the company closed, but it was still in business in the mid-1920s. We found a Cherry model nameplate that sold for $34.
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.
• Mary Gregory jug: cobalt blue, child holds out arms, tree, 1900, 7 inches, $45
• Sevres figurine: deer, laying down, head up, green, oval base, black, Paul Millet, 10 by 18 inches, $110
• Gouda vase: stick, flowers, leaves, curlicues, multicolor, signed Zuid Holland gouda, 1905, 15 by 6 inches, $115
• Weathervane: horse, prancing, arrow, 1900, 13 by 23 inches, $325
• Porcelain plate: ducks, lotus blossoms, pond, blue, white ground, Chinese, 15½ inches, $570
• Chanel purse: leather, caviar, tote, quilted, stitched logo, medallion, gold-tone hardward, 9 by 12 inches, $780
• Mirror: Murano glass, gilt, faceted, ribbons, flowers, beads, etched, 1900, 57 by 33 inches, $1,020
Terry Kovel and Kim Kovel, authorities on collectibles, write for the King Features Syndicate. Visit www. kovels.com.