Dale Gorder from First American Pickers in Remsen was at the Marcus Historic Society on Sunday, Sept. 18. Those interested in the value of items they had could bring up to three items to be evaluated to see if they had antique value or not.
There was quite a selection of items brought for evaluation. I am not going to mention who brought the item but will mention the item. (Years ago I was at a certain place where there were many antiques. As I was taking pictures, one of the people in charge came and asked me not to publish any of the pictures or mention where they were located as this place was not “secured” and it would be a chance for someone to break in and help themselves. So, this is why I am not going to tell who brought the item for evaluation. I do not want to be responsible for someone breaking into their place and taking the item!)
All of the items were of interest. A sword was one that had an interesting story. There was a rectangular box with a mirror on the top. Someone thought it could have been a “handkerchief” box, while another thought it held jewelry. Both were wrong as it was a gentleman’s box that held collars and cuffs that men used in those days. The mirror enable them to see what they looked like after putting them on. (Women’s boxes would have been more decorated!)
There was a cast iron cooking kettle that had been used for cooking over a fire. An oil can from years ago was also brought in. Next was a rifle very long in length that was called a squirrel rifle. Someone brought pictures of furniture presently in her house that had been used many years ago.
There were two cups that had probably been “premiums” given by someone years ago. Also was a tall vase. There were two paintings—one was an oil painting and the other was a framed painting with writing on it. There were some coins brought in with past dates on them.
Two watches were evaluated—one was a watch from the far past while the other was a railroad watch.
A doll house from the 1950’s complete with some furniture was brought in. It was the furniture that did put some value on this “metal” doll house. Another person brought in a box from her deceased mother that held an unusual assortment of doll house furniture as they were all “wooden”. The red wooden couch was passed around for us to see. It even had creases in it! Whoever made this wooden furniture had time on their hands and too the time to make it realistic. There was even bathroom fixtures.
(It was many years ago that I had heard where inmates at our prisons made doll houses and furniture. I wonder if this could have been from there. Her mother never did say where it came from.)
There were two children’s books—one with a copyright of 1944. It was “Chuggety-Chug (Hardcover) by Lucile Pannel and Ralph Henry and illustrated by Katherine Evans. The other book, “The Circus” (Soft cover) had a copyright of 1945 by Garth Tollett and illustrated by Nan Distelhorst.
There was a postcard with a date of 1908 sent to a sister by another sister with the Plymouth County Courthouse on the front. The writer was a grandmother of the person that brought in the postcard.
There was a stacked tea set that the appraiser had never seen before. The tea cup was on the bottom, next stacked was the sugar, and lastly on the top was the creamer. A mustache cup was seen. The appraiser mentioned that it was probably German as those gentlemen did have mustaches. This cup had a separate opening so that the mustache didn’t get any of the liquid that was in the cup. (I do think that these cups were also used in the U.S. as guys did have mustaches way back when!)
There was an unusual Irish whiskey music box that could hold a “beverage” in the container. It played, “How Dry I Am”. It was classified as a novelty.
I will close with what I brought. It was a very heavy glass water pitcher from my great-grandmother Mrs. Peter Juhl. It had a, what I thought was a cut-glass bottom on the bottom edge, but was told it was glass that looked like cut-glass.) This was supposed to have been a wedding gift when they got married at the turn of the century, but was evaluated as from the 1930’s. Anyway, there was a chip on the decorative glass bottom that put the value down 80%, but the pitcher wasn’t valuable as the story that was with it.
My parents and sisters and I lived on the family farm north of Marcus. When it was time for us to go to school, we moved into town and exchanged places with my grandparents who lived in the house Cameron and Gina now live in. When Grandma left the town house, she threw out some items that her mother-in-law had. (She really didn’t see eye to eye with great-grandma Juhl!) One day my mother went to the shed north of the house and found it to have held horses that left horse manure behind that had not been cleaned out. In the manure she found a rocking chair and this water pitcher! Maybe the chip came when it hit the manure! She cleaned these up and never told grandma that she had found them.
Like the appraiser said, “the pitcher has no value but the story does”, so I am mentioning my name but don’t come looking for it as my guard animals—two cats! will let us know!
There were refreshments (cookies, bars and lemonade) available throughout and following the presentation.
Thanks to the Marcus Historic Society for an interesting Sunday afternoon!