Author: Donna Welch

Dear Donna,

I have collected these cows over the years. Please don’t ask me why! I just picked one up whenever I saw one. I am turning 70 this year and it’s time to start house cleaning.

Do you think there is a collector out there that would be interested in these plastic cows? Or do I just put them out in a yard sale?

Carol from Manchester

Dear Carol,

I’m still chuckling over your email. Thanks for sharing and for the smile.

Your cows are sweet, and I can understand how collecting one item leads to more and more and more!

Plastic cows were, and still are, mass produced, so they probably aren’t too hard to find, and each cow individually would be inexpensive to pick up. But a collection like you have should be in the $30 range. You have done all the hard work for an easy collection for someone.

I hope your collection finds a good home.

Dear Donna,
I have this basket that is probably 100 years old from my mother; I think it was for a baby. I would love to know if it has value and am also looking for ideas for places that might like this, or to find out if there is no real value other than as a family item.
Martha

Dear Martha,
I’m not sure if your basket is for a baby; it could be a gathering basket as well. It doesn’t show any signs of interior wear or of any cloth or liner.
I also can say I have never seen one made out of grapevine. Maybe it’s not American. I don’t have any expertise in this area. I’m giving you my gut feeling after doing a bit of research as well.
My advice is to bring it to an antique shop and have someone look at it directly. That sometimes can help.
I’m sorry to not be much help to you and hope you do find out more. Please share with me if you do, as I am always looking to learn more myself.

Dear Donna,
I am interested in finding out what this piece might be. Can you identify it?

RJ

Dear RJ,
What you have is a Victorian (middle to late 1800s) infant or invalid feeder. They were very common, used mostly to feed sick children or adults. There were ceramic ones, silver ones and many with a wooden handle and a silver-plated or sterling feeder like yours.

The value on one like yours would be in the range of $30 to $50. Finding a buyer might be tough, but I am sure there are collectors out there somewhere.

Dear Donna,
My husband inherited two very large wooden plaques that hung in his father’s bar in Philadelphia, circa 1948-1955. They are both 8 feet long and 22 inches (each a solid single piece of wood).

Thank you for any information you can give us, or a direction to point us in.

Norma from Concord

Dear Norma,
The carvings are sweet!

It can be tough to figure out who made these or exactly when they were done without any signatures. That means the values for them have to come from just the quality of the work, like the detailing and craftsmanship.

I love the size of them too. I can see why you had them hanging in your home. I think the value would be in the $200 to $400 range for each one. I would try to keep them together.

Dear Donna,

I have no idea what these are. They look like they were attached to something at one time. They are bronze and about 3 inches. Can you identify what they are? Thanks for your help and expertise.
Judy

Dear Judy,
Sometimes things can be difficult to appraise from just photos. I think they should be seen by an appraiser in person for an accurate value. But for now, let’s get you to work.

You’ll want to look for any unusual markings, signatures, etc. To determine whether they are bronze, they should be heavy and noticeably so. It could be a spelter metal (a mix of metals with a bronze finish), They should be solid, not hollow, as well. And you also need to figure out what they were attached to. Were they bookends? Were they screwed to the thing they were attached to or was there an epoxy of some sort?

Now that you know what you need to figure out, I can give you some information that may help. They have faces like foo dogs (common Asian figures). They are crude (which means not a lot of intricate detailing). I do think they could have been some kind of bookends. If they are bronze it would carry a higher value, and even more so if they are signed as well. I think, though, that you have just a piece and not the whole pie, so determining a value will be tough. But take them to someone to see and they should be able to answer all of those questions.

Dear Donna,
I just acquired this antique toy game and was wondering if you could tell me anything about it. Personally I just enjoyed all the colors of the clowns. Was it a treasure at $5 for the set?
Brooke from Pelham

Dear Brooke,
I can see why you liked the game. The clowns are great!

Bill Ding has been around since the 1930s, made right here in the U.S. After doing some research, I found that the game consists of not just the clowns but rings and dowels as well. There also should be 15 clowns. The Bill Ding game has been called one of the best educational toys of its time, great for eye and hand coordination for children as well as adults.

I think you did find a piece of a treasure. Just balancing the colorful clowns without the full game would be fun and a challenge. And the colors are so fun even just for a decorative purpose. I would say the price for the clowns without the full game would be in the $20 range; a complete game is best for a higher value, with all parts and pieces and the original box all in good condition.

I hope you have fun with the clowns just as they are.