KOVELS: Coca-Cola Collector’s Item Sells Impressive Price | Community

A metal plaque depicting a pretty girl sold for $ 12,390, which is an impressive price for a portrait of a young lady from the 1910s! But if you take a closer look, you will see that the woman is holding a glass marked “Coca-Cola” and the Coca-Cola logo is visible at the bottom of the frame. It’s not really a framed painting; it is a self-framed pewter lithographed sign. Coca-Cola collectors around the world may recognize her as Elaine, the company’s 1916 calendar girl.

Question: I hope you can identify the maker of my great-grandmother’s three-piece teapot, sugar and creamer set. She brought it back from Europe when she moved to this country around 1899. It is hand painted with pink roses and green leaves and has gold trim. The pieces are marked “Mentone”. Some are also marked “Th u E, M.” and “Sèvres, Bavière” and others are marked “Thomas” and “Bavaria”. I don’t know anything about the brands or if this tea set is worth anything. Can you help?

A: Thomas and Paul Ens founded the Thomas & Ens porcelain factory in Marktredwitz, Bavaria, in 1903. They used “Th u E, Mr. (German abbreviation for” Thomas and Ens, Marktredwitz “) as their trademark until 1908 about. Ens left the company in 1907. Thomas became an independent subsidiary of Rosenthal AG in 1908. The name “Thomas” was used in trademarks from 1908. The word “Bavaria” without the word “Germany” indicates that the mark was used no later than 1939. “Mentone” is the name of the motif of a line of tableware manufactured by the company and “Sèvres” is the name of the series. Porcelain production was moved from Marktredwitz to Speichersdorf in 1960. Thomas is still listed as one of the brands of Rosenthal. Tea sets like this are inexpensive, valued at around $ 50 to $ 100.

Question: I found an old addressographer in the Masonic Temple in Virginia Beach, Virginia, which is being converted to a law firm. The building was completed in 1949. My inexperienced research places this machine roughly in the 1930s. Can you give me some information on this piece and tell me where it will be appreciated?

A: Joseph S. Duncan invented the Addressograph machine in 1893. The machines were made in Chicago. Duncan patented his invention in 1896. A 1910 catalog of addressing machines stated that an employee could address 3,000 envelopes per hour using the machine. The company merged with American Multigraph in Cleveland in 1932 and became the Addressograph-Multigraph Corporation. Headquarters moved to Los Angeles in 1978 and the company name changed to AM International in 1979. It went bankrupt in 1982. These old office machines have received little interest. They are very rarely sold.

Question: What can you tell me about a black Labrador retriever shaped bottle opener? I think it is white metal. It is 4 inches high at the head and 5 inches long from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail. The base is stamped “Scott Prod. Inc., Newark NJ, Bottle Opener. Does it have any value?

A: Scott Products was founded in 1948. The company has made over 200 different figurative metal bottle openers, including dogs, horses, waterfowl, and related items. The figurines are made of zinc and hand painted in baked enamel. This black Labrador retriever bottle opener sells online for $ 20- $ 30 in good condition.

Question: I tried unsuccessfully to find a home for a Story & Clark reed organ that was passed down to my family from my great-grandmother. It was originally purchased at the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893. I have tried various historical societies, and they don’t have the space or there is no direct connection for them. accept it. He is in excellent shape but does not play. No one in the family is interested in keeping it, so I am considering selling it. Where should I advertise it and what value should I assign to it?

A: Story & Clark Organ Co. was founded in 1884 by Hampton L. Story, a music dealer; Melville Clark, organ builder; and Story’s son, Edward. The business was sold after Clark left in 1900. A working Story & Clark reed organ recently sold for $ 100. There are collectors of reed organs. Try contacting the Reed Organ Society (www.reedsoc.org) to see if they have any suggestions on what to do with the organ.