Questions and Answers

QUESTION:  In 1973 I paid $400.00 to purchase a Royal Doulton bowl through an offer published in American Heritage magazine.  It was my understanding that only 400 bowls were made.  Andrew Wyeth created the apple bough design found on the inside and outside of the bowl.  In view of the fact that his work has greatly increased in value over the years, I would appreciate it if you could provide me with information about the value of my bowl. – MK, Crown Point, IN

ANSWER:  Life would be wonderful if everything went up and never down in value over time.  Alas, life is not always wonderful.

The Franklin Mint of Philadelphia produced your porcelain bowl.  The certificate of authenticity that accompanied the bowl states: “This is to certify that the fine bone china bowl originally accompanying this certificate was produced in a single, limited edition from an original work of art by Andrew Wyeth.  This collectors’ porcelain was produced by Royal Doulton of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and issued through the Franklin Mint under Mr. Wyeth’s express permission.”

Note there is no number provided for how many “single, limited edition” bowls were made.  The answer is as many as they could sell.  The final production was more likely in the high thousands to low tens of thousands, not hundreds.

I am often asked, “Exactly what do we sell in the antiques and collectibles trade?”  My stock answer is “stories and dreams.”  The companies who produced the so-called “single, limited edition” collectors’ objects during the 1960s and 1970s were master storytellers and sellers of dreams.  Contemporary counterparts continue to use the same sales approach, albeit their market is now home shopping channels, magazine supplements that come with your Sunday paper, and women’s trade magazines sold at the checkout counters of big box and grocery stores.

Consider the story used to hook buyers for the Wyeth bowl.  “Andrew Wyeth has been described as America’s greatest living artist….Much of his inspiration comes from Pennsylvania’s beautiful Brandywine Valley, where he makes his home. Over the years, Wyeth has studied and depicted nature at work in the valley seeking her truths and capturing them in his art.

“His exquisite design for ‘The Wyeth Bowl’ was inspired by a visit to his father’s apple orchard, where the sight of a laden apple bough suggested a work rich with the natural colors of ripening fruit…

“With painstaking care, the craftsmen of Royal Doulton set about the long process of matching each gradation and shade of ‘The Wyeth Bowl’ to the artist’s exacting specifications—always striving for absolute fidelity to the delicate tonal values of Wyeth’s palette.  The results of their work, Wyeth said, ‘delighted me—it made me truly proud.’”

It is a great story.  But, that is all it is—a great story!  The truth behind the story is nowhere as pretty or glamorous.

The only “true” Wyeth artwork is the drawing or painting Wyeth did for Royal Doulton.  The artwork on the bowl is a mere copy, equivalent to a print of a Wyeth painting one would buy at a museum gift stop.  The bowl was mass-produced.  There is nothing limited about four hundred, four thousand, or forty thousand.

Royal Doulton is a manufacturer of high-quality porcelain products.  However, in this instance, its name, as with the Wyeth attribution, is not enough to create a strong secondary market for your bowl.

In early August an eBay seller from Huron, Ohio, offered an example of your bowl complete with certificate and period packaging for a starting bid of $299.00.  The listing failed to attract any bidders.

Artfact.com provided information on two sales: $200.00 at a DuMouchelles auction on July 16, 1993, and $200.00 at a Leslie Hindman Auction on June 25, 1995.  The fact that more recent sales results do not exist suggests that catalog auctioneers are not accepting consignments of this bowl knowing full well it will not come close to selling for what it cost initially.

In today’s secondary market, the value of your bowl is far closer to $150.00 than $200.00.  Twenty-first century buyers are far more sophisticated and selective than their counterparts of a decade ago.  Finally, it is far more likely the value of your bowl will hold steady, possibly even decrease a little, rather than increase over time.  I realize this is not the news you wanted to hear, but it is the truth.

QUESTION:  I have a Zenith console radio, record player, and television.  The Zenith TV has a 16” round tube.  I was not able to determine the model number, but the chassis Number is 24H20.  Does it have any value? – CN, Palmer, PA, E-mail Question

ANSWER:  The picture which accompanied your e-mail allowed me to identify your console as dating from 1951.  I did find a “Wadsworth” Model H3469E, with a 16” round picture tube and 24H20 chassis, which had a blonde rather than a mahogany cabinet.  I was not able to find the name and model number of your specific console.

Zenith began in 1981 in Chicago, Illinois, as a producer of amateur radio equipment.  The name came from its founders’ call sign: ZN.  The Zenith Radio Company was incorporated in 1923.

Zenith was an early pioneer in television manufacturing.  Zenith .com offers this information: “Early television developments included some of the first prototype television receivers in the 1930s and experimental TV broadcasts, which began in 1939 and, at the request of the FCC, continued during World War II.

“In 1948, Zenith introduced its first line of black-and-white TV sets.  Among the many pioneering Zenith developments in the early days of television were the industry’s first 12-in, three-gun rectangular color picture tube (1954), the first wireless TV remote control, ‘Flash-Matic’ (1955) and ‘Space Command,’ the first practical wireless remote control, which revolutionized TV tuning worldwide for the next quarter century (1956).

“Zenith introduced its first color TV sets for consumers in 1961 and quickly established itself as a leading brand.  The 1969 introduction of the revolutionary ‘Chromacolor’ black-matrix (negative guardband) picture tube doubled the image brightness of color television and established a new standard of performance for the entire industry….”  Today Zenith is owned by LG Electronics, a division of LG Group, a South Korean conglomerate.

You did not indicate in your e-mail whether or not the three components—radio, record player, and television—on your console were in working order.  All three need to be working to achieve maximum value.  Even if the radio and record player work but the television does not, value remains minimal.  If not working, your console has a value of $50.00 or less.  Any buyer will assume repair costs in the middle hundreds of dollars.

Fully restored and all three components working, your console has a value between $600.00 and $650.00.

QUESTION:  In 1939, my aunt’s husband was sent to Rio de Janeiro to work.  When they returned in the 1940s, my aunt brought a plate and several framed pictures featuring designs and background with butterfly wings.  Do they have any significant value?  --  RS, Allentown, PA

ANSWER:  Thank you for the two photographs, one of the plate and the other of the five framed pictures that accompanied your letter.  The artwork and framing certainly indicated that these date from the late 1930s/early 1940s period.

Butterfly/moth wing art enjoyed a period of popularity in the late 1930s and early 1940s.  In addition to plates and pictures, I often encounter cocktail serving trays featuring this type of artwork.

Condition is critical to value.  Many of the examples I see are faded or mildewed.

Butterfly artwork does have a cult following among collectors.  However, secondary market prices are moderate.  Your plate has a value between $30.00 and $40.00.  Your smaller pictures fall in the same price range, albeit the value of the larger examples is in the $75.00 range.

This type of artwork still is being done today.  I found several Internet sites for butterfly wing pictures and jewelry.  Most go out of their way to state the wings used come from butterfly farms in Asia and Africa.

QUESTION:  I was given a “thing” which I would like to have identified.  It has a cast-iron base featuring four high-arched legs with castors.  There is a rectangular, filigree platform above the legs.  A central post, which can be raised and lowered, contains a tilting mechanism on the top.  A large rectangular oak panel is attached to each of two arms of the tilting mechanism.  What was this used for?  Are all the parts there?  How old is it and what is it worth? – JS, Sandy Springs, MD

ANSWER:  It only took a look at the first of the four pictures which accompanied your letter for me to identify your object as a dictionary or book stand.  The example I own holds a large unabridged dictionary, a must for any writer.  It stands beside my desk.

Your stand is complete and most likely dates from the early twentieth century.  However, it is badly in need of preservation.  The period paint which prevented the surface of the cast iron from rusting is gone.  You need to have the unit sand blasted and repainted.

When fully restored, the value of your dictionary stand will be between $125.00 and $150.00.  As it stands it is worth around $35.00.

Harry L. Rinker welcomes questions from readers about collectibles, those mass-produced items from the twentieth century.  Selected letters will be answered in this column.  Harry cannot provide personal answers.  Photos and other material submitted cannot be returned.  Send your questions to: Rinker on Collectibles, 5093 Vera Cruz Road, Emmaus, PA 18049.  You also can e-mail your questions to harrylrinker@aol.com. Only e-mails containing a full name and mailing address will be considered.

You can listen and participate in WHATCHA GOT?, Harry’s antiques and collectibles radio call-in show, on Sunday mornings between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM Eastern Time.  If you cannot find it on a station in your area, WHATCHA GOT? streams live on the Internet at www.goldenbroadcasters.com.

SELL, KEEP OR TOSS?: HOW TO DOWNSIZE A HOME, SETTLE AN ESTATE, AND APPRAISE PERSONAL PROPERTY (House of Collectibles, an imprint of Random House Information Group, $16.95), Harry’s latest book, is available at your favorite bookstore and via www.harryrinker.com.