Questions and Answers
 

QUESTION: I love collecting!  I recently picked up a few Sillisculpts.  Most that I find are marked “R & W Berries.”  I would like to find out more about them.  --  LB, E-mail Question

ANSWER: When you do an Internet search for “Russ Berrie,” you will discover dozens of sites featuring information about Russ Berrie.  I recommend www.russberrie.com.  Further, www.entrepreneur.com contains a copy of Gayle Stodder’s article entitled “A Real Toy Story: From wild-haired trolls to nostalgic teddy bears, Russ Berrie has the gift market all wrapped up” that appeared in the September 1997 issue of Entrepreneur magazine.

Russ Berrie (1933-2002) began working as a salesperson for a toy company located in Chicago, Illinois, at the age of twenty-three.  By 1957 he established himself as a manufacturer’s representative.  Master Industries, a maker of plush animals, was among his first clients.  Later he added Pet Toys, a New York City concern that produced a line of little fur animals.

In 1963 Berrie established his own business, manufacturing Fuzzy Wuzzies, a line of little fur mice and stuffed animals, in a garage in Palisades Park, New Jersey.  Fuzzy Wuzzies had a wooden base that featured sayings such as “Happy Birthday” or “I Love You.”  He also produced a line of trophies with sayings such as “World’s Greatest Lover.”

In 1964 Berrie’s sales amounted to $250,000.  He invested all his profits into his business.  By 1965 sales reached $750,000.  At this point, Berrie ended his manufacturer’s rep career and devoted his full time to his business.

Berrie was a major manufacturer of message novelties that conveyed love or appreciation.  In 1968 Berrie introduced Sillisculpts, plastic figurines with a message with an attitude.  An old barrister crying, “Sue the Bastards!” is one of the better remembered figurines.  Berrie later introduced Trolls and Bears From The Past to the American market as well as a host of other products.  He was honored posthumously with Gifts & Decorative Accessories magazine’s Industry Achievement Award in 2003.

Silliscupts are found regularly at garage sales priced anywhere from twenty-five cents to one dollar.  When they arrive in the antiques flea market and antiques mall environments, the price jumps to $3.00 to $6.00 per figurine.

Sillisculpts appear regularly on eBay.  Hard to find examples sell between $9.00 and $12.00.  In February a seller listed several dozen with a “Buy It Now” price of $10.00 each.  None sold.

I own several examples.  My buying price limit is $2.00.  I pass far more examples than I buy.

QUESTION: Christmas is long gone.  I have a Christmas fence that belonged to my mother.  My mother had given it to her sister, who in turn passed it down to me.  I have owned it now for over thirty years.  I am eighty-one.  I vaguely remember my mother using the fence to surround a small village of paper homes that were placed under our Christmas tree.  The fence appears to be made of wicker with interlocking metal posts.  Some of the fence sections are broken due to age.  I believe the fence had to be made in the first quarter of the twentieth century.  What value does my fence have?  --  IZ, Whitehall, PA

ANSWER: Margaret & Kenn Whitmyer’s Christmas Collectibles, Second Edition (Collector Books, 1994; 302 pages, $24.95) contains this information about early Christmas fences: “For many years it has been popular to use fences made of cast iron, wood, or tin to encircle the Christmas tree.

“Early wooden fences were often homemade.  Commercial versions of fences were often sold in sections which had to be assembled.  Depending on the type of fence, sections ranged from fifteen to twenty-four inches in length.  One or two gates were included with each fence.

“Fences were constructed in various sizes and shapes, including squares, rectangles, circles, and diamonds.

“Wooden and cast iron fences have been found in advertisements as early as the late 1800’s.  In the 1920’s Noma Electric Company offered a wooden fence with lighted fence posts.  These continued to be popular through the forties.  Goose-feather hedge-type fences complete with red composition berry post tips were offered in the 1930’s.  In the 1940’s and 1950’s red and green wooden fences were popular.  These were made in many shapes and sizes by a variety of manufacturers.”

The Whitmyers’ illustrate a fence set featuring wicker sections that slip over red wooden posts for support.  The wicker sections are 12in long and 5 1/2in high.  There are two gates.  When assembled the fence sections produce a square about 24in in size.  The tin bases are marked “A. W. DRAKE MFG. CO. HAZELTON, PA. PATD.”  The Whitmyers price a complete fence set between $100.00 and $125.00.  Although a 1994 price, the market for Christmas tree fences has remained fairly stable.  In a moment of generosity, one might raise the price today to $150.00 for a complete unit.

You did not indicate in your letter whether or not you had the gate sections.  I suspect you do.  However, you did mention that the wicker was broken in several sections.  My recommendation is to think in the $50.00 price range for your example.

QUESTION: I have a Dumbo two-quart pitcher licensed by Walt Disney.  It is in excellent condition.  What is its value?  --  K, E-mail Question

ANSWER: Mary Jane Giacomini’s American Bisque: A Collector’s Guide with Prices (Schiffer Publishing, 1994; 180 pages; $29.95) provides this information about Leeds Pottery, a Disney licensee who was actually a distributor: “It is not uncommon to hear a collector refer to a Dumbo turnabout cookie jar as a Leeds Dumbo or have someone inquire about a Leeds Donald Duck.  It comes as a surprise to many collectors, as it did to us, to learn that Leeds was a Chicago based distributor NOT a manufacturer.  They operated from approximately 1944 to 1954.

“Leeds was licensed by Walt Disney Productions to use their characters in pottery pieces.  Not having to actually produce any pieces themselves gave them the ability to shop around or bid out a job thus obtaining the best production price, best time line and the ability to produce many different pieces in quantity by not overloading one facility….

“We know that Leeds Pottery pieces were produced by Ludiwici Creations, American Pottery, American Bisque, Regal China, Ungemach and quite possibly other potteries we are not aware of.  Though we wish we could say which individual pieces were produced by which company, in most cases we can’t….”

Giacomini values a “Dumbo pitcher. Trimmed in 22-24k gold. Marked ‘© Walt Disney USA,’ 6” on a flat bottom” between $125.00 and $140.00.  When using any price guide always check the guide’s copyright date.  A great deal has happened since 1994 including the arrival of the Internet and a collapse of a portion of the secondary Disney market.

The decline in value for the Dumbo pitcher is an excellent case in point.  Five to ten examples are offered on eBay each month.  Most Disney collectors who want an example own one.  When this happens, supply can easily exceed demand, as it has with the Dumbo pitcher.

An example did sell in February 2005 for $51.01 plus $9.30 in shipping costs.  Another example went to a second buyer for $34.99 plus $12.30 in shipping costs.  However, several examples with requested opening bids of $24.99, $20.00, and $18.00 failed to attract a bid.

Your Dumbo pitcher, remembering that inexperienced collectors tend to over rate the condition of the things they own, has a value between $40.00 and $45.00, a decline of more than fifty percent of its 1994 book value.

Collectible Quiz:  What year did Dumbo premier in movie theaters?  Who voiced Dumbo?

QUESTION: I have a Sengbusch inkwell that has been in my family for some years.  It is a piece of green marble with an elephant mounted on it with his trunk raised.  There is a pen holder.  The pen is missing.  The inkwell is a self-filling inkwell, i.e., a cut glass jar with a black canister that has a spring-loaded section in the middle.  The spring-loaded section sits in the center under the lid.  The lid is black and screws on.  There are some stepped ridges on the lid.  What is its value?  --  RW, Kingsport, TN, E-mail Question

ANSWER: Veldon Badders’ The Collector’s Guide To Inkwells: Identification & Values (Collector Books, 1995; 175 pages, $18.95) values a basic “pattern glass #51 Sengbusch, self-closing, Bakelite top, 3” diameter, 3” tall” inkwell between $60.00 and $65.00.  Sales on eBay suggest a more realistic value around $15.00.

Sengbusch was located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Its inkwells carry patent dates of April 21, 1903, August 23, 1904, and January 15, 1907.  Most references provide a circa 1905-1915 operating period for the company.

Sengbusch manufactured dozens of inkwell models.  I was not able to find specific information about your example.  However, I did find comparable examples.  Based on these, your elephant model has a value between $50.00 and $65.00.

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 rinkeron@fast.net.  Only e-mails containing a full name and mailing address will be considered.

Home & Garden Television (HGTV) currently lists COLLECTOR INSPECTOR as on hiatus from January 1 through June 30, 2005.  Whether or not it returns as reruns in July depends entirely on HGTV.
 

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