RINKER ON COLLECTIBLES — Column #1451

Copyright © Harry Rinker, LLC 2014 

Questions and Answers

QUESTION:  My husband and I purchased an old “EASY” double tub washer at a flea market.  We wanted something different to put into our laundry/mud room.  It is a great conversation piece.  As such, we would love to know more about it.  Any information you can provide would be helpful. – TG, Hamburg, PA, Email Question

ANSWER:  The Syracuse Washing Machine Corporation is the manufacturer of your “EASY” double tub washer and spin dryer.

The Syracuse Washing Machine Corporation traces its origins back to Dodge & Zuill which manufactured clothes washing devices.  Dodge is credited with creating the “cone-on-a-stick” device used in early wooden tub washers.  Dodge & Zuill began experimenting with electric motor driven washers in 1907, selling their first model in 1910.  In 1915, their Model C electric washer won a medal at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

In 1915, John N. Derschug, a salesman and advertising executive, invested in the company.  Under Dershug’s leadership, Dodge & Zuill reorganized as the Syracuse Washer Corporation in 1917 and again two years later as the Syracuse Washing Machine Company.

In 1932, the name of the company was changed again, this time to the Easy Washing Machine Company.  Easy’s peak production year was 1948, when 474,831 washing machines were manufactured.  Union Chemical and Material Company bought Easy in 1955, only to sell it to the Murray Corporation in 1957.  Hupp Corporation of Cleveland bought the company from Murray, ending operations in 1963. [For a more detailed history, see: http://www.gasenginemagazine.com/company-history/easy-washing-machine-company.aspx]

The website of the Museum Victoria in Victoria, Australia, offers this information: “The twin tub model, named the ‘Easy,’ was made through the 1920s and 1930s, but was originally patented in 1912.  It was the basis of the later standard twin-tub washing machine, and at the time represented a major advance in washing-machine design.  The machine is made from enameled metal and stainless steel, and features two tubs set in a triangular frame.  It has rinse and spin dry options….The larger tub is the agitator tub and the smaller tub acted to rinse and spin the clothes…The Syracuse ‘Easy’ featured vacuum-cup technology, which helps force soapy water through clothes.”  [See: http://museumvictoria.com.au/collections/items/415604/washing-machine-easy-syracuse-washing-machine-corporation-new-york-usa-circa-1935 ]

Although I found several pictures of Easy washer-drier combinations similar to the one you own, none were dated.  Although the Easy name was registered in 1912, it was used on wooden tub washers in the earlier period.  Judging from the semi-streamlined design and the red Art Deco striping motif on your Easy washer-drier, I favor a late 1930s date.  Like many manufacturers, I suspect Easy converted to the production of war supplies between 1941 and 1945.  It is possible that the machine dates from the late 1940s, although I found several Easy washer-driers with applied metal stripes that fit this time period better.

You did not tell me how much you paid for your wonderful “conversation” piece.  If the answer is under $100.00, you did well.  If more, you would have to take it to a large urban secondary market to recover your cost.

QUESTION:  In 1989, I was watching Music Television (MTV).  MTV had an advertisement to join the MTV Record Club.  It sounded like fun, so I joined.  I received a membership card and coupon book that offered special deals on records and merchandise.  I also subscribed to “MTV To Go Magazine.” The first issue contained four musician trading cards – Chuck Berry, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, and Edwardo Van Halen.  The magazine lasted until November 1990.  I have every issue.  I can find no information about my record club magazine.  There is a later MTV magazine that is similar but not identical.  I think, rightly or wrongly, that the first issue of the MTV magazine is, to a music nerd, on a par with the first issue of “Playboy” or “Sports Illustrated.”  My run of the record club “MTV To Go Magazine” is in mint condition.  Would you opine as to value? NC, Alliance, OH

ANSWER:  Dreams are an important element in the antiques and collectible field.  Your dream that your first issue of the “MTV To Go Magazine” is equivalent to the first issue of “Playboy” or “Sports Illustrated” is a whopper.  If only your dream were true, but it is not.

First, “Playboy” and “Sports Illustrated” were newsstand magazines.  Their content went far beyond that found in record club magazine.  Second, “Playboy” and “Sports Illustrated” still are published.  They have a much longer lifetime than the MTV record magazine.  Third, “Playboy” with its monthly centerfold and “Sports Illustrated” with its annual swimsuit edition, clearly not sports related but who cares, have features that attract collectors.

There are Volume 1, Number 1 collectors.  I have the first issue of “Playboy” and “Sports Illustrated” in my Volume 1, Number 1 collection.  Volume 1, Number 1 collectors focus on newspapers and newsstand periodicals.  These collectors see little value in promotional magazines focused on a single product.

“Playboy” Volume 1, Number 1 features Marilyn Monroe’s “Golden Dreams” photograph.  In 2009, Julien’s Auctions sold the centerfold and the clipped Monroe article pages from “Playboy” Volume 1, No. 1 for $1,000.  The complete magazine sells for more.

Volume 1, Number 1 of “Sports Illustrated” contains a baseball card insert.  Baseball cards are highly collectible. Musician trading cards are not.  I much prefer Volume 1, Number 2 of “Sports Illustrated.”  Its baseball card insert features only players from the New York Yankees.  As a Yankees fan, it is the more valuable of the two to me.  Volume 1, Number 1 “Sports Illustrated,” which often includes the initial mailing envelope, is common.  A typical sell through price is around $250.00 for an example in fine condition.

As to the value of your run of record club “MTV To Go Magazine,” I value the full run at less than $50.00, with half the value in the first issue with the musician cards.  I also researched musician trading cards on eBay, hoping I would find one of the cards from the “MTV To Go Magazine” selling separately.  I did find several musician trading cards for the four musicians.  Prices were below $5.00; not good news for you.

QUESTION:  I have a reclining, life-size cat figurine made my Sandicast.  It measures over 13 inches. The name “Sandra Brue” is among the information on the bottom.  A sticker on the base indicates it sold initially for $125.00.  What is it worth today? – D, Janesville, WI

ANSWER:  San Diego artist Sandra Brue created Sandicast in 1981.  Sandicast’s hand-cast and hand-painted animals gained renown for their realistic detail.  The cast of characters included cats, dogs, wolves, and wildlife.  Queen Elizabeth and President Clinton are reputed to own Sandicast figures.  The Neufeld family acquired Sandicast in 2005 and continues to produce figures.  [See: http://www.sandicast.com/Scripts/PublicSite/?template=about]

According to www.sandicast.com, the company no longer produces cat figures, has 179 dog figures, 81 ornament figures (mostly dogs), 20 wildlife figures, 13 wolf figures, and 1 horse figure.  Large “companion” and “life size” figures do sell for around $150.00 and $600.00.  Retail cost, whether current or past, is very different from secondary market values.

Sandicast smaller cat figures are listed on eBay for less than $10.00.  Larger size examples rarely exceed $25.00.  One eBay seller has a “Buy It Now” price of $98.47 (where do these sellers come up with these prices?) on a life-size orange cat measuring 13 inches in length.  The weight of the marble dust and poly resin cat figure is 8.5 pounds.

The eBay seller is unduly optimistic.  A far more realistic secondary market value is between $35.00 and $45.00.

QUESTION:  Around 1981, I attended a Gun/Military memorabilia show at Agricultural Hall located at the Allentown (PA) Fairgrounds.  One of the vendors displayed what was purported to be an autographed photograph of Adolf Hitler giving a speech.  The asking price was $100.00.  I do not recall the size.  Although I did not buy it, I cannot help thinking about it.  What are the chances the signature was genuine?  If so, was it worth $100.00 in 1981?  What are your thoughts?  -- JE, Churchtown, PA, Email Question

ANSWER:  Let me check my crystal ball.  Oops, the image is too blurred to see the answer.

In 1981, authenticity was not as big a concern as it is in 2014.  Given this, my guess is that there was 25 percent or less possibility that the signature was period.

The most likely assumption is that the signature was printed as part of the photograph.  This was quite common.  “Autographed” Hitler pictures were common in German homes of the 1930s.  GI’s brought them home as war souvenirs.

If the signature was in ink, I would have insisted on some strong provenance—from where did the signature originate and how did the dealer come to possess it?  Most signed Hitler photographs are head and shoulder images.  When Hitler signed photographs, he often included a personal message.  The most common Hitler signed material in the secondary marketplace are documents.

If the 1981 signature was authentic, $100.00 would have been a lot of money at the time, but worth every penny.  Its value today would be in the low thousands.

Harry L. Rinker welcomes questions from readers about collectibles, those mass-produced items from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.  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, 5955 Mill Point Court SE, Kentwood, MI 49512.  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.gcnlive.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, $17.99), Harry’s latest book, is available at your favorite bookstore and via www.harryrinker.com.