How Old is My Antique Miller Lamp?

Miller Lamp

Hi there.. I was wondering if you may be able to answer a question about this lamp I recently acquired from my great grandmothers house. It’s a Miller lamp, about 26 inches high. It’s marked EM& Co 1149 underneath. I haven’t seen it in any old catalogs, eBay, or even your book, that I recently purchased on Amazon. I’m trying to narrow down the exact year. All I have heard so far is anywhere between 1900 and 1920. Have you ever come across this particular lamp? Thanks for any info and for your time.
A.L. Wakefield MA

You have inherited a very handsome lamp by the Edward Miller Company founded in the mid 1840’s and located in Meriden, Connecticut. The company is still in business, so if you want to specifically determine the exact year of manufacture you could try contacting them and see what they have in their files from the early 1900’s. I have placed their contact information for you at the end of this blog entry.
Generally, based on the style and design of your lamp I estimate your lamp was made in approximately 1920. I base this on the simple geometric style of the sillouette cutwork influenced by the Art Deco style. However, there were many overlaps in style influences so your lamp could be as early as 1905. I take it you already examined it for any patent numbers or dates on the sockets or base. These may provide further clues. You can contact the U.S. patent office to look up dates of specific patents, however this only helps approximate age as an older patented socket might be used on a newer lamp.
275 Pratt Street
Meriden, CT 06450 USA
sales@themillerco.com
Telephone:
(203) 235-4474
Want to read more articles on antiques by Nadja Maril? Here is another one you’ll enjoy from the WhatsUpMag.com website. Go to www.WhatsUpMag.com

Unique Case Increases Value of Antique Photos

Mid 19th Century Ambrotypes in gold leafed frames

Recently a reader and colleague shared with me an unusual item- a lovely boxed set of antique photographs. These are no ordinary photographs, they are ambrotypes, popular in the mid 1800’s these were positive images affixed to a glass plate. Often confused with its earlier cousin, daguerreotypes, an image captured on a thin layer of glass. You can tell the difference between the two by holding the glass plate and tipping the image one way. If it is a daguerreotype it becomes nearly invisible, tip it another, and the image pops into view. It is this distinctive “memory ” that makes the daguerreotype recognizable and distinguishes it from ambrotypes and tintypes. To read more about early photography please link to my antique column on the subject at http://www.whatsupmag.com/apr06/antiques.shtml

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One side of Victorian era gutta percha case.

Even more interesting than the images it contains is the box itself, which is made from gutta percha. Popularly used for furniture and jewelry during the Victorian era, gutta percha gets its name from a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia. The sap from the trees produced a material that could be molded into the appearance of carved wood and a number of ornate furniture items made by the Gutta Percha Company established in 1847 were exhibited at the Great Exhibition held in London in 1851. Carved brooches, lockets, and beads were made of gutta percha and sold as mourning jewelry. It was even successfully used for golf balls!

Created in a mold, the box gives the appearance of being carved.

As for the value of the box, with molded decoration on both sides and the ambrotypes that are handsomely surrounded by gold leaf decoration still in mint condition- I would place it at between $350 and $500. The box itself is worth approximately $150 and portrait ambrotypes usually start at $50 each and go up depending on condition and rarity of subject. As this is a specialized type of antique, by going directly to collectors or dealers, the seller may have better success obtaining a higher price.

 

 

 

 

 

Depression Glass is An Antique You Can Use

A beautiful turquoise green color, distinguishes this lovely set of what is termed Depression Glass.

A reader just contacted me with the following:
Dear Ms. Maril:
I just read your latest antique column in What’s Up? Annapolis about antiques you can use in the kitchen. I have some dishes I inherited from my grandmother that are very attractive. While they are not actual kitchen gadgets they are nice for serving an elegant lunch or tea. Could you identify them?
RESPONSE:
What you have is a lovely set of swirl pattern depression glass. Mass produced glassware in a variety of pastel colors has become known as Depression Glass because it reached the height of popularity during the Great Depression in the 1930’s. Actually, it was introduced in the 1920’s. The first mass-produced molded glassware made in the United States, it was both festive and inexpensive.
Hold up a piece of your Depression Glass to the light and you will notice numerous imperfections in the glass. These imperfections include air bubbles and lines in the glass called “straw marks.” Depression glass was designed with detailed patterns and produced in colors to hide what would have been very apparent defects.
The most popular Depression glass colors were green, pink, and ruby red. Opaque colors such as “delft blue”, “jadite”, “monax” (which looks like an opaque milk glass), and cremax”, (a creamy beige) were also produced. Clear glass is very common because it was made for the longest period of time, into the 1940s and 1950s, when the pastel colored glassware went out of vogue. Collectors should be aware that some manufacturers have re-introduced Depression glass patterns using the old molds, primarily producing pieces in crystal and pink.
Initially Depression glass patterns sought to emulate the look of Sandwich glass by copying many of the most popular patterns as well as drawing inspiration from 19th century English glass patterns and designs. As the market developed, light delicate patterns evolved as well as more simplified and angular designs, the style we today term Art Deco.
Depression glass is a fun item to collect because many pieces can still be purchased for less than ten dollars. During their era the same pieces sold for a few pennies apiece, and many senior citizens still remember going to the movies during the Depression and receiving a free piece of glassware on “Dish Night.”
“Many advertising items were made of glass,” writes Marian Klamkin in her highly regarded reference book, “The Guide to Depression Glass.” “These ash tray and mugs or other objects could be made to order cheaply and helped promote the sale of many products. Cobalt blue mugs, pitchers, and cereal bowls with a decoration of the photographic image of Shirley Temple, the popular child actress, were packed in cereal boxes to entice the consumer to purchase the product.”
While glass dishes were once given away as advertising premiums, sometimes a complete set with the purchase of a set of furniture, some pieces can be quite valuable due to their rarity. Whereas saucers and luncheon plates are common, items like a covered butter dish or a stemmed iced tea glass are very rare. Generally pieces that were easily broken such as glasses and covered dishes are rare commodities. Combine a rare item with a rare color and pattern and you have a valuable piece of Depression era glass. The current popularity of particular colors and patterns is also a determining factor in the current market values.
To read more articles about antiques by Nadja Maril go towww.WhatsUpMag.com

Who Buys Antique Nutcrackers?

Often when I write about a subject in my monthly antique column in What’s Up? magazines and also published on the website www.WhatsUpMag.com, I receive inquiries from readers seeking to sell an items I’ve just written about.

Such is the case with the following email:

Black Dog both a nutcracker and attactive collectible.

I have a very old dog nutcracker.  It must be at least 200 years old.

 

It has printed on it “Old Dog Tray”.

 

I can’t tell the artist because it appears to have several coats of paint on it.

 

It looks exactly like the picture in your article in Annapolis “What’s up” for July/August.

 http://whatsupmag.com/home-garden/home/0708-antique-dogs.aspx

Do you know of anyone (dealer) who I could take this to in order to learn the value?

 

Thank you.

 

G L

Severna Park, Maryland

Response:
The nutcracker you refer to is a handsome example, but it is approximately 120 years old, not 200 years old. Your nutcracker was made by pouring the molten iron into a mold.  This is a nutcracker that is a product  manufactured in an early factory setting at the start of the industrial revolution, placing it in the late nineteenth century. Earlier hand lever nutcrackers were crafted entirely by hand. Some were made as early as the 1300s and 1400s.

A little cruising on the internet yielded quick results. I found a similar dog nutcracker being offered by a dealer for $325. They dated their piece as being circa 1900.

If deciding to sell your lovely heirloom, expect to receive approximately half of the retail value when selling to a dealer to allow for their profit margin.

Generally fair market value is midway between wholesale and retail price.

For more information about antique nutcrackers, a great website is http://www.nutcrackermuseum.com/about.htm

Selling Your Antique Oriental Rug?

Several readers of What’s Up? Magazines have sent me emails asking for further help on identifying and appraising their oriental rugs. The following letter is one of several that have come in during the past three months.

Dear Nadja,

I read your excellent article in What’s Up? (Apr 2008) and was inspired to research further, and/or sell, a rug handed down to me. If it’s not too presumptuous, I thought you might be able to guide me towards someone who could identify and value the rug. I suspect it’s a Bokhara Oriental but not sure and it is in excellent condition.

I can only assume the following: handmade/knotted, natural dye, no fading, no stains, double pile and fine wool.

Size: L=9′2″ X w= 8′4″, fringe= 4.5″

Pictures are attached. Any direction you might provide on this rug would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, in advance, for your time & consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

D.B.B.

Response:

There is no doubt looking at the photograph that this rug is a Bokhara and it looks relatively new, of fine quality, and definitely in excellent condition. As to whether vegetable dyes were used, it is hard to tell in a photograph. The yellow certainly looks bright, which brings into question the age and type of dye.

How do you value an antique rug or any antique for that matter when it is time to sell?  In the case of your rug, I really think your most practical course of action is to visit other rug dealers. You can do that online at eBay, Craig’s list or other auction/sales sites and compare the prices being asked and received.  If you spend money on an appraisal, it will cost you a between $75 and $250- money you want to make not spend.

If you need to sell  your rug, you’ll receive a better return if you sell it yourself rather than selling to a dealer. A dealer needs to make a profit in order to cover their time and overhead expenses. In the antique business, dealers are primarily looking for rare and unique items or severely underpriced items. The bottom line is profit.

I hope, what I’ve told you is helpful. If you do have a place in your home to use your rug, it is an item that will only appreciate in value as long as it properly maintained. Put a mat underneath, reposition it periodically for even wear and keep it away from direct sunlight.  If you inherited the rug from someone you are fond of, it is a nice way to remember them.

To read the original article on Oriental Rugs go to: www.whatsupmag.com/home-garden/home/0408-antique-column-oriental-rugs.aspx

 

What’s Your Antique Worth?

I receive quite a bit of email at What’s Up? Publishing. While many readers write to me about the general content of our publications I also receive specific questions about antiques inspired by my monthly antique column.

I usually set those questions aside with the intent to answer them later. This particular photograph arrived in my inbox several months ago and I was struck by the remarkable similarity of the look of this tumbler to Moser glass.  The Moser Glass Company was founded in the mid nineteenth century in Bohemia. Nowadays we call that part of Europe the Czech Republic.  The problem is that Moser Glass is hand blown , gorgeous cut crystal. The tumbler in the photograph is molded glass, meaning the glass gets its shape from a mold.  It does have beautiful heavy gold decoration reminiscent of Moser Glass.

After pouring through a number of reference books and searching online as well as searching my memory banks, thinking back on all the decorated glassware I’ve seen over the years–I’ve come to the conclusion that the green glass tumbler is very likely early 20th century, Eastern European, and created in imitation of the more costly Moser Glass.  As to value– a single one of these glasses would retail in an antique shop for approximately $35. A set is always more valuable and can increase the worth of the individual glasses (presuming they are all in excellent condition with no chips or wear to the decoration) by as much as 25%.

My initial interest in Moser glass started quite by chance when I owned an antique shop. Often at auctions, groups of items are put together in a box lot.  Among my box lot purchases with an interesting piece of glass- a narrow neck vase that varied in shade from deep green to clear crystal. The body was engraved with a floral motif.  Averaging out the cost of the various items in the box I estimated the vase cost us one dollar.

I put $35 on the price tag, feeling proud of how much profit I’d make when the vase sold. It sat in the shop. No one was interested. My father-in-law suggested raising the price. I changed the price to $68 and still it sat on the shelf.

One day, while redesigning our window display, I decided to put the vase in the  window in a prominent position. Maybe this time it would sell!

Sure enough, I arrived at the store one afternoon and one of my sale clerks told me how someone had seen it in the window and hurriedly bought it, asking very few questions.

That fall I was exhibiting for the first time at an antique show in Washington D.C. The dealer across from our  booth looked at the name of our shop, “Rare and Beautiful Things.”  He told me, ” I think I purchased a piece of Moser glass from your shop this past summer. I sold it quickly to a collector.”

I took a look in his booth. He had several pieces of Moser. The least expensive piece was $600.  Maybe I hadn’t made the huge profit on my one dollar purchase that I thought. However, he showed me where to look for the etched signature on the bottom of the glass. (My piece had been signed and I didn’t even know it.) So I learned a great deal and I certainly got a fair return on my dollar.

Read some more of my antique columns online at www.whatsupmag.com if you’re not a subscriber to our magazines and if you have any questions try contacting me on my blog!