It’s Just Stuff

Dear Connie,

I have had this blue dish for a long time. It was a wedding gift in 1961. Can you please give me some info about it?

Rita, Dowelltown

Dear Rita,

Your 12-inch, blue, creamy glass, oval bowl was made by Fostoria Glass Company between 1959 and 1970. The pattern name is Heirloom and is sometimes described as ice blue. People will pay $20 to $95 for this bowl, depending on the sales venue.

Dear Mrs. Davenport,

This pie safe has been in our family for as long as I can remember. I’m sure it is over a hundred years old. Both sides, like the front doors, are also punched tin. It appears to be in excellent condition. Do you think it was made in Tennessee? I’m curious as to the value.

Margaret, Rogersville

Dear Margaret,

Very often, to make a pie safe usable for multiple generations, changes are made. If I were looking at the piece, I’d examine the back to make sure all the pieces have the same degree of age. If the back of the gallery appears different, it may have been added.

Pie safes usually had simple pulls on the drawers like the round wooden pull on the door of yours. Glance inside the drawers for evidence of holes used to attach a simpler pull. The fruit pulls are a bit fancy for a pie safe.

If you find the soft waves of a hand plane on the back, shelves and inside the drawer fronts, it’s an earlier handmade safe. If there are rounded, fuzzier saw marks, the piece was made later, after 1850, with the help of steam. Regardless, your walnut pie safe would sell easily for $500 to $600. I can’t determine the maker, but family records and history might help. The removal of the original finish reduced value by at least $500.

Mrs. Davenport,

This little perfume bottle belonged to my mother-in-law. On the base, there’s a gold sticker that reads “West Germany.” The bottle is very heavy, and the colors are vibrant and dark. The squeeze part is hard and deflated.

How old is it, and what is its current value?

Sandra, Spring Hill

Dear Sandra,

The gold label attributing country of origin as West Germany confirms the crystal, iridescent bottle was made after World War II but before the wall was torn down. Similar bottles sell for $20 to $45.

Dear Mrs. Davenport,

My father bought this table for Mother in the ’50s. It is mahogany and has the musical staff supported by the four legs running from the center out. The legs have metal tips. All of the tips and the wood are in good condition.

Originally there was a glass top. I would love to have your input as to its value.

Gayle, Lewisburg

Dear Gayle,

Your mother’s table was made around the time your father give it to her. You’re right: Lyre base tables can be pricey. Originals were more massive and intricately carved. The lyre as a functional and popular form for the base of tables and the backs of chairs enjoyed a revival of interest after World War I. Tables similar to yours are selling briskly for $40 to $75 because people are buying them to paint.