It’s Just Stuff

Mrs. Davenport,

This frog was given to me more than 40 years ago. It was found in an old foundry shed. It seems to be iron. On the back of the frog it reads, “I croak for the Jackson Wagon.” I was wondering if it refers to Andrew Jackson and am curious about its history.

James, Smyrna

James,

The Webster Wagon Company distributed cast-iron frogs to promote their Jackson model wagon, not our native son, President Andrew. Webster Wagon was in business from the mid-1800s until cars pushed wagons aside in the early 1900s.

A frog like yours is currently offered on eBay for $40. Recently, identical frogs without the bright green paint have sold from $40 to $130.

Ms. Davenport,

Over 30 years ago, I rescued this bonbon dish from the trash. It looks like china and has no markings. Does it have any value?

Angela, Joelton

Angela,

Your porcelain bonbon dish with applied flowers and the word “Bonbon” beautifully written in cursive on the shaped bowl may be Italian. It’s a complex novelty item with a seated cherub holding a quill pen. It’s so sweet, it just might sell for more than $20. I like the implication that passers-by might be encouraged to leave bonbons. I’m glad you rescued and still enjoy the dish.

Mrs. Davenport,

After mother’s passing, my sister and I found 10 glasses Mom called “Depression glass.” Can you tell us more? Are they Depression glass, and what are they worth?

Nancy, Dunlap

Dear Nancy,

Your mother’s heavy pressed, amber glass stemware wine glasses and sherbets were made by Fostoria Glass Company. The company called the pattern Jamestown and made it in various midcentury-popular colors from 1958 to 1982. They currently sell for around $5 each.

Depression glass was made in the 1920s and ’30s. Midcentury glass is more likely to sell than Depression glass. Older is not always better.

Connie,

Is this globe worth me trying to sell? It is marked “Terrestrial Globe, W&AK Johnson Limited, Edinburgh, London, 1907 — Ball State Un., Muncie, Indiana.”

I have several pieces to sell. Would you point me in the right direction?

Joyce, McMinnville

Joyce,

Globes made by W. & A.K. Johnston in the early 1900s sell for $200 to $1,200. Perfect globes without scuff marks on the paper or gaps in the hard paper panels that form the ball shape should be offered through a high-end auction company. Especially damaged globes would sell nicely online through eBay or Etsy.

Correction: Patrick from upper Sumner County called July 28 to tell me the stool I attributed to milking chores is really the base of a yarn-measuring contraption called a weasel or reel, although the larger part is missing. After a designated amount of yarn is wound onto the weasel, a lever pops, making a sound implied by the song “Pop Goes the Weasel.” Thanks, Patrick!