Hopalong Cassidy was introduced in 1907 as a fictional character in a story by Clarence E. Mulford. During the years, Mulford wrote 28 books featuring the cowboy. Hopalong was so popular that movies and TV shows were made based on the character.
The first Hopalong Cassidy movie, starring William Boyd, was produced in 1935. Boyd starred in 66 Hopalong Cassidy movies. In 1948, edited versions of the movies became a TV series. Fifty-two more TV shows were produced.
By the 1950s, Hoppy was featured in comics, records, toys and other merchandise. One rare Hopalong Cassidy item is a 1949 Rollfast bicycle. The Extreme Delux model has rubber nubs on the tires, tassels on the handlebars, leather saddlebags, headlight, horn, white-sidewall tires and a 3-D image of Hoppy in chrome. It even has a white bicycle chain.
In June, Heritage Galleries sold the black-and-white bicycle for $3,910. The bike had been in storage for 45 years and was in close-to-mint condition.
Could you please give me some indication of the history and value of my small, oil-fueled ceiling lamp? It has two burners in clear glass globes. White milk-glass chimneys fit in the globes. The central metal piece that holds the fuel and hangs from the ceiling is gold-colored metal embossed with vines. The fixture is marked “The Angle Lamp Co., N.Y., patented in the U.S. and foreign countries.”
You have a double hanging lamp, so called because it hangs from the ceiling and has two burners. The Angle Lamp Co. sold lamps in several styles from about 1896 to 1929. Some were sold through the Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs. Most Angle lamps were made to be mounted on a wall or ceiling. The patents for the lamp belonged to an inventor named Thomas M. Fell, who designed the oil burners to permit more downward-directed light. Angle lamp bodies, which hold the removable fonts, have embossed patterns in several finishes, including polished brass, antiqued brass, antiqued copper or nickel plate. The value of your lamp depends on the embossed pattern on the body, the lamp’s condition and whether or not the chimneys are originals or replacements. Some Angle double hanging lamps sell for less than $100; others sell for close to $1,000.
Can you tell me anything about my small, copper-colored sculpture of a ram? The ram is resting on an oval base that’s 81/2 inches long by 41/2 inches wide. The sculpture is about 3 inches tall. The name “Rosa B.” is etched on the top of the base in front of the ram’s head.
Marie-Rosalie (Rosa) Bonheur (1822-1899) was a French painter and sculptor. She signed her work “Rosa B.” If your ram is an original bronze, it would sell for about $2,000. Look at it closely. The sculpture should be stamped “Peyrol,” which is the name of the foundry that cast Rosa Bonheur’s sculptures.
Years after my family bought a house in 1966, we discovered an antique dish in the attic. It is decorated with painted flowers, and the scalloped edge is trimmed in gold. The bottom is marked with a green wreath and, in red, the letters “RS” and the word “Prussia.” Is the dish valuable?
Your dish is a piece of “R.S. Prussia” porcelain. It was manufactured between 1888 and 1918 at one of the German porcelain factories owned by Reinhold Schlegelmilch (R.S.). The Schlegelmilch factories exported thousands of pieces of porcelain to American wholesale distributors, so most R.S. Prussia pieces are not rare. If your plate is in near-mint condition, it would sell for about $100.
I’m 84 and have a Coca-Cola tray that’s been in my family since I was a child. It pictures a young woman in a long, white, sleeveless gown. There’s a pink corsage on her left shoulder strap. The tray is 101/2 by 131/4 inches. The border is gold, with a red script “Coca-Cola” on the top and bottom. What is it worth?
Old Coca-Cola serving trays like yours are avidly collected. Yours was made in 1936. If it’s in excellent condition, with an unscratched surface and good color, it could sell for about $500.
I found an old stoneware covered jar in the attic of the 250-year-old house I bought. The jar is 12 inches tall and is decorated with a blue painted flower and a fancy numeral 3. The impressed words near the top say “Hubbell &Chesebro, Geddes, N.Y.” It is in perfect condition. Can you tell me how old it is?
Hubbell &Chesebro were stoneware potters in Geddes, N.Y., from about 1867 to 1884. The number 3 indicates that it can hold 3 gallons.
Write to Kovels, The Herald, King Features Syndicate, 888 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10019.
2004 by Cowles Syndicate Inc.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
