Fridays at Auction Finds is answer-readers’-questions day. I try to guide readers to the answers to their questions about the items they own. I’m not able to appraise their treasures, but I can help them get started.
This week, I don’t have a question, but I do have some advice on how to use antique guidebooks after a friend consulted a few to find an item she had gotten in a box lot at auction. She had spotted the plastic red recipe file box on a table littered with too-much-other-stuff, ranging from a silver-plated teapot to carved wooden pieces for an Anri Nativity set.
The recipe box bore an Aunt Jemima-like face with red lips and a red bandanna tied around the head (I had basically ignored it because I don’t buy the so-called mammy stuff). The box looked to be from the 1940s or 1950s.
She is a collector of African American memorabilia – especially books – so she consulted several of her guidebooks to determine the price.
“Looked up my $15 plastic recipe box in one of my books and it is valued between $275-$300 (in 2008). Also comes in yellow, green, and blue,” she wrote to me in an email.
“Be sure to check eBay,” I responded. “Those guide books are notoriously out of date. In fact, eBay is probably the first place to check.”
Many price guides are outdated as soon as the writing is completed, and are actually old-old by the time the book is published. They are good, though, for helping you to identify an item that does not have a maker’s name or any other label.
One of the best ways to determine price at a specific point in time is to check one of the world’s largest online marketplaces – eBay. Even on that site, you may find sale prices all over the place, with the same item going for prices that aren’t even close to each other. And next week, the price may be even better, worse or the item may not be selling at all.
My friend checked eBay, but she also meticulously researched the box and its price – a practice that others can do even if they don’t have guidebooks at home. You can likely find them in your public library or a bookstore. Drop by either of those and spend a few hours browsing; it can be big fun.
Here’s what she found through her research:
“I checked Ebay and found the same boxes. Three boxes were shown. Two yellow boxes were selling for $140 & $185 and a red box for $195. My box was made by ‘Fosta Products’ here in the US. Circa 1950s. Size: 3 ¾” x 5 ¼”.
In the collectibles book ‘Black Collectables … Mammy And Her Friends’ by Jackie Young (1988), a red box is shown on page 74. The box also came in blue, green and yellow, also made by Fosta. Price $125-$150.
In the book ‘Black Memorabilia for the Kitchen’ by Jan Lindenberger (2008). Price $275 – $300. Fosta Products.
In the book ‘More Black Memorabilia: A Handbook and Price Guide’ (1995 & 1999 with 1999 revised prices). The boxes are shown again with the price of $275 – $300 but the manufacturer is shown as F&F Plastic Recipe Boxes.
I found information of F&F in the book ‘Collecting Black Americana’ (1986). There is no picture of the box but the price guide shows $18 – $24.”
In my research, I found at least 45 of the recipe boxes selling on eBay, with the highest prices at $120 and $130 for the yellow and green boxes, and $70 for the red. Most of the boxes did not sell. I found Fosta boxes selling on two antiques and collectibles sites for $225.
It seemed that the recipe boxes were made by Fosta. In her books, my friend found some Aunt Jemima and Uncle Mose salt and pepper shakers marked F&F Mold & Die Works. The shakers were among a series of items that included a plastic syrup dispenser, spice rack, cookie jar, and sugar and creamer made by F&F (Fiedler & Fiedler) Mold & Die Works of Dayton, OH. The shakers were first manufactured by F&F for the Quaker Oats Company in 1949, and were used as free premiums to promote the Aunt Jemima product.
This was one of the most successful premium campaigns by the company for its Aunt Jemima pancake mix, according to the Syracuse University Plastics Collection website.
The guidebooks, along with research via Google, are good sources of identification of an item you own but not necessarily as gauges to determine the value of the items. Invariably, you may be disappointed when the book’s value doesn’t match the reality value.
I recently came across a papier-mache doll’s shoulder head that had no marking. So, I pulled out one of my doll guides from 1979 and found the head identified as a W.A.H. Nonpareil 3015 made by R. Ridley & Sons. I could find very little about the company (it operated from 1886 to 1888), but the head was valued at $100 to $125. The highest price it sold for on eBay, though, was $41, and it was one of only two listed.
Do you have other suggestions on how to ID and assess the value of items?
