Friday at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day. I try to guide readers to resources to help them determine the value of their items. I’m not able to appraise their treasures, but I can do some preliminary research to get them started. So, these are market values based on prices I find on the web, not appraisal for insurance purposes that I suggest for items that have been determined to be of great value.
Today’s questions are about a Marilyn Monroe plate and a hand-crank ice cream maker.
Question:
I am wondering if the plate is for sale. What does it cost? How may I get it? I live in Canada, would that impede the sale?
Answer:
I wrote about a Marilyn Monroe plate that was among items in a box lot I bought several years ago. This reader recently came across the blog post about the plate, which featured an image of Monroe from the movie “The Seven Year Itch.” It’s the famous picture of her standing over a New York subway grate, her dress flying up into the air. Dressed in white, she is pictured against a bright red background on the plate.
The scene created so much commotion from thousands of onlookers when it was shot around 1 a.m. on Sept. 15, 1954, that it had to be re-shot in the studio. The most famous of the photos showed her white panties. On hand that night was her husband, Joe DiMaggio, who was embarrassed by the show she put on. That incident was said to have led to the breakup of their marriage. The actual scene in the movie did not show the dress above her knees.
The plate was one in a series of 12 from the Marilyn Collection of scenes from some of her movies. They were limited-edition plates authorized by her estate and released by the Bradford Exchange. The plates were made from 1990 to 1992.
I no longer have the plate, and they are no longer being produced. The reader can find plenty of them on the web, particularly on eBay, where I found them selling for as little as $6.50. Search for “Marilyn Monroe Seven Year Itch” plate.
Question:
We have one Shepard Lightning ice maker 1781 year. Do you know how much is worth for this?
Answer:
The reader came across a blog post I wrote a few years ago about a White Mountain hand-crank ice cream maker. These machines were a nifty way to make your own ice cream more than a century ago, but they required a strong arm and lots of time. They are still being manufactured today.
The White Mountain was first made in 1853, according to its label, but it was not the first. A woman named Nancy M. Johnson of Philadelphia is credited with inventing the first ice cream maker and patenting it as an “artificial freezer” in 1843. I could find out very little information about her, and most of it was contradictory. African American Augustus Jackson is credited with finding a better way of making ice cream, and he created many flavors.
The Lightning and White Mountain were among about 50 ice cream makers being sold at the end of the 19th century. A Harper’s magazine from that period showed stacked ads from those two companies describing their freezers as the best for making ice cream at home.
The 1871 date on the reader’s Lightning was the patent date (when the company first started making them), not the date his was manufactured. The reader’s ice cream maker likely dates to the 1890s.
The Lightning was selling in an 1897 Sears Roebuck & Co. catalog for $1.43 (two quarts) to $6.04 (14 quarts). By 1921, the prices had jumped – the 14-quart was $29.
The best way to find out what folks are willing to pay for the maker as a vintage item today is to Google and check eBay. A large part of the price will depend on the condition, and the reader’s Lightning is not in very good shape. Here’s a restored one.
On eBay, a Lightning in not-so-good condition did not sell, even after the price was dropped several times. One in good condition sold for $272. Salesman’s samples, which were about 6″ tall, sold for $117 to $261.
