RINKER ON COLLECTIBLES — Column #1441

Copyright © Harry Rinker, LLC 2014 

Questions and Answers

QUESTION:  I have a 10 inch Sebastian miniature advertising plaque featuring a Pilgrim town crier standing beside a sign.  What is the history and value of this item? – L, Janesville, WI

ANSWER:  Sebastian Miniatures, hand-painted, lightly glazed figurines, were the creation of Prescott W. Baston (1909-1984).  He organized the Sebastian Miniature Company in 1940.  Production initially was located in Marblehead, Massachusetts, eventually moving to Hudson, Massachusetts.

Sebastian Miniatures range in size from three to four inches.  Although production was limited, production runs in excess of 5,000 were common.  Baston also produced special commission advertising and souvenir figurines.

Over 900 different figurines have been documented.  Pewter miniatures were introduced in 1969.  In 1976, the Lance Corporation produced more than 100 of Baston’s most popular designs for national distribution.

Preston Baston died on May 25, 1984.  His son Woody continued in his father’s footsteps.  Preston W. Baston, Jr., established his design and manufacturing operation when Lance ceased production of Sebastian Miniatures in 1997.

The 1980s and 1990s were the golden age for Sebastian Miniature collectibles.  The company sponsored the Sebastian Miniatures Collectors Society.  Membership numbered in the thousands.  Today, collector interest has diminished, thanks in part to the flooding of Sebastian Miniatures on the internet.

Although I found an internet reference to The Sebastian Exchange Collectors Association (Lancaster, PA) on www.tias.com, I found no website for the organization.  The website www.sebastianworld.com appears to be a commercial site disguised as an information site.

When Sebastian Miniatures ended its distribution agreement with Carbone and Schmid in 1951, Preston Baston designed a dealer’s sales plaque for display at stores carrying his product.  The plaque was 4 3/4 inches tall.  From 1951-1975, the plaque noted the miniatures were made in Marblehead, Massachusetts.  When production shifted to Hudson, the location changed as follows: “Hudson” (1975-1978), “U.S.A.” (1970-1983), and “New England” (1980/1982).  As with most collectibles of this type, collectors place a premium on the earliest examples.

Sebastian Miniature sale plaques are common.  There are close to a dozen for sale on eBay, all with prices below $15.00.   As always, there is one optimist who is asking $125.00 for a 1980s example.  If you are planning to sell, my advice is do not turn down any offer over $10.00.

QUESTION:  I have a World War II U. S. Army Signal Corp machete.  The end of the blade has several markings: a hand rising from a crown holding a hammer, “_EGITIMUS,” “COLLINS & CO / HARTFORD / ACERO FIND / CALIDAD / GARANTIZADA / MADE IN U.S.A,” and “NO. 37.” The leather scabbard is missing.  The knife is 20 3/4 inches long.  The blade is 15 3/4 inches.  There is a leather scabbard but there are no markings on it.  What information can you provide about this machete and its value? – BW, Altoona, PA, Email Question

ANSWER:  Brothers Samuel W. and David C. Collins along with their cousin William Wells established Collins & Company in 1826.  The company initially was located in an old gristmill on the Farmington River in Canton, Connecticut.  Collins & Company manufactured axes.  The company quickly added plows and other edged tools to its product line.  Although the company’s reputation grew, the 1830s financial crisis forced the company to reorganize.  In 1834, Collins Manufacturing began.  By the 1840s, Collins Manufacturing offered more than 150 varieties of machetes in 35 countries, approximately 80% of the world demand.  [For more information, see:
http://connecticuthistory.org/world-renowned-maker-of-axes-the-
collins-company-of-canton/]

In 1843, Collins Manufacturing became The Collins Company, a name it retained until 1966, when it was purchased by Mann Edge Tool Company.  As the company’s export business grew, it started adding Spanish to its labels and other markings.

“LEGITIMUS” was a trademark used by The Collins Company between 1875 and 1966.  The first reference is Registration No. 3,406, dated February 8, 1876.  It describes the crown from which rises an arm holding a hammer.  The trademark was registered several additional times -- November 15, 1881, and March 20, 1906.  The “LEGITMUS” trademark was used in advertising and labels as well as on products.  [For more information, see:
http://www.yesteryearstools.com/Yesteryears%20Tools/ Collins%20Pt.%201.html]

Your Collins No. 37 machete was sold as a “brush cutting knife.”  It was readily available on the commercial market.  The United States Signal Corps adopted the knife in 1942, designating it “U. S. Army Machete M-1942.”

Unless the No. 37 machete contains military markings “M-1942” on the blade or “U.S. ATLAS 1943” on the scabbard, collectors do not consider it a legitimate military machete.  A non-military Collins No. 37 machete retails on the secondary market between $20.00 and $25.00.   Since examples of the No. 37 machete are common, the values are for a No. 37 machete in fine or better condition.

QUESTION:  I own an H. C. White Kiddie Kar.  It has green wheels and body.  The handle bar is yellow.  I would like to know more about it. – T, State College, PA

ANSWER:  In 1870, Hawley C. White, a New York spectacle-lens manufacturer, began to produce stereoscopic slides and viewers.  In 1874, White moved his operations to North Bennington, Vermont.  When a fire destroyed the factory in 1886, White rebuilt, more than doubling the size of the initial factory.  In 1899, White made a commitment to upgrading the quality of the stereoscope views the company produced.  White hired skilled photographers to make “Travel Tours” around the world.  The H. C. White view list included over 13,000 images.  He produced stereoscopes for Sears & Roebuck and Underwood and Underwood.

In 1915, White, age 67, sold his stereoscope company to Keystone View Company.  He turned his production facility over to his sons.  After continually repairing his son’s three-wheel tricycle, Clarence, Hawley White’s second son, designed a new product.  The first Kiddie Kar rolled off the assembly line in July 1915.  Within a few years, production reached one million Kiddie Kars per year.  In 1919, the plant was expanded to increase annual production to two million Kiddie Kars per year.  The company survived until the Depression.

In addition to condition and date of manufacture, value is enhanced by the retention of the period label.  I found two examples for sale on eBay listed between $75.00 and $90.00.  Both appear to have had been refinished – the period color stripped away and a natural finish applied.  A period example with good paint in fine or better condition will sell between $150.00 and $175.00.,

The popularity of the Kiddie Kar led to a series of “Kiddie Kar” collectibles.  Richard J. Walsh authored “Kiddie-Kar Book,” illustrated by Sarah Weber and S. Stilwell and published around 1920.  There also was a 1920s Kiddie Kar candy container and sheet music for a “Kiddie Kar Taxi.”

QUESTION:  I have an approximately 8 inch by 10 inch print entitled “Can’t do business from an empty wagon.”  It is marked Dun and Bradstreet.  It appears to be from the 1930s.  What is my print worth? – M, Reading, PA

ANSWER:  In 1949, Dun and Bradstreet launched its “Can’t do business from an empty wagon” campaign.  The Harvard Business School library/archives houses the Dun & Bradstreet Corporate Records (1931-1990).  Box 40 contains folders related to the materials and correspondence associated with the campaign.

The saying dates back to the 19th century.  It means inventory is critical if a person wishes to make a sale.

I found only a minimal amount of information about the campaign on the Internet.  Meril A. May, a Dun & Bradstreet vice president, addressed an October 1949 meeting of the Portland Rotary Club on the topic.

Harry L. Rinker welcomes questions from readers about collectibles, those mass-produced items from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.  Selected letters will be answered in this column.  Harry cannot provide personal answers.  Photos and other material submitted cannot be returned.  Send your questions to: Rinker on Collectibles, 5955 Mill Point Court SE, Kentwood, MI 49512.  You also can e-mail your questions to harrylrinker@aol.com. Only e-mails containing a full name and mailing address will be considered.

You can listen and participate in WHATCHA GOT?, Harry’s antiques and collectibles radio call-in show, on Sunday mornings between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM Eastern Time.  If you cannot find it on a station in your area, WHATCHA GOT? streams live on the Internet at www.gcnlive.com.

SELL, KEEP OR TOSS?: HOW TO DOWNSIZE A HOME, SETTLE AN ESTATE, AND APPRAISE PERSONAL PROPERTY (House of Collectibles, an imprint of Random House Information Group, $17.99), Harry’s latest book, is available at your favorite bookstore and via www.harryrinker.com.