RINKER ON COLLECTIBLES — Column #1461

Copyright © Harry Rinker, LLC 2014 

Questions and Answers

QUESTION:  I found a 5 1/2 inch tall, rectangular, large neck, clear glass bottle.  On the side in raised letters is COOK & FRICK / CEDAR RAPIDS, IA.”  What can you tell me about its history and value? – KJ, Bozeman, MT, Email Question

ANSWER:  After failing to find any information about Cook & Frick using an Internet search, I contacted the Cedar Rapids Public Library (450 Fifth Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402).  Within a few hours, I received an email containing attachments for three newspaper articles and a one-page history of the firm from Nancy Geiger, the reference librarian. What follows is a summary of the information I gleaned from the material Nancy sent:

Cook & Frick was a wholesale grocery firm.  J. S. (Joseph Sutherland) Cook, born on April 9, 1828, in Argyle, Washington County, New York, organized his first grocery business in Cedar Rapids in 1857.  P. C. Frick, born in Williamsville, Erie County, New York, was a salesman for J.S. Cook before becoming a partner in J. S. Cook & Frick in 1871.  While both men were entrepreneurs, they arrived at their partnership from different directions.

J. S. Cook left his home at age 11 to clerk in a crockery and glazing store in New York City.  At age 17, he attended an academy in Jamestown, New York, eventually engaging in the manufacture of woolen goods.  While living in Jamestown, he married Vealssa L. Burnell.  Upon founding a grocery store in Cedar Rapids, Cook received repeated requests from his suppliers for goods needed on their farms.  He built a two-way wholesale business.  Cook built several commercial buildings including a large J. S. Cook & Frick store in 1876.  In 1870, Cook began a dry goods wholesale business, acquiring J. W. Augsbury as a partner in 1881.  In 1892, Cook built the Cook & Augsbury building, the largest building in Cedar Rapids at the time.  Cook was a principal in two major Cedar Rapids banks and had extensive real estate holdings.  Cook died on February 22, 1899.  [Most of this information came from the December 24, 1886, “Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette.’]

Prior to arriving in Cedar Rapids, P. C. Frick spent seven years in California, traveling two and from New York City via the Isthmus of Panama.  After spending a winter in New York, he traveled to Minnesota, down the Mississippi, and overland to Cedar Rapids, arriving on June 1, 1867.  Shortly thereafter, he became a salesman for J. S. Cook.  [Most of this information came from the September 15, 1920, “Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette,” which featured a story about an 83rd birthday party for Frick.]

The December 24, 1885, “Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette” contains an article about the firm of J. S. Cook and Frick noting: “The proprietors are possessed of large means and excellent ability and are enabled to secure the most advantages prices in the purchase of their goods.”  Five gentlemen worked in the office and three “Knights of the Grip” (traveling salesmen) covered a territory that included Iowa, Dakota, and Nebraska.  The article notes that the sales territory is continually expanding.  Carbon oil was a major product.  When Cook died, J. S. Cook & Frick became Frick, Stearns, Russell.  In 1914, the firm became part of the Western Grocery company.

[Additional biographical information is found in ‘The History of Linn County, Iowa….,” published by the Western Historical Company of Chicago in 1878 and in “The Biographical History of Linn County, Iowa: Illustrated,” published the S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901.]

This may seem like information overkill for a mid- to late 1880s medicine bottle worth $2.00 to $4.00.  It is not.  Value is in the story behind the bottle and not in the physical bottle.  While the bottle might command a bit more in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, I suspect the possibility is unlikely.  This appears to be a very common bottle, one likely found in dumps and outhouse privies used throughout the northern Plains states at the end of the nineteenth century.

QUESTION:  I have a question regarding the manufacturing dates of Fostoria’s ruby Jamestown pattern glass, which I recently started collecting.  I found a reference indicating that red was not produced in Fostoria’s “popular years.”  I am assuming it was made sometime between the late 1950s and early 1970s.  What can you tell me? – MC, TX, Email Question

ANSWER:  Initially located in Fostoria, Ohio, the Fostoria Glass Company moved four years later (1891) to Moundsville, West Virginia, when the natural gas deposits in Fostoria were exhausted.  Fostoria launched a major advertising campaign when it introduced color to its glass line in 1924.  Colors included blues, deep greens, and reds.  Fostoria’s golden age extended from the mid-1920s through the early 1950s.  The company’s production peak occurred in 1950.

In 1958, Fostoria introduced its Jamestown pattern to honor the 350th anniversary of glass blowing at the Jamestown colony.  The pattern was produced from 1958 to 1982.  According to one internet source, Jamestown pieces were made in amber, amethyst, blue, crystal, green, pink, and smoke.  Designed as a luncheon service, there is no dinner plate with the service. 

Debbie and Randy Coe’s “Elegant Glass: Early, Depression, and Beyond, Revised & Expanded 4th Edition” (Schiffer Publishing, 2013) notes the Jamestown pattern was “composed of swirled wide panels that were reminiscent of early American designs.  The pattern was meant to be used during everyday meals.”  Debbie Coe informed me that: “Ruby was not part of the initial offering in 1958…Ruby was introduced in 1964 and continued until 1982.  Not all items were made in Ruby.  Among those were the 4 ½” dessert bowl, 8 inch plate, and tumblers.”

QUESTION:  I have a 1943 and a 1945 World War II poster.  The 1943 poster “BACK THE ATTACK!” is #544025, published by the U.S. Government Printing Office.  The poster is approximately 22 inches by 28 inches.  The central image on the poster is a two-prop bomber from which parachute troops are jumping.  To the left is a star in a circle with the words: “The / 3rd / War Loan / is on!”  A banner on the bottom reads “BUY BONDS HERE.” The 1945 poster “ALL FUEL IS SCARCE / PLAN FOR WINTER NOW!” is #0-648956, published by the U.S. Government Printing Office.  The poster measures approximately 20 inches by 28 1/4 inches.  The poster features an image by artist Albert Dorne of an old man looking out a frost-covered window between the two banner headlines.  Beneath the lower banner headline is advice from the Solid Fuels Administration for War to (1) Winterize your home; (2) Check your heat, and (3) Order fuel at once.  How much are these posters worth? – JP, Janesville, WI

ANSWER:  The secondary market is flooded with reproductions of World War I and World War II posters.  Sellers often fail to mention that these reproductions are photographs of period copies.  Knowing the size of a period World War II poster is the first step to detecting the reproductions.  Most photograph reproductions are printed on a different size paper.

Collector interest in World War I and World War II posters is high.  However, the secondary market has very distinct levels.  The two posters that you own are common and not highly desirable.  A period copy of your 1943 “BACK THE ATTACK!” poster sold at auction in August 2008 for $78.00.  Photographic reproductions are offered for sale between $20.00 and $30.00.  A low price is another indication that a poster is a photographic reproduction.

Having stated this, a period copy of your 1945 “ALL FUEL IS SCARCE” poster sold at auction in December 2012 for $30.00.  This is in sharp contrast to an eBay seller who is asking $250.00 dollars plus $31.91 dollars for shipping for the same period poster.  This is another example of the unrealistic prices asked by some eBay sellers.  It also is why it pays to comparison shop and check other sources before agreeing to pay prices that appear unusually high.

A realistic secondary market value for your posters is between $45.00 and $55.00 for “BACK THE ATTACK!”  The value results from the strong visual image.  Although the artist for “ALL FUEL IS SCARCE” is known, the image is weak compared to your other poster.  As a result, its secondary market value is between $30.00 and $35.00.

QUESTION:  I have a Lone Ranger miniature lunch box featuring the Lone Ranger and Tonto sitting on their horses.  Both horses are facing to the left.  The image is in black and white.  The symbol of the “The Lone Ranger” is in the upper left corner.  The same photo is on the back.  I have not seen one on eBay.  What is my miniature lunch box worth? – CB, Email Question

ANSWER:  Miniature lunchboxes were issued for a variety of television cowboy stars in the 1990s and early 2000s.  These “collector” items have little to no collectability.

In 2001, Cheerios issued a miniature Lone Ranger lunch box in honor of the Lone Ranger’s 60th anniversary.  These are readily available and sell on the secondary market between $8.00 and $15.00.

I found two eBay listings for the miniature Lone Ranger lunch box you have.  One seller had a “Buy It Now” price of $15.00.  Another seller combined it with another miniature Lone Ranger box and was asking $7.00.

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.