Questions and Answers
 

QUESTION: I have a tablecloth and matching apron featuring Elsie the Borden Cow, Elmer, and their children Beauregard and Beulah.  The tablecloth measures 36in by 56in and has a 3in red border with sunflowers on the sides.  In the center are black barbeque utensils.  Elsie is mixing a salad on a brown picnic table covered with a yellow cloth.  Elmer is carrying a tray of hamburgers toward the table.  Beulah is carrying a watermelon.  Beauregard has a water hose with which to squelch the fire.  The apron features a similar décor.  I am not certain when they were manufactured.  My guess is the 1950s or 1960s.  They are very colorful.  I would appreciate knowing their worth.  --  MF, Pantego, TX

ANSWER: Elsie the Borden Cow has her own website, www.elsie.com, which contains a detailed history about one of America’s best-known advertising icons.  Here are some excerpts: “Elsie’s fictional character was created in the 1930’s, when the dairy industry was enduring consumer awareness challenges.  Well-publicized ‘milk wars’ between farmers and dairy processors sparked a series of ads featuring a variety of fictional cows that ultimately resulted in the birth of Elsie…

“It was in 1938 that Elsie came to life when a radio commentator singled Elsie out in a commercial that he read on the air.  Listeners were so amused by the commercial, they began sending fan mail to Elsie.  From that moment on, Elsie became the Borden spokescow.

“By 1930, Elsie made her debut in national consumer magazine advertisements and was being used for local community promotional programs….

“In 1939, the ‘live’ Elsie was discovered at the New York World’s Fair….Given the overwhelming popularity of Elsie and the public’s interest in a ‘live’ Elsie, the most beautiful blue-blooded Jersey Cow in the exhibit was chosen….

“As Elsie’s popularity soared, she was invited to numerous engagements.  Soon, Elsie was unable to honor all of the requests for her presence.  To solve the problem, Elsie’s husband, Elmer, and her first daughter Beulah, were born in 1940….

“In 1947, both the live and animated Elsie added a new member to the family.  Given the excellent publicity the birth of Beulah provided and with wartime shortages behind, this was a good time for Elsie to bear another offspring.

“In July, behind modest temporary drapes in a Macy’s Department Store window, a male calf was born.  A contest to name the baby brought in a million entries….The judges picked the name Beauregard in honor of General Beauregard’s role at the Battle of Bull Run….

“In the 1950’s, magazines were losing their stature as the ideal medium for advertising, and were being overtaken by television.  Given severely limited special effects technology for the new television medium, early attempts at animating Elsie were unsuccessful.  As a result, advertising shifted away from Elsie and towards specific products.  Slowly, Elsie faded from ads with the exception of the familiar ‘Elsie Daisy’ trademark developed in 1951….”

Elsie experienced numerous revivals in the years that followed.  In 1957 Elsie gave birth to the twins, Larabee and Lobella.  An attempt to return Elsie for good in the 1960s failed.  However, by the end of the decade, Elsie had all but disappeared.  In 1971 Borden brought Elsie back to life through a series of animated television commercials and a revival of a traveling live Elsie.  In 1997, Elsie and Borden cheese became part of the Dairy Farmers of America’s manufacturing and product line.  Alas, today’s youngsters are far more likely to associate dairy products with the “Got Milk?” campaign than with this sixty-five year old advertising icon.

Your tablecloth dates from the mid- to late 1950s.  Albert and Shelly Coito’s Elsie the Borden Cow and Borden’s Collectibles (Schiffer Publishing, 2000) value the tablecloth between $100.00 and $125.00.  The apron falls around $75.00.

Beware of values in a specialized price guide when the author is a leading collector or dealer.  Both individuals tend to price toward the high, sometimes very high, side of the market.  Always check field and eBay prices.

In the last thirty days, only 120 “Elsie, the Borden Cow” items appeared on eBay.  Over one-third of the lots did not sell.  Those that did were far below book value.  An apron in very good condition realized just under $25.00.  Elsie’s milk appears to have run dry and so has interest in her collectibles.  Got Milk?

QUESTION: I have a pedestal compote which is either a candy dish or bowl.  It is marked on the bottom “E O Brody Co. / Cleveland / M6000 USA.”  The green glass features a scroll leaf design.  It stands 6in high and is 6 1/2in in diameter.  I have owned it for close to thirty years.  What is its value?  --  PM, Brownsville, PA

ANSWER: The website www.glass-time.com includes this information from the its “Glass Encyclopedia”: “The E. O. Brody Company was founded in 1958 in Cleveland, Ohio, by Ernest Oscar Brody.  Mr. Brody was known as EO in the florists’ trade.  His innovative idea was to sell utility glass floral containers exclusively to florists and to market them through wholesale florists who in turn would sell to retail florists.  Initially he started the company with only four flower vases/containers in his portfolio.  These were made by U.S. glass manufacturers using EO’s own molds marked with the company name.

“In 1971 the ‘E. O. Brody Company’ was taken over by Lancaster Colony Corporation of Columbus, Ohio.  In 1988 the company merged with Lancaster Colony’s housewares division, headquartered in Cincinnati.  At this point in time the company name was changed to ‘Brody Company.’

“E. O. Brody/Brody Company products are mostly inexpensive, mass-produced vases, bowls, and flower pots.  The company made or commissioned a large volume of milk glass and green glass pieces, selling for 50 cents to a dollar.  They also sold brown glass and clear glass with a red painted surface.  They even imported crystal vases from Turkey, which were marked with a paper label ‘Made in Turkey for E. O. Brody Company.’  E. O. Brody and his wife are now retired.

“Brody items come up for sale at garage sales and on auction sites like eBay which give a good indication of prices (still low).  No doubt they will become collectible items one day, like so many other mass-produced glass items from the past.  The fact that they are clearly marked will eventually add to their value.”

So much for the optimistic point of view.  Now for a reality check.  M6000 is the mold designation for a candy dish.  Milk glass examples sell on eBay for between $0.99 and $3.49.  It usually costs the buyer more to have the candy dish shipped than he paid for it.  Green glass examples appear to go begging, i.e., they often fail to attract a bid.  I would seriously question if Brody glass products have long-term collectibility.  If they do, it is likely to be in the $2.50 to $7.50 range.

You also can find information about the Brody Company on the Lancaster Colony website, www.lancastercolony.com.

QUESTION: Do Plasticville houses lose all their value by being glued together?  --  RMJ, Allentown, PA

ANSWER: Bachmann Brothers manufactured plastic houses and buildings for toy train layouts between 1947 and 1986.  Plasticville homes can be recognized by an impressed “Plasticville” or “BB” on a banner within a circle.

Jean A. Bickerton and Bill Nole’s Plasticville: An Illustrated Price Guide “O” & “S” Scale (Iron Horse Productions, 1989; 86 pages) offers these points of view in respect to pricing: “Value is based on the item being in complete and excellent condition in its original box.  Brand new pieces command premium prices whereas repainting and/or other alterations can reduce their value by 50% or more....

“As is true in any type of collecting, certain ground rules will be helpful to you.  The prize sought by all is the item, new in the box and unsullied by the touch of human hands….

“Next to throwing pieces away is the sin of ‘gluing’!  Collectors shudder at the mere mention of the word and nothing can more quickly lower the value of an item.  If pieces are merely broken or missing, there is hope for the future; with glue, there is no future.  With only temporary acceptance by the purist collector to fill a hole in his collection, the ultimate fate is probably to return to the hands of a model railroader who prefers his buildings glued together for stability….”

The official website of the Plasticville Collector’s Association is www.plasticvilleusa.org.  Bill Nole’s Classic Guide To Vintage “O” Plasticville can be ordered from Bill Nole (10073 E. Byronwood Lane, Tucson, AZ  85730) for $34.00 ($30.00 retail plus $4.00 shipping).

Dave’s Trains at www.davestrains.com offers a large number of Plasticville homes for sale.  Pieces with “some glue reside” are priced cheaper than examples without evidence of gluing.  Dave offered no pieces that were completely glued together.

Harry L. Rinker welcomes questions from readers about collectibles, those mass-produced items from the twentieth century.  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, 5093 Vera Cruz Road, Emmaus, PA 18049.  You also can e-mail your questions to rinkeron@fast.net.  Only e-mails containing a full name and mailing address will be considered.

Watch Harry as the COLLECTOR INSPECTOR on Saturday evenings at 6:00 PM ET/PT on Home & Garden Television (HGTV).  Check your local TV schedule for the exact time in other time zones.
 

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