Questions and Answers

QUESTION: In the early 1940s, I acquired a cast aluminum metal racing car measuring 9 3/4 in long and 4in high.  Cast in the bottom is “Roy Cox / Thimble Drome / Champion / Made in Santa Ana, Calif.”  The body has the number “62” in blue.  Unfortunately, my dad repainted the body yellow and the front grill and top of the hand brake is broken.  Does it have any value?  --  JC, Slatington, PA

ANSWER: Richard O’Brien’s Toy Cars & Trucks: Identification and Value Guide, 2nd Edition (Krause Publications, 1997; 635 pages, $27.95) contains illustrations of two advertisements (pages 543 and 544) for Roy Cox’s Thimble Drome Champion Racer.  The 1947 advertisement reads: “303C THIMBLE DROME CHAMPION.  Polished Radiator Grille.  Chrome Exhaust Pipe.  Polished Disc Wheels.  Non-skid Rubber Tires.  Clutch Lever and Pressure Pump.  In 6 Solid Colors.  Contrasting Numerals.”  Within a few years additional models were available: 304CT which featured a tether attachment and ten feet of control line, a basic model with six color combinations for the body rather than a solid color, a Thimble Drome Racer with engine, and a Thimble Drome Special wind-up model.

Thimble Dome racers appear regularly on eBay.  On March 17, a No. 14 Pusher Racer in near mint condition and accompanied by its period box sold for $500.00.  On March 29, a No. 62 tether model with string, rod, and period box (in fair condition) brought $394.59.  On April 6, a two-tone (blue body, red belly) No. 15 racer with some grille damage realized $175.00.  This seller had 382 site hits before the auction closed.  Another seller noted in his listing that “We kids got them for selling newspaper subscriptions.”  Finally, a No. 30 Thimble Drome racer with its period cord, wooden handle, and instruction sheet closed at $344.59.  The paperwork included a sheet to order additional and replacement parts, including an engine that cost $9.95.

Your Thimble Drome racer is in restorable condition.  The good news is that parts are readily available thanks to Keller Kraft, a miniature race car manufacturing company, located at 25136 Poderio Drive, Romona, CA  92065.  Their website is www.kellerkraft.com, their toll free phone number 1-888-782-8700, and e-mail address kellerkraft111@aol.com

If you do not want to restore your racer, you might be able to purchase a new one at www.toyrus.com.  When I checked, the Nylint Thimble Drome Race Car was listed as “out of stock.”  Manufacturer’s information indicates: “The Champion 15 replica is as close to the original as one can get.  The body is of die-cast aluminum top and bottom to original specifications and held together with screws.  The axles are steel and brass.  The exhaust pipe, brake lever, pressure pump and wheel hubs are nickel die-cast metal.”  Copies of period papers accompany the non-working model.  Because the item was out of stock, no price was listed.

I was able to identify your racer as one of the tether models.  Given the fact that it has been repainted and has a broken grille and shift lever, its value is between $50.00 and $65.00, a price someone who is willing to invest the time and money to restore it would pay.

QUESTION: I have a candlestick telephone that originally belonged to a brother who worked for the Michigan Bell Telephone Company.  The phone is marked “Western Electric.”  It features a brass base, post, and mouthpiece holder.  What is its value?  --  JG, Tiffin, OH

ANSWER: Kate Dooner’s Telephones: Antique to Modern (Schiffer Publishing, 1992; 175 pages) provides the following history for Western Electric.  “In 1860, Elisha Gray and Enos M. Barton formed a partnership named Gray and Barton, establishing a manufacturing plant in Cleveland, Ohio.  They produced electrical products consisting chiefly of telegraph instruments, electric bells, signal boxes, batteries and fire alarms.  In 1877, they moved the operation to Chicago and became the Western Electric Company.  Western Electric supplied Western Union with its telephone equipment from 1878-1880.  In 1881, the Bell Company acquired Western Union’s interest in Western Electric and in 1882, the company soon became the sole supplier of Bell equipment and part of the Bell System.  Enos Barton directed Western Electric for 40 years.  A factory was constructed in Belgium in 1882, and in England, Germany, France, and Japan a little later.

“Western Electric eventually divested themselves of many activities including the selling of their foreign factories to International Te. & Tel. Company (ITT).  They also sold their ‘jobbing’ business to the employees in it, who organized a new corporation called the Graybar Electric Co. in tribute to the founders Gray and Barton.  Graybar became the marketing arm for Western Electric.

“In 1925, the engineering department of Western Electric was incorporated as Bell Laboratories, jointly owned by Western Electric and AT&T.”

Dooner also notes: “The upright desk stand, as it is properly called, has in recent years been commonly referred to by its nickname, the ‘candlestick’ telephone.  The familiar name refers to the long shaft which resembles a candlestick.

“The candlestick phone consists of a base, a stem, a perch, a mouthpiece, a faceplate, and a cup.  The stem varieties include the ‘fluted shaft,’ the ‘tapered shaft,’ the ‘roman column’ and the ‘potbelly.’  These are all nicknames referring to the evident appearances of certain shafts.

“The cords also have their own personality.  The general types include twisted cords, brown cords, green cords and rattlesnake cords.  Original green cords are the most treasured, denoting an older telephone.  Reproductions are made, with no intent to deceive, as these reproduction cords are often obvious.

“The hook on the candlestick telephone which holds the receiver also has a varied history.  The more pointed the hook, the older it generally is.  Hooks invariably graduated from a pointed to a more rounded hook, often with an open circle at the end….”

Candlestick telephones arrived on the scene in the early 1900s.  The first candlestick telephones had no dials and featured nickel-plated stems.  The black-painted stem arrived around 1910.  Western Electric began offering dial candlestick telephones at the beginning of the 1920s.  In order for any candlestick telephone to be complete, you need a ringer.

You can buy Western Electric period candlestick telephones on several Internet websites, including www.earlyphones.com.  Non-dial phones sell in the $200.00 to $250.00 range and dial phones in the $425.00 to $450.00 range.  A ringer costs extra.

Candlestick telephones are readily available on eBay.  Price for complete period examples with dials and a ringer have sold as high as $600.00 with the low five hundreds a more standard price.  Complete period examples without a dial but with a ringer average between $250.00 and $350.00.

As in any competitive sales environment, there are bargains and disappointments.  A brass candlestick phone without a ringer was offered for an opening bid of $99.00 and failed to attract a buyer.

Your telephone has value.  However, without knowing its model number, whether it has a dial or not, and whether the ringer is present, I cannot provide a specific value.  Should you wish to sell it, my recommendation is to put it on eBay, where buyers obviously know the models and market, and take your chances.

QUESTION: I have a bottle of Revlon perfume with a label that reads “Intimate Parfume / Revlon, France.”  The 5 1/2in square bottle stands 9in high.  The liquid inside is a clear reddish-brown.  There is no sediment in the bottom of the bottle.  What is its history, age, and value?  --- JC, Columbus, OH

ANSWER: You can find a detailed history of Revlon on its website, www.revlon.com.  The following is a brief excerpt: “Revlon was founded in 1932, by Charles Revson and his brother Joseph, along with a chemist, Charles Lachman, who contributed the ‘L’ in the REVLON name.

“Starting with a single product—a nail enamel unlike any before it—the three founders pooled their meager resources and developed a unique manufacturing process.  Using pigments instead of dyes, Revlon was able to offer woman (sic.) a rich looking, opaque nail enamel in a wide variety of shades never before available.

“In only six years the company became a multimillion dollar organization, launching what was to become one of the most recognized cosmetics names in America and around the world….”

Jacquelynne North’s Perfume, Cologne and Scent Bottles (Schiffer Publishing, 1986, 242 pages) includes a list of companies and the scents they marketed.  Under Revlon, she lists “‘Intimate’, New 1956; ‘Norell’, New 1968; ‘Charlie’, New 1973; ‘Jonute’, New 1975.”

I did an eBay search for Revlon’s Intimate and found more than thirty listings.  The scent is available in many forms including cologne, solid perfume, and spray mist.  It appears the scent was marketed throughout the latter half of the twentieth century.  I did find a listing for a bottle identical to the one you own.  It sold for $10.00.  Realistically, I would value your bottle at one-third to half that amount.  If it still smells nice, give it to someone to use.  If it does not, there is always the sink.

QUESTION: I have a Castro convertible table that I would like appraised.  Can I take digital photographs and send them to you?  --  KC, E-mail Question

ANSWER: As my website clearly indicates, I do not have time to do personal answers to the hundreds of questions I receive each year about antiques and collectibles.  I select questions that I think will interest my readers and answer them in this column.

I did explore the possibility of offering appraisals over the Internet for a fee.  Several companies and individuals have offered this service in the past.  Almost all of them have discontinued it.

When I calculated how much time it took to answer the standard question, I could not justify the service.  First, the fee would have been around $35.00 per object.  Actually, $50.00 would have been fairer to me.  Second, the value of the vast majority of the objects people wanted to know about was under $100.00, thus not justifying the appraisal fee.  Third, the photographs and information accompanying a majority of the inquiries were so bad that it was difficult to determine exactly what they had.

I have encountered several Castro convertible tables in my travels.  Most appear to date from the 1950s or 1960s.  For my readers who are unfamiliar with the table, it converts from a coffee table to a dining table.

I am not aware of anyone who collects these tables.  Buyers are individuals who want to include one in a period room they are creating.  Most sell between $75.00 and $100.00 in very good or better condition.

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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