Questions and Answers
 

QUESTION:  Can you suggest how I might find the value for my grandmother’s Washburn guitar which she acquired in the early part of the twentieth century?  --  TB, E-mail Question

ANSWER:  Washburn Guitars still is an active business.  Its website is www.washburn.com.  The brief history notes: “Washburn (was) an aggressive innovator and standard setter throughout our history.  Early history documents Washburn as the first guitar manufacturer to use artist endorsements and as the originator of the large bodied guitar.  In more recent years, Washburn has gained as a creator of imaginative solid body electrics and in electric-acoustic guitar design.”

The website cites John Teagle’s Washburn: 100 Years of Fine Stringed Instruments, published in 1996 by 20th Century Guitars and distributed by Music Sales Corporation.  Unfortunately, the book is no longer in print.  I did find a review of the book by Joseph H. Pierre on Amazon.com.  He notes: “George Washburn’s real name was George Washburn Lyon—hence the business name Lyon & Healy.  It appears that there was even a George W. Lyon guitar at one point, probably around 1890.  Lyon died in 1894, while Patrick J. Healy, the merchandiser of the two partners, lived on until 1905….The book details many Lyon & Healy triumphs, awards and firsts—including the acknowledged full ‘Dreadnaught’ guitar, decades ahead of the famed Martin D-1 and D-2s…

“I own an example of the George Washburn New Model of 1897—a parlor guitar with amazing tone and resonance, with Brazilian rosewood burl sides, spruce top, and ebony fingerboard, ivory nut and saddle on the ebony bridge, with mother of pearl position inlays on the fingerboard.  Their plainest, smallest model.  It probably retailed for $15….I’ve turned down $500 for it.”

I own a copy of the second edition of the Blue Book of Guitar Values, copyrighted 1994.  Although the book focuses primarily on electric and acoustic guitars (as does its current edition), it does provide this historical background about Washburn guitars: “Trademark established in 1864 with current manufacture in both the U.S. and overseas.  Distributed by Washburn International, located in Vernon Hills, IL.  Washburn began as the distribution house for Lyon & Healy instruments.  Lyon and Healy was a large manufacturer at the turn of the century (100,000 instruments annually) located in Chicago and was named after George Washburn Lyon and P. J. Healy.  It was originally started in 1864 by Oliver Ditson.  The Chicago plant was virtually destroyed by fire circa 1920, and many of their instruments thereafter were built by other companies.  The Washburn name was picked up by the Tonk Brothers Co. in 1929 and was eventually purchased by an importer of Asian-built instruments during the 1970’s.  A new line of instruments was introduced in 1993 that are hand-built in Chicago, IL, U.S.A., bringing the Washburn tradition back to the United States.”

The first step in determining the value of your guitar is to determine what model you own.  My recommendation is to either buy a used copy of the Teagle book or ask your local reference librarian to obtain a copy of the book via Interlibrary Loan.

Once you have identified the model, you need to assess the condition of your guitar.  Is it playable?  Take your guitar to a local music shop, preferably one that deals in guitars, and ask the shop owner to evaluate it.

When I did a thirty-day sales results search on eBay, I found over one thousand listings for Washburn guitars.  Alas, almost all of them were for recent electric and electric-acoustic guitars.  There were a few older flat top examples.  Based on buyer interest, it appears that the value of your guitar is likely to be in the low hundreds of dollars, that is assuming it is playable and in very good or better condition.

QUESTION: I have a print of Abraham Lincoln based on a painting by John Doctoroff.  The print measures 21” x 17 1/4”.  It contains the following inscription in white ink in the lower left corner: “To John Shuleen / in sincere appreciation / of a regular fellow / John Doctoroff.”  When was the print done and what is its value?  --  VK, Country Club Hills, IL, E-mail Question

ANSWER: John Doctoroff was born in New York on July 19, 1893, and died in Chicago on June 27, 1970.  The website, www.rotaryhistoryfellowship.org/clubs/rotaryone, contains this information: “On November 4, 1931, John Doctoroff, a ROTARY/One member and renowned artist, made delivery of a stunning portrait of our Rotary founder, Paul P. Harris, to our club…

“John Doctoroff is described as a handsome, smiling, bustling, mustachioed man, and the New York City born son of Russian parents.  As a young man, John moved to Texas, where he worked as a commercial artist until he established himself as a recognized portrait artist, having painted Calvin Coolidge, President of the U.S. at that time as well as his Vice President, Charles Dawes.  Other well-known portraits were of Herbert Hoover and Al Landon.

“His particular talent was capturing the personality and spirit of his subjects.  He painted a picture of Abraham Lincoln after intense study of photographs and biographies.  It was said about that portrait, “You reveal his sadness and sympathy and at the same time, all the fearless courage of his immortal soul.”

Allow me to sidetrack for a minute.  I attended first grade at the Franklin Elementary School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.  I vividly remember the two large prints—one of George Washington and one of Abraham Lincoln—that hung on the wall behind the teacher’s desk.  I strongly suspect that many of my older readers may have similar school memories.

While researching the value for your print, I came across a listing on eBay for a 16” x 20” print of Abraham Lincoln that hung on the wall of a schoolhouse in Johnson County, Kansas.  The print, along with a print of George Washington, was purchased by the students of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades in 1917.  Their names were on the back of the prints.  The print was based on a painting by Marshall and printed by the Beckley-Candy Company of Chicago.

Based on the information available, I think it is safe to conclude that Doctoroff did the painting for the Lincoln print sometime in the early to mid-1920s.  The print most likely was done at the same time.

As to value, I am afraid that Uncle Abe prints are not selling well at the moment.  Again, when I was in elementary school, February was a big month.  Beside the traditional Valentine card exchange, we had two days off—Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthdays.  In the twenty-first century, we seem content to accept the fact that all American presidents were born on the third Monday in February.

In Illinois, where your print is located and where Lincoln is held in higher esteem than elsewhere in this country, the Doctoroff print has a value between $250.00 and $300.00.  Elsewhere in the United States, its value is closer to $100.00.

QUESTION: My neighbor has a copy of Roughing It, 1906, Volume I by Samuel Clemens.  It has this message written and signed by Mark Twain: “This is the authorized uniform edition of all my books.”  Is the signature authenticate and what is the value of the book?  --  JSR, E-mail Question

ANSWER: The Mark Twain inscription is printed.  It is done in such a manner that it appears to be hand signed.  Actually, Twain did a hand signed version which then was used to create an engraved copper plate for printing purposes.  Within the course of a year, I see several examples of this volume that are brought to verbal appraisal clinics by individuals hoping the signature is authentic.

I would very much like to meet the salesmen who sold the multi-volume sets of the works of great literary authors, Hawthorne, Twain, etc., during the first decade of the twentieth century.  Based on the number of sets I see, they must have been among the most persuasive individuals of their time.  I suspect the main sales pitch was to “introduce your children to the great literature of our past and make them educated and erudite citizens.”  The bindings are not broken on most examples I see.

Today, these sets are sold as shelf sitters, i.e., volumes placed in bookcases to convey the impression that their owners have a sense of taste and class.  They are sold to decorators by the foot--$10.00 a foot for plain cloth bindings, $15.00 a foot for fancy cloth bindings, $25.00 a foot for plain leather bindings, and $50.00 a foot for fancy leather bindings.  Since their principal value is appearance, a missing volume or two does not seriously impact on value.

Single volumes from these series usually sell between $2.00 and $5.00 per volume, again depending on the binding and their appearance when displayed on a table or shelf.  As always, my recommendation to owners is take the time and read the volumes.  This is their true value.

QUESTION: I have an old ice cream parlor table and four chairs.  The table has an oak top and is in great condition.  The set came from an old hotel in Macungie, Pennsylvania.  I have the set for about fifty years and believe it dates back to the 1920s or 1930s.  What is its value?  --  CD, Slatington, PA

ANSWER: Unfortunately, a picture of your ice cream parlor table and chair set did not accompany your letter.  Hence, it is difficult to determine exactly what you have.

When someone says ice cream parlor table and chairs, I immediately think of twisted wire furniture.  The table has a round top held by a metal band and has three or four legs, each with a twisted wire standard.  The chairs also have round wooden seats and similar legs.  The backs resemble a rug beater.

Collecting is about memory.  Alas, those of us with ice cream parlor memories are now likely to be senior citizens.  We think more about selling than we do collecting.  There was a strong market for ice cream parlor furniture sets in the 1970s and 1980s.  The market has cooled considerably since, due in part to a flood of late twentieth-century reproductions.

Assuming your set is similar to the one that I described and is in useable condition, it has a value between $125.00 and $150.00.

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.

HOW TO THINK LIKE A COLLECTOR (Emmis Books, 2005: $14.95), Harry’s new book, is available at your favorite bookstore and via www.harryrinker.com

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