Money flows into banks

Vintage and antique banks of all kinds are selling well in shops and auctions.

Saalheimer & Strauss, a German company, was started in 1911. It made toys, writing goods and eventually toy banks, cars, motorcycles, airplanes, Disney characters, penny toys and other tin toys.

They sold the products internationally. In 1936, the company's ownership went to Philipp Nidermeier, who continued making tin banks. The Strauss family immigrated to New York.

Collectors can recognize their toys from the trademark, a circle or oval with the overlapping letters "SS" in the center. The colorful lithographed toys are popular with collectors.

A British Clown bank sold at auction in Vineland, N.J., for $1,920 in March. It is 5½ inches high.

Q: My elaborately carved wooden chair with a high back, no arms, and a circular hole carved out in the center of the seat puzzles me. Can you tell me how this type of chair was used?

A: This is a potty chair or commode. Before indoor toilets became available in the late 19th century, people used a chamber pot or "thunder mug" in their bedroom. A chamber pot was put in the hole and held by the rim of the pot. After use, it was removed and the contents emptied into a slop jar.

Q: I am collecting old rectangular glass paperweights that look as if a photograph was inserted into the glass. Most of my collection has pictures of buildings or ads for products. How long ago did they start making these?

A: Advertising photo paperweights come in two basic forms, domes about 3 inches in diameter, and rectangular weights about 2½ inches by 4 inches. The earliest domes were patented in 1882 by William Maxwell, who had a glass factory in Pennsylvania. The picture or ad was printed on a piece of white glass, then put in a mold and molten glass encased the picture image. The name Brown & Maxwell Ltd. has been found stamped on a few weights but the company had a fire in 1883 and soon closed. The patent was used by others and some have been found dated as late as 1888.

Other very early weights were made by Albert Graeser using a different method that he patented in 1892. Most rectangular Graeser weights seem to be mass-produced ads for businessmen, celebrities, companies and buildings. The company was closed by the 1920s.

You may be able to find marked examples of weights by some makers from the first half of the 1900s or earlier, including Barnes & Abrams, John & Joseph Lobmiller, Mid-Atlantic Glass Co. and Pittsburgh Glass Novelty Co. There are also many modern glass factories that make similar paperweights given away as ads or sold as souvenirs. Prices for old examples can be from $50 to $350 or higher if very unusual.

Q: My Heatmaster electric curling iron is marked "Pat. No. 1,562,349." I know it's more than 100 years old. I'd like some information about it and its value.

Q: I was given a group of seven brass bells in sizes from 1 inch to almost 6 inches high. It reads "Chiantel Fondeur" on one side and "Saignelegier" and "1878" on the other. What country are they from and what are they worth?

A: Bells like this were originally made by Chiantel Fondeur, a foundry in Saignelegier, Switzerland. They were reproduced in the United States until the 1960s by Bevin Bros. Manufacturing Co. The original bells are heavier than reproductions and the bas-relief is deeper. Bevin Bros. brass bells have a steel clapper hung on a wire attached to a loop inside the top of the bell. Thousands of these bells have been made and sources say they still are being made, so the date on your bells is not an indication of age. Sears, Roebuck and Co. sold thousands of the bells between 1900 and about 1940. Most bells like yours sell today for $10 to $25.

Q: In 1952, I bought an antique map at Marshall Field in Chicago. It shows the Western and Eastern hemispheres, with Australia identified as New Holland and the center of Africa as "parts unknown." At the bottom, in small print, it reads: "London, published by J. Cary, engraver and map seller, 181 Strand, 1819." The map is 22 by 36 inches. Value?

A: Large department stores like Marshall Field had specialized departments where antique maps were sold to collectors. Your 1819 map was engraved by John Cary (1754-1835), a well-regarded London engraver and mapmaker. An 1819 Cary world map the same size as yours auctioned a few years ago for more than $500. The value of yours would also depend on its condition.

Q: I have a heavy metal sign that reads "Railway Express Agency." It's a diamond shape, 8 inches on each side and 11 inches across the middle. I'm wondering if this was a forerunner of UPS or FedEx companies. Does it have any value?

Terry and Kim Kovel will answer as many letters from readers as possible through the column only. For return of a photograph, include a self-addressed, stamped (55 cents) envelope. Write to: The Kovels, c/o King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019. The website is www. kovels.com.

Prices are from shows nationwide.

Adams pottery, double eggcup, pink rose spray, gold trim, 1930s, 3 3/4 inches, $20.

Amish quilt, Log Cabin, orange, green, yellow, Hanna Stoltzfoos, 89 by 103 inches, $75.

Longwy pottery, plate, outdoor celebration, bowling, dancing, 8 1/4 inches, $85.

Map, Mitchell's Travelers Guide Through the United States, engraved, folding, color, 18 by 21 inches, 77 pages, $405.

Louis XV style chair, ebonized, ormolu mount, shaped and padded back, shell crest, 39 inches, $520.

Battersea enamel, etui, gilt metal, push button latch, painted scenes, portrait, Bilston, 1700s, 4 by 2 inches, $805.

Heriz rug, medallion, corner work, brick red field, geometric border, 8 feet by 11 feet, 5 inches, $885.

Papier-mâché doll, shoulder head, painted face, hair, inset eyes, stitch jointed, Germany, about 1840, 29 inches, $950.

Buckeye Root Beer Syrup dispenser, raised lettering, acorn graphics, white ceramic, ball style pump, Cleveland Fruit Juice, about 1910, 16 inches, $2,400.