Watch papers have long
been neglected by collectors, but now they’re becoming popular.
Originally used as a packing
between the inner and outer case of a watch to protect its works, they
became keepsakes in the mid-18th century.
Read More
Jade,
ivory, horn, and marble should be lightly dusted with a soft brush or
dry, soft cloth. Keep these objects out of direct sunlight, since they
may dry out and become brittle. Always handle these objects with care
when moving them. More Tips
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The
ABC’s of Collecting Online
by Ray Boileau
If
you’re like many collectors today, you’ve already discovered the
Internet, specifically eBay, for buying and perhaps selling antiques and
collectibles–for good or bad.
More Books
I
have a one-armed chair passed down to me and I'm interested in knowing
what it is and what it was used for, besides sitting. It is very
delicate and sits low to the ground, it also only has one arm.
Helen Read more
EARLY TECH AUCTION OFFERS
RARITIES
Cologne, Germany - We
live in an age of technology, so it’s fitting that pieces of early
technology should be high on collector’s lists of most wanted items.
On June 18, Auction Team Köln, the premier specialty auction of
technical items since 1987, headed by Auction Team Breker, held it’s
quarterly Science & Technology, Office Antiques, and Toys and Tin
Toys auctions in Cologne, Germany.
Read
More
An
acanthus is:
a plant or shrub
an ornamental motif
the Greek god of harvest
a finial To see the answer
Instructions
on sending photographs of your pieces.
Updated October 2, 2007
A Gem of a Roller Organ
by Bob Brooke
By
the late19th Century, working and middle class Victorians, with more
free time on their hands, sought out ingenious, yet affordable modes of
home entertainment. One such home entertainment device was the roller
organ, a type of table-top music box that played wooden rollers called
cobs because they resembled an eaten cob of corn.
Although roller organs came in different sizes
and degrees of luxury, the most popular one was the "Gem"
Roller Organ, manufactured by a number of companies, including the
Autophone Company of Ithaca, New York.
Originally, these hand-cranked organs operated
by air pressure from exposed bellows, As technology improved, later
models worked by vacuum pressure, thus enabling manufacturers to reduce
the size of the units, much as today’s technology has reduced the size
of radios and cassette tape players.
Because of its relative simplicity,
manufacturers produced tens of thousands annually, thereby keeping the
cost of a roller organ affordable. Sears & Roebuck, in their 1902
Catalog, was able to offer the Gem Roller Organ for as low as $3.25,
including three rollers. Contracting with companies to produce large
quantities of these devices enabled Sears to sell in volume and keep its
price low.
The Gem Roller Organ, available in either a
painted black or walnut-like finish with gold stenciled applied designs,
used teeth or pins embedded into a 20-note wooden roller, similar to the
cylinders used in Swiss music boxes. Pins operated on valve keys while a
gear turned the roller. Priced as low as 18 cents each–and according
to the Sears Catalog, less than traditional sheet music–roller music
ranged from classical to sacred to ethnic and popular tunes. The tone
was similar to a cabinet parlor organ of the time.
At 16 inches long, 14 inches wide and 9 inches
high, the Gem Roller Organ was small and light enough to place on a
parlor table. The 1902 Sears Catalog listed 220 different rollers of the
over 1,200 different titles available.
To understand just how much the value of the
Gem Roller Organ has appreciated, Sherrill and Barb Edwards of West
Grove, PA recently priced one at $850 at an antique show in
Pennsylvania.
If
you’re like many collectors today, you’ve already discovered the
Internet, specifically eBay, for buying and perhaps selling antiques and
collectibles–for good or bad.
By
the late19th Century, working and middle class Victorians, with more
free time on their hands, sought out ingenious, yet affordable modes of
home entertainment. One such home entertainment device was the roller
organ, a type of table-top music box that played wooden rollers called
cobs because they resembled an eaten cob of corn.