Q. This Gibson mandolin belonged to my mother. Both she and her sister received instruments as young girls in the 1920s from their father, who was a coal miner and could only afford to buy them on time. She was quite good and played in the Mandolin Orchestra in Lethbridge, Alta., and also in Toronto at the Ukrainian Labour Temple. It’s 66 centimetres long (26 inches), and the label inside reads “Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Co. Kalamazoo, Michigan, The Gibson Junior Mandolin, Style A-Jr.” It has some wear to the edges and finish but seems to be otherwise in very good shape. I was curious about a value but it will stay with the family.
A. Orville Gibson was a musician and a luthier who had a shop in Kalamazoo in the mid-1890s. He attracted attention with his talent and was bought out by 1902, and the new owners established the company named on your label. This model, with the Sheraton Brown finish, oval soundhole and dot-inlaid fingerboard, was made from 1920 to 1927. Gibson is the name in guitars and even though this might seem like a fairly standard entry-level mandolin, it’s top quality — just what buyers, usually playing musicians, want. It will need some refurbishing, but with the original case it will easily sell for about $1,500.
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Q. I purchased this pair of Victorian-style porcelain shoes at a Goodwill store for eight dollars. Each shoe is marked underneath with a crown, swords and the letter P. Slight variations in the marks and the absence of a dot pattern in the flowers gave me the impression they might be hand-painted. Researching the marks led me to believe I might have shoes made in Sevres, France in a factory “under the patronage of Madame de Pompadour” in the year 1768. If not, I still have a pretty pair of shoes. They measure 15 cm long (15 inches). Thank you.
Teresa, Township of Wellesley, Ont.
A. I must compliment you on your diligent efforts. The marks suggest Sevres — the famed French porcelain works and its royally limited by King Louis XV through the last half of the 18th century. Authentic Sevres pieces are primarily found only in museums or very private collections. Your shoes are 20th-century Asian reproductions. The matt glaze and the decoration quality are clues to these shoes not being Sevres originals. They are pretty and profit bearing at $35 today.
Q. I am looking to sell these two metal contraptions. They are both all metal and the one with the pipe is marked “Guelph Stove Co., No. 107.” The dispenser is marked “No. 2, Beatty Bros. Limited, Fergus.London.” Do you know how much these pieces are worth, how old they are or anything else about them?
A. The Guelph Stove Company was incorporated in 1904 and grew into a fairly substantial business, selling many models to the T. Eaton Company. In 1919 they were bought out by Eaton’s and sold again in 1964. Your coal or wood stove is known as a Quebec Heater — used in rural and urban homes between 1900 and 1939. The accompanying pump, of the same era, provided stored rain water from a basement cistern — made by Beatty Brothers, Fergus, Ont., who manufactured farm equipment and washing machines. It has been welded to a milk can for show. The stove is worth about $125 and the pump an extra $50 for a total of $175.
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