Kovels Antiques & Collecting: American Symbols

By Terry and Kim Kovel

American Symbols

Memorial Day is a time to both honor individual memories and reflect on American history. Designers have drawn inspiration from American history for over a hundred years. Copies of styles from the early years of the American Republic, or the Federal period, have been popular since the 1870s. This is when the Colonial Revival period began, celebrating the Centennial of the United States.

Eagles are a powerful symbol in American designs from the Great Seal to everyday decorative arts. A carved eagle holds up this table's faux marble top. PHOTO CREDIT: Kovels.com

Designers also celebrate American history by incorporating American symbols into their work. Stars and stripes, Uncle Sam, Lady Liberty and, of course, eagles often appear in furniture and decorative arts. Eagles are often seen as finials or crests on furniture like Federal mirrors. Sometimes they make up a larger part of a design, like this table with a pedestal base carved into the form of an eagle with outstretched wings. With a faux marble top and no identifying marks, it sold for $163 at a Conestoga auction.

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Q: I have a collection of cards I collected as a boy during World War II. They have pictures of WWII fighter planes and bombers. The reverse has two circles with insignia or emblems. They might have been premiums in boxes of cereal. Can you give me any information and possible value?

A: If the pictures are just photographs, they are probably trading cards. If they have silhouettes of the shape of the planes, they might be spotter cards, aircraft recognition cards used to identify planes during WWII. The cards had silhouettes of the types of planes used by the United States, Great Britain, Germany and Japan, as seen from the ground. They were one of the aids used by civilian observers, part of the Army Air Forces Ground Observer Corps, who manned observation posts along the East Coast, inland to the Appalachian Mountains, and along the West Coast of the United States. Reports of aircraft spotted were sent to the Aircraft Warning Service. Spotter cards were also made as playing cards and given to servicemen. Kellogg's printed "Plane Spotter Cards" on the backs of Pep cereal boxes and included a model plane in the package. Reproductions of the original spotter cards have been made. Spotter playing cards sell for about $10. We haven't seen any spotter cards with insignia or emblems on the back. Most sell for less than $4-$5 each.

TIP: When repairing furniture, it is best to re-glue before you refinish.

CURRENT PRICES

Firefighting, fire mark, raised clasped hands, each with spiral twist cuff, cast iron, square, 1800s, 10 x 10 inches, $90.

Advertising teapot, Lipton Tea, pottery glossy black glaze, white letters, oversized oval form with spigot on lower front, Hall China, 20th century, 12 inches, $115.

Toy, pedal car, Oscar Meyer Wienermobile, orange wiener with Oscar Meyer logo, yellow base, plastic, working horn, original box, 44 inches, $600.

Blown glass flask, Stiegel type, amethyst, diagonal swirled ribs, sheared and tooled mouth, 4 3/4 inches, $1,185.

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