Bookend Book A Valuable Resource For Collectors

BOOK REVIEW

The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Bookends, by Louis Kuritzky and Charles (Chuck) De Costa will be a valuable reference guide for collectors of bookends. Over 2,300 pairs are pictured, with captions that include the name of the piece, the date of issue, the material from which they were made, any marks present, a rarity guide and a value. While the majority of the pieces pictured are made of metal of some kind, there are some examples included of pottery, glass and chalk.

Histories are given of many of the manufacturers, including some which are little known. The stories behind some of the interesting bookends, such as Mark Twain with Tom Sawyer,  California’s Santa Barbara Mission and the NCR School house (the National Cash Register company is best known for its cash registers, of course, but the company did make other things.)

The book also includes several pages of marks and a comprehensive index by title. If you collect bookends, you’ll want this 2006 publication by Collector Books. It sells for $29.95.

Donna Miller

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Author Updates ‘Old Magazines’

BOOK REVIEW

The second edition of Old Magazines, by Richard E. Clear, is available from Collector Books.  It includes magazines from many different areas, from the well-known such as The Saturday Evening Post (which began publication in 1821,) to some little known publications, such as the Electric Railway Journal (published from 1932 to 1942.)

There are many reasons why people collect old magazines. One of these is to find the work of the illustrators the magazines used. This includes both cover art and art work used in advertisements or story illustrations. Undoubtedly the best known is Norman Rockwell and his Saturday Evening Post covers. However, there were many, many more. Included in the book is a list of illustrators and the magazines in which their work will be found, from Charles Adams in the New Yorker to Eugene Zimmerman in Life, Judge, Puck and Collier’s.

Another specialty that drives magazine collecting is paper dolls! These were a popular feature in many magazines, such as McCall’s, Ladies Home Journal ,the Woman’s Home Companion and others. This book lists them by character and gives the dates and magazines in which they appeared. Probably the best known of these paper dolls is Betsy McCall, who appeared in the McCall’s magazine for almost 30 years.

Old advertising is a third category in which some collectors specialize. Already mentioned is the fact that some collectors are looking for ads illustrated by certain artists. Other collectors are looking for special products or brand names, such as Campbell Soup, Coca Cola, or patent medicines.

Old Magazines sells for $19.95.

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Those who are interested specifically in advertisements will want to see Old Magazine Advertisements, 1890-1950, also written by Richard E. Clear. This book develops the topic more completely than it was covered in the previous book.

The first advertisement in an American periodical was probably one published in Franklin’s General Magazine in 1741, and advertised a ferry that ran from Annapolis, Maryland, to Williamsburg, Virginia. It wasn’t until the mid-1800s, however, that magazines began including a large number of illustrated advertising. From 1857 through 1880, magazines such as Harper’s Weekly included about 4 pages of advertising. By1891, some magazines included up to 150 pages of advertising.

In 1910, the magazines began using illustrators. Maxfield Parrish, Rose O’Neill, Grace Drayton and N.C. Wyeth´ are among those who became well-known. Many of the products they advertised soon outstripped them in name recognition, however. Cream of Wheat, Ivory Soap, General Electric and Chevrolet became known nationally, due in large part to their extensive magazine advertising campaigns.

Several hundred magazine ads are reproduced in this book, with values included. The book sells for $24.95.

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Both books are available from Collector Books, P.O. Box 3009, Paducah, KY 42002; or online at www.collectorbooks.com.

Donna Miller

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Winchester Cartridge Boxes Topic Of Book

BOOK REVIEW

A very specialized book, but one that will be of great interest to gun collectors, is One Hundred Years of Winchester Cartridge Boxes 1856-1956. It is written  by Ray T. Giles & Daniel L. Shuey.

The book covers the 100 years that Win chester and its predecessor companies, Volcanic Repeating Arms Co. and the New Haven Arms Co., produced cartridges.

Utilizing old company records and correspondence, and interviews with long-time employees, the book includes coverage of all calibers cataloged for every rifle model from 1856 to 1956. The boxes in which the cartridges came are pictured in over 1400 photographs, along with detailed captions, rarity guides and values.

Many of the earliest boxes were formed metal. The labels on these pre-1860 “tin” Volcanic boxes, which held 200 cartridges, were under the lid. By the early 1860s, most cartridges were sold in two-piece cardboard boxes. the top and bottom halves meeting in the middle to form what has become known as the ‘two-piece, half-split” box. They came in several sizes. Numerous other types of boxes were used over the 100-year period, such as a book style utilized by the Marine Corps.

One Hundred Years of Winchester Cartridge Boxes  is a 2006 Schiffer publication. It is priced at $69.95 (hardback.) Check with your local bookseller; contact Schiffer at (610) 593-1777; or see the online catalog at www.schifferbooks.com.

Donna Miller

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Quilts Tell A Story Of The Oregon Trail

BOOK REVIEW

Quilts of the Oregon Trail, by Mary Bywater Cross, presents a new way to look at the history of the Pacific Northwest,  as it traces the lives of many of our early pioneers through the quilts the women made.

Most of the history of the Oregon Trail migration, in which a quarter of a million Americans moved west, his been written by men, and focuses on their activities. And, in fact, it was usually the men who wanted to make the journey. The women went along because they had no choice, once their husbands or fathers had decided to go.

 While some diaries were kept which present a woman’s point of view, the quilts they made can also tell a story. And that is what Quilts of the Oregon Trail does: it presents quilts as documents of history.

 According to the author, quoting historian Rachel Maines, quilts must meet several necessary requirements to be valid historical documents. They must have a continuous and traceable history; they must reflect the experience of the mainstream of society at the time they were made; and they must be honest in representing the free expression of the maker.

 The author discusses the quilts in three categories: those made before the journey, those made during the journey, and those made afterward, altogether covering the period from 1825 to 1925. An additional section includes quilts made by those women who did not journey west but instead waited - either for a loved one’s return or to join him in the west once he was established. Altogether 56 quilts are included.

 Most of the quilts that were made before the trip west were taken along to be used. They served not only as bedding, but were also used as insulation for the walls of the wagon; as privacy dividers and decoration in the wagon; as burial shrouds; and as a commodity. For instance, a quilt could be used to pay the toll on the Barlow Toll Road across Mt. Hood in Oregon.

 The histories of many women are told in conjunction with their quilts. One example is Matilda Knight Stauffer, who came over the Oregon Trail in 1863. She came as a daughter with her father, stepmother, and all their family, which included seven sons and two daughters. They were members of Dr. William Keil’s Bethel Colony in Pennsylvania, which settled first in Willapa, Washington Territory, and then moved south to found the colony of Aurora, Oregon.

 Joseph Knight was with Keil on the first journey out, and then returned for his family to make the second trip of the Bethel Colony. However, he opted to join five other families and stay at the Willapa site, rather than move to Aurora.

 At Willapa, sometime between 1863 and 1867, Matilda Knight married Jacob Stauffer. She died giving birth to twins in 1867, as did one of the babies. Jacob and the other twin, named for her mother, lived with the Stauffer family, where the young Matilda was raised by Jacob’s five sisters.

 At some time, they all moved to Aurora, where they are listed in the 1880 census - with all five sisters still unmarried. (Dr. Keil approved of celibacy and disapproved of marriage.)

 Matilda Stauffer married August Will in 1889, and the quilt has passed through her family to this day, where it is now treasured by her great-granddaughter, Vera Kocher Yoder of Woodburn, Oregon.

 The Sunflower quilt measures 101” x 85” and was made of bright primary colors. There are 20 blocks of sunflowers separated by diamond segments. The back of the quilt is also interesting, containing large strips of a mixture of plaid fabrics  - indicating most likely a desire to use whatever remnants of fabric were available.

 This book is as interesting from a historical perspective as it is from a quilter’s perspective, especially to those living in the Pacific Northwest. Quilts of the Oregon Trail is produced by Schiffer Publishing. It is priced at $29.95.

 Contact Schiffer Publishing at 4880 Lower Valley Rd. Atglen, PA 19310 or visit the web site at www.schifferbooks.com.

Donna Miller

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