Letter from a reader:
Q: I recently purchased a glass parrot lamp at a Parkersburg garage sale. The lamp is turquoise with a white face, black beak and orange tuft. It screws into a black glass base in which there is a small, white round light bulb. The lamp is 13 inches high.
Can you tell me who made it from the photo I'm sending you, and if it was worth the $20 I paid for it? G.S., Belpre.
A: Your lamp was made by the Tiffin Glass Company of Tiffin, Ohio. Tiffin was in business from 1889 until 1980, making candlesticks, goblets, bowls, vases, dresser sets and novelty lamps.
Novelty lamps like yours was made from 1926 to 1936. The colors for the lamps were enameled on the glass.
You got a great buy for $20. The parrot lamp is worth about $650 today.
Collectors are also on the look out for the owl lamp also made by Tiffin. Readers, American Pottery in Westview Marietta also made several Novelty lamps that are also most sought after today. Keep your eyes open.
Q: Really hated to hear the Roy Rogers & Dale Evan's Museum in Branston, Miss., was closing down and all items in the museum would be sold at auction. I was a big Roy Rogers fan as a kid growing up in Marietta and still am at 60 years old.
Can you tell me where "Trigger," "Buttermilk," "Bullet" and "Nelly Belle" were placed after the auction. I visited the orginal museum when it was first located in Victorville, Calif. in the late 1980s. I got to meet Roy and his son, Dusty, and spent time with them taking photos. So sad to see it all end. W.B., Marietta.
A: On Jan. 30, High Noon auctions of Los Angeles, hosted the first of three auctions to sell the treasured contents of the Roy Rogers & Dale Evans Museum in Branston.
The first auction contained more than 15 items and more than $375,00 was earned from the sale, including Roy Rogers Silver Saddle, estimated to bring $100,000 and which sold for $103,000.
The next sale takes place July 14. Via a partnership with High Noon Auctions and Christies New York Auctions, the sale will include the famous "Nelly Belle" Jeep, and the 1923 Dodge Roy's dad drove all the way from Portsmouth, Ohio to Hollywood.
High Noon Auctions, in conjunction with the Roger's family, did try to place the famous icons "Trigger," "Buttermilk" and "Bullet" with a national museum, However the recession has left most institutions struggling to maintain their staffs, let alone expand their permanent collections. Therefore "Trigger," "Buttermilk," and "Bullet" will be included in the sale.
Anyone who would like to participate in the auction to be held July 14 and July 26 can go to the High Noon Auctions website at www.highnoon.com or www.christies.com.
Larry Koon is the author of several price guide books on antiques and collectibles. His column appears every Monday on Life. Send letters to Treasure in the Attic, c/o The Marietta Times, 700 Channel Lane, Marietta, Ohio 45750; or e-mail him at koonantiques@yahoo.com. When writing, send a complete description of the item, along with size, color, any markings on the item along with condition the item is in, and how the item was obtained, and any other information. If possible, send a photograph. Will answer your letter in this column.
