Question: I have a game called "Donkey Party" that was given to my father in 1919. I've looked on the Internet and can't find any reference to the game. Can you tell me anything about the game and how valuable it might be? The tails to the donkey disappeared long ago. - R.D., Marietta.
Answer: "Donkey Party," better known today as "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" game , was manufactured by two different companies, Whitman Publishing Company of Racine, Wisconsin. Well known for publishing kids' coloring books, and Big Little Books, manufactured the game in 1941, Saalfield Publishing of Akron, Ohio, known for publishing childrens' cloth books, also manufactured the same game in the early 1900s. These vintage games that were mass produced are selling for $10 and up on eBay. With the Donkey Tails missing in your game, which there was 24 inside each box sold, your game is only worth what a collector would be willing to pay you. Sorry.
Question: I have a cowboy hat that was given to my uncle by Roy Rogers, while my uncle was competing at a rodeo in Las Vegas. My aunt gave the hat to my dad as a gift and was handed down to me after he passed away. Is there any way to find out if the hat was actually Rogers? - A.P., Iselin, New Jersey.
Answer: Your question sounds like a letter I received a few years ago from a lady in Marietta, telling me she owned a bed that George Washington once slept in in the Washington County essay office when he was in Marietta surveying Washington County. Without written proof, or a photo of Rogers presenting the hat to your uncle, there's no way to prove that the hat was originally owned by Roy Rogers.
Question: Are Pound Puppies worth anything today? I have two of the original pound puppies that were made in 1984 in Martinsville, Ohio. When they first came out, I paid extra to have the name tag sent to me later after purchasing them. Do I have anything of value? - O.W., Marietta.
Answer: In 1984, Mike Bowling, a 20-year veteran of the Ford assembly line in Cincinnati, had an idea for a new toy, a doll of a wrinkled mut. He brought the idea to the Irwin Toy Company in Toronto, Canada, which dubbed the toy the "Pound Puppy" and sold the doll complete with adoption papers and instructions for care and handling. Sales were slow at first, but by 1987 the line had been expanded to include five models that were ringing up sales of $8 million annually in Canada. Soon Tonka Toys of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, purchased the license to sell the toy, and Pound Puppies soon generated annual sales of $300 million in 35 countries, including the United States, becoming the biggest selling toys in the world. In answer to your question, do I have anything of value? With so many of these toys mass produced, that's a good question. It would depend on what a collector would be willing to pay you. I would suggest advertising them on eBay selling them to the highest bidder. The highest bid is what they are worth.
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 45750; or e-mail him at koonantiques@yahoo.com.
