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Posted on Sat, Nov. 07, 2009

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Broken dishes tell a story with their thrifty repairs

By Terry Kovel

Recycling and reusing is not a new idea. In the 18th century, well-to-do European and American families bought made-to-order dinner sets from China that were sent across the ocean in ships. It took a year to get the dishes, and if one broke it was even more difficult to get a replacement.

So plates were repaired by the best system known. Small holes were drilled in each broken part and metal rivets were inserted in the holes. Then the rivets were bent to force the broken parts together. Animal glue was added to fill cracks or holes. The finished piece could be used, but it had what we now consider unsightly repairs.

A few collectors today like examples of "waste not, want not" from the past. Sometimes the repair made the piece resume its useful life. Sometimes the repair created a "make-do," a new item made from old recycled parts. An 18th-century Chelsea porcelain teapot with a replaced spout of silver, a broken candlestick transformed into a pincushion by the addition of a cushion top or a kitchen grater made from a tin cup with newly punched holes are good examples.

There are modern make-do's, too. Necklaces, pins and purses made from the pull tabs on aluminum beer and soft drink cans, cut-up cans made into rattles and colored telephone wire woven into African baskets can be bought in gift shops. They all have value because a few collectors appreciate that thrift and necessity can create interesting things that tell a story.

Q: Recently I bought a pair of old cowboy spurs. They are very rusty and the leather is dried out. Should I condition the leather and use rust remover on them or will it hurt the value?

A: It won't lower the value if you do a careful job of restoring them. To remove rust from the spurs, use a commercial rust remover. If the leather is very dry, it should not be washed. Just apply a commercial leather dressing. A second coat may be applied after the first coat is dry. After it is thoroughly dry, buff it with a soft cloth. Leather that has not deteriorated can be washed in soap and warm water. Dry the leather overnight, away from sunlight and heat sources. When the leather is thoroughly dry, apply leather dressing. Leather that crumbles to red powder has "red rot," which is caused by absorption of sulfur dioxide. Red rot is a "terminal illness."

Q: I have a pitcher marked "Jugtown Pottery." Is it collectible?

A: Jugtown Pottery was founded by Juliana and Jacques Busbee in 1915, but the term "Jugtown pottery" also is used to refer to handmade pottery made by North Carolina families as far back as the 1750s. The Busbees built a shop in Jugtown, N.C., in 1921, and hired Ben Owen as a potter in 1923. The pottery closed in 1959 but reopened in 1960. It is still operating near Seagrove, N.C.

Q: I have a Holt-Howard candleholder that's a figure of a girl in a yellow dress. I would like to know something about it.

A: Holt-Howard was founded by John and Robert Howard and A. Grant Holt in Stamford, Conn., in 1949. The company sold humorous condiment jars, decanters, spoon-holders, saltshakers and other tableware. Pieces are often marked with the company's full name or "HH" and the year of manufacture. The HH mark was used until 1974. Some pieces are marked with a black and silver label. The company was bought by General Housewares Corp. in 1969 and production of Holt-Howard products stopped in 1990. Your candleholder is worth about $25.

Q: I am trying to find some information about an opalescent glass reamer embossed with these words: "Blue Goose Fruit, for most juice and finest flavor, Fry heat resisting glass, 1967." There are embossed images of geese on the reamer, too.

A: The H.C. Fry Glass Co. of Rochester, Pa. (25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh), made your reamer between 1924 and 1933, the year the company closed after 32 years in business. The "1967" on the reamer is its mold number. Your reamer is well-known among collectors. It was a Pet Milk premium that promoted a summer drink made by combining ice, condensed milk and fresh orange or lemon juice. Blue Goose Growers was a group of citrus packinghouses in California, Florida and Arizona. Dole acquired Blue Goose in 1984. Your reamer is made of heat-

resistant oven glass developed by Henry Fry in the early 1920s. Fry Glass Co. called its opalescent color "pearl." Your reamer is worth $175 to $200.

Q: I have several 78 rpm Columbia and RCA records I bought when I was stationed in Japan from 1949 to 1951. The songs were popular among GIs, but they're in Japanese. Are the records worth anything to anybody? Where could I donate them?

A: How interesting that GIs listened to American recordings of songs in Japanese. We would like to know if the songs were Japanese songs or American songs sung in Japanese. In any case, the market for your records is small, even in Japan, now that it's been 60 years since the war and occupation. But there are many historical museums both here and in Japan, some dedicated solely to World War II. You might try contacting those museums to see if they're interested in your records.

Write to Kovels, The Wichita Eagle, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019.