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Page 14 The Antique Shoppe September, 2018
What’s Selling on eBay?

by Deborah Abernethy and Mike McLeod

$5,135 (49 bids, 5 bidders): ANTIQUE KENT’S 1862 EGG BEATER
ORIGINAL POTTERY ADVERTISING BATTER MIXER
One of the most desirable egg beaters you will ever find. Here is the all-
original, no cracks, original egg-and-batter whisk, Kents’ pottery stoneware
piece, a prized family possession treated with care from a no-smoking home.
Purchased in London from an antique
gallery 60 years ago, it measures 7 ½
inches at the height of the pottery, and
with beater inside, it is 10 inches high and $2,510 (8 bids, 4 bidders): ANTIQUE CAST IRON EXCELSIOR CHERRY
5 inches at the widest. Featured in the STONER PITTER 4 SPIDER LEG PAT’D 1859
London Museum of History, a fantastic I’ve sold a lot of old cherry stoners, and this is the first one of these I’ve
treasure. (Photos courtesy of eBay seller come across. It is marked “Pat’d July 26, 1859.” Ornate design on the top
waiakin.) where cherries are dropped in and ornate design on legs. Great condition for
DA: This is the early form of an egg its age; mainly just some worn off paint, no chips/cracks. It measures 10 1/2
beater where the metal part is attached x 7 (not including handle) x 7 inches tall. The legs do not come off of this one.
to the bowl. The metal rotary one with a (Photos courtesy of eBay seller a*cottage*rose.)
crank is the one that is most familiar. More DA: The patent date really sets this one apart from others. This price is high
of these were sold and used in the United for this object, but it is a bit larger than most that I have seen. Personally, I
States rather than Britain or Continental hate the mess that cherry stoner pitters make where many times the user has
Europe. This sale is definitely at the high to change clothes. I would love to see how this one works and if that large
end and may be the record for egg beaters. “belly” is more efficient. One can garner knowledge about the market for
It is unusual to find one of these in this similar objects by looking at the number of bids and bidders for each one of
condition. I have seen this one without the these objects. There are few bidders in this listing, but those four are obviously
beater attached before. serious.

$6,766 (49 bids, 24 bidders): 19TH
C. MINIATURE ANTIQUE C.
1880S JAPANESE MIXED METAL
BRONZE GOLD SILVER TEAPOT
This auction is for an antique,
$6,510 (16 bids, 5 bidders): “OLD TOWN CANOE” ANTIQUE Meiji Period, Japanese teapot. It
ORIGINAL PAINT SALESMAN’S SAMPLE STORE DISPLAY, 4 FEET measures only 6 ¾ inches tall to the
Straight from a local estate, this has all original patina in mustard/red and top of the handle by 5 inches wide,
highlighted in green is “Old Town Canoe” in gold lettering. Very early piece. including the spout. There is an
applied, mixed metal, gold, silver and
This Old Town Canoe was constructed with a ribbed interior framework and bronze floral design on both sides.
attached seating. Canoe retains two original decals on the wood frame, one
clearer than the other. One wood support inside was glued at one point. The The only problem is a light ring-wear
only other issue we see is the bottom is a little rough in some spots. It is 4 feet mark to the bottom
of this teapot
long x 8 ½ inches wide x 3 ½ inches deep. from years of use
Old Town Canoe Company is a historic maker of canoes in Old Town, sitting inside a tea
Maine. The company had its beginnings in 1898, in buildings constructed in
1890 for a shoe business, and was incorporated in 1901. Old Town entered the ceremony. There are
canoe market as a builder of canvas-covered wooden canoes. no other problems
or restorations
The first canoe built by Old Town Canoe was constructed in 1898 behind to this late 19th
the Gray hardware store in Old Town, Maine. Unlike the pioneering canoe century Japanese
businesses established by E.H. Garrish, B.N. Morris, and E.M. White, the Grays
were not canoe builders themselves, but were entrepreneurs who hired Teapot. (Photos courtesy of eBay
others to design and build their canoes. As it became more well established at seller wwolst12.)
DA: I believe that most Japanese families would have a teapot and that
the end of the 19th century, Old Town was incorporated in 1901 by brothers these objects are used and treasured by the family. There is a “pecking order”
George and Samuel Gray, and was run as a family business for decades. (Photo for these objects, and this mixed metal one would be at the upper end. My first
courtesy of eBay seller rememberyesteryears.)
DA: The buyer got an incredible deal as these “Old Town Canoe” salesman thoughts were that this was a retail price. Actually, I found that there is not a
samples have sold at auction for as much as $23,000 and $24,000. Old Town large number of these available. Objects can become so scarce that they are
sold on the auction market to the end user, the collector. The old iron ones are
Canoes seem to hold the record for the highest prices, but even the other name a lot more prevalent in the marketplace and do not cost nearly as much. While
brand salesman samples have sold for more (like $10,000, $16,000, $7,000, this is a high price for teapots, I could find several similar teapots that have
etc). Condition plays a huge role in the sales price.
sold for similar amounts in the last few years. The skill and time required to
make such a teapot makes it a choice cultural object.

Deborah Abernethy is a certified appraiser with the International Association of Appraisers. She can be
contacted at 404-262-2131 or Deborah@expert-appraisers.com. Her website is www.expert-appraisers.com.