Apothecary chests once held herbs for cooking

Recently, we went to a large auction and noticed a small chest of drawers, about 24 inches high by 20 inches wide. It had six labeled drawers: spice, pepper, ginger, coffee, sugar and salaratus. It was being sold as an apothecary chest.

First we checked out the meaning of salaratus. It is an old name, so old it is also spelled saleratus, for a type of baking soda. We thought an apothecary was like a pharmacy and sold medicine. True, but the dictionary meaning for apothecary chest is that it stores herbs for medicinal and cooking needs.

So the small painted pine chest we so admired was made to be used in a kitchen, probably about 1830. Several bidders wanted it. It sold for $7,200.

Q: I’m hoping for good news, but please give it to me straight. Some of my Roseville pottery vases are covered with crazing. Does this take away from their value or is it considered a “patina”? Should I sell the crazed pieces and keep only the others? Why did they craze in the first place? Have I done something wrong?

A: Crazing — tiny hairline cracks all over the glaze in a piece of pottery — usually can be blamed on a mismatch in the temperatures at which the body and glaze expanded during firing. It also can happen when a pot sits too long in an unfriendly atmosphere (too hot, too cold, too wet) or if it’s subjected to abrupt changes in temperature (in a microwave oven or a dishwasher, for example).

Crazing is not a good thing. It can indicate a serious problem with the strength of the pottery itself. A heavily crazed vase might be more likely to lose glaze or even to crack or break.

A rare and early Roseville vase with minor crazing still might sell for a good price — perhaps 80 percent of the price of a perfect piece. A later, common vase with crazing won’t sell for more than half of top value.

Q: My dad was born in Sandwich, Mass., in August 1915 (and he’s still alive and kicking). Our family spent many a summer at East Sandwich Beach, so I have heard about “Sandwich glass” all my life. Now I would like to buy a few pieces. But in searching online, I have been amazed at the many glass pieces advertised as Sandwich glass but made by Anchor Hocking or Indiana Glass Co. or some other glassmaker. Please explain.

A: “Sandwich glass” is any piece of glass made at the Boston & Sandwich Glass Works of Sandwich, Mass., from 1825 to 1888 (the company was formally dissolved in 1894).

At first, Boston & Sandwich made blown glass, but it soon started producing pressed glass, too. Collectors who want to buy Sandwich glass face some problems: Most Sandwich glass was not marked; many of the best pieces are in the hands of museums; and when people became interested in antique glass in the 1920s and ’30s, many glass manufacturers started copying Sandwich pieces (such as the famous Dolphin candlestick). Some glassmakers, including Indiana Glass Co. and Duncan & Miller, even gave the name “Sandwich” to their patterns.

If you see glass for sale that’s described as “Sandwich” but made by some other company, at least you know the seller is not trying to fool you. Real Sandwich glass is sold at many auctions every year and also can be bought at important antique shows.

Q: I found an advertising card for Faberge Straw Hat perfume inside an old book. The book was published in 1933, but the owner’s signature inside is dated 1947. The card, 3 inches by 2 inches, pictures a little red-and-yellow chick holding a purse and wearing a straw hat. On the back of the card are the words: “Sniff here, Faberge’s Straw Hat Perfume, It’s fresh, it’s flirty and very purty! Perfume $8, $15; Cologne, $2, $3.50, $6, plus tax, the Wallace Company.” It is very colorful, with no creases and just a little spotting. Is a card like this of interest to collectors?

A: Faberge introduced its Straw Hat brand of perfume in 1938. So the advertising card you found probably dates from the late 1930s or the decade after that.

Perfume companies continue to pass out cards with free scent samples at department and specialty stores. It wasn’t until the mid-1960s that scratch-and-sniff cards were invented, which led to scent cards being inserted in magazines and mass mailings.

Collectors of old advertising might pay a few dollars for your card.

Q: I have a pottery casserole dish marked “Rubel, Made in USA.” Any idea who Rubel is?

A: Rubel & Co. was a New York distributor of kitchenware and giftware. The company was in business from the 1940s until at least the 1980s.

Rubel did not make anything. It sold items made by many potteries and studios, but marked the pieces with its own name. The “Made in USA” mark was added only to pieces made in the United States. In general, kitchenware marked “Rubel” sells for less than $30.

Tip: Never wrap your oil paintings in bubble wrap that touches the painted surface. It could leave dot marks on the surface of the paint.

If transporting an oil painting in hot weather, cool the car first, then put the unwrapped painting flat in the cargo area. Don’t leave the painting in the car in hot weather.

Ralph and Terry Kovel’s column is syndicated by King Features. Write to: Kovels, (Las Vegas Review-Journal), King Features Syndicate, 888 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10019.