Homeowners’ needs dictated uses for small tables

Small tables are selling quickly at the antiques shows. There are so many ways to use them. Clever buyers sometimes think of new uses for old tables.

A sewing or work table was a household need in the 18th and 19th centuries because wives spent so much time doing needlework and wanted the fabric and tools nearby. The table was often a fine piece of furniture suitable for the main sitting room. Now it probably doesn't hold sewing.

A bedside stand was needed in the days before indoor plumbing to hold a bowl, pitcher and toiletries. Today, the stand is more likely to hold a lamp or stacks of books.

A tavern table was made to serve food and beverages in the tavern to a small group, often just one or two. Today, an 18th- or early 19th-century tavern table probably will be used in an informal living room near the sofa. It makes the perfect lamp table.

The table remains the same; it is just the needs of a modern home that have changed its use.

Q: I have a large antique Staffordshire platter my grandparents brought from England. It's the typical blue and white, with a leafy border and a central scene showing a group of fishermen near a river. The mark on the back reads, "Vintage, J. & G. Alcock, Cobridge." When was it made?

A: Your platter was made by John & George Alcock at the Elder Pottery in Cobridge, Staffordshire, England. The company was in business from only 1839 to 1846, so your platter was made more than 150 years ago.

Q: I have my grandmother's small tooled leather purse. When were they in style? I want to know how old it is.

A: Tooled leather purses came into style with the Arts and Crafts designs of the early 1900s. Although they look handmade because of the leather lacing used on the edges and the laced or braided handles, most were made by commercial companies in Ohio, Missouri, Kansas and other nearby states.

The purses are small compared with today's fashions -- from 5 inches by 7 inches to 7 inches by 9 inches. Each purse has a tooled design in the art nouveau or Arts and Crafts style. The design could be made by hand or by a pressing machine. Sometimes color -- black, brown, dark green or red -- was added to the tooled leather design.

Few are labeled with the name of the maker, although Meeker, Reedcraft, Bosca, Cameo and Best Made are all names of important makers. Makers' names usually are impressed on the leather inside.

Collectors also can estimate the age of vintage purses by the patent date stamped on the frame of some purses marked "Jemco."

Some early purses have "turn locks." A large ornamental tab is turned one way to open, another to lock the frame shut. Inside each purse there should be a leather-covered mirror and a leather coin purse.

Collectors pay extra for handmade marked purses made by the Roycroft community, the famous collective started by Elbert Hubbard that is known today for its furniture and metalwork.

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.