Out of the fog, new uses for scuttles discovered

Heat for the house was furnished in the 17th century by a fireplace. Then came the heating stove using logs or coal, then a furnace that burned coal. Other fuels, including electricity or solar power, came later.

To get fuel into an old stove or furnace required special tools. A well-equipped fireplace might have tongs, a broom, a poker and a shovel. A decorative fire screen could keep the intense heat away from those near the fire and prevent flying ashes from burning the rug. A basket or bucket held logs.

But in Victorian England, coal was more commonly used. It was kept near the fireplace or stove in a coal scuttle. A scuttle was made of wood or metal, usually painted tin. A wood scuttle was sometimes decorated like a piece of furniture, with carvings or metal decorations. It opened like a bin, and a scoop was used to remove the lumps of coal.

It was not until the mid-20th century that it was learned that burning coal made the smoke that created the famous London fog. Cleaner fuels are favored today, but collectors still like the traditional scuttles and use them to hold magazines or as small tables.

Q: We would appreciate information about an old walnut desk we just purchased. The desk looks like a plain table, but if you lift up the small lid in the front, a drawer can be pulled forward and two built-in "wings" open out to the side. The wings have divided storage sections, including an inkwell, and the flat bottom of the drawer is a writing surface. A mark inside the desk reads, "Pat. Jan. 1919, F. Schimmel, Faribault, Minn."

A: Fridolin Schimmel was a creative furniture maker in Faribault in the early 20th century. He was granted more than two dozen patents between 1909 and 1942. Many of them relate to furniture-making machinery.

Schimmel's company became Shimmel, Reid & Co. in the 1930s, so your unusual desk was made between 1919 and the 1930s.

Q: My floral-painted ceramic urn was a gift from my great-aunt. It's 14 inches tall and 6 inches in diameter. The urn has two small gold-painted handles and gilt trim. The mark on the bottom is a crown over a shield with the initials "FM" inside the shield. The word "Royal" is above the crown and the word "Bonn" is below the shield. Can you tell me how old the urn is?

A: Your urn was made at the Franz Anton Mehlen factory in Bonn, Germany. The factory used the mark on your urn from about 1890 to 1920. Villeroy & Boch purchased the company in 1921 and closed it 10 years later.

Royal Bonn urns the size and style of yours sell for $200 to $500 if they're in excellent condition.

Q: I have a windup Minnie Mouse toy. Minnie, wearing a dress, is sitting in a yellow rocking chair and knitting. I'm 47 and have had it all my life. The toy is 61/2 inches tall. When you wind it up, Minnie rocks in her chair, moves her knitting needles and shakes her head back and forth. Age and value?

A: Your Minnie Mouse windup toy should be marked "Linemar" and "Walt Disney Productions." Linemar was the Japanese subsidiary of Louis Marx & Co., the famous American toymaker. Linemar made your licensed Disney toy in 1958, when it was pictured in the Sears Christmas catalog for 89 cents.

Today, it's worth about $500 if it's in excellent working condition. With the original box, it's worth twice as much.

Q: We inherited some coin silver "fiddle" spoons from our parents. They're marked "J.C. Farr." Where and when were they made?

A: John C. Farr worked as a silversmith in Philadelphia from about 1824 to 1840. He marked his silver with his initials, periods and his last name. The same John C. Farr or another one worked in Boston about a decade earlier. He marked his silver with his initials and last name, but without periods after the initials.

The word "fiddle" relates to the shape of the spoon's handle. "Coin silver" refers to the quality of the silver. When Farr was working in Philadelphia, coin silver was 900 of 1,000 parts silver. That's a slightly lower content of silver than sterling, which is 925 of 1,000 parts silver. The sterling quality mark and standard were not in general use in the United States until about 1860.

Q: My daughter received an old teapot as a birthday gift. It's marked "Crown Ducal, Gainsborough, England, Rd. No. 749657." How old is it?

A: Your daughter's teapot was made by A.G. Richardson & Co. of Tunstall, Staffordshire, England. Richardson used "Crown Ducal" as a trade name. Gainsborough is the name of a Crown Ducal pattern and shape. The English registry number dates the design of the teapot to 1929, which means the teapot was made after that year.

Tip: Clean a clock face as seldom as possible. The brass trim might be coated with colored lacquer and brass polish will remove the color.

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.