Antiques & Collecting: Lukewarm interest in cast-iron stove

Despite the technological and manufacturing advancements of the 19th century, many artists of the time looked to the past for inspiration. Visual artists developed the Pre-Raphaelite style. Architecture and decorative arts had the Gothic Revival.

While it started earlier in England, the Gothic Revival lasted from about 1840 until 1860 in America. Buildings and furniture were decorated with towers, pointed arches, tracery and other features borrowed from medieval castles and cathedrals.

Of course, imitating medieval style didn’t mean sticking to medieval technology. Homes in the Middle Ages would have been heated by hearths, but the Victorian era had more efficient and effective ways.

Cast-iron stoves were being made about 1728, and cast iron became popular for furniture in the mid-1800s. This box-shaped Victorian wood stove sold at a Conestoga auction for $354.

The designs embossed on its front, back and sides show the decorative potential for cast iron and provide an example of Gothic Revival style.

There is a row of pointed arches, also known as the Gothic arch, on each side. As arguably the most distinctive feature of Gothic architecture, this arch was often incorporated into Gothic Revival designs.

My kids all have character lunch boxes. When I was in elementary school, everyone had lunch boxes with their favorite cartoon character, movie or band. When did they start making these and are old ones valuable?

The first character lunch box was made in 1950 when one was marketed with the cowboy movie character Hopalong Cassidy. The fictional hero walked with a limp in books, movies and television.

Aladdin Industries was the first company to produce a lunch box and thermos with a licensed character.

More than 60,000 Hopalong Cassidy lunch boxes were sold in the first year, starting the character lunch box craze that continues to this day. Vintage metal lunch boxes recently have been selling for $200 to $775.

Tip: Don’t wax a piece of furniture that has not been cleaned in the past year.

Current Prices

Bowl, San Juan Pueblo, flared lip, two-tone, red top half, orange base, micaceous clay, signed, Myrtle Cata, late 20th century, 5 x 8 3/4 inches, $60.

Toy, Space Crawler, Man In Space, spaceship, Major Matt Mason astronaut figure, accessories, papers, box, Mattel, 1966, $95.

Barometer, thermometer, Federal, mahogany, weather and humidity dials, bubble level, signed, G. Carter, 39 x 9 1/2 inches, $150.

Chrome lamp, cube shade, stacked cube base, black enameled platform, signed, Curtis Jere, Artisan House, c. 1960, 36 1/2 x 18 inches, $485.