Antiques & Collecting: Animal hide

If a piece of furniture is described as having paw or claw feet, it usually means they were carved or molded. For some pieces, like this table, furniture “legs” and “feet” can be taken literally. The table, made of zebra hide, complete with zebra legs and hoof feet, sold for $500 at a Hindman auction.

Buying, selling and collecting pieces made of animal hides or other taxidermy requires care. It’s always a good idea to check federal and state laws on selling animal parts before a sale or purchase.

And once you have your piece, it takes careful cleaning and storage. Keep taxidermy away from bright sunlight, dust it at least every other week, and keep watch for moths and other insects.

Crown Distillers suggested I contact you to see if an unopened bottle from 1968 is worth anything.

Crown Royal is a blended Canadian whiskey that was first made in 1939 and first sold in the United States in 1964. Twentieth-century mass-produced bottles do not sell for as high of prices as 19th-century bottles, and serious bottle collectors, the ones who dig up antique bottles from old dumps, will not be interested in them.

Unopened whiskey bottles from the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s tend to sell at house sales and estate auctions, not at specialized bottle auctions or shows. They may also sell at sales of whiskey or liquor bottles held by national auction houses.

We have seen vintage unopened Crown Royal bottles sell for about $150 to $200 recently. If the original box and bag are included, the price will be higher. Empty bottles sell for much less, about $20 to $50.

If you intend to sell your Crown Royal bottle with its contents, check state and federal laws for selling alcohol.

Tip: Don’t store antique furniture in the attic, near a fireplace or near a heat duct. Basements can be damp or hot and are not a good place for furniture.

Current Prices

Nautical, chart, mariner’s, four boat diagrams, world map, star charts, portraits of historical navigators, c. 1940, 24 x 43 inches, $40.

Match holder, two hunters, deer head crest, rabbit, game bird, cast iron, wall mount, 11 x 5 inches, $70.

Purse, beaded, pink roses, green leaves, yellow ground, multicolor geometrics around base, drawstring top, 6 x 5 inches, $110.

Folk art, dovecote, pine, slatted door and walls, painted blue, yellow frame, brown roof, 1800s, 20 inches, $345.

Clock, Howard Miller, Triad, round, black dial, three circles in center, red, green, light blue, red frame, 622-414, enameled acrylic, Irving Harper, 1975, 9 inches, $525.

Photograph, Gitanes, black and white, street scene, group of children in shadow, two on bicycles, Arles, France, frame, 25 1/2 x 21 inches, $705.

Tool, chest, top handle, hinged side, fitted interior, drawers, door, compartments, painted brown, with tools, 1800s, 29 1/2 x 17 inches, $2,520.

Pottery, mid-century, plate, Motifs No. 17, brushed glaze, red, white, yellow and blue shapes, black trim, marked, Madoura, Pablo Picasso, 1963, 10 inches, $4,410.