Send your answers to the What Is It contest, postmarked by December 20, to the Mountain States Collector, P.O. Box 1003,  Bailey, CO 80421. At least three winners will be drawn. Winners will receive a year’s subscription to the Mountain States Collector.

 We’re sorry to report that we had no correct guesses for our November What Is It. This beautiful item is a samovar.  What is a samovar? Webster’s defines it as a metal urn used by Russians for heating water for tea. The samovar often was decorative in design and included a dispenser for the hot water. Depression-era glass companies took […]

 Our correct guesses for our October’s What Is It include one from Christine Green of Westminster, Colorado. She writes, “My guess is it’s a foot stool and has a fur foot warmer to put your feet in to warm them. Back in those days it wsn’t very warm in the houses. Thank you and I so enjoy your paper.” Annette […]

We had three correct answers for our September’s What Is It. Yes, it is Scrimshaw. This particular example is Scrimshaw of Honolulu Fort ca 1820 – 1840. Roger B. Wilschke of Denver, Colorado said, “This is a good example of a scrimshawed whale tooth probably 300 years old.” Jerome McLaren of Conifer, Colorado adds, “It was created by a sailor […]

 We had several correct answers to our August’s What Is It. The objects, pictured above, are needlecases. These are all late-19th Century needlecases. They include: a wooden carved fish, fluted silver; wood topped with silver, carved ivory; Irish milk glass with English oak leaves and acorns; and a chased silver case that stores needles in compartments graded according to size. […]