Golden Haired Woman Figurehead attributed to Louis Joubin, 1883; 73 inches high; sold for $98,600 in 2008. Photo courtesy of Northeast Auctions.    The golden-haired figurehead in her white and green gown seems confident and casual about her ability to calm Neptune. Battling the wind she embodies the spirit of the sailing ship as she looks down over the waves. Soothing […]

   We had no correct answers for our July’s What Is It. Perhaps if we had shown the front view it would have been easier to identify.    This object is a combination lock made in 1869. The exquisite workmanship, even its brass mechanism, visible in this rear view, is decorated.    It was made by the Herring Company of New York City. […]

   William McLaren of Anchorage, Alaska correctly identified the June’s What Is It pictured to the left. He tells us it is “a German-made, 1950’s Schuco Elektro Ingenico 5311 battery-operated, remote-controlled, tin maroon sedan with chrome accents. The sedan was modeled from the Buick V-8 of that period.    Schuco began in Nuremberg, Germany in 1912, as Schreyer & Co. In 1921 […]

   We had two correct answers for our May’s What Is It. Jacque Rutledge of Northglenn, Colorado and Marjorie McLaren of Anchorage, Alaska both identified the object as a swan-shaped art glass piece.    Marjorie shared with us, “May’s What Is It appears to be a beautiful Duncan and Miller pink opalescent glass spread-wing swan bowl. The swan pattern was perhaps their […]

We had three correct answers for our April’s What Is it. Bill Evans of Elizabeth, Colorado tells us this is a Dobbs & Co. Fifth Avenue Hat Box from the 1950s/1960s. The company was located at 242 Fifth Ave. in New York City starting in 1908. Dobbs & Co. was designed from the start to be a retail outlet for […]