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closeSunday, Nov. 02, 2008
Buggies, jug worth couple of hundred
By Terry Maurer, Special to the Herald
The two items in today's What's It Worth are as different as night and day.
One is a piece of the history of Spokane. The other was designed with children in mind. Come along as we answer readers' questions about booze bottles and baby buggies.
Q. This large, round jug has been in our house for about as long as anyone can remember. It is clearly labeled as coming from "Durkin's Whiskies & Wines -- Wall & Sprague" in Spokane. Is it old? Is it worth anything? Thanks.
-- Kathy in Kennewick
A. Here's a piece of Spokane history from a time when the "Lilac City" was pretty wild and woolly.
Jimmie Durkin was one of the Northwest's true characters, not to mention a millionaire. An Irish immigrant who came to America in 1868, Durkin headed West in his mid-20s, landed in Colville and opened a liquor store there. In 1897, he moved to Spokane and started an establishment that was eventually to become "Durkin's Bar." It was one of the city's most popular spots, located right downtown, serving quality liquor and cigars. Durkin had a code of ethics that prohibited drunks on the premises and forbade his bartenders from drinking.
Known as both a philosopher and a shrewd businessman, Durkin prospered in the newly-rebulit Spokane, which had been devastated by a huge fire in 1889.
A firm believer in advertising and a tireless promoter, Durkin stories have become legends. In one tale, he is said to have told a friend that newspaper advertising was so effective he could "... place an ad in the morning paper saying I am buying cats and by nightfall, I'd have a basement full of cats."
The friend took him up on the proposition and a substantial wager was made. The ad was placed and that evening Durkin did, indeed, have a basement filled with felines. Jimmie was not only proved right, he made money on the deal as the bet was settled for more than he'd paid for all the cats.
Durkin died in 1934, and his house on Spokane's South Hill is listed today on the Spokane Register of Historic Places.
Your ring-handled jug is glazed in a rich brown color, stands about 13 inches high and would sell for about $200.
Q. This baby buggy is made of wicker, has rubber wheels and has been in the family for decades. While there are no labels or marks, it is in very nice condition. Can you tell us much about it?
-- Gloria in LaCrosse
A. Buggies like this have been around for a long time. They date to well before the Civil War.
You can find some that were made by America's most famous manufacturer of wicker furniture -- Heywood & Wakefield, and by their main competitor, Samuel Colt of Colt firearms fame. Of the highest quality and of serious collector interest today, each company's products will be clearly labeled.
Both businesses have interesting histories. Heywood Wakefield was a combination of two Boston firms -- the Heywood Brothers and Company and the Wakefield Rattan Company. The bitter fight for business between the two rivals ended in the late 1890s when they merged in order to survive competition from a state-run company that used convict labor.
Colt, already a tremendous success in the gun industry, established his "Willow-Ware Manufactory" along the Connecticut River in 1860. The arms impresario imported an entire village of German willow weavers as his employees. The operation ended when a fire destroyed the plant in 1873. Thus, Colt's wicker is rarer and more valuable today than similar Heywood-Wakefield items.
Sears Roebuck, the huge mail order firm, called baby buggies "sleeper strollers" in their 1934 catalog. A number of styles and models were available, both cloth covered and of all wicker.
They were advertised as providing "comfort, quality and beauty." A buggy nearly identical to this one was priced at $13.95. Using the Consumer Price Index, that's about $220 today.
And, that's just about what a wicker stroller in nice condition would bring today. We saw one at last month's big Portland Antique Expo and the asking price was $195. It was not nearly as nice as this one, which we value in the $225 to $250 range.
* Terry Maurer, a Tri-Cities personal property appraiser and antique dealer, is a member of the Certified Appraisers Guild of America. You may submit your antiques and collectible questions to What's It Worth by e-mail to whatsitworth@clearwire.net.
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