Piecing the Story of ‘Prisoner Art’

From the 1930s to the ‘50s a new craft that used discarded cigarette packs became popular. The empty packages were carefully folded into small strips, and each strip was folded so that the identical part of the pattern would show. The strips were then woven together.

The graphic designs on the package made it possible to show a camel’s head on each link, a green line from a Kool package or a red design from Winston.

Today, the picture frames, purses, baskets, belts and other folded-cigarette-pack pieces are called “prisoner art.” It is claimed that they were all made in jails.

Even though it might have been a pastime for convicts, it was also a popular activity for teenagers.

Today, people still make folded-paper pieces by recycling cigarette packs, newspapers, gum wrappers and packaging materials.

A 1930s prisoner-art purse sells today for about $100; a picture frame for $30 to $75.

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Question: My father’s family has had a wooden chair for about 100 years. The chair has wooden arms, a cane back, and an upholstered seat. On the back of the chair is a small brass plate that reads, “Pullman Coach Company, Chicago, Illinois.” Can you tell me anything about it?

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Answer: George M. Pullman started outfitting railroad cars in 1859 and was soon making his own luxury cars. His company was incorporated in 1867.

In 1880, Pullman established his own industrial community at Lake Calumet, south of Chicago.

Your chair probably was used in a railroad dining car or lounge car.

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Q: What can you tell me about the 10-inch plate I just bought decorated with scenes of two playful bears? Under each of the six scenes there is a phrase explaining the picture. The mark on the back of the plate has a buffalo inside a circle and the words “By permission of the copyright, Buffalo Pottery, Edw. Stern & Co. Inc. 1906.” The plate has a slightly scalloped edge, with gold-painted “sponging” between the bear scenes.

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A: The Buffalo Pottery of Buffalo, N.Y., opened in 1903. It was established by the Larkin Co., a soap manufacturer, to make premiums for its customers. The pottery also sold its wares to hotels and the public.

The scenes on your plate are from “The Roosevelt Bears,” a series of children’s books written in the early 1900s by Seymour Eaton. The Buffalo Pottery made one 8-inch pitcher covered with several scenes from the stories and two smaller children’s ware pitchers decorated more simply.

It appears from the mark on your plate that Edw. Stern & Co. received permission from the Buffalo Pottery, which held a copyright on the Roosevelt Bears, to manufacture or market dinnerware decorated with story scenes.

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Q: My latest flea-market find is a pottery vase shaped like an almost naked frog posed to look like a provocative woman. Could this be the Bashful Charlotte or Draped Lady frog made by Cambridge? I know they are valuable.

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A: Cambridge Pottery and the Cambridge Glass Co. worked in Cambridge, Ohio, in the early 1900s. The glass factory made flower frogs, some shaped like women. The term “frog” refers to a type of flower holder, not to a frog-shaped object.

The Bashful Charlotte flower holder is a figure of a woman trying to cover her nakedness with her hands. At her feet is a mound filled with small holes to hold flower stems.

The Cambridge Pottery made simple pottery vases. Many of them had brown-toned glazes.

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Q: My grandmother left me a silver centerpiece bowl and two matching candlesticks. They’re beautiful, but I don’t understand the bowl. It has a cover pierced all over with holes. Why?

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A: Your centerpiece bowl dates from the early years of this century, when similar bowls were made in the United States and in England. The bowl was filled with water, and short-stemmed flowers were inserted through the holes. That way, the whole cover was hidden by flowers.

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Q: How can I tell if the handle on my cane is made of celluloid, ivory or bone?

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A: Celluloid was made to resemble elephant ivory.

The natural material has a “grain,” small rings that indicate how the tusk grew. It is similar to the rings in a tree trunk. The makers of celluloid tried imitating the rings and also added to a buyer’s confusion by naming it “French ivory.”

If the handle is molded, it is celluloid. Heat can cause it to melt slightly.

Look at the handle with a magnifying glass. Bone has small pores or holes. Ivory shows the grain and marks from the carving.

If there is a slight crack in the material where it was attached with a screw or pin it is probably ivory.

If you’d like a listing of helpful books and publications on antiques, send a self-addressed, stamped (55 cents) envelope to the Kovels, Los Angeles Times, King Features Syndicate, 235 E. 45th St., New York, NY 10017.

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Current Prices Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary because of local economic conditions.

* “San Francisco Firehouse Favorites” cookbook, by Tony Calvello, 1965, Bonanza Books, New York: $20.

* Carnation celluloid bookmark, bright red, “Souvenir of the Panama-Pacific Exposition, San Francisco-1915,” compliments of Pacific Coast condensed milk, 2 1/8 x 5 5/8 inches: $45.

* Nickel-silver sesquicentennial commemorative vanity bag, pendant chain, by Evans, circa 1926: $75.

* Iron spectacles, original lenses, English, circa 1765, with iron case: $250.

* Revolutionary War hickory cane, inscribed “Zachariah Powell,” New Bedford, Mass., 1777, 33 inches: $395.

* Folding wooden checkerboard, circa 1840, original black-and-red wood pieces, 14 by 14 inches: $425.

* Queen Anne poplar chest, New England, lift lid, scalloped straight bracket feet, original red stain, circa 1750, 25 1/4 by 46 1/2 inches: $575.

* Watt pottery covered cheese crock, Pennsylvania Dutch Tulip, No. 80: $700.

* New England double wall box, inverted heart cutout on crest, circa 1800, 18 inches: $950.

* Birmingham silver nutmeg grater, hinged, hallmark, 1853-1854, 1 3/4 by 1 1/4 by 1 1/2 inches: $1,200.