Heard it through the Grapevine

What’s It Like to be Robbed at Gun Point?

Especially when it is with a 1914 wooden child’s toy

By Ralph Finch

It’s not the first time I’ve seen it done. I’ve been a witness to a crime before. It’s when an uneducated eBay seller offers an “Antique hand-held pitch or glass target ball launcher with pitch ball-circa 1914.”

And this item, worth maybe $25 (more if complete) sold for $510 plus $10 shipping! There were four bids, which means: Four uneducated bidders or two uneducated bidders who bid twice. Sigh …

Whatever, there is an eBay seller in Stillwater, Minn., who should be embarrassed. But, likely, he won’t be. People who don’t bother to inform themselves with a little research are happy not to be educated. (That’s how we end up with some of the politicians we get.)

When I look at a few eBayers I’m reminded of American author and social critic H.L. Mencken (1880–1956) who is said to have written: “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.”

OK, if you aren’t familiar with this, and most people aren’t, a little research will reveal that this is a kid’s toy that didn’t launch a target ball, but a ping-pong ball. And not only that, this device is incomplete. The original toy had a little catcher on the end. You’d shoot your ping-pong ball to another gamer and he’d try to catch the ball on his “gun.”

A little history of this toy. When I produced a journal for target ball collectors, this item was often brought to my attention. I even owned one, just for the heck of it, and it could barely toss a ping-pong ball more than a few inches.

In Issue XLVIII (Spring, 2011) I wrote (edited): One just sold for $50.99. In fact, two of these seven-inches-long toys have been sold as target ball throwers in the past, one for $300 in 1991, and another for $1,310!!!

Another one of these, identical except for the printing of “Sporta” on the side, revealed that it was patented Jan. 23, 1914, by Harry A. Gould of St. Louis (Patent 1,100,728 for a “TOY PISTOL.”).

A ping-pong ball is light; a ball of solid coal is not. Did the seller actually try to launch a ball of coal? It might have gone one inch. (And unable to launch a glass target ball, period.) What really springs to mind is, “Why don’t people think?”

We’ll Drink to That (Not)

Dear Readers,

There are so many things collected in the States, but as you start looking around the world, things get even more different. Even strange.

Ralph Finch made a visit to a recent Kiwi Auction in New Zealand and found something pretty much guaranteed you won’t see in the States (he hopes): “A 330mm tall china figure of Hongi Hika, the famous New Zealand Maori Chief, whose head forms the stopper for this Jim Beam decanter (empty).”

If you wanted to collect this, it’s too late. It sold for $180 (NZ)!

Heard it through the Grapevine

Got Opium? I Just Missed My Dealer

Suffering a major withdrawal, Ralph Finch laments:

My dealer, this time the Chicago Hindman auction firm’s Cincinnati branch, offered a late 1800s painted tin marked “Epps’s Opium Indica, James Epps & Co. London Est. 1839.” Hindman called it a “cannister” (I think they meant “canister”) and said it was 14 inches high.

The item was estimated at what I thought was a reasonable $300-$500. While I lived in Detroit for many years, I’m out of touch with the going rate for opium, but thought that was a fair price. But as I was about to bid on Lot 296, ever alert(?) I noted that the item sold 60 seconds before I signed onto “LiveAuctioneers.” Talk about a downer.

It sold for $450 plus a 29 percent buyer’s premium.

FYI: According to Wikipedia (edited), “The Epps family was well known in commerce and medicine. In the second half of the 18th century they had been settled near Ashford, Kent, for some generations, claiming descent from an equerry of Charles II, but were reduced in circumstances, when John Epps rose to prosperity as a provision merchant in *London, and restored the family fortunes.

“He had four sons, of whom John Epps, George Napoleon Epps, and James Epps were notable men of their day, the two former were prominent doctors who were ardent converts to homoeopathy, and James was a homoeopathic chemist and the founder of the great cocoa business associated with his name.

r

Did you miss the 1960s? This nice Epps’s Opium container could bring back dreams of the past.

Wikipedia: “The Epps family was in every sense a phenomenal homeopathic family, comprising several homeopathic physicians and pharmacists. Their main pharmacy was established in 1839 at *Jermyn Street, SW1 1839, with other shops opening in 30 Upper King Street, Bloomsbury in 1840, and 112 Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury in 1842.”

r

*Apropos of nothing, but one of my fave restaurants in London is/was on Jermyn Street, except I could never afford to eat there! I could buy a nice target ball in England for the price of lunch on posh Jermyn Street, which dates back to 1664. It has flourished ever since and holds a worldwide reputation for London’s finest shops.

Missing Bottle!

By Bill Baab

COLUMBUS, Georgia – What is the absolutely worst experience collectors of antique bottles could ever suffer? Just ask Allen Woodall of Columbus. He’ll tell you.

When fellow collector Jack Hewitt recently visited Woodall to check out the latter’s museum, Woodall decided to show off one of his glass prizes, a cobalt blue John Ryan from the latter’s Columbus branch with an embossed capital R on the back.

So Woodall went to its hiding place in his office and was stunned when the ultra rare bottle could not be found. Some stickyfingered gent had preceded him.

Woodall reported the theft to the Columbus Police Department and is taking his own steps in hopes of getting the bottle returned. One of those steps is this story about my friend’s great loss. So if one of you readers is offered the bottle, Woodall asks that you contact him at 1 (706) 332-6378.

Another of his steps is that he is offering a $1,000 cash reward and will ask no questions if the bottle is returned.

Heard it through the Grapevine

This information actually comes from Florida collector, Charlie Livingston, who is helping to spearhead the Suncoast Antique Bottle Collector’s 2022 Show. They are still working to finalize details of a new venue for an upcoming show to be held in Tampa on Saturday, February 5th.

Watch our January issue for further details. In the meantime, for questions or information, please contact Charlie Livingston at 813.244.6898; email: mudfishy@aol.com.