The Rookwood Pottery produced many vases as well as dinnerware, figurines, bookends and tiles. Business managers, potters, a glaze chemist and decorators were hired. Rookwood was expensive, well made and artistically decorated from the beginning and won many prizes for the work. It continued to be a world renowned pottery until it closed in 1941.

All types of Rookwood pottery are collected today. Most prized are pieces by famous decorators like Albert Valentien, Carl Schmidt, Kataro Shirayamadani and Matthew Daly.

Rookwood has always been clearly marked with the initials of the factory and the artist. The famous RP and flame mark even dates the piece. After 1900, the Roman numeral for the year was included. The most expensive Rookwood piece ever sold at auction was $198,000 for a vase by Shirayamadani decorated with an electroplated fish swimming under a sea-green glaze. Average vases made in the 1920s to 1940s sell today for hundreds of dollars.

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Q: My father purchased a few antique clocks over the years and has left them to me. One is a brass and glass rectangular shelf clock, about 161/2 inches high, 9 inches wide, and 5 inches deep. There are plain brass columns at each corner, a single glass column at the center of each side and a curved glass door on the front. The brass decorative crown is fancy. On the face of the clock are the words "Manufactured by the Ansonia Clock Co., New York, United States of America." Can you help me determine age and value?

A: The Ansonia Clock Co. was founded in Derby, Conn., in 1850 by Anson G. Phelps, a wealthy New York importer. After two fires and corporate reorganizations, the company moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1880. Your clock is called a "crystal regulator," and was probably made between 1905 and 1915. (The 1914 Ansonia catalog has 18 pages of crystal regulators.) It was a popular clock style in 19th-century France. If your clock works, it is worth more than $3,000.

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Q: My bronze figure of a naked woman is 15 inches high. It is signed "Andreas."

A: Andreas worked in France about 1910. He is not a well-known maker.

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Q: My mother's family has passed down a large locket with four small photos mounted inside. The photos are of four people from the same family — the parents and two children. The locket is said to date back to before the Civil War. Was this a common kind of jewelry at the time?

A: You have a piece of what is called "Daguerrean jewelry." In 1839, Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre invented an early type of photograph called a Daguerreotype, which reproduced images on a silvered copper plate. Miniature photos were used in bracelets, brooches, buttons, earrings, rings, pendants and pins. They preserved the image of loved ones, and were often made for special occasions such as birthdays or anniversaries. Although they were popular at the time, few have survived because the images are so fragile.

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Q: Five years ago my mother-in-law gave me a bridal shower gift of 21 coin silver teaspoons and serving spoons. She paid only 10 cents for each spoon. She says they are all English and date before 1850. I love the spoons, but can't identify their marks. The marks include "N. Matson," "A. Henderson" and "W. P. & H. Stanton." Some of the spoons have additional small hallmarks of a lion, star and single initials.

A: Your mother-in-law was a great shopper, but your spoons are American. Newell Matson and his partners worked as N. Matson & Co. in Chicago from about 1867 to 1888. A. A. Henderson worked in Philadelphia in the mid-1830s. William P. and Henry Stanton worked in Rochester, N.Y., from about 1826 to 1841. Some 19th-century American silversmiths also used pseudo hallmarks to make the public think the silver was English. The letter mark "D" indicates the amount of silver (900/1000) in the metal used to make the spoons.

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Q: I collect plates decorated with a calendar and an ad for a business. When were the first advertising calendar plates made?

A: The oldest plate we have heard about is for the year 1877. It was by J. W. Harrison of Liverpool, England. Most of the plates made in the United States date after 1906. Plates dating from the 1930s are common. Those made in the 1940s are scarce.

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Tip: If you are remodeling or redecorating, think about antiques and collectibles displayed in the work area. A workman will hammer on a wall without worrying about the shelves on the other side.

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The Kovels welcome letters and answer as many as possible through the column. By sending a letter, you give full permission for its use in the column or any other Kovel forum. Names and addresses will be kept confidential. The volume of mail makes personal answers or appraisals impossible. The Kovels cannot guarantee return of any photograph. If you wish other information about antiques, include a self-addressed, stamped (55 cents) envelope, and the Kovels will send you a listing of helpful books and publications. Write to Kovels, (name of this newspaper), 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 in different locations because of local economic conditions.

Electric sad iron, "Pluto," dated 1907, leather bag: $55.

Bronze Swiss cow bell, leather collar, embossed designs, floral saints & 1875-Viglino, 71/2 inches: $65.

Cut glass punch cups, Strawberry, diamond & fan pattern, set of 6, 21/4 in: $75.

Bennington cuspidor, brown Rockingham glaze, "1849" mark, 9 inches: $110.

Ritz Cracker wristwatch, windup, cracker dial, 1960s, unused, box: $150.

Christy Mathewson baseball figure, by Hartland, circa 1950s, 7 inches: $270.

Royal Doulton Gibson Girl plate, Failing to Find Rest in the Country, blue & white, 10 inches: $320.

Terri Lee Bonnie Lou doll, brown complexion, plastic, socket head, pouty lips, 16 inches: $675.

Federal country-style tall poster bed, painted & turned wood, arched headboard, spiral-turned footposts, New England, circa 1820, 54 x79 inches: $1,380 .

Fraktur watercolor, religious, Exodus, Chapter 20, picket fence, gable roof, steeples, flowers, red, green, yellow & black, 1889, 15 x 12 inches: $2,860.

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Depression glass and the dinnerwares of the 1930s to '50s are important collectibles today. Learn more about prices, makers and patterns in the Kovels Depression Glass and Dinnerware Price List, sixth edition. Send $16 plus $3.00 postage to Depression Glass, Box 22900, Beachwood, Ohio 44122 or call (800) 571-1555

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(Cutline for Nov. 29, 1998):

This 18 inch-high vase was decorated by Carl Schmidt in 1903. The vase is decorated with larger-than- life size irises. It sold at a Cincinnati Art Galleries auction this year for $29,000.

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