Multi-Tasking Oak Bench by Anne McCollam on Creators.com

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Multi-Tasking Oak Bench

Q: This is an enclosed photo of my antique oak organ bench. It was purchased from an antiques store in the 1970s. Music can be stored in the hinged top and it is upholstered in velvet. It is in excellent condition.

I am interested in learning the age and history of my bench.

Q: You have a Victorian Eastlake organ bench that was made around 1880. Most organ benches made in the Eastlake period of design were made of oak and decorated with both incised and applied carving.

Your bench would probably be worth $200 to $275.

Q: I inherited a porcelain dresser set from my great-aunt and have enclosed the mark that is on the bottom of each piece. The set includes a dish with a lid that has a hole in the center, a covered dish, two perfume bottles and a matching tray. They are all decorated with multi-colored delicate flowers and green leaves against a white background. I remember it always sat on my great-aunt's antique walnut dresser, and it is in mint condition.

Anything you can tell me about the vintage, maker and value of my set will be greatly appreciated.

A: Heinrich and Company made your dresser set. They have made porcelain in Selb, Bavaria, Germany since 1896. The dish with a lid that has a hole is a hair receiver. Ladies would place hair from their brushes in hair receivers.

Your set would probably be worth $125 to $275.

Q: I am in possession of a set of 15 leather bound, gold trimmed books.

It is the complete works of Robert Louis Stevenson. They were published by Peter F. Collier around the turn of the 20th century.

I am interested in finding their value and perhaps a purchaser.

A: Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish writer who was born in 1850 and died in 1894. His books are classics, and he was a prolific writer. Several of his most loved and read books include "Kidnapped," "Treasure Island," "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and "A Child's Garden of Verses."

There have been a number of collected editions or library sets of his complete works published in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Colliers edition published by Peter Fenelon Collier in New York published a set bound in leather and one in teal hardcover.

You might try selling your set on the Internet. Similar sets are selling from $150 to $180.

Address your questions to Anne McCollam, P. O. Box 247, Notre Dame, IN 46556. Items of a general interest will be answered in this column. Due to the volume of inquiries, she cannot answer individual letters. To find out more about Anne McCollam and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.