ANTIQUE OR JUNQUE

BY ANNE MCCOLLAM

RELEASE: FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2015, AND THEREAFTER

Barrister Bookcases Sold by the Section

Q: I bought the oak bookcase seen in this photo at an estate auction 16 years ago. It stands 57 inches tall and is in very good condition. It doesn't have any nails in it and is completely held together with wooden pegs. It has claw feet and glass in all of the doors. There is a partial label on one of the shelves that reads "Larkin Sectional, Buffalo, NY." I would appreciate anything you can tell me about it.

A: Your barrister bookcase was sold by the Larkin Company. John D. Larkin founded a soap factory in Buffalo, New York, in 1875. They began by selling through wholesalers and middlemen followed by a door-to-door approach. Around 1885 they established their "factory to family" mail-order policy that was available directly to the consumer. Soon Larkin catalogs were hawking not just soap but everything for the home, including furniture, pottery and clothes. The Larkin Club allowed customers to buy on the installment plan. Larkin also founded their Buffalo Pottery factory to make pottery.

Bookcases were made by several furniture factories that were sold through the Larkin catalog. Barrister bookcases were popular with barristers (lawyers), thus the name. They were made in individual sections and could be stacked. A person could buy as many sections as needed. Many were made of oak and some of mahogany. Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Larkin Administration Building, which was innovative and employee-friendly.

Your barrister bookcase continues to be in demand with collectors. It would probably fetch $1,200 to $1,500 in an antiques shop.

Q: There is a mark that reads "THOMPSON" on the back of each of four dinner plates that I have. Each plate is decorated with a scene of a man and woman wearing 18th-century clothes. They are sitting on a garden bench and there is a church in the background. The plates are all that is left of a service for four that belonged to my great-aunt. They are in perfect condition.

Anything you can tell me about the maker, age and value of my plates would be greatly appreciated.

A: C.C. Thompson Pottery Co. made your plates. They made semi-vitreous tableware in East Liverpool, Ohio, from 1868 to 1938. Figures dressed in period costumes were popular motifs on tableware in the early 1900s.

Your plates were made around 1930 and the set would probably be worth $75 to $100.

(SET IMAGE) amc081415adAP.jpg (set image)

(SET CAPTION) The Larkin Co. was founded in 1875. (END CAPTION)

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.