Fact is defined as “a thing that is known or has been proved to be true.” Digging for facts is a way of life for me and in 22 years of writing this column I have unearthed hundreds of them. Some I suspected, but others came as a complete surprise. Did you know:
Having an item appraised, even by a nationally recognized expert, does not always mean that the assessment is accurate. In 2016 noted Antiques Roadshow appraiser Stephen Fletcher valued a piece of pottery as being from the late 19th Century and valued it at $30,000-$50,000. A few weeks after the episode of Roadshow aired it was recognized by a member of the family who had held the estate sale where the piece had been purchased. Much to Fletcher’s embarrassment the show was informed that the pottery had been the creation of an Oregon High School student in the 1970’s.
Betty Crocker is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable women of the 20th century. Her books have sold millions of copies and at the peak of her popularity she made Fortune Magazine’s list of “The Most Admired Women in America.” Her name has appeared on thousand of products and she is respected worldwide for her culinary skills. Interestingly enough, there is not now, nor has ever been, a real Betty Crocker.
At the age of 7, Joshua Lionel Cowen whittled a miniature locomotive from a scrap of wood and attempted to fit it with a tiny engine, and it exploded. He was unharmed, but his mother’s kitchen sustained considerable damage. Many years later, in his early 20s, he would try the experiment again and succeed. He gave his invention his middle name, and the model train was born
When the Kenner Toy Company bought the rights to produce action figures based on George Lucas’ upcoming space saga Star Wars early in 1977, they were less than enthusiastic about the transaction. After all, the leading manufacturer of action figures at the time, the Mego Corporation, had passed on the deal believing that the movie would not fare well at the box office. Once Kenner had the licensing rights they took a rather “wait and see” attitude. As a result, they did not initiate advance production and for Christmas of 1977 there were no toys from what turned out to be the number one movie of the year.
In the late 1980’s Andy Warhol decided to part with his cookie jar collection and consigned it to Sotheby’s. Even though there were more than 100 jars in the collection, the auction house placed a top estimate of $7,000 on the lot. Much to the delight of Mr. Warhol the crowd went on a bidding frenzy and when the hammer came down on the last piece the total for the sale was an astounding $247,830!
Through their many years of production, a number of Ball jars have found their way into circulation with errors. Ironically, the most common is the misspelling of the word, “Perfect.”
During the 1940s alarm clocks proved a reliable source for assuring that factory workers were on time for their shifts, a punctuality that was crucial to the war effort. They were, in fact, so important that while most American factories ceased their production of consumer goods in 1942 to accommodate the needs of the military, clock companies were allowed to remain open.
Lava Lamps instantly became a symbol of the psychedelic counterculture of the 1960’s. TV cult favorite Doctor Who owned a Lava Lamp, Paul McCartney used them on stage and Grateful Dead sidekick Wavvy Gravy endorsed them as the perfect enhancement while listening to rock music as they “caused the synapses in your brain to loosen up!” Until next time . . . Linda
Linda Kennett is a professional liquidation consultant specializing in down-sizing for seniors and the liquidation of estates. Linda is not taking clients at this time.
