ANTIQUES: Ringing in the New Year

In his wonderful poem, “The Bells,” Poe uses the sounds of four kinds of bells – sleigh bells, wedding bells, alarm bells and funeral bells – to chart human life from youth through maturity to old age and death.
But any bell collector (and they are legion) will tell you that there are far many more different kinds of bells than are mentioned in Poe’s verses. There are tapper bells, school bells, alarms (clangers), pull bells, gongs, sleigh bells, sheep and cow bells, door bells, dinners bells and the slightly smaller tea bells.
And while the traditional bell shape is distinctive, bells actually come in a variety of shapes – balls, semi-circles, semi-ovals, cones, squares and parallelograms.
Bells also come in a variety of materials – silver, brass, bronze, steel, pot metal, chrome, pottery, porcelain and glass. Collectors also look for fascinating figural handles or, with tapper bells, interesting bases.
The trend in collecting these days is away from items that were specifically made to be collected – Hummels, Toby mugs, collector plates, etc. – in favor of those things that were useful in the ordinary life of the past – candlesticks, goblets, inkwells, door stops, etc. and few things have served as many useful purposes as bells.
Appraisals: Porcelain bell, cherub handle, marked “Italy” ($50); Brass gong, 7-inches, on carved wood stand with striker, Oriental ($75); School bell, brass with painted wood handle, 8-1/2-inches ($85); School bell with carved, turned wood handle, heavy brass, 10-inches ($185) Tapper bell, bronze, held up by Atlas figure base ($300).
Also: Sleigh bells, brass, set of 25 on strap ($225); Sleigh bells, nickle-plated steel, set of 37 on 80-inch long strap ($165); Dinner bell, Imperial “Candlewick” glass with floral etching ($125); Game dinner bell, brass with antler point handle ($150); Tea bell, silver, marked ”800,” winged angel handle ($125).
Poe was right to remind us that bells are a part of every aspect of human life from glee to alarm. They scare away the devil and welcome the New Year. They toll for death, celebrate marriage, call us to prayer, to duty and to dinner, and peal out loud for liberty.
As usual at this time of year, this column will be going on vacation for the next few weeks. I’ll still be checking the email, however, so keep those comments and appraisal requests coming. Remember to send pictures, and I’ll try to put a mailbag column together for the end of January.
Also, get your stuff together and look the announcements of our “Winter Antique Appraisal Nights” at the Wetlands Institute on Stone Harbor Blvd. coming up in February and March.
In the meantime, have a Happy New Year, neighbors! May 2011 ring all the right bells for you. And let’s keep the conversation going in the year ahead.
Arthur Schwerdt. A certified appraiser, s the author of “The Antique Story Book: Finding the Real Value of Old Things,” and co-owner of The August Farmhouse Antiques on Route 9 in Swainton. Send your comments, questions and appraisal requests to aschwerdt@cmcherald.com.