Antiques & Collecting: Writing antiques

Every antique tells a story. It’s often one of change, sometimes over a relatively small amount of time. Look at the simple act of writing.

Most of us probably have several ballpoint pens scattered throughout a desk — and most of our writing, whether it’s a professional project, a school paper or just filling out a form, is done on the computer anyway.

It’s only about a century ago — not that much time, in the world of antiques — that you had to dip a nib pen into an inkwell to sign your name.

Fountain pens, which use ink cartridges, were invented about 1880, but inkwells remained in use into the 20th century.

They were often decorative and could be luxury items, made of precious metals, fine porcelain or cut glass.

They could also be novelties, like this one, shaped like an early car and made of an inexpensive metal like pewter or spelter, which sold for $82 at an auction by Morford’s Antique Advertising Auctions at antiqueadvertising.com.

It would have been a useful and stylish item when it was made in the 1910s or 1920s, possibly a status symbol for the proud owner of a Model T.

Now, it captures a moment in time when writing was done with a dip pen, instead of a cheap ballpoint or a computer screen, and cars were a new advance in technology instead of something in everyone’s driveway.

I bought an old king-size canopy bed, but I don’t know which era it is from. Can you please assist me?

Canopy beds were popular from the late 1700s to the early 1800s — often called the Federal period in American furniture — and again in the Colonial Revival of the 1930s.

The easiest way to determine the era of an antique bed is to measure it. American bed sizes were standardized by the 1920s.

A king-size bed is 76 inches wide by 80 inches long. If that is your bed’s size, it was probably made in the 20th century.

Beds made before 1900 are usually shorter and narrower than standard sizes, so it can be difficult to find a mattress that fits an antique bed. Before the mid-1800s, mattresses were held in place with ropes, which had to be tightened periodically.

A bed from this period will have holes, sometimes pegs, in the side rails for the ropes. Wooden slats to support the mattress were introduced by the mid-1800s.

Tip: Clean a glass inkwell carefully. The old ink may cover a crack. Wash in warm water with mild dishwashing liquid or soap, never dishwasher detergent. Don’t use ammonia if the glass is decorated or iridescent.

Current Prices

Advertising, figurine, Ward’s Riverside, owl, with tire, wearing cap and goggles, gold tone, round base, Buy Wise, chalkware, 5 inches, $60.

Toy, truck, dump, red bed, battery-operated headlights, side decals, pressed steel, hard rubber tires, Buddy L, c. 1930, 21 inches, $295.

Pottery, midcentury, pot, San Ildefonso Pueblo, blackware, Avanyu water serpent, signed, Maria + Santana, Maria Martinez, c. 1950, 6 1/2 inches, $1,145.