What’s It Worth?

Q:My hutch opens up into a desk. It is made of fancy wood with turned legs and is marked with a metal tag that reads "Landstrom Furniture, 1879, Rockford, Illinois. I would like to know its age and value. -- K.H.

Answer: It is a secretary bookcase manufactured in the late 1920s or early'30s. It is typical of the era, when furniture designers often combined several early styles, in this case, a mishmash of Chippendale and Sheraton.

Landstrom was Central Furniture until it was bought by the Landstrom family in 1879. It became Consolidated Industries in 1928, but continued to use the Landstrom tag. The firm was dissolved in 1958.

Rockford once was the furniture capital of the United States, surpassing even Grand Rapids, Mich., in terms of volume. Its heyday spanned roughly 1880 through the 1930s. This piece would retail for $650.

Q:I inherited my cut crystal smelling-salts bottle from my mom, who inherited it from her aunt. It has a silver cap marked "Tiffany & Co., Sterling." She told me it dates from the mid-1800s. It is in very good condition.-- W.P.

Answer: This cut-glass perfume or scent bottle marked Tiffany & Co. was made around the turn of the 20th century. The world-famous jewelry store was established in New York in 1837 by Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young.

Although many people connect Charles' son Louis Comfort Tiffany with the store, it is a small connection. Although he did work for the company designing jewelry after his father's death, Louis later opened his own business, Tiffany Studios, where his glass, lamps and windows were produced.

Similar Tiffany & Co. cut-glass scent bottles retail for $400. Tiffany is still in business and still uses the blue gift box, introduced in 1837.

Have a question about an antique or collectible? Send e-mail to with a digital image, or send a complete description with a clear photograph to Jay Moore, Flair Department, Richmond Times-Dispatch, P.O. Box 85333, Richmond, VA 23293. Photographs will not be returned. The large volume of mail may mean a delay in publishing answers.