AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



July, 1913 



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Stained with Cabot's Creosote Stains 

 Arthur T. Remick, Architect, 103 Park Ave., New York 



The Book of 100 Houses 



Sent Free to Anyone Who Intends to Build 



This book contains photographic views of over 

 100 houses of all kinds (from the smallest camps 

 and bungalows to the largest residences) in all 

 parts of the country, that have been stained with 



CABOT'S SHINGLE STAINS 



They are designed by leading architects and the 

 book is full of ideas and suggestions that are of 

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 building. 



SAMUEL CABOT, Inc., Sole Manufacturers 



131 Milk Street. Boston, Mass. 



Agents all over the country 





Private Water Supply Plants 



sl " KEWANEE WATER SUPPLY CO. 



NEW YORK CITY KEWANEE .ILL. 



The Stephenson System of 

 Underground Refuse Disposal 



Keeps the garbage out of sight in the ground 

 away from tlie dogs, cats and typhoid fly. 

 "Thousands in Use." 



Underground 

 Garbage and Refuse Receivers 



A Fireproof and Sanitary Disposal of Ashes, 

 Refuse and Oily Waste. 



Our Underground Earth Closet 



means freedom from contaminated 



water supply. 

 Sold Direct. Send for Circular* 



In Use Nine Years. It Pays to Look Us Up. 



C. H. STEPHENSON, Mfr 



21 Farrar Street, Lynn, M 



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FRESH AIR AND PROTECTION! 



Ventilate your rooms, yet have your 

 windows securely fastened with 



The Ives Window 

 Ventilating Lock 



assuring you of fresh air and pro- 

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 and strong, inexpensive and easily 

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II- ff C*tslt[ut Bsrdwsrt Sftclthln, Fr§», 



THE H. B. IVES CO. 



a*kc MANwrACTuncR* ... NEW HAVEN, CONN. 



The^chilling Press j 



PRINTERS OF QUALITY 

 137-139 East 25th St. New York City 



"Oaks from Acorns Grow" 



\Y^E welcome the smallest printing order, because we 

 know that the service we give will lead to more 

 business. Experience, punctuality and price are the 

 three features on which our wide reputation is built. 

 Furnishing text and ideas for novel, attractive printing 

 are our specialty. 



i Printers of "American Homes and Gardens" j 



lection while the other sort of collector 

 is merely a gatherer of a few or many 

 masterpieces of technical interest. You 

 should be able to obtain a copy of the 

 curious etching of Josephine being 

 crowned by Napoleon, issued by Chereau, 

 Paris, for ten or twelve dollars. There 

 is a mazzotint of John Collet's painting 

 "Paul Jones shooting a Sailor who had 

 attempted to strike his colours in an En- 

 gagement." This measures 14 by 10 

 inches and was printed by Carrington 

 Bowles, 1779. A copy would probably 

 command from seventy-five to one hun- 

 dren dollars if in fine condition. 



B. P. : An unused copy of the United 

 States Pan-American Exhibition two-cent 

 postage-stamp (1901) with center in- 

 verted (an error in printing) is valued at 

 $300 at which price it is catalogued. 

 An unused copy of the British stamp used 

 by members of the Shackleton South 

 Pole Expedition (which stamp consists 

 of an overprint of the words "King Ed- 

 ward VII Land on the 1 penny car- 

 mine stamp of New Zealand, 1908) can 

 be had for $5. An unused copy will cost 

 $3. The local siege of Mafeking postage 

 stamp issued in 1900 bearing a portrait 

 of Baden-Powell is the three pence value 

 printed in blue on blue paper. The issu- 

 ing of this stamp is said to have incurred 

 official displeasure in London. It is one 

 of the "curiosities" of philately. 



J. B. P. : The autographed letter of 1718 

 you submit is from the hand of the fa- 

 mous Chevalier d'Eon de Beaumont 

 who held office at the court of Louis 

 XV and adopted woman's attire. B. 

 Pestrucci, the writer of the letter in your 

 collection from Old Windsor, in 1846, was 

 Engraver to the Mint. You should be 

 able to obtain an interesting George 

 Sand autograph letter signed for two or 

 three dollars. A fine autograph letter 

 signed by Sir Christopher Wren would 

 be fully worth $100. though it might 

 not bring so high a price in an American 

 auction room. 



E. A. G. : J. G. Soufflot, the subject of 

 your engraved portrait by Bligny, was 

 an, architect of Paris, constructor of the 

 Pantheon. The value of this print is 

 about two dollars. 



I. A. W. : Copper-nickel three cent pieces 

 were issued from the United States Mint 

 1865 to 1889 inclusive. The bronze two 

 cent pieces from 1863 to 1873. The first 

 coins minted in America were the Mex- 

 ican 34 R- of Charles and Joanna 1536- 

 1556. These bear crowned initials on 

 either side. The round brass coins of 

 China "cash" pieces have the dynasty 

 of issue indicated at the top and bottom 

 of the coin. The character to the left and 

 right may be interpreted as reading 

 "Current Money." The characters on 

 the reverse side denote the Mint. 



B. E. C. : It is not possible to give an 

 exact valuation of the Waterloo medals 

 you describe, but the following are the 

 average auction prices they have brought 

 in recent important sales abroad: Water- 

 loo 3rd Batt. 14th Regt. Foot £3-6; 1st 

 Batt. 52nd Foot Regt. £2-6; Staff Sergt. 

 Royal Horse Art'y. £2-10 ; Dragoons 

 (Scots Greys) £6 ; 42nd Highlanders £5-5 ; 

 Coldstream Guards £3 ; 3rd Batt. 1st 

 Foot or Royal Scots £3. Naturally there 

 are more collectors of Wellington medals 



abroad than in America but as dealers 

 in America are, likewise, less apt to have 

 such medals commonly in stock there 

 should not be a great divergence between 

 the average sales prices abroad and 

 dealers' prices in America. The true col- 

 lector never collects merely with an idea 

 of disposing of his collection at a profit 

 as soon as it assumes fair proportions, 

 and therefore the fact that it is, generally 

 speaking, easier to buy an object than to 

 sell it should not discourage the collector 

 from pursuing his favorite hobby. As 

 collecting coins and medals has been a 

 favorite hobby with many collectors 

 throughout several centuries it has come 

 to pass that the majority of coins have 

 more or less fixed market or selling val- 

 ues. Naturally the dealer is a less prod- 

 igal buyer than he is a careful seller and 

 occasionally one meets with a patriarch 

 in the profession who will tell the col- 

 lector with a coin or medal to sell that 

 there is no particular value attached to 

 it, that as the demand for such things is 

 slight and therefore the expenditure for 

 the supply must be as light upon his part. 

 Of course there is much to be said in line 

 with his philosophy though once he has 

 acquired the object of his indifferent sol- 

 icitude its value is apt to be advanced 

 many hundreds per cent when one comes 

 to be buying it again. In common with 

 everything dear to the heart of collectors 

 both coins and medals must be acquired 

 because one is interested enough in them 

 to take them when he finds them, for 

 what to one collector's interest will ap- 

 pear a bargain to another's will seem an 

 extravagance. 



C. H. : You will pardon the Editor of 

 the "Collectors' Department" if he sug- 

 gests that you are confusing the merely 

 curious with the intrinsically worth col- 

 lecting. 



M. V. G. : In reply to your enquiry con- 

 cerning Keramic Collections in Washington 

 museums, the following may be of interest : 



A. B. L. — The stein you speak of is un- 

 doubtedly Bohemian glass made about 

 1850 — possibly earlier — value about $50. 

 Both old and modern Bohemian glass is 



very plentiful. 



J. B. J. : The pewter teapot marked 

 "Dixon" is of very little value. The mark 

 determines that. Regarding the pewter 

 pitcher with "Army and Navy" marked on 

 front, it is necessary to know whether this 

 is engraved or stamped. 



T. P. S. : If the two pieces of Benning- 

 ton pottery you describe are about six 

 inches in length and correspondingly high 

 they would be worth $35 a pair, if in good 

 condition. If of greater height they would 

 be worth up to $75 a pair. 



N. M. R. : A collection of china and pot- 

 tery is now on display in the East hall of 

 the National Museum building. 



This exhibit has been deposited in the 

 Museum by the widow of Rear Admiral 

 Francis William Dickins, U.S.N., and rep- 

 resents a painstaking and life-long labor 

 of the Admiral. Being especially inter- 

 ested in history and the application of the 

 pictorial arts to ceramics, the Admiral 

 began at an early date to assemble the col- 

 lection which now ranks as the most com- 



