Antiques & Collecting: Perfume bottles

Perfume is always a popular Mother’s Day gift. It combines luxury and sentiment and lasts much longer than a bouquet of flowers.

Perfume bottles are often works of art in and of themselves, increasing their appeal. They are popular collectibles, whether they contain perfume or not.

There is even a major club for their collectors: the International Perfume Bottle Association. Learn more at perfumebottles.org.

Antique and vintage perfume bottles sell well at auctions. As with most antiques, a famous maker increases the value, whether it’s a perfume by a celebrated designer or a bottle by a well-known glass artist or company.

This one, made by Stevens & Williams, a famous English art glass company from the 1840s to the 1930s, sold for $1,968 at Brunk Auctions, surpassing its high estimate. Its bold color, elegant design and skilled technique contribute to the high price.

The bottle is almost heart-shaped and features a white flower and leafy vine cameo cut to a bright red ground. Cameo cutting is an old glass-decorating technique where layers of glass are cut away to create a design against a different color of glass in the layer below.

I have a Montgomery Ward catalog from 1920 or earlier. It is in perfect condition. What is it worth?

Aaron Montgomery Ward, the founder of Montgomery Ward, started his mail-order business in Chicago in 1872. The company’s first catalog, a single sheet, listed 163 items. Millions of catalogs were published each year beginning in the early 1900s.

The first Montgomery Ward retail stores opened in 1926. The last of the stores closed in 2001. The company was sold in 2004 and was sold again in 2008. It is now part of Colony Brands, Inc. and is an online-only retailer.

Value of an old catalog depends on age, content, cover art and condition. Some sell for about $35 to $50.

If the catalog pictures a new invention, old tools or items that have historic value, it could be worth more. Catalogs printed before 1900 bring higher prices. Only a few sell for $100 or more.

Tip: Wash art glass in lukewarm water with a little softening agent and some mild dishwashing soap.

Current Prices

Toy, pedal car, Fire Chief, pressed steel, red, white stripe and trim, Garton, 33 inches, $350.

Poster, travel, Europe, Qantas, Australia’s Airline, stylized image of St. Bernard dog, on hind legs, barrel around neck, green ground, 20 x 14 1/2 inches, $540.

Advertising, cigar tin, Pent’s Sobo, 5 Cents, multicolor graphics on white ground, cylindrical, set diagonally on a triangular stand, hinged glass lid, 8 inches, $625.

Tea caddy, Georgian, apple form, fruitwood, stained, shaped metal escutcheon, c. 1775, 4 3/4 inches, $810.