Fans of old advertising hunt for vintage round or oval paper fans printed with ads for everything from candy to hardware. These hand fans, mounted on a flat wooden stick, were product giveaways during the middle decades of the 20th century. Most old advertising fans sell for just a few dollars, but fans picturing famous people or brand names bring more money. Be sure to look closely if you want to buy, because many reproductions have been made.
Want a Mickey Mouse wristwatch that looks old but won’t cost you $1,000 or more? Check the Dollmasters gift catalog (dollmasters.com). The spring 2005 issue offers five new Mickey watches, three with a 1928 cartoon image and two with a 1945 image. The watches are not the same style as old ones, so they won’t confuse collectors. Each has a leather band. Cost: $59.
The Up5 chair and Up6 ottoman designed by Gaetano Pesce in 1969 have been reissued by B&B Italia (bebitalia.it). The chair and matching ottoman are made of molded polyurethane and are sold compressed and vacuum-packed. Once opened, they pop into their full forms. Cost: about $2,600 for the chair and $500 for the ottoman.
Reproductions of Coca-Cola collectibles have been made for years. But some “fantasy” items (those unlike any genuine old piece) have been turning up lately. One is a 3-quart unmarked clear glass jar made by Anchor Hocking. It’s molded with a bottle of Coke on one side and the profile of a woman drinking from a bottle on the other. Also watch out for cast-metal Coke cabinet pulls in several styles, including a bottle-shaped pull, a cup-type pull with a large Coke trademark, and a bottle mounted on a flat disk pull. (Mark Chervenka, repronews.com, writing in AntiqueWeek)