Antiques
Moxie soft drink ads used ‘horsemobile’
Moxie, the soft drink that was introduced as a medicine in a Massachusetts drugstore in 1876, used some very early automobiles in advertising campaigns. In 1915 or ’16 Frank Archer, the Moxie adman who started as a clerk at the Moxie Nerve Food Co., designed the first Moxie Horsemobile. It was an eye-catching full-sized car with a live horse mounted on the back. The first Horsemobile was top-heavy and dangerous to drive, so it was redesigned with a horse made of papier-mache. In later years the horse was molded from aluminum. The first car was a Dort Speedster, but in later years the car was a Buick, a LaSalle or a Rolls Royce. Horsemobiles were driven in parades by daring drivers who rode the horse while controlling the vehicle’s speed and steering with specially designed pedals and extensions. Moxie sold a lithographed tin toy replica of the full-sized Horesmobile. Today there are groups of collectors who search for Moxie-related items. In March a rare version of the toy Horsemobile with a blue car sold at Bertoia Auctions in Vineland,
N. J., for $5,750.
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Q: I received some TootsieToy dollhouse furniture for Christmas in 1941 and still have it. What can you tell me about it?
A: TootsieToy dollhouse furniture was made by the Dowst Brothers Co. from 1922 until 1937. The company was started by Charles Dowst in 1876 and became Dowst Brothers Co. after Charles’ brother Samuel joined the business. Dowst made die-cast metal collar buttons, novelties, Cracker Jack prizes and other small toys. TootsieToys were named after a Dowst granddaughter, Toots. The brand name was first used on dollhouse furniture in 1922 and was registered in 1924. The 1923 Sears catalog advertised “Tootsie Metal Doll House Furniture.” Sets of living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom furnishings were offered for 83 cents a set. A complete set of bedroom furniture in the original box sold for $165 last year.
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Q: I have a pocket watch that was found after my parents died. The watch face has portraits of two older men in military uniforms and the words “Einheit Macht Stark” on it. Can you tell where it was made?
A: The German words can be roughly translated as “Unity makes strong” or “Unity is strength.” The two men pictured are probably Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941) of Germany and Emperor Franz Josef I (1830-1916) of Austria. Wilhelm II was the last German emperor and king of Prussia from 1888 until the end of World War I in 1918. Franz Joseph I was emperor of Austria and king of Hungary from 1867 until his death in 1916. Germany and Austria signed a Dual Alliance in 1873 to protect themselves from Russia. Your watch probably dates from the early 1900s.
Tip
Don’t hang old purses. The weight of the purse puts too much strain on the handle.
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