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Q. Our family used to collect picture frames which we would use for family photographs. A few years ago we found one at a garage sale that had a print of a flower in it, but when we took it apart we found this page of beautiful, hand-drawn butterflies underneath. The paper is old, about 25 by 20 centimetres (10 by eight inches,) and looks like it was torn out of a pad. On the back is handwritten “$45, P. Cramer.”
A. You have discovered a page out of the last book of a rare four-volume set called “De Uitlandsche Kapellen,” published from 1779 to 1782. It contains roughly 400 pages of illustrations of butterflies, moths and skippers (the order of insects known as Lepidoptera). They’re from Africa, Asia and America and many are now extinct. The drawings in the book are so well done they’re considered equal in value to an actual specimen. Any of the complete books are worth several thousand dollars. The artist, Pieter Cramer (1721-1776) was a wealthy Dutch merchant and an entomologist. The books were published posthumously by his entomological partner, C. Stoll. The outlines of the moths and butterflies were printed using an engraved copper plate, then watercoloured by hand. The page you have is plate number 58 and it’s worth about $300.
Q. This mechanical bank originally came with my grandfather when he emigrated from England in 1921 on his journey to Canada. Six generations have now enjoyed playing with it. The guardsman is 17 cm (6.75 inches) high. It operates by placing a coin on the gun barrel catch, pulling it back to set and the head tips down. Depressing his right foot shoots the coin into the tree trunk. A percussion cap, placed inside the mechanism below the guardsman’s cheek, creates a “bang” when fired. The paint is worn from the many hands having played with it. A base plaque carries the title “Creedmoor Bank.”
A. J. & E. Stevens Co., of Cromwell, Conn., produced many of these cast-iron mechanical banks but relatively few have survived. The Americans were leaders in making these figural toys — designed to inspire children to save their pennies and amuse adults. It was patented in 1877 and wholesaled to retail stores for $10.50 per dozen. It was named after a shooting range owned by the Creedmoor family on Long Island, N.Y. These banks are avidly collected and rarely show up these days. The nicely finished details and nominally worn paint of this original antique bank suggest a value of $750 today.
Q. This painting originally belonged to my grandparents, but I discovered it in a box in my parents’ woodshed, covered in dust. It’s a small oil painting of a Quebec scene signed by Jack Young. It measures 20 by 26 cm (eight by 10 inches.) I’ve always liked it, partly because our family comes from Quebec.
A. Nice save! British-born Jack Young (1894-1963) began his artistic career with studies at the Royal Victoria School of Art. You have an archetype of his favourite subject matter that reflects his life after settling in Montreal in 1913 — a Quebec winter landscape in the Laurentians with old houses and farms. He was president of the Montreal Arts Club in the mid-1950s and also worked as a commercial artist with the Imperial Tobacco company for about 40 years. His work doesn’t show up often and he is not as well known to the recent art marketplace. It is a treasure in a favourite size and subject for collectors which is worth about $900 today.
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