Q. I have a 23-by-25-inch rectangular scarf from the Hollan America steamship line. Its red background is decorated in black and white with an ocean liner in an oval in the center surrounded by a heraldic emblem, an American eagle with flags, and the words, "New Twinscrew Steamers 12500 Tons." The names of various European and American cities appear in its corners and along the sides. Is it worth much?
A. The Holland America Line produced at least two variations of its popular souvenir cotton scarves around the turn of this century. Yours, with the Potsdam cruising in the center, can be found priced at around $200 at many antiques shows, according to ocean liner memorabilia dealer Ken Schultz, P.O. Box M753, Hoboken, N.J. 07030, (201) 656-0966. The other version, picturing the Rotterdam, is much scarcer and sells for up to $350 in good condition.
Q. How much is my 6-cup size, cobalt blue and gold decorated teapot worth? It's marked "Hall 069" in a circle and "Made in the U.S.A."
A. Your "Los Angeles" shape Hall China teapot made after 1926 is quite common and worth around $50 to $60 retail, according to Harvey Duke, author of "Superior Quality Hall China, A Guide for Collectors" and "Hall 2" ($16.45 each postpaid from ELO Books, Box 627, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11202). Mr. Duke's 1992 Hall Price Guide Update is $8.50 postpaid from ELO. The number "069" on your pot is an inventory code.
Hall China Co., of Liverpool, Ohio, was established in 1903 and still operates. In 1920 Hall began its line of glazed teapots in various sizes, adding new shapes and colors annually. Many were gold-decorated. Hall became the world's largest manufacturer of ceramic teapots, according to Mr. Duke, and vintage ones are popular with collectors. Prices typically are in the $25 to $125 range, although some pots in rare patterns and colors can command $500 or more each. Two-cup size Hall pots generally fetch a small premium.
Hall also is known for its "refrigerator ware" introduced in 1938. These pitchers (called "water servers"), covered butter dishes and covered "leftover" containers in streamlined forms accompanied Westinghouse, Montgomery Ward, Hotpoint and General Electric refrigerators. A circa 1940, cobalt blue, Aristocrat pattern, water server for Westinghouse now lists for .. $100 to $125 in good condition, and the somewhat elusive leftover containers bearing Hotpoint's insignia can fetch around $20 to $35 each.
Q. In a trunk I discovered two old sepia-colored photos framed together, titled "Cupid Asleep" and "Cupid Awake," which had hung in my great-grandmother's foyer. Each is marked "Copyright 1897 by M. B. Parkinson" and has the artist's signature on the shaft of an arrow held by a curly haired toddler posing as Cupid. I recently noticed an old magazine advertisement for reproductions. If copies were being sold, are my originals valuable?
A. Your pictures are not original photographs, they're old photogravures, mechanically printed, mass produced copies of photographs. Parkinson, an American photographer working in New York at the end of the 19th century, is well-known for his widely distributed photogravures of sentimental images, genre studies and portraits. Most aren't rare enough to command much collector interest and probably would fetch under $100 each at auction, according to Daile Kaplan, director of photographs at Swann Galleries, 104 East 25th St., New York, N.Y. 10010, (212) 254-4710. Nevertheless, your charming Cupid photogravures with their vintage mat and frame have decorative appeal that modern reproductions likely wouldn't offer.
Have a question about an antique or collectible? Write to the Solis-Cohens, P.O. Box 304, Flourtown, Pa. 19031-0304, enclosing a clear photo of the whole object and all marks, and noting its size. If you want your photo returned, include a self-addressed stamped envelope. Personal replies are not possible, but questions of general interest will be answered in this column.