KNOW YOUR ANTIQUES : POSTWAR FURNITURE DESIGNS PUT ON RADICAL FACE.

Byline: Ralph & Terry Kovel

It has been five decades since George Nelson, Charles and Ray Eames and others designed a new style of furniture for the Herman Miller Furniture Co. Chairs and tables that were introduced in 1947 shocked many furniture buyers. Such styles are now collected by those who search for the best of the postwar period.

The Miller designs used metal rods, Masonite, perforated aluminum, dimpled plywood and startling colors.

The lightweight pieces were made to mix and match in many new and interesting ways. Shelf units were designed to be placed end to end against a wall or to be used as a room divider.

The 1952 Herman Miller furniture collection featured the 400 series of storage units, with panels that came in a variety of colors. The back and sides of each unit were finished, so a piece could be used in the center of a room.

Most of the units had three narrow drawers, open shelves and compartments covered with sliding doors.

Prices for postwar furniture still are going up among collectors who are too young to remember when the furniture was introduced.

Q: I saw an old wooden toy in an antiques store. It involved flipping a small clown figure from one wire to the other. The sign said it was made by the Wright brothers of airplane fame. Can you help me?

A: Orville Wright patented the Flips and Flops toy in 1925, 22 years after he and his brother, Wilbur, made the first airplane flight. Legend has it that Orville first made the toy to entertain his nieces and nephews.

Eventually, the toy was manufactured by the Miami Wood Specialty Co. of Dayton, Ohio.

Q: I have been collecting Wade figures for several years. What's the story behind them?

A: The Wade Group of Potteries started in 1810 near Burslem, England. The potteries merged around the turn of the century to become George Wade & Son Ltd., which made giftware, promotional items and industrial products. The company stopped making giftware from 1965 until the early 1970s. Its figurines include those packaged with Red Rose tea.

Q: I have a glass candy jar with a tin screw bottom. It's in the shape of a young boy and is 5 inches tall. The base has blue paint on it and says, ``Jackie Coogan Productions Inc., copyright 1925.'' Can you tell me what it's worth?

A: The original pressed-glass Jackie Coogan candy container was made by the Westmoreland Glass Co. The Jackie shape was painted to resemble the actor as he appeared in the movie ``The Kid.''

Reproductions were made from the original molds in 1984 by the Fenton Art Glass Co. The reproductions have the letter B under the toes on the inside of the figure.

An original is worth $1,300.

Q: I just found a cast-iron figure of a horse that is bolted to a box that opens. The horse measures about 17 inches long and 17 inches high. It is about 1 inch thick. The horse has a small hole drilled in its breast, with the word ``Dempster'' cast across its side. I think part of the tail is broken. What was the horse in the box?

A: Your bobtail horse is a windmill weight made by the Dempster Mill Manufacturing Co. in Beatrice, Neb.

In the 1880s, most farms had windmills that were used to pump water out of the ground. Windmill weights were used to slow the windmill and keep the workings from being damaged during high winds.

Windmill weights were made in many shapes. Roosters, bulls, horses, buffaloes, stars and crescent moons were favorites. Squirrels were not popular, because farmers considered the squirrel to be destructive.

Figural windmill weights sell for $200 to $3,200. Bobtail horses sell for $200 to $350.

Q: While cleaning out my father's house, I found a really old lighter. It is made of silver-colored metal and shaped like a rectangle with rounded corners. A button on the side moves a metal disk on top to strike the flame. It is engraved ``Magic Pocket Lamp.'' I can't read anything else on it. Do you have any information?

A: Your pocket lighter was made about 1892 by the Magic Introduction Co. of New York City. The spinning metal disk on top was covered with pyrite. An iron bar would press against it, creating a spark that would light the wick.

Your lighter is worth about $200.

Tip: Don't store dishes for long periods of time in newspaper wrappings. The ink can make indelible stains on china.

Current prices Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.

Peckham Stoves card, color lithograph of Saratoga model, 1890: $28.

Anchor Hocking fruit bowl, Oyster & Pearl, white and pink, 10-1/2 inches: $45.

Copper pudding mold, tin-lined, crowing rooster with double flutes around sides, ring for hanging, 8 inches by 4-1/2 inches: $55.

Florence ceramics figurine, Asian girl, white-and-gold trim, applied chrysanthemums, 8 inches: $60.

Puritan Ice Cream thermometer ``Newark's Famous Ice Cream,'' 1920s: $99.

Pocketbook, Mark Cross, brown alligator, signed, 1940s: $175.

Flash Gordon book, ``Tournament of Death,'' three pop-up pictures, Pleasure Books, King Features Syndicate, 1935, hard cover: $300.

Coffee grinder, Golden Rule embossed iron, glass windows, wall-hung: $495.

Tiffany & Co. Victorian fan, leaf design, mother-of-pearl sticks and guards, Union Square mark: $520.

Oversized upholstered armchair with matching ottoman, blond wood feet, brown wool, circa 1954, George Nelson for Herman Miller, 30 inches by 33 inches by 34 inches: $700.

MEMO: The Kovels' antiques column appears on Saturdays.