KNOW YOUR ANTIQUES : VICTORIAN AMERICA'S PENCHANT FOR GAMY ART.

Byline: Ralph and Terry Kovel

Each civilization has its own foods and its own ceremonies connected with dining. Even the furniture in the dining room from another time or place could seem strange in a room today.

The Victorian American ate many of the same foods we eat, but they were presented differently. The Victorian home was filled with dead birds complete with feathers, dead game fresh from a hunt, dead fish, unshelled nuts and other edibles not found in most homes today.

Today, most Americans return from the grocery store with chops already cut, poultry without feathers and fish that has been filleted.

While probably no one would decorate a dining room with pictures of frozen chicken legs or ground beef, it was not unusual in Victorian times to include pictures of dead fish, hanging birds or rabbit, deer or other dead game.

Oil paintings showing such food were hung on walls, and sideboards were carved with realistic three-dimensional vignettes of dead animals.

Fruit and grains also were pictured, often in lush oil paintings.

Collectors of Victoriana today search for the carved sideboards and dining room paintings of the 1850-1900 period. Others find it startling to see a carved dead rabbit as part of a sideboard decor.

Q: I have a Flow Blue plate picturing the landing of Gen. Lafayette at Castle Garden, N.Y., Aug. 16, 1824. There are some letters on the back that I can't read. There is another mark that says, ``Wright Tyndal & Van Roden, Philadelphia.'' How old is it?

A: The letters you can't read on the back of your plate probably say ``Staffordshire Clew Warranted.'' British manufacturers James and Ralph Clews made many sizes of the ``Landing of Lafayette'' plate.

The other name is probably the name of the American importer.

Your plate was made between 1824 and 1836, when the Clews went out of business.

Q: While cleaning out my grandmother's house, I found some old greeting cards. The front of one of the cards had a photograph of a woman in an old-fashioned dress. Under the picture was the signature ``Wallace Nutting.'' What is the card's value?

A: Wallace Nutting was an author, photographer and furniture maker working from 1910 to 1941. He became famous by photographing models in period dress surrounded by furniture and trappings of the Colonial era.

In 1915, he used copies of his photographs to produce about 25 greeting cards. The cards celebrated Christmas, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, friendship and a new home.

The cards are hard to find, and in good condition sell for $100 to $250 each.

Q: Is it true that the Smith brothers on the cough-drop box are named ``Trade'' and ``Mark''?

A: Of course not. They were William and Andrew Smith.

After the famous woodblock design for the box label was made, the joke was to call William ``Trade'' and Andrew ``Mark.'' Those are the words that appeared under their picture.

The Smiths were from Scotland. They started making their medicated throat lozenges in 1852 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The company is still making cough drops sold in a box with the two Smiths.

Q: My grandmother gave me a mirror with a stenciled mark on the back. It says ``John Sargeant, looking glass manufacturer, Superior St., Cleveland, Ohio.'' How old is it?

A: John Sargeant worked in Cleveland from 1837 to 1863.

Q: The words ``Middletown Quadruple Plate'' are on the bottom of an old silver vase. What does that mean?

A: The Middletown Plate Co. was founded in 1864 in Middletown, Conn. It became part of the International Silver Co. around 1900.

The words ``quadruple plate'' mean that your vase is not solid silver, but is silver-plated.

Q: I have a figurine of a cartoonish girl holding a vase that's a little larger than she is. She's wearing a pink dress and has a pink bow in her hair. Stamped on the bottom is the copyright symbol and the name ``Kreiss.'' Can you help with any information?

A: The mark you describe is found on many imported pottery items from the 1950s.

Kreiss figures are just starting to interest collectors and are still inexpensive. Your figurine is worth about $15.

Kreiss, founded in San Diego in 1939, is now a furniture company with showrooms around the United States.

Q: I have a tin sign advertising Kool cigarettes. It was used in the 1960s. Does it have any value?

A: Tin advertising signs always have value, which is determined by age, rarity and design.

Your fairly recent sign is worth $60 in good condition.

Tip: A dental mirror is useful when checking for damage or repairs inside a teapot or clock.

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.

Game, Confucius Say, Milton Bradley, circa 1937: $50.

Doll, Foghorn Leghorn, Dakin, 1970s: $80.

Catalog, Curtis Lumber & Millwork, Clinton, Ind., 1918, 148 pages, 12 by 16 inches: $95.

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Photo

Photo: This carved rosewood sideboard pictures hanging bird s, rabbits, fish, grapes and a fox head, with drawer handles shaped like apple-tree branches. It sold at auction for more than $13,000 last year.