I have an inkwell in the shape of an antique racing car. I there some
way of determining if it is modeled from a real racing car? I can send
photos.

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Request for Question Clarification by journalist-ga on 25 Apr 2003 08:46 PDT

Greetings Jbach:

An image would be extremely helpful and cannot be sent here or to a
Researcher.  However, you may post a link to the image on the Internet
in the clarification area for a Researcher to visit.

Here are three I located - does it look anything like these?  You
didn't mention composition:

Unusual Novelty Motor Car Desk Inkwell. c.1905
http://www.cjbalm.com/auto-aero/mitem117.htm

Car Inkwell 4.75”H MOE $1450 M399
http://www.aagal.com/images/7301/M399.JPG

and from http://www.mercedesclub.org.uk/news/archivestory.asp?seldate=6&seldateyear=2002
"Automobilia sale - An inkstand of a Mercedes-Benz racing car
competing in a 1903 Gordon Bennett race is one of the interesting
items in the H&H memorabilia auction on 28th May. The item is made of
cast aluminium with the bonnet opening to reveal the inkwell."

No image is available for the latter but does the description match
yours?  If you know the model of the car, it will be easier to search.
 A description on the net may not include the "race" feature.

Best regards,
journalist-ga


SEARCH STRATEGY:

"racing car" inkwell
"race car" inkwell
"car inkwell" antique

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Clarification of Question by jbach-ga on 25 Apr 2003 10:32 PDT

Hi;

The second picture is my inkwell. Mine has not been repainted. Can you
tell me anything about it?

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Request for Question Clarification by journalist-ga on 25 Apr 2003 12:00 PDT

Wow, looks like you have a very valuable item and I'm happy I located
an image for you in my searches.  I'd dearly love to answer your
question but with no manufacturer's name to go on, it's difficult to
locate further information.  Are there no marks whatsoever on the
piece?

On a whim, I searched "cast iron car antique open hood -reproduction"
(searched without quotation marks) thinking perhaps someone had one
but didn't know it was originally an inkwell.  I also substituted the
term "bonnet" for a possibile match from Great Britain.  No luck.

The main site where I found the image is http://www.aagal.com/,
"Adamstown Antique Gallery - America's Largest Quality Online Antique
Gallery".  Their contact information mailto:adamsgal@dejazzd.com - Dan
Morphy was listed on the info page as a contact at (717) 335-3435.  I
phoned and spoke with him.  He was nice but could not help me with any
history of the piece.  He said he oversees 300+ dealers and his
commission for online sales (if you wanted to list the inkwell on his
site) was 20% of the final price.

I'm not certain what/where to search from here so any additional info
you can provide would be of great assistance.

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Clarification of Question by jbach-ga on 25 Apr 2003 14:10 PDT

There are no marks. Mine is cast Metal. Thr\e car & figure are
gold/brown & the base is green. It may well be that the maker just
made up the shape. Thank you for your effort.

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Request for Question Clarification by journalist-ga on 25 Apr 2003 14:28 PDT

Thank you.  You may want to leave the question open in case another
Researcher can locate something to qualify as an answer.