Lawrence.com

For many years, retiring public officials took some government office furniture with them when they left. Collectors like the pieces because the historic ownership adds to the prestige, value and "aura."

The White House was redecorated over and over again by presidents, and the old pieces were either sold or given away. In 1873, the desks used in Congress were replaced by more modern ones, and the Victorian desks were sold, often to the congressmen who used them. A desk that had been used by a representative during his term from 1869 to 1872 was auctioned recently at Weschler's in Washington for $14,950.

In the 1960s, when the Kennedy administration redecorated the White House and the State Department rooms, a law was passed that made sure the old, discarded furnishings remained the property of the government and were kept in storage. Today, retiring politicians are not supposed to take any government furniture to their new homes.

My green pottery vase is decorated with real sterling-silver designs of swimming fish and bubbles. The piece is marked "Argenta" and has some other names I can't read. What is it?

Argenta is a special type of pottery designed in 1930 by Wilhelm Kage for the Gustavsberg Pottery of Sweden. Pieces are often marked with silver letters or with a paper label. Most of this unusual pottery was made in the 1930s and '40s. Some pieces were glazed blue, some white, some green. The silver decoration is a piece of silver applied to the pottery.

Be careful not to rub too hard when cleaning it � the entire silver piece might come off. The best way to clean it is to rub toothpaste on the silver parts. It will remove the tarnish but will not scratch the pottery. An Argenta vase 6 inches high is worth more than $500.

We have a cap pistol that has been a family toy for more than 100 years, according to my mother. At the top of the gun are an American man and a Chinese man. The cap is placed in the mouth of the Chinese man. When the trigger is pulled, the American kicks the Chinese and the cap goes off. On the handle are the words "The Chinese Must Go" and "Pat. Sep. 2, '79."

It is so strange. We wonder when it was made and what the design means.

Your cap pistol was made by Ive, Blakeslee & Co., of Bridgeport, Conn., in the 1880s. They made many animated cap pistols with figures that move.

Others feature two boys butting heads, Punch and Judy fighting, a boy and an alligator, a clown and a monkey, a chicken pecking an egg, and more.

Many pistols had designs that would be considered racist today. Your gun was a political statement objecting to the immigration rules for Chinese workers who came to the United States.

My ceramic Uncle Wiggily mug was given to me in the early 1930s. There are two pictures on the mug. One shows Uncle Wiggily and Grandpa Goosey Gander. They are both dressed in formal wear, standing near a tree trunk called "Ovaltine House." The other shows Uncle Wiggily running above the phrase "Uncle Wiggily wants his Ovaltine."

The bottom of the mug is marked "Uncle Wiggily, c.1924, by Fred. A. Wish Inc., licensed to Sebring Pottery Co., manufactured for The Wander Co., Chicago, Makers of Ovaltine." Can you tell me its history and value?

Uncle Wiggily Longears was the central character in a series of children's stories written by Howard Garis beginning in 1910.

In the 1920s, a rabbit character also starred in a radio show sponsored by Ovaltine. This was the period when radio-show sponsors started offering premiums to listeners. A child listening to the show could mail an Ovaltine label to the Wander Co. in Chicago and receive a mug like yours.

Today, your mug is valued at $80 or more if it is in excellent condition.

Why is a brass push-up candlestick called a "hog-scraper"?

A straight-sided, cylindrical brass or iron candleholder was called a hog-scraper because farmers sometimes used the candleholder's sharp-edged base to scrape the bristles from hogs after the hogs were slaughtered.

My husband inherited a pair of cast-iron andirons. We don't know how old the andirons are, but they are shaped like a black man and woman. The man is 16 inches tall, and the woman is an inch shorter. Can you help?

Your andirons date from the mid-1800s and were probably made in a foundry in the South. Figural sets made even earlier include Hessian soldiers and Colonial men.

l The Kovels answer as many questions as possible through the column. By sending a letter with a question, you give full permission for its use in the column or any other Kovel forum. Names and addresses will not be published. We cannot guarantee the return of any photograph, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. The volume of mail makes personal answers or appraisals impossible. Write to Kovels, Lawrence Journal-World, King Features Syndicate, 235 E. 45th St., New York, N.Y. 10017.