Q. Do you have any information about this lamp (pictures attached)? It was left in a home we bought in the 1960s. It is signed "Olive Kooken."

A. The name "Olive Kooken" is not exactly well-known in either art or collecting circles. But she was an American artist whose work is interesting and beginning to attract more attention.

She was born around 1904 on a farm near Kingman, Kan., which is a small municipality (population less than 3,500 in 2000) not all that far from Wichita. Kooken graduated from Wichita High School in 1923 and subsequently studied art in both Kansas and New York City.

She settled in Union City, N.J., which is right across the river from New York City. There she was a free-lance sculptor, and worked for both Tommy Toy and Barclay Manufacturing Co.

Tommy Toy was founded in 1935 in Union City by Albert Green and Charles Weldon, among others, and was in business until 1938-39 when it was acquired by Barclay. Tommy Toy made figures of soldiers, nursery-rhyme characters and vehicles sculpted by Kooken and Margaret Cloninger.

Barclay, on the other hand, was located in Hoboken, N.J., and was in business from 1923 to 1971. It was the largest manufacturer of toy soldiers in the United States until World War II.

Kooken, who never married, also created designs for candleholders, lamps and other bronze items, including some pieces of sculpture. For the most part, she created her designs in plaster of Paris and then had them cast at a small foundry in Union City. Some pieces have bronze over a plaster base, and it is reported that some pieces are bronze over pottery -- but this may be a mistake made by someone who mistook the hardened plaster for some sort of ceramic.

Kooken was also a painter and her sketches are reported in auction records from time to time. She was also a devotee of the opera and the American theater, and became a close friend of Minnie Fiske, one of the most famous actresses of her day. Kooken wrote a book on Fiske's life and later donated Fiske's stage wardrobe to the Smithsonian Institution.

This lamp with the nude wrapped around the base is a well-known piece and it can be found both signed and unsigned. One member of the Kooken family states that the lamps that are signed are originals, but the ones that are unsigned are copies. We feel the jury is still out on this issue and it will take more scholarly research to determine with 100 percent accuracy whether this is absolutely correct.

In any event, this particular lamp is signed so it is unquestionably an original, and even though you did not tell us, it should be approximately 19 inches tall. It appears to be in good condition, but the value is somewhat in dispute.

We have found an example of this lamp (unsigned) that someone was trying to retail for $1,200, but there is no record of a sale having been made at this price. We then found one that actually sold on eBay in February for $109.49. Other sources value this lamp in the $200-$300 range, and we feel this latter figure is probably a realistic insurance value at this time.

Send questions to Treasures in Your Attic, P.O. Box 27540, Knoxville, TN 37927, or e-mail treasures@knology.net

Scripps Howard News Service