A Sticky Situation
Question: This maple syrup tin measures about 6 x 9 inches. A label on the back reads, "Guarantee: We will forfeit ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($1,000) to any person who disproves the ABSOLUTE PURITY of this Maple Syrup." What is the history of Franklin MacVeagh & Co., and what is the age and the value of this tin?
Answer: Franklin MacVeagh (1837-1934) was a lawyer who served as director of the Commercial National Bank of Chicago for 29 years. President William Howard Taft asked him to be secretary of the treasury in 1909. Following Taft's defeat in the 1912 election, MacVeagh returned to Chicago to become president of Franklin MacVeagh & Co., a wholesale grocery company. The company closed in 1932, a victim of the Great Depression. Lyndon, a company brand name, is also found on paper labels of canned fruits distributed by Franklin MacVeagh & Co. This tin dates to about 1920, around the time Log Cabin brand of syrup was being marketed in house-shaped tins. A tin such as this might sell for $40 to $50.
-- By Tom Hoepf, associate editor of Auction Central News
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