Q: I have enclosed photographs of a "Sick Call Outfit."
This is obviously a Roman Catholic piece, but to my knowledge we did not have relatives who were in the priesthood. The plates and the pourer are marked "Homan Silver Plate Co. Quadruple Plate Special Metal Pat'd 97." The box is 4-1/2 inches deep by 10-1/2> inches wide by 11-1/4 inches long. It is in fair condition except for the crucifix, which has the silver coating flaking off. Any information would be appreciated. - J.S.S., Eldridge, Iowa
A: We do not discuss religious artifacts here very often because - despite the upswing in American religious fervor - there is very little collector interest in this sort of item.
To be sure, we do encounter people who are interested in acquiring antique religious pictures and crucifixes, but this is still a fairly limited market.
At least some of the pieces in this set were made by the Homan Manufacturing Company of Cincinnati. The firm was founded in 1847 by Henry Homan and Asa Flagg, and initially they made Britannia Wares.
"Britannia," incidentally, is a pewter-like metal made from tin that is hardened with additions of small amounts of copper and antimony.
Homan and Company (the first designation of this firm) made Britannia until around 1864, when the company gradually shifted over to making silver-electroplated items - probably using Britannia metal as a base. They also reportedly did gold electroplating as well.
Homan specialized in making items for ecclesiastical use, including chalices, patens, baptismal bowls, alms dishes and candlesticks. Somewhat ironically, it also focused on making equipment used on Mississippi and Ohio river riverboats, and items intended for bars and taverns.
At the time the set belonging to J.S.S. was manufactured - sometime between 1897 and about 1900 - the company was called the Homan Silver Plate Company and did not become Homan Manufacturing until 1904. It went out of business in 1941.
This set appears to contain a crucifix candlestick and two patens (small eucharistic dishes). This kind of dish is supposed to be made from precious metal, and in this case, we suppose silver plate fills that description.
There is also a small bottle for holding holy water, a brush used to brush the holy oils and a pourer for the aforementioned holy oils/chrisms. This set appears to have one too many patens, and is probably missing a small towel with a cross on it. At one time, the box probably also contained a pair of white candles.
Interestingly, Homan marked some of its wares "Sick Call" as a kind of company trademark. Anyway, we found this exact set (with only one paten, a towel and two candles) in an eBay store priced for retail at $250, but we feel this may be a bit high. These sets are not particularly rare, and they do turn up in antiques stores from time to time - but they do tend to gather dust.
We believed that a more realistic price for the set in today's question is in the $125-to-$150 range or perhaps just a bit less because of condition problems.
Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson are the authors of "Price It Yourself" (HarperResource, $19.95). Contact them at Treasures in Your Attic, 5201 Kingston Pike, Suite 6 - 323, Knoxville, TN 37919, or e-mail treasures@knology.net.
