Nautical antiques are popular decorations. Their appeal has many aspects: a call back to another time; a sense of seafaring adventure; even the durability and practicality of something made to survive the high seas.

For example, anchor lights, an important safety feature, were made to hang from the top of the highest mast, casting light when the ship was at anchor. Like most models, the lamps have Fresnel lenses, invented in 1822 as a lightweight, efficient way to increase the distance and visibility of the beam cast by a lighthouse.

Many companies manufactured anchor lights, but some, like these, are only marked with the word “Anchor.” Lamps like these are still made today and still made to burn oil or kerosene. Ships carry them in case they lose electricity.

Many are electrified and mounted to wooden bases. With their seafaring careers long over, they make an attractive and useful pair of table lamps.

Q: I would like to know the price of some old wooden toys. I have a box of alphabet blocks and a box of Lincoln Logs.

A: Alphabet blocks with carved, molded or painted letters sell for about $15 to $30. Wooden blocks with lithographed paper designs sell for higher prices, especially if they are in their original boxes.

Vintage Lincoln Logs sell for similar prices. Like most toys, they are worth more with the original packaging. If you have the packaging for your Lincoln Logs, it may help you determine how old they are.

Alphabet blocks and Lincoln Logs are not only classic construction toys; they both have connections to a famous family of architects. According to the Strong National Museum of Play in New York, which inducted alphabet blocks into its Toy Hall of Fame in 2003,

Frank Lloyd Wright claimed that playing with blocks as a child was what sparked his interest in architecture.

His son John, also an architect, invented Lincoln Logs in 1916 and trademarked the name in 1923. He was inspired by the earthquake-resistant construction used in the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Japan, which his father had designed.

Initially, Lincoln Logs were made by John Lloyd Wright’s company, the Red Square Toy Company, and sold through the Montgomery Ward catalog. Playskool bought the company in 1943.

The rights to Lincoln Logs went to Milton Bradley in 1968 and Hasbro in 1984. Some sets of plastic logs were made in the 1970s and 1980s, but, other than that, they are always wood.

Q: I have an Edison Disc Phonograph made by Thomas A. Edison, Inc. I can’t find any dates on it but it comes with those heavy, thick records. It needs the cloth for the front where the sound comes out. I would like to know what you think these are worth.

A: Thomas A. Edison, Inc., started selling disc phonographs in 1912. By then, disc records had become much more popular than cylinders. Edison’s early disc records and the phonographs that played them are called Diamond Disc because the phonographs had a hard diamond stylus instead of the steel needle used in most record players.

Edison Diamond Disc records are 10 inches across and 1/4 inch thick, making them much thicker and heavier than other records. They can only be played on Edison Diamond Disc phonographs, and the phonographs are not compatible with other types of records. Edison made disc phonographs and records until 1929.

You can estimate the date of your records by their labels. The earliest Edison discs had the company logo, song title and composer’s name pressed into the disc. The artist’s name was added starting in 1915.

The company started using black paper labels in 1921. They changed to white labels in 1923. However, to most collectors, the rarity of a recording is more important than the date of a record.

Groups of Edison Disc records sell for about $20 to $50. Individual records can be worth anywhere from about $5 to over $150. For more information, look for books like “The Collector’s Guide to Edison Records” by George Copeland and Michael Sherman.

Early Edison disc phonographs are worth about $150 to $300, depending on their condition. A collector’s club like the Antique Phonograph Society (antiquephono.org) may have more information.

TIP: When rewiring an old lamp, put a dimmer on the cord to turn the lamp on and off. This will protect the original switch and pull chains.

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