For many people, a cold beer on a warm evening is a favorite summer indulgence. But if you look back far enough in history, beer wasn’t an indulgence; it was part of a healthy diet. There are written records of beer brewing (and drinking) from as early as 5,000 years ago.

Before reliable sanitation systems, beer was safer to drink than water; in addition to the antiseptic properties of alcohol, brewing beer requires boiling the water. Beer was also considered a source of nourishing starches. Like bread, it is made from grains and yeast.

In fact, beer is sometimes called “Liquid Bread,” as seen on this Anheuser-Busch bottle from about 1890. It isn’t just any malt drink; the label states that “Combining the most palatable qualities of a refreshing drink with the invigorating and wholesome properties of the finest malt tonics, thus presenting a desirable beverage, suitable alike to invalids and persons in perfect health.” It’s not something you would expect to see on today’s beer bottles!

David Nicholson, a St. Louis physician, created Liquid Bread to be bottled by Anheuser-Busch. It had a very low alcohol content, 1.9%, making it, at least at the time, appropriate for “nursing mothers,” “children naturally feeble,” “convalescents suffering from malnutrition,” and even “ladies of the most fastidious palates,” according to advertisements.

Today, the nutritional value of the drink pales in comparison to the collectible, not to mention the monetary value of its cobalt blue bottle. This one, with its label intact, sold for $1,440 at Potter & Potter Auctions, more than quadrupling its high estimate of $300.

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Q: I have an old iron scale that is marked “Detecto-Lette Junior” and measures up to 24 pounds. What can you tell me about it?

A: The Detecto-Lette Junior is a pediatric scale for weighing babies. Detecto was a brand of the Jacobs Bros. Co., founded by three brothers in Brooklyn, New York, in 1900. They made and repaired food service and medical scales. The company was acquired by another scale manufacturer in the 1980s. It is still in business today as Detecto and makes many types of scales, mostly digital, for home and industrial use.

There are several varieties of the Detecto-Lette, including a version with an enamel coating and one with a wicker basket for a scale pan. There are collectors who specialize in antique scales, and antique or vintage baby scales are also sought as decorations for nurseries. For more information about yours, you may want to contact a collectors’ club like the International Society of Antique Scale Collectors (isasc.org).

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Q: One of my antique kitchen pieces is a long wooden trough with six hollows in a line and a painted handle at each end. I believe it belongs to a machine that raises bread. Is that right? What is it worth?

A: You are right; we have seen wooden troughs like yours described as bread molds. This type of bread mold is traditional in Cyprus, where it is called a pinakoti. Once the bread dough is shaped into round loaves, each loaf is set into one of the hollows, and the board is covered with a cloth to proof (raise) the bread overnight.

When the dough is ready to bake, the baker uses the board to carry all the loaves at once to the oven, which is outdoors and wood-fired. The loaves are not baked in the mold; they are transferred to the oven one by one with a wooden peel.

An online search turned up several blogs sharing fond memories of mothers and grandmothers baking their families’ bread for the week this way, or travelers to Cyprus observing bakers in rural areas doing the same. We haven’t seen any examples with handles at the ends. They may have been added later to make carrying the trough easier, or you may be right that yours was part of a machine; probably for a commercial bakery. We see similar wooden boards sold at auctions and shops as molds for sugar, butter, or cheese. They usually sell for about $50 or under.

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TIP: A paper beer bottle label reacts to wet and dry like hair does. If the label is curled, cover it with water to wet the fibers, then dry it flat.

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Kovels answers readers’ questions sent to the column. Send a letter with one question describing the size, material (glass, pottery) and what you know about the item. Include only two pictures, the object and a closeup of any marks or damage. Be sure your name and return address are included. By sending a question, you give full permission for use in any Kovel product. Names, addresses or email addresses will not be published. We do not guarantee the return of photographs, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. Questions that are answered will appear in Kovels Publications. Write to Kovels, , King Features Syndicate, 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803 or email us at collectorsgallery@kovels.com.

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CURRENT PRICES

Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.

Limoges, compote, relief vine, leaves, fruit, flowers, pedestal stand, beaded trim, four figural feet, leaf and fruit clusters, marked, Jean Pouyat, c. 1900, 7 x 10 inches, $75.

Toy, car, roadster, open top, gentleman driver, cast iron, 1920s, 4 x 8 inches, $110.

Coin-operated, vending, gumball, basketball, lever, glass panel, wood sides and back, 1 cent, Victor Vending Corp., c. 1940, 14 x 8 1/2 inches, $130.