Hendryx 'Grecian Design' cage

I got a comment on one of my previous posts.  The writer, Angela, asked about the history and possible worth for her cage.  This cage was found in Grandma's attic.  This is where the cages are found that are unique but well cared for.  The place is warm and dry (unlike most garages).  Dust the cage a bit and remove a few cobwebs and you'll be surprised what fine art you will find.   Let's get a few pictures in here. 

 We start off with the Hendryx logo on the door.  

 We know it's an older cage as it takes the "T" shaped feeders. We see the riveted construction that Hendryx used on his brass cages. 

 We see the round swing at the top of the cage.  There is an intact seed guard.  The feeder wires are intact and indicate the use of the "T" feeders.

 We see the slide clips that Hendryx is known to use to secure his tops to the bases.

 We see the unique shape of this cage.  Better view of the swing, the seed guard, the tray with the wire-based base, as well as the pedestal bottom.

 The finial is intact.  The cage is symmetrical without obvious misshapen wires.  The cage bottom plate looks to be in great shape.

 Side view showing the urn shape.  No wonder it's called the "Grecian Design".

 We see a close-up of the "T" feeder showing the Hendryx name on the face of it and the patent date Oct. 27, 1875 on the bottom.  This feeder looks intact.

Are you impressed with this cage?  I am.  I discussed an embellished one like this previously on this blog, but I've never seen one like this except in an online store.  Mr. Cristiano at North Fork Pets has one for sale that differs in the finial and it lacks the seed guard and feeder.  Early cages were offered with and without seed guards.  He lists his cage circa 1880.
http://pages.northforkpets.com/11570/PictPage/3923811813.html 
Mr. Cristiano offers his cage for $499.99.  He tends to run a bit high from what I've seen with selling prices.  He has an awesome gathering of unique and awesome cages.  I frequently use him as a resource.

I went through my trade catalogs.  This cage was not in my 1910 catalog but was present in the 1926 one.  It was not in the 1930 catalog.  It was labeled "Grecian Design" and has a patent date of Nov. 26, 1912.  The catalog number was 6040G (G was for the seed guard).  The price was...get this...$23.35.
It looks like this was popular for less than 18 years.  

It's not possible to actually date this cage, but we know from the catalog dates that this cage is somewhere around 85-100 years old.  It is in excellent shape and the seed guard is intact.  There is also one feeder.  Maybe searching the attic more thoroughly will show the other feeder!

If this cage went on ebay today, I believe it would sell for $250-$375 unless there was a bidding war.  If this occurs, the sky is the limit.  This is such a unique cage that the collectors out there who value the Hendryx art could go crazy on this cage.  I know that I would be one of the bidders.  Angela says that Grandma wants the cage to stay in the family so I doubt we will be seeing this for sale in the near future.

I hope you enjoyed this cage and the history details.  If you have comments or questions, please feel free to add a comment.  I try to respond rapidly.  If you have a cage that you want to share with us, please write a comment here to let me know, then send pictures to tweetthings53@gmail.com.  I will add the pictures to the blog and we can discuss them as we did here.

The cages are out there.  There's a whole treasure trove in the attics and back rooms of our older family members.  Take a look.  Happy hunting.

Barbara