Antique Trader Blog with editor Noah Fleisher - Antique Show

Antique Trader 4-16 preview - Comin' at ya

Noah — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:19:49 GMT

Just gone to the press - yesterday, that is... Here's what you can expect for the 4-16 issue...

Back to it! Antiques blogging forever!

Noah — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:03:09 GMT

After two long weeks away from my beloved AT blog, I am finally back in the office and ready to get back down to regular posting. I'm tired from a 5-hour layover in the hotbox of Chicago's O'Hare airport, and beat from 5 days of straight running at the show, bu otherwise fine, thanks...

First, however, I have to decompress for about 5 minutes from the Atlantique City show, and then put together an entire paper before the end of the day. This should be fun, but I will definitely put some stuff up today hopefully, but for sure tomorrow. My co-blogger and web editor Karen (who has done a fabulous job in my absence, I might add) will hopefully continue to post as well, keeping us the most prolific and fast-moving blog in the biz.

It's good to be back.

Atlantique City Day 2

Noah — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:04:22 GMT

Howdy folks. We made it through Day One of the March 2008 Atlantique City Antiques Show and, if I may speak for the staff and crew of Atlantique City - and I reckon that I can - Day one was pretty fantastic.

By the 9 a.m. early opening we had at least 2000 people lined up outside the door, many of them grabbing copies of Antique Trader and our various publications at the show, and the trafic flow was steady all day. While official numbers aren't available yet, I'd say we had at least 5,000 people come through the convention center and they seemed interesting. Quality is high, and uniform, and we heard some good comments from dealers.

The appraisal event went very well, too, highlighted by a superb Judy Garland dress, straight off the MGM lot, that ended up in - of all places - Milwaukee, WI. We have to wait and see if the pics cvame out, but I'll post them if I will.

At the end of the day we also hosted a gathering to fete Ellen Schroy and thank her for all her hard work - 28 years worth - on the Warman's Price Guide. Nice stuff, and Ellen is a great lady. She'll be missed on Warman's, but it's a good opportunity for Trader to get her byline in the paper, as we did with the 4/9 issue.

Sunday is usually a bit slower at shows, but there can be some serious buying going on, so we're keeping our fingers crossed for our dealers and ourselves, for a good day today, a smooth load-out tonight, and a nice easy flight home tomorrow morning. Last October we got delayed in Philly for 12 hours. Yuck.

Looking forward to getting home, getting back to work and regular blogging, and seeing my family. I love the East Coast, and have a lot of good memories from these shows and my childhood summers spent here, but I want to get back to Stevens Point, WI - wide open spaces, nice people and great beer - and get back in the swing of day-to-day life and work.

See you there.

Atlantique City - At last!

Noah — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 12:52:14 GMT

Howdy!

After a long week of vacation last week - agonizing, as you can imagine, spending so much time with my lovely wife and daughter in Phoenix and Las Vegas - I got into Atlantic City last Wednesday night. Travel was 13 hours from Vegas, with a few nighmarish waits in TSA lines at all airports.

It's time for good antiques and the Atlantique City Antiques Show.

We have spent two exhausting days getting the show ready, but as I write this morning, the show floor at the Atlantic City Convention Center looks beautfiul, there is a crowd of 2000 people waiting outside the door and we are hoping for a good show. We know it looks good, and quality is ubiquitous. Now we are waiting for the buyers.

The weather here is a bit chilly and overcast, which means good weather for antique buying, and the attitude seems to be optimistic, which is half the battle when there are such problems with the economy. I don't, however, have to tell any Trader readers that.

What I can tell you is that I'm excited for the opening of this show, proud of the hard work we've done and ready to see this thing come off a success.

If any of you out there are coming today or tomorrow, or go this weekend and read this later, give me a holler and let me know what you think.

I'll post more later today, hopeufully with some pics, but no promises...

Postcard collecting is alive and well!

Noah — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:21:27 GMT

From Sandy … not Noah or Karen!

Postcard collecting is alive and well

That was the feeling I got when I attended the 30th annual Michiana Regional Postcard Show on March 15 in South Bend, Ind. The doors opened at 9 a.m., and by the time I got there about 10:15, the aisles were already crowded with shoppers. It sometimes took quite a while before a dealer could break away from customers to chat with me.

To find out more about the show, postcard collecting and Postcard Collector magazine visit www.postcardcollector.com

Quick hit on Victorian antiques - a steal at Cowan's and meager pickings at Stella Pier

Noah — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:30:01 GMT

Here's a nice little post from a Victorian antiques lover about a couple of events over the weekend - an auction in Cinci at Cowan's and the Stella Pier show.

There was a great deal on the chair below at Cowan's, but not a whole lot a thte Pier show. I've been to Stella's Pier show many times and love it. I love any chance to go to Manhattan, though I have no need to live there ever again, but that's a different story.

Trader Question of the Week: What's the single most valuable antique you've ever bought at a show?

Noah — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 21:23:20 GMT

I guess it's only fair to open this question up to a broader range of sources, so let's say then: What's the single most valuable antique you've ever bought at a sale of any kind? How's that?

When I go to a shop or a show, I tend to forget value and buy with nostalgia. This doesn't take me back too far, to the 1970s and early 1980s, so I always end up with a beaten-up Star Wars action figure, or dog-eared football card of some Dallas Cowboy I loved as a kid.

Once, though, on a lonely Sunday while waiting for a movie to start in Downtown Waupaca, WI, I wandered into an antiques store to try and find something for my daughter. After an hour of looking, and believing I would leave empty-handed, I came to the last booth and saw it: A Lawson Wood print of two monkeys and a bear with the caption, "A good story, well told."

I loved it immediately. The giggling bear, one wise ape scratching his chin with amusement, and one more monkey telling the story with an arm draped over the bear and a casual hand about to make the final point. The ground is littered with apple cores, nuts and banana peels. Simply awesome.

Monetary value? Who knows? Sentimental, seeing my daughter's face light up whenever she looks at it and points, then says, "Papa!"?

There's no value that can be placed on that.

So, what's the single most valuable antique you've ever bought at a sale of any kind?

Send your answer to me at noah.fleisher@fwpubs.com, or post your answer in the comments below.

This would make me sick, too: Man says he was cheated on Arbus photos

Noah — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 21:33:46 GMT

Interesting little twist out of NYC, courtesy of Here Be Old Things.

A guy bought a box of photos, with a bunch of Diana Arbus photos in there. A dealer paid him $3500 for them. They're expected to auction for multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Name of the game? Dishonest dealer? You decide.

Ellen Schroy and Warman's call it a day

Noah — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:24:16 GMT

This is breaking news inside the building where I work, and where the Warman's title is based, edited and published. I have it on good authority that Warman's and longtime writer, appraiser, antique-lover and all around cool lady, Ellen Schroy, have decided part ways. I understand an official announcement will be forthcoming.

I want to say on a personal note, and as a fan of Ellen's prolific body of work over the decade - almost three of them - that she is one of the most knowledgable and personable folks in the business. Most of all, she's honest with her opinion, which is invaluable. It was my pleasure to work with her on the Atlantique City Antiques Show last October, and it will be a pleasure again to emcee the appraisal event this coming March 29 and 30. We will be able to properly fete Ellen at the show. Get her to sign those books if you got them.

Ellen is a class act. I hope I will be able to tempt her to write some things for Trader in the months to come. As many have said to me about her, Ellen has forgotten more about antiques than I'll ever know.

Antiques Philadelphia, April 11-13, cancelled

Noah — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:17:08 GMT

This is not good news by any stretch, either for dealers or buyers.

This was one of three shows that anchored Philadelphia Antiques Week, with The Philadelphia Antiques Show as the centerpiece.

The piece pasted in below is something I wrote this morning, and which you've probably read about either on the Bee or on our digital front page here.

Nonetheless, here it is again. There will be more to come once I get the official press release from Promoter Barry Cohen and, hopefully, hear from a few others in the business as to what this does or does not mean.

I do know that Antiques Week in Philly has hard a hard time adjusting to the movement of the big show, which cause quite a stir in itself, and much speculation. I, however, am a terrible mind reader and choose not to comment on motives, or lack thereof.

Philly takes another black eye

Antiques Philadelphia, April 12-15, cancelled

Noah Fleisher, editor

Philadelphia Antiques Week, anchored by The Philadelphia Antiques Show, April 12-15, has taken another hit in the wake of an announcement by promoters Barry Cohen and Jim Burk that Antiques Philadelphia: Spring Show at East Falls, scheduled for April 11-13, has been canceled.

The show was formerly called Antiques at Philadelphia’s Navy Pier, showcasing itself for two successful years in a cruise terminal at the Naval Business Center.

The show moved its venue when The Philadelphia Antiques Show announced that it was changing its longtime venue at the 33rd Street Armory downtown – due to construction – to the cruise terminal at the Navy Yard.

Cohen and Burk secured the new location for the show, attracted the Philadelphia Ballet as a charity beneficiary, and made plans to continue. Dealer support, however, was difficult to secure in an untested venue and, the pair said in a press release, the move by the Philadelphia Show – which has been the subject of great scrutiny by local Philadelphia media and in the antiques press – had, “financially (undercut) Cohen's relationship with the management of his venue.”

“Not enough (dealers) were willing to risk the move to an untried facility," Cohen said.

For information, 703-914-1268 or www.b4rtime.com .

Antique Trader 3-19 preview, comin' at ya'

Noah — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:45:09 GMT

Here's a first look at our March 19 issue, a special for the Atlantique City Antiques Show, which is owned by Trader's parent company, F+W Publications.

It'll be a glossy front with an extra 5,000 copies distributed at AC on March 29-30, 2008 at the Altantic City Convention Center.

I'll be there. If you are around and want to say hi, please do...

Antique Trader 3-05 preview - Comin' at ya

Noah — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 21:56:27 GMT

Here's your weekly sneak peak at the upcoming Trader, that literally just went to press.

When Antiques Get Dangerous!

Noah — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:46:52 GMT

We all know that buying antiques contains an inherent risk, and that's all part of the game. The least I believe we can expect, however, at whatever venue we're shopping at, is to expect that the site itself is not going to do us any damage...

Ellen Schroy, antiques price guide writer extraordinaire and intrepid correspondent to Antique Trader, brought this little story - hot out of Palmyra, NJ - about a flea market site that was a former firing range and the military's surveying for possible live munitions long buried when a drive-in movie theater was put up after World War II.

Talk about a bang for your buck....

Okay, I'm sorry for that...

More stolen Art in Europe - $160M worth

Noah — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 18:41:14 GMT

Just what exactly will it take for owner's of private, important collections of art - especially those on public display - to add security?

This is an unbelivable story, reported widely across the world this morning, about more than $160M in art stolen from the Beuhrle Collection in Zurich. I like the New York Times coverage best, so I linked to it here.

Chances are the artwork will go underground and decorate the home of some one who doesn't care that it's stolen goods. The market in art theft if huge, and the paintings are re-sold at hugely below actualy value. You could pick up one of these paintings, the Cezanne for instance, for a song... Say $15 million...

Let me just go check that shoebox in my closet. Maybe I'll cash in those bonds I got for my bar mitzvah so long ago.

Hey Beuhrle Collection! Get a lock on those doors and a connection to the police. Then maybe those priceless paintings will remain where they are and you'll be proven worthy to own such cultural treasures!

Spring Fever and the beauty of the Rhinebeck Antiques Show

Noah — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 18:09:47 GMT

Man oh Man, it was cold this weekend in Central Wisconsin where I huddled up with my wife and sick two-year old daughter. The sort of cold that makes it difficult to go outside. I pictured myself freezing solid, quick, as I dropped last night's trash in the can out back. I also thought, for one terrifying moment, that the garage door had locked on me. With Lauren upstairs putting the baby to sleep I would have been a goner.

"Why?" I asked myself. "Why?"

While I do believe that you can only really appreciate spring and summer if you live in a place with real seasons, I'm about sick of winter. February is the month that forgot to pay its rent.

With spring coming I'm thinking of all the great shows that I'd like to get to, though my current location makes it a bit tough. I wil get to a lot of local and midwestern shows, but probably not Philly for Antiques Week there. I will, more than likely, make a sojourn to The Pioneer Valley for May Brimfield, just to see old friends, catch up and talk to folks about Trader and this site.

The show I will miss the most, however, will be Rhinebeck. My beloved Rhinebeck Antiques Show. Something so sweet and friendly about this show, the very first one I ever really loved, back when Jimi Barton was still with us, rest his soul.

There's the unbelievable beauty of The Hudson Valley and majesty of the Hudson River, but there are also great people at Rhinebeck and a host of really good restaurants. My pick? Get the chicken wings at Terrapin Bostro. They are very different, spicy and my most favorite wings ever, anywhere, period.

Bruce Garret and Bret Brandes do a great job with the Rhinebeck show, keeping it fresh and ever-changning. especially as tastes shifts. For years, known best for its folk art and Americana, Rhinebeck has succesfully navigated the minefield of adding modern and design-oriented antiques while featuring some of the best dealers in the nation. There are too many to name, but say hi to Bev and Doug Norwood at Norwood's Spirit of America, Steve and Lorraine German at Mad River Antiques, and Sandy at Jenkinstown Antiques. I'll probably hear from the folks that I miss, but - truly - my heart is with this show and I will miss it.

If anybody has any plans to hit any good shows this spring, let me know what they are... noah.fleisher@fwpubs.com.

Happy early spring and GO AWAY FEBRUARY!

Online auctioneers divide eBay exodus booty

Noah — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:52:00 GMT

I've always wanted to use the words exodus and booty in a headline, and today was my chance. Just look at it... Marvelous in its simplistic complexity... Or maybe I just need another couple of hours of sleep - my two-year-old daughter has been up sick for most of the last two nights, so my mind is a little hazy...

Anyway...

I like this story from over at CNN Money, talking about how a lot of other online sites are already picking up the pieces of the shattered eBay buying coalition. Hardcore eBay-ers will stick with the compnay through thick and thin, but many others are leaving, or simply cutting back and "diversifying," if you will, in other online markets. Certainly a good idea given looming economic issues and a highly unorthodox presidential election.

The article also contains links to all of the Web sites it discusses, giving you a good chance to check them out and decide what, if anything, you like.

Probably not the best news for the antiques biz...

Noah — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:46:09 GMT

I have been criticized for reporting the negative before, but I'm a journalist first and the story is the thing. To ignore this news, and not analyze what it might mean for our business, would be irresponsible.

The overall January sales figures, as reported on Yahoo, by Reuters, were not too good.

That includes a lot of factors, especially big box stores like Wal-Mar and Target, and a lot of the items people aren't buying are things that they shouldn't be buying there anyway - art, furniture, etc...

A January lull is no big surprise to the antiques business; after the holidays and the lull in mid-level and flea market shows - a lot of high-end happens in the Winter, and you can't really count the health of The Winter Antiques Show or The American Antiques Show as truly reflective of the real health of the antiques economy - there is a lot of space. General line buyers are going online to auctions, or checking out shops or small shows nearby.

There are schools of thought that will consider an economic slowdown healthy for antiques, and I don't disagree with them. I do also know that when the economy gets bad - remember 2001? - the antiques business is one of the first to feel the lack of discretionary income, and one of the last to benefit when people come out of the stupor.

The above report, along a reported and well-documented contraction of the jobs market last month, don't add up to prosperity. No one wants to say recession, but the laws of economics are fairly immutable.

Just curious... Good shows or auctions this weeked?

Noah — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:09:53 GMT

Anyone going to any good shows or auctions this weekend?

I'm curious to know, and curious to see if anyone cares to mention it in the comments below...

Come one, you know you want to try it...

Antique Trader 2-20, coming your way

Noah — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:21:57 GMT

Just putting the final touches on the 2-20 issue of Trader. Only one more left in the longest, if shortest, month of the year.

Click on the front page to go to the site, though the stories won't be up for a day or two...

Antiques Scammer nabbed in Miami

Noah — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:46:00 GMT

Eric Bradley, the Show Manager of Atlantique City - which is owned by Trader's parent company, F+W Publications - was in Miami Beach over the weekend at the big show there - lucky man to be away from Midwest cold and snow. Evidently there was a scammer passing bad checks on the floor, and thanks to the actions of some dealers, the guy was picked up and a most- if not all - of the merch found.

Here's what Eric wrote from the floor:

Miami police arrested a man on Sunday suspected of passing bogus checks proportedly worth at least $10,000 at the Miami Beach Antiques Show. The man is suspected to have been working with an accomplice.

The cops nabbed him after our good friend Howard Roberts spotted a guy who fit the description of a man who passed a phony $4,400 check to one of his friends the day before. The man - who claimed to be from Philadelphia but spoke with a Russian accent - was identified while he was browsing some jewelry in the booth of dealer Michael Weinstein (who also does Atlantique City). After interrogating the man, police sought search warrants for three Miami-area hotel rooms. Not sure if any were in Miami Beach proper.

Police were able to recover items stolen with the bad checks on Sunday. It's not clear if they were unable to secure some, or all, of the merch purchased on Saturday.

The Miami police should have a report shortly. It will be in the local press soon!

Eric

Trader will keep an eye on this in the next few days, but thanks Eric!