Antique Trader Blog with editor Noah Fleisher - Auction

A synchroncity of antiques - Islamic antiquities dominate

Noah — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:07:33 GMT

It seems now that Islamic art is absolutely everywhere, and the amount of money that it's fetching - congruent with the amount of ire it's raising in some instances - is pretty amazing.

I've already written about it a few times this week and last week.

It started the attempted sale of some armor once, possibly, belonging to a revered Sikh Guru. Then a 12th century key to the holiest pilgrimage site in Mecca, and now, just yesterday, a dagger once belonging to Shah Jahan - arguably the greatest of India's Golden Age Mugal emporers - the man who built the Taj Mahal, and raised Islamic art and architecture to amazing levels in his reign, sold at Bonham's in London for nearly $3,000,000.

You have to admit, looking at it, that it's a thing of extraordinary beauty, made even more important by its provenance of having belonged to Shah Jahan, a man from whom very few personal relics survive. $3M seems like alot to spend, but as I wrote about the Hajj key yesterday, reclaiming cultural history is an expensive game, and them that have the bucks don't necessarily think of it as a numbers game. Face it, if you have all the bills in the Monopoly game, there's nothing on the board that's out of range.

Again, it went to an anonymous bidder who didn't wish to be identified. Who knows who it is, but most likely it was someone who was unhappy almsot 20 years ago when the Shah of Iran sold it to Jacques Desenfans, along with a lot of other things in the sale, on a visit in 1969, when the Shah's empire was just starting to wobble. That bit of its history has been more downplayed in the hubbub over its sale, but it's all part of the history of such a remarkable piece.

I'm not sure if the dagger is considered a holy relic, so I have no feeling on it being sold. If it is considered such, along with much of the other Islamic "art" that's been coming on the block, then I do have to take issue. Pieces of spiritual significance, whatever the faith, shouldn't be made available for a price. I have to think, though, the Shah Jahan dagger isn't considered spiritually important for Muslims, because there was no outcry, such as the one over the Sikh armor.

Shah Jahan's buildings and his name dot India, most notably the Taj, which he built as a masoleum for his wife, Mumtaz, when she died. I've seen the Taj Mahal, and it's an amazing site, especially if you can get there very early in the morning before the touts, the cars, the tourists and the choking, nasty smog from the copious cars the swarm Agra all day. There are few buildings in the world that can match it, or its creativity.

Records for Islamic art

Noah — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:11:21 GMT

It's a bit strange to call religious artifacts "art," but the things are beautiful.

A sale of Islamic art at Sotheby's sold roughly $20M in 282 lots, smashing the previous records for a similar sale. It's a good bet that most of the lots, including a very expensive and revered 12th Century key to Mecca's most holy pilgrimage site, are going to the area of their origin. There's so much wealth focused in the Middle East these days, I'm actually surprised that those items on the block didn't go for much much more.

This, though, hearkens to the same discussion I've been having - with myself, that it - over countries reclaiming cultural heritage. I don't know that the pieces of Islamic art that Sotheby's sold didn't come from a seller in the region already, but it also wouldn't surprise me if they were Colonial spoils from centuries and exploits past.

As changes near, eBay debate encore

Noah — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:56:04 GMT

Rob Pegoraro, a blogger at The Washington Post, gives the eBay issue a look from both sides of the issue and concludes that eBay is a ~~Monolith~~ Marketplace, and that it's 80M+ users think of it as a community. It's a nice little examination of the debate that the eBay antiques... uh... sector has been having for a few months now.

This conclusion has resulted in the weird disconnect from reality that has emanated from eBay HQ high on its magic mountaintop in the mist, where it's suspected that a few remaining regular human beings actually may say hello now and then as they pass in the hall on the way to bathroom in the basement.

It's also now thought that the great ancient demon Cthulhu might be the real replacement for Meg Whitman. That's just what I hear, though...

The Guru and the Auction House

Noah — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:28:24 GMT

This has been very interesting to watch - somewhat obscure, perhaps, bubt a lot of fun.

Sotheby's claimed some armor being sold belonged to a very important Sikh guru. Sikhs got angry, and Sotheby's claims that the armor is not actually the Guru's, but one of several sets he had made, as he was involved in many wars and military campaigns.

The post linked to above is from a post to WorthPoint.com out of India.

The whole thing is interesting, as I have always associated Sikhism with dervishes and mysticism, a la the sublime poetry of Rumi ("Dissolver of sugar, dissolve me."), not necessarily with warring kings. I'd love to see the armor, but no pics have been released. Check it out if this sort of thing interests you, which it does me, which I bet you've already figured out.

What the Dickens?! Antique desk on the block

Noah — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 18:24:06 GMT

Christies will be auctioning of the desk at which Charles Dickens sat to write "Great Expectations."

It's a beautiful antique and its provenance is untouchabe.

It should fetch a pretty penny, and goes to a good cause. I can't imagine any writer wanting to buy it, let alone be in the same house as it. The great author was found dead at the desk and wrote possibly his greatest work in the very same seat, as well - Pip chasing Estella, while she acts coy and plays him off her other suitors... Go Pip! Go! - those are some serious ghosts to contend with.

Still, it is a beauty, and I had the cash, and an extra room, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Lincoln letter goes for more than $3M

Noah — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:16:45 GMT

And to think that I was willing to take a triceratops over this, if given the choice...

I love Honest Abe, but I stand by my decision. Besides, I just spent that last $3.4M on a new yacht. I'm a bit tapped at the moment.

This is the Yahoo story, just breaking. Pretty cool, I have to say.

Papa's Brand New Bag on the auction block

Noah — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:57:43 GMT

When James Brown died on Christmas Day 2006, he left behind a lot more than one modern music's greatest catalogs of work, he left behind a life filled with turmoil and an estate that has been the subject of constant wrangling between his family, his adult children, his ex-girlfriends and his ex-wives.

Finally, Christie's has stepped in and said, "That's enough!"

I actually don't know if that's what Christie's did, but either way, the venerable auction house will be auctioning of the possesions of the Godfather of Soul sometime this summer. This sale will include Brown's awards, instruments and all kinds of various posessions.

No matter what you think of the man personally, his influence on music was, and is, undeniable. He blended together many sounds and came up with something that was totally original, and musically, in his prime, there was absolutely no one more important. The interlocking parts of his songs were pure genius and made countless millions of people understand not only how music worked, but that they too could follow a few simple rules and enjoy playing music. For that, I do have to say, I miss Brown greatly.

To see him covered with a jacket and walked, exhausted, off stage accompanied by one of his crew, only to ruh desperately back to the mic for one last chorus, or word - then to hear the crowd shriek with delight - makes you understand that he truly was... the hardest working man in show business.

And I'd love to get me one them guitars...

Word to the wise: Do not hang clothes on your rare, early Picassos

Noah — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:27:25 GMT

Seems a rare early Picasso - a saucy one of the artist and his then lover in a clinch on the bed - was found in Scotland, propped against a wall, alongside two other valuable works of art. They are all going to be on the block on April 10 at a house called Duke's.

I don't know about you, but I only hand fresh, hand-cut roses over the Picasso paintings I have propped against the wall in my two year-old daughter's room, right next to her crayons and scissors.

"Go ahead, honey, it's only a Picasso."

This is possibly from a royal family of some country, and the seller is part of that family. Don't you have to pass a decency test of some kind to be called royalty? I mean, they all know how to drink with their pinkies up, and spend money like drunken sailors... But this is a Picasso, and one from his early 20s, before he became Picasso with a capital "P."

Royal families of the world: teach your children to pick up their art when they are done playing.

Who can resist a rampaging ape? King Kong poster rages to $345K

Noah — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:01:38 GMT

Really, aren't we all suckers for monkeys?

This massive and very cool King King poster recently brought $345,000 at a Profiles in History auction, and it's a real beauty. At 81-inches x 81-inches, it's also about the size of the big simian himself.

I love the detail on this poster, and Kong just looks like he's about ready to rip everyone a new smile. What I don't like is that they have Fay Wray running in terror with Robert Armstrong and Bruce Cabot. We all know that Kong and Fay shared an unforbidden love that the world wasn't ready for back then. the studio could have, at least, put a hint of empathy in her eyes as she watched Kong destroy Manhattan. I still say the humans deserved it...

The new owner of the poster isn't mentioned, but I'd be willing to bet it's a heavy hitter, if not Steve Geppi himself, who has the greatest collection of rare movie posters in the world at his museum in Camden Yards in downtown Baltimore, MD.

Heritage will auction items from the Stanley Kramer Estate

Noah — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:35:59 GMT

Karen here ... due to the timliness of this announcement, I didn't want to wait until next week's Auction Extra ...

Director/Producer of Judgment at Nuremberg, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, High Noon, and More

DALLAS, Texas — In their upcoming Music and Entertainment Signature auction, to be held April 5, 2008 in Dallas, Texas, Heritage Auction Galleries will offer personal memorabilia, awards, documents, and more from the estate of movie icon Stanley Kramer, Hollywood's first independent director and producer whose socially charged filmmaking moved generations. As Al Gore noted, Kramer "brought powerful social issues to the screen that touched our sense of moral responsibility ," winning an NAACP Vanguard Award and an Irving G. Thalberg in the process. His cinematic credits read like an Academy Award chronology; from the masterpiece Judgment at Nuremberg, to his provocative cultural examination Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, to the hilarious It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, cinema would never be the same after Stanley Kramer.

"This fascinating collection includes Kramer's Thalberg and NAACP awards, signed and annotated scripts, and personal gifts from Spencer Tracy and John Wayne," said Doug Norwine, Director of Music and Entertainment Auctions for Heritage.

"It has been a great honor to work with Kramer's wife, Karen Sharpe Kramer, in bringing these extraordinary items to collectors," said Norwine, "and to pay homage to a man who sought so consistently to inspire, explore, and challenge. Stanley Kramer was a truly courageous filmmaker, and this material will certainly prove highly desirable to his many fans worldwide."

More information about this auction, along with enlargeable, full-color images of each lot and complete catalog descriptions, can be found at www.HA.com where bids can also be placed online.

A staggering fine art find in England - painting worth 700 times what a 20-something slacker paid for it

Noah — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 16:46:10 GMT

Wow. Just wow.

Suitcase of money falling from the sky...

Find a painting in a shop, pay about $700 bucks for it, find out it's worth about $500,000... NOt a bad days work for an umemployed 23 year old in England.

Not a bad life's work, actually. No pic, so I don't know what it looks like. Thing is, too, the guy is going to keep it probably... How un-American...

Awesome Japanese Buddha sells for $14M

Noah — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:45:43 GMT

Wow.

This an awesome sculpture, but - perhaps, jus' a l'il bit - overpriced. $14M? That's Monopoly money, right? right? Of course, it was a t Christie's, so I'm betting the bid wasn't all about the piece itself.

I couldn't imagine spending that kind of cash on something, plus, I can't help but think that spending that kind of money on a piece of sculpture - a relic of the material world, which - according to The Buddha - doesn't even really exist, except in the constructs of our minds as determined by karma - that is completely contrary to the teachings it represents...

Hmmm... Have to mediate on that one.

Oh, and I really love the blog that I pulled this story from - Bad at sports - which is an often humorous look at the world of contemporary art...

Seven charged with selling fake fine art prints internationally

Noah — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:35:32 GMT

Good for the authorities that busted this ring, and good for fine art lovers!

Just goes to show that you should always know your source, and know their reputation! Nowhere is a dealer's rep more important than in antiques and art.

Beware fake antique whiskey in Scotland... and online!

Noah — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:14:09 GMT

This doesn't say anything about whether the whiskey's any good, but the bottles most certainly aren't.

This comes via a Chicago Web site called The Chicago Syndicate. It's a fun Web site, but the story is real, and serious.

There are a lot of folks out there that take their antique whiskey bottles - and their whiskey - seriously. If you are buying bottles online, and it's coming from Europe, especially Scotland, caveat emptor!

Just what I've always wanted! A corn flake that looks like Illinois...

Noah — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:19:13 GMT

Um... I'm... I'm just not sure what to say about this, or why I'm even posting it...

I feel a little confused, and fragile... Somebody hold me...

No go for Guernsey's for Jack Ruby's pistol in Vegas

Noah — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:57:14 GMT

I wrote about this a few weeks ago, as a native of Dallas, about my mixed feelings about Ruby's gun going on the block as part of a truly superb Pop Culture antiques auction last weekend.

At the sale, as reported here at the Dallas Morning News - only appropriate, don't you think? - the sale featured a mess of great stuff that sold for big bucks, any of which I would have loved to have myself, especially the suit that John Lennon wore on the cover of Abbey Road (the greatest album from the greatest rock band ever, n'est pas?) or Sally Field's habit from the Flying Nun (not really...).

Ruby's gun, however... I just don't know. The Kennedy assasination is still raw in this country, especially in Dallas, and I can't say I'm sorry it didn't sell for big bucks. The guy who owned it, who paid more than $200,000 for it, would accept no less than $1M for it. He came close, with the highest bid reaching $900,000, but he wouldn't part with it for less than the big $1M. Oh well.

It will be sold, I reckon, to a private bidder, outside of the sale, and we'll see it again someday soon. I wonder what the folks in Big D think about - I mean really think about it.

Any Texans out there want to sound off? Anyone? Anyone?

Retiring eBay CEO Whitman joins McCain campaign...

Noah — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 19:52:35 GMT

This is posted, from the AP Wire, with absolutely no bias either way on behalf of Antiques Trader. It's just simply an interesting bit of news about that dear friend of all online antiques... Meg Whitman.

Retiring eBay CEO Whitman joining McCain campaign
Source: AP - AP Wire Service

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Outgoing eBay chief executive Meg Whitman is joining Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign as national co-chairperson.

The McCain campaign said Friday that she will help raise money and policy development and travel the country on his behalf.

Whitman also helped former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney during his bid for the Republican nomination.

She announced in January that she would retire from the online auction company after a decade at the helm.

She is leaving as eBay Inc. faces slowing growth.

Like I said, Trader has no opinion. It's just interesting...

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.

A divergent tale of Modern architecture: the classic and the... um...

Noah — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:09:53 GMT

Okay, so indulge me my love of architecture. A great building that has survived the test of time - structually and philosophically - carries the value of a great antique, in my book. And then some.

Two stories came across my path at the exact same time and they tell a very interesting story.

One is a story from the NYT on the sale of a houe designed by Louis Kahn - truly an amazing masterpiece of "Modern" architecture - being auctioned later this spring by Wright auctions in Chicago. Richard Wright is one of a handful of guys that knows Modernism,

Image by Ezra Stoller

The other is a story circulating across the AP wire and beyond - all around the blogosphere - about a famous Chatanooga, TN house shaped like a flying saucer.

Image by Greg Brown

There's something here, in the connection between these two structures, that speaks to the deep love Americans have of their personal space and their once-upon-a-time penchant for personal architecture.

On one hand, we have the Esherick house, which Kahn designed, and which is - simply put - a masterpiece. It's a one bedroom in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, that represents only one of three - THREE - homes that one of the 20th century's most famed architects ever designed and built. Look at the NYT story, see the pics; you can feel the excitement of Mid-Century America and the need for redesignation of personal space. It's small-ish, but wide open, with big windows and that undeniably classic Modernism look and feel. It's expected to go for a few million buck. A steal, I'd say, given what the house means philosophically.

Kahn made no efforts to hide the structure, weight or design of his buildings. They are wide-open, honest and inspiring in the way that the best of American modern architecture is/was. Kahn wanted inhabitants of his buildings, and the appreciating looks of passersby, to be totally immersed in the fullness and "heaviness" of a structure. You cannot help but be sucked in by such simultaneous ideas, such disinterested interest, if I can go a little Zen on it...

The Flying Saucer house in Tennessee? Well, while maybe not a "classic" in the sense that classic means "judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind," but it's a real eye-catcher, huh? I mean, you're not likely to see a house that says so clearly, "HEY! I WAS BUILT IN THE LATE 1960s/EARLY 1970s!" anywhere.

This thing came about, evidently built by two quite normal folks, about the time that Star Trek was cancelled and just as the U.S. was dominating the space race and putting its flag on the moon - which, if you didn't know, means that we own it. Somebody put enough thought and time into this place to make a decent enough house to stand almost 40 years now, which means it will soon be eligible for historic preservation. Let me tell you, if the thing could actually take off, I'd buy it in a heart beat. I'm still waiting to hear back from the realtor if it has booster jets somewhere underneath there...

You can bid on both, you could own both, you could be the ultimate post-modern homeowner.

If I had to choose though - and I know this will surprise those of you who know my penchant for kitschy 1970s stuff that makes me feel like a kid eating cheerios to the 6 a.m. glow of Saturday morning cartoons as our Standard Poodles, Chauvinist and Nischi, wait for the few that would inevitably drop (was that really worth the time it took to write?) - I would go for the Kahn house in a second. Just look at it. What a beauty.

I would, though, love to get a look inside the Saucer house, and to see if the warp drive is fully functioning. That could change things quite a bit...

Dealing with the possesions of a passed loved one...

Noah — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:32:24 GMT

Here's some sage advice on cleaning out the house/estate of a loved one when they've passed. It comes from the Times of London and contains excellent suggestions.

I printed this one out and pinned it to my bulletin board...

Despite it's corporate blindness, good ephemera deals on eBay still exist

Noah — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 13:48:09 GMT

For some reason it was very hard to write the headline to this post and not sound like I was trying to speak like Yoda...

"Hmmm... On eBay good ephemera buys still there are... Blind is eBay corporate... they must unlearn what they have learned..."

But I digress.

Marty at Ephemera Blog has posted this about another post he read and enjoyed about eBay still being the place to get good buys on ephemera, and he's right. Put aside your feelings about eBay corporate acting like a bunch of dolts in hurting it's dealer base and you can see, just by reading Marty's post, and the post he links to, that they're right.

As Master Yoda might say, "By your anger blinded be not... Good buys on ephemera there still are..."

Oh man, if I could get this mastadon and that triceratops... No one would mess with me!

Noah — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:00:42 GMT

The untold 10s of you - 10s, I say - that read this blog regualrly, might remember earlier this week when I posted about competing antiques auctions at Christie's and Sotheby's between a letter from Abe Lincoln and Triceratops.

Like the child of the 1970s that I am, raised on countless episodes of Land of the Lost - remember the slestaks, anyone? - I shamefully chose the triceratops over Honest Abe's historical letter. I'm still carrying the shame with me, oh yes, but check this out:

A family in the san Francisco area is selling the fossil of a complete Mastadon, found on their property, on eBay(!) for a starting bid of $115,000. This is a rather humorous article from the SF Chronicle on it; an entertaining read for a few minute distraction.

I have to agree with the writer's point: You can get mastadon bones on eBay for anywhere from .99 cents to $10, which is probably enough to satisfy the type of person looking for mastadon bones on eBay.

Still, if I could afford it, I'd do it in a second, and along with my triceratops, I'd rule the playground!

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.

The fashion of the "Queen of Mean" at Leslie Hindman Auctions

Noah — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:50:36 GMT

In about two months, Leslie Hindman Auctions will auction off the clothing collection of one Leona Helmsley, may she rest in peace... Hopefully somebody in her new location will sport her a glass of ice water now and then.

Helmsely's clothes are sure to be very fashionable, all very well made and all simply reeking of the bad vibes the woman made her bread and butter.

I lived in NYC when she went to prison, and can tell you that she was, easily - and still may be - one of the most reviled characters in the history of the city.

I'm a big fan of Leslie Hindman and her auction house, and would want to auction off this collection if the chance came my way - it interesting to note that it's not a NYC firm doing the sale - but I just can't say I would want anything that touched Helmsley's skin, or her closet or one of her houses, to be anywhere near me. The woman simply emanated meanness. I wrote about her after her death at the end of January after Christie's announced it would auction her furniture:

A ‘Queen’s’ legacy on the block

It was a bittersweet moment.

This morning, without ceremony, the e-mail from Christie’s Auction House entered my inbox. I get several a day from the venerable shop, so it was a good hour or so before I actually clicked on it and opened it up.

There it was. Throughout 2008 Christie’s, over the course of several sales at its Rockefeller Center location – conspicuously not saying it was proud to announce – will auction off the estate of Mrs. Leona Helmsley, the Queen of Mean. The legacy of one of the most reviled figures in the history of New York City will finally be dispersed to the four corners.

Helmsley once was famously quoted as saying, “We don’t pay taxes. Little people pay taxes.”

She denied ever saying it.

She never, however, denied smashing a teacup at a lunch with lawyer Alan Dershowitz. It seems a bit of hot water had spilled from cup onto saucer. This so enraged Helmsley, Dershowitz related, that she threw it to the floor and demanded the waiter fall to his knees and beg for his job.

She also famously fired one employee, with a casual flip of a hand, while being fitted for a dress. She fired hundreds of employees for the slightest indiscretion.

The stories about her in the city were myriad. She was endlessly lampooned on television, harangued by the paparazzi and the tabloids and mocked by comedians in nightclubs and comedy shows. It was a bonanza to any “little person” when, in 1989, under the prosecution of then-U.S. Attorney Rudy Guiliani, Helmsley was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to 16 months in prison, plus another two under house arrest.

Legal observers speculated that Helmsley’s personality and wealth alienated the jurors.

Hmmm… You think?

A woman worth well in excess of $2 billion – at the time – who routinely stiffed contractors, never tipped at restaurants and sued her dead son’s wife until she was broke… Sounds like a peach to me. Why would the jury be alienated by such sweetness?

The year that she was convicted, 1989, I can remember that the most popular NYC costume that Halloween was Leona in black and white stripes. In the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade there were probably more than 200 Leona’s re-enacting her famous collapse in front of the Manhattan courthouse. It drew hearty cheers each time.

I don’t need to pile on. In fact, I’ll even point out that she was actually quite generous in her contributions to hospitals and that she established a fund of well more than $5 million to aid the families of firefighters killed in the 9/11 attacks.

Now the epic possessions of Queen Leona’s empire – mostly high-end fine art and furniture – will go to the highest bidder. All those things that she so highly coveted, that surrounded her to the bitter end, will go back onto the market.

Will they be worth more, or less, for having belonged to her? We’ll see. Let’s just say that I wouldn’t want to sit my daughter’s picture on a desk she once used, or my keister on a couch where she once snoozed.

Good thing I can’t afford any of it anyway. “Little people” rarely can.

They've even heard of Hammerin' Hank in Canada!

Noah — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:15:30 GMT

Hunt Auctions sold a rare signed letter by a young Hank Aaron for more than $22K over the weekend.

I only use the glib headline because it came across the google alerts on the Canadian Press.

All I'll say, Mr. Bonds and Mr. Clemens, is that - above all with fans - class still counts.

Letter from Lincoln on the block

Noah — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:28:16 GMT

Honest Abe wrote to a group of schoolchildren asking him to "free the poor slavechildren," and told them of how moved he was to get their letter.

That letter will be on the block in early April at Sotheby's, and could well bring $5M.

It's hard to say which I would rather have; this, or the Triceratops that Christie's will auction off in three weeks.

On one hand, you have a letter from Abraham Lincoln addressing the seminal issue of emancipation - a decision on his part that has effect even today, and on the other you have a Triceratops...

I'd have to go with the dinosaur. Does that make me a bad person?

Ruby's gun, Guernsey's and mixed feelings

Noah — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:46:30 GMT

I should probably preface this with saying that I spent the first 18 years of my life in Dallas.

The days of my youth were spent in downtown Dallas, in Deep Ellum and all around the Texas State Fairgrounds. I went to high school right down there, and it was a great landscape for young minds.

I drove that city for all those years, at all hours of the day and night, and worked at The West End Marketplace, a stone's throw from the book depository building where Oswald made his shot.

It was not, however, until the week before I left for college that, driving through Dealey Plaza with some friends that I realized that this was the road where Kennedy was killed, and there was the grassy knoll. Hundreds of times, I drove that road, used it as a landmark. Never, though, did I make the JFK connection.

It it thus that I've been reluctant to report on Jack Ruby's gun being on the auction as part of Guernsey's superb Pop Culture Auction, March 15 and 16, in Vegas - only appropriate somehow.

Here's a link to a story from the Dallas Morning News , via Denton - which used to take 45 minutes to get to and was nothing but open fields on either site of the expressway - about the gun and the sale.

I grew up in Dallas in the 70s, when the city was still smarting from the assasination and, really, nobody talked much about the JFK assasination, and your certainly never ever joked about it. I still wouldn't.

All the same, it is an important piece of history, and it's probably going to bring a fair amount of cash. And that's what's important, isn't it?

Antiques Humor? So un-PC...

Noah — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:04:19 GMT

This is truly one of the funniest things I've seen online in a long time and is a good - if somewhat amateurish - spoof of Roadshow, but dead-on in many respects and, if I didn't say it before, funny funny funny.

Check it out and enjoy. It's about five minutes long and is The Roadshow we've all wished we could see from time to time.

The best part is the end: "Don't give money to PBS! We're all going to die!"

Things aren't going to get any easier for Russ Pritchard

Noah — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:05:41 GMT

Disgraced former Antiques Roadshow appraiser Russ Pritchard entered a guilty plea in a Bucks County, PA court yesterday, and is now on the hook for $6,800 to a woman he bilked when he sold her heirlooms and never paid up.

The sad thing - besides Pritchard's agonizing fall from grace - is that the amount he owes Sandra Udinson of Plumstead, is just a drop in the bucket of the hundreds of thousands of dollars he owes in civil damages already and which will probably be leveled at him when he faces similar charges to those in Bucks County in Montgomery County next month.

The article linked to above tells the story of his sentencing, the juiciest bit being the judge telling pritchard, "The most important thing is that the victim be made whole,” Heckler told Pritchard. “You will pay her, or you will end up in jail.”

I don't know Russ Pritchard, and he brought this on himself - for sure - but I can't help but find this whole thing a bit sad as it drags on and on...

Pictured below is Pritchard from his Roadshow days. The pic is from WGBH, so I'm not sure if it's one of his fake Civil War appraisals.

Alternate Online Auctions - What are you using?

Noah — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:45:40 GMT

Just wondering, as I negotiate the explosion of sales and sites that have sprung up in response to eBay's "changes," what sites, exactly, are you going to either to supplement your eBay sales or to use as a whole other alternative?

I'd like to check them out, possibly start offering some reviews and interviews.

Anyone? Anyone?

Let me know in the comments section here, preferrably, or at noah.fleisher@fwpubs.com (as long as email's working by today...)

Massive Estate Sale in Shreveport, LA - MArch 7

Noah — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:39:36 GMT

I know there are a lot of bargain hunters out there, and this sale looks like it could have some hidden gems. It's a big one, sent my way by a colleague here in the building, about a massive estate sale from AAA Estate Specialists out of Shreveport, LA.

It came our way too late to get into print.

Surprise, surprise: They have no Web site and no pictures, but this is going to be a wide and varied sale. If you're an interpid antiquer, and don't mind a bit of a chase, you could give them a call and see exactly what't on the block.

My thanks to Susan Sliwicki.

MASSIVE ESTATE SALE IN LOUISIANNA

A massive estate sale in Robeline, La., promises to offer something for nearly every collector’s tastes.

Everything from movie theater equipment and cotton gins to glassware, toys, books and furniture are among the items up for sale from the historic W.W. Page Jr. estate, said Cindy Wilkinson of AAA Estate Specialists, the Shreveport, La.,-based firm handling the sale.

The sale is set for 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on March 7 and 8. To learn more about the lots and details of the sale, call AAA Estate Specialists at 318-393-0239 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. CST, Wilkinson said.

It will feature a variety of lots from the family’s businesses, which included the Sabine Theater, Vernon Theater and the Page Store.

A variety of scales, including ones used for cotton, meat and candy, are part of the sale. A water fountain and the general store’s oak counter/seed bin also are part of the sale.

“From the candy store there’s the concrete top, it’s a big rectangle, and they would pour the fudge on that and cut it. That’s pretty neat,” Wilkinson said. “I think it’d be a great island top in a kitchen.”

Movie lovers will appreciate the lots from the theater, which range from the Art Deco era up through the late 1950s to early 1960s, Wilkinson said.

“There’s lots of parts still in the box that were never used,” Wilkinson said.

Collectors of general store and movie theater type memorabilia will definitely want to see what they can see about this one.

For more info, call 318-393-0239.

$3M record collection buyer a fraud - eBay bumming again

Noah — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:03:58 GMT

That record collection - easily the best record collection in one single place - was being sold by Paul Mahwinney out of Record Rama in Pittsburgh, PA (is there ay other?), which sold for $3M to an a buyer in Ireland on eBay last week?

Fraud.

I can't imagine that eBay, who has suffered so much bad press lately, can be terribly happy about this.

The "buyer" said that he was the victim of identity theft and that he got the invoice and couldn't believe it. I reckon that's possible, and a terrible email to get from PayPal, which is already such an unpleasant system.

Furthermore, it's reported that a rare Stones album, that Mahwinney has valued at $10,000, can be bought elsewhere on eBay for $599. Ouch.

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.

Is eBay trying to fill a leaky bucket?

Noah — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:34:34 GMT

I like this story about eBay after Whitman on the Forbes Magazine Web site, even if it is a bit too much re-hash and a bit too much corporate speak.

The writer, from Wharton College, outlines some interesting options that eBay and CEO-elect James Donahoe might take to shore up some of the problems it has right now. The article is, however, stictly from a business perspective and fails to approach the human side of the story, which is what we all know is going to drive the future of the business.

There still seems to be a disconnect between the corporate side of eBay and Wall Street to the nuts and bolts dealers who live and die in the trenches of online auctions.

One of the main thing I took away from the above article was thatr eBay will be looking to make inroads into Asia in order to beef up its revenue and return to the glory days of bazillions of dollars. Interesting philosophy, but if a bucket is leacking water from a hole, and you simply fill it at the same rate, there's certainly no net gain and - eventually - you're going to run out of water.

Dude... It's like, this dude's got all these records... and, dude, he's selling them...

Noah — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:52:51 GMT

Antique Trader had an article about this sale, by one Paul Mahwinney of Pittsburgh, of perhaps the greatest single collection of records ever to be sold at one time. Our story was in the 2-20 issue.

It is truly an amazing collection, and, if I had a cool $3M for just about every record ever recorded - and you can bet there are some rare and valuale ones in there - then I'd get in a second.

I'd reference Trader's article, but I couldn't resist this headline: Dude Auctions off "World's Greatest Record Collection."

Dude... Whoa...

Beats the CoinStar at the IGA

Noah — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:52:45 GMT

A collector just got $10M for a collection of rare pennies. So, before you head out to the supermarket with that glass jar full of coins - in anticipation of the $35 it'll get you for the mid-week meal at your local Olive Garden - check out what you got and remember this story.

Your pennies could be worth big bucks!

Trader Question of the Week - 10 Years from Now?

Noah — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:17:27 GMT

In 1998, the Internet boom was full steam ahead, billions were being made simply by attaching .com to certain words. The age of the World Wide Web had arrived! In a matter of days - no, hours! - the everything was going go completely digital and anyone left behind was going to be sorry and, worse, poor in a world of uber-millionaires!

No one needs to be told what happened next.

We can also remember a little online auction site called eBay that was just starting to get legs under a female CEO named Meg Whitman. In the 10 years from then until now, eBay has helped redefine not only the auction business, and the antiques business, but the very nature of the Web itself. Who, exactly, could have foreseen that? My guess is very few.

My powers of prognostication are limited, weak, but I did get to wondering this week where the auction business will a decade from now. If I had to guess, which I suppose I do seeing as how I'm the one posing the question, then I would say there will be two or three major online auction players who contract with every large and small auction house and individual dealer. The world of Web auctions will be like one giant Brimfield of the ether, where anything can be gotten to through a few central portals. There will, of course, always be a few rogue individual auctions that will have to be chased down and brought to heel...

Antique Trader, then, wants to know this week: Exactly where do you see the Antiques Business in 10 years?

Post and answer here in the comments, or email it to me at noah.fleisher@fwpubs.com.

Antique Blog in NYC I've been enjoying

Noah — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:26:12 GMT

Given that most of the reports Trader gets coming out of NYC are of super-high priced sales, where the glamorous and the flfthy rich - not to mention the beautiful - can afford to go an play while the rest of stubbornly soldier on, paying $3 or more for gas and wondering when that suitcae of money is going to fall from the sky. We snag what we can at auction, when we can. Or, if you're a dealers, then going to sales, auctions and shows, many many of them, is simply your job. It would be nice to know what it's like sometimes to simply be a journeyman antiquer...

The link here is to a blog in NYC called Here Be Old Things, and its proprietress faithfully charts the whole spectrum of NYC antiques, from the big shows and auctions they wouldn't even let me in the door to, to the weekly sales and shops, like Hell's Kitchen (formerly Chelsea) and some of the day-in day-out auction houses that aren't the monopolizers. It doesn't hurt that she's a fan of Trader's blog, as well.

Living in Manhattan for a dozen years, I had more than one occasion to go through many NYC fleas, and they were always interesting, and you could always tell who had the really good stuff because their booth was basically an empty spot on the ground.

Check out the blog and let me know what you think. We'll be linking to it from time to time to check out the coverage.

Drug bust jewels auctioned in Richmond, Feb. 20

Noah — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:43:54 GMT

This was sent to me too late to get into the print version of Trader, but sounds like a good sale for a good cause, from Motley's, in Richmond, VA.

Richmond Auction House Sells Jewelry Seized In City Drug Bust.
Proceeds Help Police In Fight Against Drugs

RICHMOND, VA — Motley’s Auction & Realty Group will auction on Feb. 20, a large quantity of jewelry seized recently during a Richmond drug bust. All of the seized jewelry, including a diamond-encrusted man’s watch by Benny & Company, will be offered to the highest bidder, with no minimum price or reserves. The proceeds from the sale will be returned to Richmond law enforcement in an effort to help fund their continued fight against drugs.

Nearly 100 lots of jewelry, including those from numerous estates, will be offered starting at 3 p.m. at Motley’s galleries at 4402 West Broad Street in Richmond, VA.

All lots are viewable at www.motleys.com or are available for personal inspection on Monday, February 18, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Tuesday, February 19, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Items can also be previewed on February 20, the day of the sale, from 10 a.m. until all lots are sold. Motley’s offers online (eBay Live), absentee and phone bidding for those unable to attend the auction in person.

Motley’s next auction, on April 2, 2008.

For more information on any upcoming Motley’s auctions or their comprehensive appraisal services, visit motleys.com or call 804-355-2100.

There'll be some interesting stuff in this sale, sure enough...

One banana, two banana, three banana four!

Noah — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 14:48:42 GMT

It is snowing again here in Central, WI, making it a record setting year for snow - In Wisconsin. Did I mention that? At least in Madison, about 90 minutes to the south. Somehow, here in Central WI we manage to dodge a lot of the severe weather just above and just below this.

Going through Heritage Auctions' Web site I cam across a sale that speaks so directly to a Gen-Xer like myself that I had to mention it here. Part of the Dallas Auction firm's current online comics sale.

Man, I remember the Banana Splits like yesterday, along with the freaky cartoons that went along with it. They had a very bizarre version of Tom Sawyer that mixed a live Tom and Becky - maybe Huck - with the rest of the characters being animation. I used to watch in the afternoons - The Banana Splits, that is - as part of a show with an eerie clown who broadcast from a central Ohio amusement park and was always pushing some kind of red frozen treat, whjich I desperately coveted but never got. We moved from Cincinnatti long before the summmer... But I digress.

As you might be able to tell by this Wiki on the Splits, the show and its immortal characters - Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper and Snorky - had quite a history, part of which was filmed in my hometown of Dallas. I also remember Bingo had a thing about hitting Fleegle.

Check out the sale, and that Banana Splits comic. A steal for $100, and my birthday's comin' up...

Antique Trader 2-27 comin' at ya

Noah — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:20:10 GMT

As we like to do around here, just a li'l sneak peak at the 2-27 cover.

Philatelics rejoice...

Noah — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:17:56 GMT

If you've been living under an anti-auction rock for the last week, then it'll be news to you that Philip Weiss Auctions in Oceanside, NY, recently sold a very rare inverted stamp for a record $1.2M. The stamp is one of a handful printed in 1869 with an upsidedown repro of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on it.

It's an expensive stamp, for sure, and a mighty pretty one. Good for Anonymous for snapping it up. He or she seems to be buying a lot of good things lately.

There was also an inverted Jenny stamp, the Honus Wagner baseball card of the stamp world, that also brought healthy interest and almost $300,000. Seriously, a Jenny comes up for sale with the same frequency these days as a Wagner, and each time.

The stamp is one of only four known to exist. Whatever you do, Anonymous, don't lick it...

Auction Dupe? Or the name of the game?

Noah — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:24:18 GMT

A story like this one, out of Oregon - where auctioneers aren't required to be licensed - makes me believe wholeheartedly in the work of The Antiques Council and the National Show Management Assocaition to get some national oversite of the antiques business.

I know that this is an auction story, in the rural Northwest no less, but people should have a reasonable expectation of getting a certain value for merch at auction. The folks in this story - one of whom is terminally ill - got all of $200 or so for their stuff after being told - granted, there was no contract - they would get significantly more.

Come on, though... What about human decency?

Certainly notable in the antiques business

Noah — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 18:05:27 GMT

That David Rago is working with Worth Point, one of the more interesting sites dedicated to antiques and those who love to buy and sell them out there. It's also a good research tool, and a place to get opinions from other folks who really have something to offer.

In the interest of full disclosure, I know David somewhat, and have always found him to be an honest and decent person, as well as a savvy businessman. I'm sure it factored into his decision here. He's a man who understands the brand side of antiques.

Just an FYI. Feel free to let me know what your opinions of Worth Point as a site are, especially in light of the recent eBay debacle.

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...

VBOE not on EBAY

Noah — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:49:25 GMT

Since it was mentioned in the 2-20 Trader, and on this blog earlier this week, here's what Specialist Auctions has released about its sale to compete with eBay.

I understand well and good that this is a press release from the company and they are representing their best position on the subject. I feel, from an editorial standpoint, that it bears looking at because it is one of the most public counteractions to eBay's recent changes.

Here's how they put it:

"SPECIALIST AUCTIONS TO GO HEAD TO HEAD WITH EBAY DURING “VINTAGE BLOW-OUT SALE”

VBOE on Specialist Auctions February 14 – February 21, 2008

In an effort to attract both unhappy Ebay buyers and sellers, the rapidly expanding UK-based site Specialist Auctions (www.specialistauctions.com) announced plans to compete directly with a long-held tradition of Ebay vintage clothing sellers: the popular “Vintage Blow Out Sale.” During this sale, many vintage items are sold for $19.99 or less.

Specialist Auctions is calling its sale “VBOE,” and VBOE is rapidly catching on. Numerous Ebay vintage sellers, some of them Powersellers, are signing up on Specialist Auctions in order to take advantage of the event, which, like VBO, runs from February 14 through February 21, 2008. Many vintage items will be also be offered for $19.99 or less.

During VBOE, buyers will be able to pick from a huge variety of vintage clothes, hats, accessories, jewelry, and more. Just like on Ebay. And Specialist Auctions is also offering collectibles, comics, in fact, anything that dates before 1989.

The recent changes at Ebay have prompted calls for a boycott starting February 18 and lasting at least a week. By moving to sites like Specialist Auctions, sellers can sell with a clear conscience—and not be held hostage to payment method Paypal, an Ebay subsidiary that recently announced it could put a 21-day hold on payments, even if the item was shipped to the buyer. Sellers on Specialist Auctions accept a wide array of payment options, including Google Checkout, Western Union, money orders, and bank transfers. Not only that, the only charge to sellers that Specialist Auctions asks for is 3% of the sale price of an item—no matter how high or how low.

So if you REALLY want to shop victoriously, shop at Specialist Auctions during VBOE!"

I trust you can decide for yourself.