Free Updates
Navigation
Categories
Search
Archives
More Links
|
 Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Just can't resist this - American Roadside Architecture as serious art...
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
This is about an exhibition of mid-20th century American Roadside architecture - pictures of it, at least - making its way across... are you ready?... Macedonia.  Yes, one of the most ancient places on the globe is getting a good look at how American represented itself architecturally in the era of post-war business hedonism. Personally, I love this kind of architecture and remember fondly many roadtrips as a kid in Texas and in my 20s - during those blissful summers when i had nothing to do and a car to take to do it - when my friends and I would literally set out for a few days at a time and seek out these places. The more dated the better. I truly believe that America's rapidly dissapearing roadside architecture is replete with gems and they should be saved, if only for the enjoyment of the world and the throngs of Macedonian tourists that are bound to be flocking to our rapidly decaying rural highways...
antique | Antique news odd | Antiques publications | Architecture | Historic Preservation | pop art
2/12/2008 1:23:38 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) 
|
|
Certainly notable in the antiques business
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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.
antique | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques publications | Antiques Show | Auction
2/12/2008 1:05:27 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
|
|
When Antiques Get Dangerous!
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
antique | Antique news odd | Antique Show | Antiques | Antiques Auction
2/12/2008 9:46:52 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
|
|
Monday, February 11, 2008
More stolen Art in Europe - $160M worth
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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!
antique | Antique news odd | Antique scams | Antique Show | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques Show | eBay | stolen antiques
2/11/2008 1:41:14 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
|
|
Spring Fever and the beauty of the Rhinebeck Antiques Show
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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!
antique | Antique Show | Antiques | Antiques Show
2/11/2008 1:09:47 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
|
|
Friday, February 08, 2008
Question of the week: When to Insure?
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
Whatever our instinct to collect is, it must go back quite a ways. I would even posit that our desire to accumulate things is as old, and as evolved, as our consciousness itself. What a person possessed, or didn't possess, always did - and still does - represent their place within a society. At one time it might have had implications about what you could do with your life, and where you can go. Fortunately for us, we live in the Twenty-First century in the U.S. All you collection does is satisfy an individual need and broadcast - depending on what you collect, and a what level - your good taste, or lack thereof, to the world at large. And, when I mentioned that lack of taste before? I wasn't talking about what you collect... It's a well-known fact that you have fantastic taste... In this day and age, when everything seemingly has a value, it's a must to make sure your collection is safe. It's loss may not mean societal downfall, but it could well mean financial if anything is lost, stolen or broken, especially when the collection represents thousands and thousands of dollars and years of effort. Here's the question then this week: At what point is your antiques collection officially worth insuring? How, exactly, do you decide?Send your answers to noah.fleisher@fwpubs.com, or go online to www.antiquetrader.com/atblog, look for The Question of the Week, and post your answer there.
antique | Antiques, blog, question of the week | stolen antiques
2/8/2008 1:23:59 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
|
|
Is calling someone a stupid thief an oxymoron?
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
This story came across the AP wire last night, and is being reported as an odd news story in various media outlets across the country, of which we are now one. What an idiot this guy had to be... Honey, are we insured for this? Wife's vandalism complaint leads to husband's burglary arrest
SUTHERLIN, Ore. (AP) _ They say problem gamblers never quit while they're ahead, and one properly insured Oregon man apparently didn't, either.
Authorities recovered a stolen antique slot machine worth $4,000 and arrested the 30-year-old, who they said asked his wife to help file an insurance claim to cover damage done to his van during the heist.
The slot machine was reported stolen in a burglary Monday night at a home in Sutherlin, 170 miles south of Portland, Douglas County sheriff's deputies said. Investigators learned that the victim's housekeeper filed a police report a day earlier claiming someone had thrown a piece of sheet metal through the window of her parked van.
The sheet metal turned out to be from the back of the stolen slot machine, with the serial number attached.
Deputies said the housekeeper's husband stole the machine, which tipped over as he drove away, breaking the van window. He told his wife the van had been vandalized and asked her to report the damage so insurance would cover it, deputies said.
The husband and a 25-year-old man were charged with burglary and theft, but the wife wasn't charged.
The case was still being investigated.
Wow.
antique | Antique news odd | Antique scams | Antiques | stolen antiques
2/8/2008 12:49:33 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
|
|
Online auctioneers divide eBay exodus booty
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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.
antique | Antique news odd | Antique Show | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques publications | Antiques Show | Auction | eBay
2/8/2008 9:52:00 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
|
|
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Probably not the best news for the antiques biz...
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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.
antique | Antique Show | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques publications | Antiques Show | Auction | Vintage Fashion
2/7/2008 1:46:09 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
|
|
Just curious... Good shows or auctions this weeked?
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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 | Antique Show | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques publications | Antiques Show | Auction
2/7/2008 1:09:53 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
|
|
VBOE not on EBAY
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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.
antique | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Auction | eBay | Vintage Fashion
2/7/2008 11:49:25 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
|
|
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Antique Trader 2-20, coming your way
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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... 
antique | Antique Show | Antiques | Antiques publications | Antiques Show | eBay
2/6/2008 4:21:57 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
|
|
|