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 Saturday, November 21, 2009
More antiques article shortcuts
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
You won't want to miss these antiques articles:
NAA elects first woman vice president
Strong demand seen for art pottery
Postcard prices realized vary at auction
Halloween sees 19th century vampire killing kit sell for $8,800
Fine prints by Picasso, Whistler, Baumann star in Sept. 24 auction
New buyers of antique advertising added punch to Dan Morphy’s $1.5 million Fall sale
— Posted by Karen Knapstein
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  • Find us on Twitter HERE.
• Find us on Facebook HERE.• Visit the Antique Trader Web site HERE. Sign up for our FREE newsletters!• If you really like what you see, get your very own subscription to Antique Trader HERE.
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antique | Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques News | Auction | Ephemera | fine art | Postcards
Saturday, November 21, 2009 12:29:46 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00) 
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Friday, November 20, 2009
Everyone likes shortcuts
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
... especially if it's a legitimate shortcut.
So here are shortcuts to some of our latest antiques news articles and features:
Man turns childhood home into classy antiques shop
Talking Sports: A hobby is born during the Great Depression
Ask Antique Trader: Unusual adjustable slag glass lamp a real find
Don’t be a Duncan Pfool: Remember to use furniture's correct vocabulary
Postcard prices realized vary at auction
SOFA Chicago sees increase of ‘young collectors’
Vintage video game sells for $5,250
— Posted by Karen Knapstein
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• Find us on Twitter HERE.
• Find us on Facebook HERE.• Visit the Antique Trader Web site HERE. Sign up for our FREE newsletters!• If you really like what you see, get your very own subscription to Antique Trader HERE. • Reference books available about your favorite collectibles HERE
• Antique Trader message boards HERE.
• Browse the Antique Trader Classifieds or place your FREE online ads HERE.
Antique Blog | Antique News | Antique Show | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques Blog | Antiques Blogs | Antiques News | Antiques Show | Auction | Postcards
Friday, November 20, 2009 10:53:51 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Thursday, November 19, 2009
Milagros are the spotlight of this week's Antique Trader
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
I enjoyed reading Mary Simmons' article about milagros and ex-votos. (You can click here to read this interesting feature story.) I have to admit I knew absolutely nothing about them ... and now I do.
Let us know what you think!
— Posted by Karen Knapstein
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• Find us on Twitter HERE.
• Find us on Facebook HERE.• Visit the Antique Trader Web site HERE. Sign up for our FREE newsletters!• If you really like what you see, get your very own subscription to Antique Trader HERE. • Reference books available about your favorite collectibles HERE
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• Browse the Antique Trader Classifieds or place your FREE online ads HERE.
antique | Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques Blogs | Antiques News | Antiquities | Folk Art
Thursday, November 19, 2009 10:29:07 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Friday, November 13, 2009
Free collectibles auction catalog available for download
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
You've probably heard by now that the LaMothe Collection will be featured in the Collect.com Collectibles Auction #1 that runs from Nov. 23-Dec. 12.
The latest news is that the auction catalog is available for download:
 Collect.com Auctions is expanding its reach across the collecting
spectrum by offering 487 lots including the largest known collection of
metal mesh handbags and vintage fashion. CLICK HERE to download the free special eight-page catalog
for the sale, composed primarily of the Dennis and Terri LaMothe
Collection, a three-decade pursuit for Whiting and Davis and Mandalian
Mfg. Co. metal mesh handbags and fashion, plus additions of fine jewelry. The online, absentee and telephone auction opens Nov. 23 and closes Dec. 12 on www.collect.com/auctions.
It’s rare when husband and wife come together with a shared passion for
collecting, yet the LaMothes’ union produced two of the 20th century’s
top collectors of metal mesh used in fashion. The auction is comprised of four different categories: antique mesh, vintage fashion, jewelry and the LaMothes’ collection of Department 56 collectibles.
Standout lots include a series of handbags depicting Hollywood icons
Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable and Mickey Mouse as well as celebrity
memorabilia from Cher and Lisa Hartman-Black.
Included are a number of rare scenic handbags depicting a range of Art
Deco-inspired themes such as skyscrapers, peacocks, sunrises and meadow
scenes. Once a design was chosen it naturally narrowed the market for
the handbag. As such, the design and style had to be of the finest
quality and feature dynamic designs. “It took 24 hours for each color
to dry once it was applied,” Terri said of the different colored
enamels used in the designs. “Once they were complete the stencils were
destroyed so they really are living history.”
Also in the selection of handbags are 70 lots of rare specimens made by
the Mandalian Manufacturing Company. Mandalian-made handbags are highly
sought after by collectors because of the company’s eclectic designs
and strict production methods. “They used crushed fish scale and
applied it to the mesh to give it the shine,” Terri said. “They made a
better bag but they couldn’t go up against Whiting and Davis.”
Rounding out the metal mesh collection is a selection of vintage fashion designer Anthony Ferrara made specifically for the Whiting and Davis line.
Among the fine jewelry is a white gold bracelet adorned with 72.23
carats of rubies and a pair of earrings with an impressive 8.7 carats
of sapphires accented with diamonds.
Collect.com Auctions’ first vintage fashion
sale welcomes mail, phone, absentee and online bids through
Collect.com. Bidding opens Nov. 23 and closes Dec. 12. Complete
descriptions and images for all lots can be found at www.collect.com.
For information on any lot or to learn more about bidding in this sale, call the Collect.com offices at 888-463-3063.
Photos courtesy Dennis & Terri LaMothe.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE CATALOG (PDF)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• Find us on Twitter HERE.
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antique | Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques Blog | Antiques Blogs | Antiques News | Vintage Fashion
Friday, November 13, 2009 2:52:23 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Friday, October 23, 2009
Dec. 12 sale features the lifetime metal mesh, vintage celebrity couture collection of Dennis & Terri LaMothe
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
 IOLA, Wis. – Collect.com Auctions will present more than 400 lots of
the Dennis & Terri LaMothe metal mesh collection in an Internet,
absentee and phone auction closing Dec. 12. The LaMothe Collection is
the largest assortment of metal mesh – mostly produced by
Massachusetts’ famous Whiting & Davis Co. – ever to come to
auction. It includes classic mesh handbags and iconic celebrity memorabilia from Cher and Lisa Hartman Black.
Lifetime collectors, the LaMothes spared no expense in building their
comprehensive collection of metal mesh. “We did all kinds of crazy
things,” said Dennis. “We started buying collections here and there —
amassing them. We like to joke that our kids grew up at the auctions
because we were there three, four, five times a week.” Added Terri:
“Our one rule: They had to be in the best condition we could afford. We
didn’t buy just to buy. We bought the very best and traded up.”
 Throughout the better part of their married lives the two were well
known as powerful, committed buyers. At one time the two employed
between 20 and 30 pickers to scour the nation’s auctions, antiques
shows and private collections for the best examples of Whiting &
Davis, Mandalian Co. and other dazzling antique and vintage mesh handbags.
“This collection is just stunning in so many ways,” said Steve Bloedow, director of Collect.com Auctions.
“The quality, the quantity, the variety — you just don’t find
collections like this. With so many lots available during the online
bidding, there is something for every collector — from jewelry to
fashion, even gloves owned by Cher. The entire collection will impress
anyone who views the lots.”
 It was the LaMothes who the Whiting & Davis Co. contacted to create
a 110-year retrospective on the firm’s best examples for its
anniversary celebration. The company gave the couple exclusive and
unfettered access to archives. As such, the sale contains more than 250
lots of stunning mesh handbags.
The LaMothes took special pride in collecting unique pieces such the
Whiting & Davis handbag decorated with enameled metal mesh in a
shimmering likeness of Clark Gable (estimate $2,500-$3,000). Other
specialty handbags
include Mickey Mouse ($500-$1,000), Charlie Chaplin ($2,500-$3,000) and
a special commemorative produced for the 1934 Chicago World’s Fair
($1,000-$1,200).
The auction will feature a comprehensive selection of Whiting & Davis’ highly desirable “El Sah” mesh handbags,
including a circa 1920s example still retaining its delicate compact
built into its gold tone metal handle (estimate $250-$350). The auction
also features classic plain, enameled and colored Whiting & Davis
lines such as Poiret, Gloria and Baby Peggy handbags. In addition to being the most complete collection of Whiting & Davis handbags,
the collection is a shimmering cross-section of American vintage
couture, including celebrity memorabilia including a pair of mesh
gloves worn by Cher during the height of her late 1980s comeback tour.
 The auction contains more than 100 selections of vintage fashion and
couture. For example, a pair of silver-mesh gloves by designer Michael
Schmidt from the personal collection of Cher is expected to make $750
to $1,500. The gloves hail from Cher’s late 1980s revival as she
produced hits such as “If I Could Turn Back Time” and used mesh in many
of her outrageous costumes. The lot includes a certificate of
authenticity by the Walt Disney World Co. A dazzling red mesh top once
owned by Lisa Hartman Black, actress and wife of country music star
Clint Black, is expected to bring $500 to $800.
Besides producing its iconic mesh handbags,
Whiting & Davis was one of the first companies to produce a
prolific line of costume jewelry. As one of the oldest costume jewelers
in the United States, its lines are of the kind currently enjoying a
rise in popularity. The auction features a large selection of mesh
necklaces and neckties, belts, bracelets, earrings and rings. Pieces
are heavily influenced by Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Victorian revivals
with huge, raised relief bangles and high quality intaglio cameos. Many
retain the original Whiting & Davis cards and tags.
 A fully illustrated catalog for Collect.com Auction’s Dec. 12 sale of
the Dennis & Terri LaMothe Collection, plus additions, will be
printed in the Nov. 25 issue of Antique Trader magazine or available by
calling 888-463-3063 after Nov. 11. An online catalog will be viewable
through the Web site www.Collect.com/Auctions.
All absentee forms of bidding are available through www.Collect.com/Auctions or by calling 888-463-3063, fax 715-445-4087 or e-mail at auctions@collect.com. The Dec. 12 auction features a 17 percent buyer’s premium. Visit Collect.com Auctions online at www.Collect.com/Auctions.
Photos courtesy Collect.com Auctions.
— Posted by Eric Bradley
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• Find us on Twitter HERE.
• Find us on Facebook HERE.• Visit the Antique Trader Web site HERE. Sign up for our FREE newsletters!• If you really like what you see, get your very own subscription to Antique Trader HERE. • Reference books available about your favorite collectibles HERE
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• Browse the Antique Trader Classifieds or place your FREE online ads HERE.
Antique News | Antiques Auction | Antiques News | Auction | pop art | Vintage Fashion
Friday, October 23, 2009 4:41:00 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, October 16, 2009
Antique article shortcuts
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
Here's an easy way to get your antique news: click on the links below to read the articles:
Antique Trader breaks new ground with new “Collecting Depression Glass” online seminar
Portraits and pistols earn top prices at Garth’s
 Liberace’s cousin’s estate draws standing room only
This Emilio Pucci designer dress with matching panties was sold at Liberace's cousin's estate auction in Wittenberg, Wis. Photo by Eric Bradley.
Brimfield completes Fiftieth Year Celebration
Jenkins Shows draws 20,000 for Springfield Extravaganza
Toy world mourns passing of Donald Kaufman
Depression glass collecting continues to evolve
Art Markets: Gallery label prompts investigation of attic find
Ask Antique Trader: Cheers! Robj liquor decanters worth $900
Posted by Karen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• Find us on Twitter HERE.
• Find us on Facebook HERE.• Visit the Antique Trader Web site HERE. Sign up for our FREE newsletters!• If you really like what you see, get your very own subscription to Antique Trader HERE. • Reference books available about your favorite collectibles HERE
• Antique Trader message boards HERE.
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antique | Antique Blog | Antique Glass | Antique News | Antique Show | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques Blog | Antiques Blogs | Antiques News | Antiques Show | Auction | fine art | Toys | Vintage Fashion
Friday, October 16, 2009 8:57:56 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Tuesday, October 06, 2009 Wednesday, September 23, 2009
dmg world media sells AntiqueWeek, three others in deal finalized late last week
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
KNIGHTSTOWN, Ind. – In a deal finalized late last week, dmg world media sold its Knightstown, Ind., publications, including its flagship antiques and collectibles newspaper AntiqueWeek. Included in the sale are publications AntiqueWest, The Auction Exchange and Collectors News and Farm World, billed as “the largest farm newspaper in the Midwest.”
The
new owner is MidCountry Media, Inc., which has ties to the Mayhill
family who founded AntiqueWeek in 1968 and sold it along with its other
titles to dmg in 2000. dmg world media is a wholly-owned subsidiary of
the Daily Mail and General Trust plc, one of the largest and media
companies in the United Kingdom.
Talks of a sale surfaced in
October 2008 when employees were informed the Indiana titles were under
contract to be sold. Since then, dmg has steadily sold segments of its
antiques and collectibles businesses.
It sold the London-based newspaper Antiques Trade Gazette
in October 2008. In June it sold four of the biggest antiques and
collectors' fairs in the UK. In July, dmg sold back the Florida show
known as “Palm Beach - America's International Fine Art & Antiques Fair” to its original owners, the Lester family.
In the case of Antiques Trade Gazette, it was employees who purchased the publication. The UK fairs (Newark, Ardingly, Shepton Mallet and Detling) are owned by a group, which includes a former dmg executive who oversaw the original acquisition in 1994.
AntiqueWeek
is a national publication with The Auction Exchange and Collectors News
focuses on the Great Lakes region and AntiqueWest focuses on the West
Coast.
dmg owns The Avignon (France) International Trade Fair, The Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show, The Miami Beach Antique Jewelry & Watch Show, The New York Antique Jewelry and Watch Show, The Original Miami Beach Antique Show and the The Washington DC Antique, Art and Jewelry Show, which debuts Oct. 15-18.
dmg also publishes more than 40 related magazines, newspapers, directories and market reports and employs 700 people worldwide.
-posted by Eric Bradley
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• Find us on Twitter HERE.
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antique | Antique Blog | Antique News | Antique Show | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques Blog | Antiques Blogs | Antiques News | Antiques publications | Antiques Show
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 12:30:27 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, September 17, 2009
Valuable marketing tool for dealers: hold a show before the auction
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
This struck me as an innovative way to generate valuable pre-auction publicity, help educate the public and be a good citizen all at the same time.
Poster Auctions International and Long Island’s Cradle of Aviation Museum are teaming up to launch an exhibition of rare, early aviation posters. The exhibition, held on location at the museum opens tomorrow and runs through Oct. 18. The exhibition includes posters from private collections located around the world as well as the museum's permanent collection
Once the exhibit wraps up, the posters (not those from the museum's permanent collection) will be returned to Poster Auctions International in time for its bi-annual auction of rare, vintage posters on Sunday, Nov. 8.
What an interesting opportunity for both experienced and novice collectors visit a new museum to see a rare collection in one place at the same time. And what a savvy method to whet the appetite of poster dealers and collectors.
antique | Antique News | Antique news odd | Antique Show | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques News | Antiques Show | Ephemera | fine art | Historic Preservation | Modern | Modernism | Outsider Art | pop art
Thursday, September 17, 2009 11:31:16 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, September 10, 2009
Skinner Discovery Auction Sept. 16-17 in Marlborough
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
What's more exciting than a discovery auction? Where you never know what you'll have the opportunity to buy?
Skinner's upcoming Sept. 16-17 sale will offer silver, jewelry, toys, dolls, American Indian arts and more. You can view an online auction preview at www.skinnerinc.com.
Here's a breakdown of the sessions:
Session I
 Wednesday’s session offers over 200 lots of silver and silver plated flatware, hollowware and domestic accessories with work representing many of America’s leading silver manufacturers including Tiffany, Gorham, Dominick & Haff, Whiting, Arthur Stone as well as a selection of European 18th, 19th and 20th century articles. Immediately following the silver portion of the auction are over 300 lots of vintage and estate jewelry and accessories featuring gold, silver, and gem-stone jewelry as well as period eclectic, signed & designed costume jewelry, and examples of international wares from the British Isles to Thailand. Skinner’s silver and estate jewelry auctions provide a wonderful buying opportunity for quality and design at surprisingly affordable prices. Preview now at http://tinyurl.com/l3n6pd.
Session II
Thursday morning’s auction features Discovery's usual fare: a wide and varied offering of estate furnishings, decorative accessories, carpets & rugs, and artwork from the 18th - 20th century. A particularly strong group of furniture by the Boston area firm of A.H. Davenport/Irving & Cassons is included. Known for good design and impeccable workmanship, Kerry Shrives, VP, Director, Discovery Auctions, notes that “manufactured custom furniture by this firm continues to see strong demand, is affordable and is predicted to be desirable well into the future.” Rounding out the 800 lot session are interesting collections of vintage toys, dolls, bears and accessories. Closing the sale is more than 100 lots of American Indian and Ethnographic art featuring textiles, beadwork, Native American & Southwest jewelry, pre-Colombian artifacts and more.
You can participate at www.skinnerinc.com:
Skinner’s Web site now features real-time online bidding via the Skinner-Live! bid applet. Visit www.skinnerinc.com and click on the blue Skinner-Live! bidding button for full instructions prior to the auction. Once pre-registered on their Web site, you can join in the live bidding as soon as the auction begins and listen along with the real-time live audio feed of the auction from the comfort of your home or workplace.
Visit www.skinnerinc.com to sign up for their free eZine of upcoming arts & antiques auctions and events. ... free is good!
— Posted by Karen
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• Find us on Twitter HERE.
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• If you really like what you see, get your very own subscription to Antique Trader HERE.
• Reference books available about your favorite collectibles HERE
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antique | Antique News | Antiques Auction | Auction | green living
Thursday, September 10, 2009 9:54:20 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Valentine Antique Gallery leads to new full-service auction company
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
SUNBURY, Ohio – Jo Valentine, co-founder of central O hio’s multi-dealer Valentine Antique Gallery, has established a new offshoot company in partnership with Ohio auctioneer Cynthia Schillig.
Known as The Antiques Auction Gallery, the new business will base its operation and conduct its sales at the 12,000-square-foot Valentine Antique Gallery in Sunbury. A debut auction is planned for Friday, Oct. 9, and will include Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com.
Valentine (left in photo) said the new business was launched with Schillig (right in photo) to serve a growing need in the region for a full-service auction house specializing in antiques, fine and decorative art, collections and estates.
“When my husband John and I first opened our auction gallery in 2003, we wanted to include auctions, but we were so busy, those plans got sidetracked,” said Valentine. “During the six years that we’ve operated our gallery, we’ve noticed that there is a need here locally for an antiques and fine-art auction house. There are auctions in central Ohio, but they handle mostly box lots. Not a week passes that we don’t get several calls from sons and daughters of parents who are downsizing or who have passed away, telling us they don’t know what to do with all the articles in the family home.”
Valentine said that when Schillig expressed an interest in co-founding an auction company, she knew she had found the right partner for her new endeavor. “Cindi is highly qualified. She has three auctioneer degrees and is a certified estate specialist, but what impressed me most was her love for the auction business and her incredible enthusiasm. For years she had been planning a trip to Greece, but when she thought our first sale might be held in September, at the same time as her trip, she was prepared to change her travel arrangements. I told her, ‘Don’t do that. Take your trip, have a great time, and come back refreshed and ready to work.’ So that’s why we chose October 9th as our first sale date.”
Valentine said the plan is to hold monthly auctions featuring fine art, porcelain, pottery, glass, silver, Oriental rugs, lighting, and collections of various types, including antique toys and dolls. The premiere auction will contain between 300 and 350 lots.
“Luckily, we have some very knowledgeable dealers selling through our gallery who will serve as our expert appraisers and catalogers,” said Valentine. “Another nice feature to our operation is that we have ample gallery space, so the auction goods can be previewed over an extended period of time prior to auction day.”
The Antiques Auction Gallery and Valentine Antique Gallery are located at 579 W. Cherry St. in Sunbury, Ohio, just off exit 131 of Interstate 71, 13 miles north of Columbus and 120 miles south of Cleveland.
For information about consigning to The Antiques Auction Gallery, call 740-965-9519. E-mail info@valentineantiquegallery.com. Visit both galleries online at www.valentineantiquegallery.com.
Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques Blog | Antiques News
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 3:39:14 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, August 14, 2009
Antique headline shortcuts anyone?
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
Antiques trade mourns icon’s passing
Springfield Antiques Show turns great finds
Dealers show rare and unusual items at Nashville glass show
Antique show fund raiser earns nearly $4,000 for animal shelter- (I thought this was a great idea!)
All Saints Show highly praised by dealers
Baltimore Summer Show: Designed to dazzle
Guyette & Schmidt, Inc. summer decoy auction grosses $1.3 million
Hal Hunt to auction the contents of famous Alabama antebellum home Sept. 5
Historic rifle from the Battle of Little Big Horn offered at Kaminski’s August auction
Seldom-seen antique maps, atlases offered in Old World Auctions’ online sale
antique | Antique Blog | Antique News | Antique news odd | Antique Show | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques News | Antiques Show | Antiques, Atlantique City, Antiques Show, Antique Trader, Collectibles | Auction
Friday, August 14, 2009 5:24:44 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, July 16, 2009
Penn Auctions wins six NAA marketing awards this week
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
The National Auctioneers Association has awarded Rich Penn Auctions six different first place marketing awards at its annual convention and conference in Overland Park, Kan. this week.
The annual competition is presented July 13-18 in partnership with USA TODAY and this year judges reviewed over a thousand entries.
Penn Auctions was named first place in the categories of color catalog for antique auctions, color catalog for liquidation auctions and color printed material for automotive auctions as well as for online catalogs for both antique auctions and liquidation auctions and for black and white newspaper advertising.
Penn’s company specializes in auctions of country store, drug store, petroliana and advertising antiques.
Antique Blog | Antique News | Antique Show | Antiques Auction | Antiques News | Antiques publications | Auction
Thursday, July 16, 2009 10:31:49 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, July 08, 2009
And off it goes! Antique Trader 7/22/09
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
The newest edition of Antique Trader just headed off to the printer.
This week's cover features: those adorable Holt-Howard collectibles and vintage canning labels.
Oh, by the way: we change the cover to say "Pixie-flair" ...
What do you think of it?
— Posted by Karen Knapstein
Antiques Auction | Antiques Blog | Antiques Blogs | Antiques News | Antiques, Atlantique City, Antiques Show, Antique Trader, Collectibles
Wednesday, July 08, 2009 5:15:06 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, June 24, 2009
I'll make that bid!
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
As many of you know (at least those of you who follow Antique Trader on Twitter and Facebook), editor Eric Bradley and I showed up at the same auction last Saturday.
It was a multiple-estate and consignment auction held in Weyauwega, Wis., at the Liebe auction facility. There were crocks galore (some in "barn found" condition: dirty but in great shape), Fiesta ware, carnival glass, Depression glass - all going for bargain basement prices.
There was even an absolutely gorgeous walnut cylinder desk. It went for only $595.
But then there was a pizza oven that went for almost $40; that left Eric and me scratching our heads.
I didn't have a child in tow that I had to entertain or keep busy so I was able to thoroughly enjoy myself. Of course, if my daughter were there to distract me, I probably wouldn't have ended up with a truckload (literally - not figuratively) of treasures to haul home. ... I still haven't sorted it, by the way. There's soooo much!
I did score a beautiful painted green chest that will go great with my dining room cupboard (CLICK HERE to see the post about the cupboard: Falling in love with old paint) I'll try and get a picture posted.
As I was soaking up the whole auction experience, I was watching around the room and watching the crowd. I can't help but smile when I think about all the different bidding styles bidders use.
Some bidders make a show of it: they raise their cards with flourish and they drop out of the bidding with just as much theatrics: with a disgusted shake of the head and turn their bodies away.
Some are sneaky; they signal the auctioneer with an almost imperceptible nod of the head or flick of the card.
Some use intimidation; they hold their card up and keep it there, signaling the crowd that the item will be theirs at any cost.
What style do I use? I'm all business. I keep steady eye contact and raise my card confidently and clearly. I don't bid just to run the price up. I bid because I want something. Don't get me wrong; I've got a set price in my head what I will go up to ... and usually I stick with it.
Ah, good times! So, where's the auction next weekend?
What is your bidding strategy? Or maybe that's a secret ...
We'd love to hear your auction stories. Post a reply here or e-mail them to Eric.Bradley@fwmedia.com or Karen.Knapstein@fwmedia.com.
— Posted by Karen Knapstein
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• Visit the Antique Trader Web site HERE. Sign up for our FREE newsletters!
• If you really like what you see, get your own subscription to Antique Trader HERE.
• Reference books available about your favorite collectibles HERE
• Antique Trader message boards HERE.
• Browse the Antique Trader Classifieds or place your FREE online ads HERE.
• Find us on Twitter HERE.
Antiques Auction | Auction | green living
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 9:37:33 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, June 19, 2009
Isn't she beautiful?
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
Both Barbie and the newest cover of Antique Trader.
We were so busy ... it slipped by me that I didn't load up the newest cover image.
Here it is.
What do you think?
— Posted by Karen Knapstein
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• Visit the Antique Trader Web site HERE. Sign up for our FREE newsletters!
• If you really like what you see, get your own subscription to Antique Trader HERE.
• Reference books available about your favorite collectibles HERE
• Antique Trader message boards HERE.
• Browse the Antique Trader Classifieds or place your FREE online ads HERE.
• Find us on Twitter HERE.
Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques Blogs | Antiques News | Antiques publications | Toys
Friday, June 19, 2009 9:30:06 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Saturday, June 06, 2009
I don't think you'll want to miss these either
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
Lots of antique auction news ...
Rare ark form Hanukkah lamp sells for $314,000 in Skinner's Fine Judaica Auction
Peter the Great portrait steals the show at St. Charles Gallery sale
Impressive lifetime collections hit the block, June 27
Entertainment icons live on at Julien’s auction - Marilyn Monroe & Elvis Presley: what's not to love ...
Anglo-Portuguese chest on stand gathers $74,150 at Weschler sale
Historic Enchanted Village holiday display to be auctioned
James D. Julia’s June sale offers their finest selection to date
Swann Galleries’ June 11 auction offers large selection of atlases, maps, and works on natural history
First edition Harry Potter trove highlights June Rare Books Auction in Dallas
Vast array of fine antiques offered at Susanin's, June 13
~~~~~~~~~
More exciting news: Antique Trader broke 600 followers on Twitter today! Follow us at http://twitter.com/antiquetrader and find out what's going on with us first-hand.
antique | Antique News | Antique news odd | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques News | Antiques publications | Antiques, Atlantique City, Antiques Show, Antique Trader, Collectibles | Auction | Postcards
Saturday, June 06, 2009 5:05:25 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Saturday, May 30, 2009
If you're into 20th century design ...
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
then you'll probably want to check out Heritage Auction Gallery's June 4 auction offerings at www.HA.com/5021, where the press release boasts " a wide selection of
American Modernism, with work by names like George
Nakashima, Harry
Bertoia, KEM
Weber, Gilbert
Rohde and Donald
Deskey as well as examples of American Arts & Crafts up through
Contemporary design."
They've got a load of Tiffany lamps, too.
Though the items offered in the catalog are beyond my budget, I enjoy and benefit from reading through the detailed descriptions and perusing the high resolution images on their Web site ... I glean knowledge wherever I can, and Heritage's site is one of many that I can wile away my time soaking up valuable information in the process.
George Nakashima, A Slab Walnut Coffee Table, 1987
Signed and dated on base: George Nakashima Oct. 2, 1987
Inscribed on base: Studio
13 x 69 x 32 inches (33.0 x 175.3 x 81.3 cm)
Estimate: $18,000-$24,000.
Image courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries.
Antiques | Antiques Auction | Auction | Modern | Modernism
Saturday, May 30, 2009 9:52:38 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Collect.com Auctions Catalog Available for Viewing
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
 It's
almost here - the debut sale of Collect.com Auctions. Bidding begins
May 29 and ends June 18. Those interested in what items will be
available in the auction can view the catalog by clicking on the cover
(left) and downloading it to their computer.
Remember, this is just part of the nearly 1,000-lot auction. The remaining lots will be available for viewing online at www.collect.com/auctions when the auction begins on May 29.
Happy bidding.
UPDATE: ALL AUCTION LISTINGS ARE ONLINE NOW. CLICK HERE TO VIEW!
Antique News | Antiques Auction | Antiques News | Auction
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 12:25:19 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, May 18, 2009 Friday, May 15, 2009
Collectibles blog you'll want to check out
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
Heritage Auction Galleries has launched their own collectibles blog at www.HeritageAuctions.Blogspot.com. We think you'll want to check it out ...
Heritage issued a press release announcing their new site feature:
Collectors, consignors and the curious alike can now get the inside scoop on hot lots coming down the pipe at Heritage Auction Galleries, along with insight, interviews and commentary from Heritage Auction Galleries staff at the company’s recently launched blog at www.HeritageAuctions.Blogspot.com. Posts are added each weekday.
With three full months under its belt, the blog has already proven a hotspot for a wide cross-sampling of the Heritage audience. Principal writing duties for the blog are held down by staff writer Noah Fleisher, who joined the company in September of 2008.
Noah made a name for himself in the antiques and collectibles market as a writer and an editor for a variety of publications, including Antique Trader, New England Antiques Journal and Northeast Journal of Antiques and Art. He has written several articles for digital publication Style Century Magazine, and also penned the Style Century blog, StyleWire, from May 2008 to January 2009. Noah is also the author of the forthcoming Warman’s Antiques and Collectibles Price Guide to Mid-Century Modern Furniture, due out this summer.
“Heritage is an amazing place to work, with so much great stuff coming in and out on a regular basis that no one could possibly take in the total history and value that the company represents,” he said. “With my past as a writer and an editor I can’t help but want to explore the things going on here. In my work as the staff copywriter I also have access to all 26 departments in the company, the people who work in them and the singular items that routinely come up for auction. It’s a natural fit.”
The blog also features regular Coin Monday posts from numismatic cataloger John Dale Beety, a young numismatist of note with a flair for making the often mystifying world of coin collecting accessible and interesting to any collector. Other Heritage employees have been enlisted and will be contributing from time to time as the rare and valuable collectibles that cross their desks call for.
"The response has been great," said Fleisher. "Heritage has insisted that the voice of the blog be independent, which is a great thing to hear as a writer. That lets us choose our subjects and write about them freely. At heart we're just collectors talking about things that we'd love to have."
The blog is updated daily. Recent postings have covered the sale of an exceedingly rare 1932 Freaks movie poster, the consignment of the Charles Martignette Estate – the finest collection of illustration art to ever reach the market, a trove of rare sporting memorabilia related to legend/pariah “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, a mid-nineteenth century gold ingot coming up for auction in April, a copy of a very rare Showcase#4 comic, the book that started comics’ Silver Age, and much more.
As you probably already know, Heritage auctions offer treasures that cross the entire collecting spectrum ... you name it, at some point or other, they'll have it! (Not just any auction house can say they've auctioned off a triceratops!) So whether you're looking to buy or for information on estate jewelry, fine timepieces, numismatic material, natural history relics ... the list goes on ... www.ha.com is worth the time to browse and check out.
And you may want to catch up with Noah <NoahF@HA.com>...
— Posted by Karen Knapstein ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• Visit the Antique Trader Web site HERE. Sign up for our FREE newsletters!
• If you really like what you see, get your own subscription to Antique Trader HERE.
• Learn more about Antique Trader HERE.
• Reference books available about your favorite collectibles HERE
• Antique Trader message boards HERE.
• Browse the Antique Trader Classifieds or place your free online ads HERE.
• Find us on Twitter HERE.
Antique Blog | Antique News | Antiques Auction | Antiques Blog | Antiques Blogs | Antiques News | Auction | Modern | Modernism
Friday, May 15, 2009 8:47:53 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, May 01, 2009 Monday, April 27, 2009
Weekend do-over?
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
Is it possible to request a do-over for the weekend? I think I could have done better. I really wanted to get out and visit one of the "local" flea markets (local for me is within 100 miles), but the weather and my schedule didn't co-operate. How far will you travel to attend a one-day show or flea market - or auction, for that matter - as a buyer, browser or spectator? If I travel any great distance, I certainly want to make the trip worth my while and soak it ALL in ... How about you? — Posted by Karen
Antique Blog | Antiques Auction | Antiques Blog | Antiques Blogs | Antiques Show | Antiques, Atlantique City, Antiques Show, Antique Trader, Collectibles
Monday, April 27, 2009 8:23:04 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Worth more than a thousand words
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
“A picture is worth a thousand words,” but not just a thousand words. A picture is worth so much more, as they can cause the viewer empathetic pain, pleasure, sadness, joy. They can make you sit and ponder their intricacies and nuances for time that you don’t have to spare. These are significant moments frozen in time. One nice thing about the art of photography is that the artists can produce such prolific bodies of work, providing an eager collecting community plenty of opportunities to expand their collections.  Jeff Vallee “Harvey” from the series “ This time tomorrow, where will we be?” Courtesy iGavel.com.Currently, iGavel is holding an online photography auction celebrating American photographers and benefiting the Americans for the Arts organization. The show features the work of more than 40 artists, including Jock Sturges, Les Krims, Ben Watts, Cass Bird, Jason Nocito, and Vincent Laforet. Opening bids are $300. This auction is going on through April 30, 2009. (Click here to learn more about the online photography auction benefiting Americans for the Arts.) Eduard Steichen, Lilac Buds, Mrs S., 1906. Courtesy iGavel.com. Also, through May 13, is the Spring Online Auction of Photographs presented by Daniel Cooney Fine Art. (Click here to learn more about this online photography auction opportunity.)— Posted by Karen
Antiques Auction | Auction | Ephemera | Historic Preservation | Modern | pop art
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 2:45:36 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, March 20, 2009 Friday, March 13, 2009 Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Official news from the NAA
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
We just got this press release from the National Auctioneers Association: The National Auctioneers Association < http://www.auctioneers.org> (NAA), the nation’s leading association of auction professionals, reported today the results of its 2008 industry survey. In 2008, approximately $268.4 billion in goods and services were sold at auction in the United States, a decrease of slightly less than 1% compared to 2007. Growth in 2008 was limited to five sectors of the industry: agricultural machinery and equipment, commercial and industrial machinery and equipment, land and agricultural real estate, residential real estate, and charity auctions. Significant decreases in gross revenue were reported in art, antiques and collectibles (-9.3%), automobile (-5.4%), and personal property (-5.1%) auctions. “The results of the industry survey are consistent with what we continually hear from auctioneers across the country. While some sectors of the industry have been impacted by the economy, others have grown or held strong,” said NAA President Randy Wells. “Consumers continue to attend auctions to find treasures and sellers continue to utilize professional auctioneers to help turn their assets into cash.” Agricultural machinery and equipment auctions led the industry with gross sales revenue increasing 1.9% in 2008. The commercial and industrial machinery and equipment sector also witnessed growth last year. In addition to increased interest in auctions, growth in this sector can be associated with consumers choosing to purchase used equipment at auction, in place of buying new. Since the NAA began tracking the industry in 2003, gross receipts from real estate auctions have increased each year. Last year, residential real estate auctions increased 1.1%, along with land and agricultural real estate, which grew 0.5%. Commercial real estate dipped 1.4% last year. Real Estate Owned (REO) properties were also a major contributor to the industry’s growth in 2008. Banks frequently contract professional auctioneers to sell foreclosed properties at auction, as well as refer auctioneers to customers with troubled assets and use them to sell their own foreclosed properties.
antique | Antique News | Antiques Auction | Antiques News | Auction
Wednesday, March 04, 2009 1:54:50 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Auction calendar update
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
The AntiqueTrader.com online Auction Calendar has been updated with an index at the top of the page. Click on the state you want to see to go directly to those listings. Use your back button to go back to the top of the page. To get your auction listed in the Antique Trader calendar (both in the magazine and onine), e-mail showscalendar@krause.com. Please provide all the relevant information: Auction date, time, auction location, contact information (e-mail, Web site, telephone number). If you would like it listed online only, send it to me at karen.knapstein@fwmedia.com. Does the index make the calendars much easier to use? Or was it OK without it?
Antique Blog | Antiques Auction | Antiques Blogs | Antiques publications | Antiques Show | Antiques, Atlantique City, Antiques Show, Antique Trader, Collectibles | Auction
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 11:41:18 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Thursday, February 12, 2009
Newest issue of Antique Trader
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
Here's a sneak peek at the newest issue of Antique Trader (cover date February 25). Inside you'll find antique auction news, antique show previews and reviews, a beautiful story on the museum exhibit of a fabulous quilt collection, and so much more! Also included in the Feb. 25 issue is this month's bonus postcard content: articles on George Washington, England, real life heroes, and the almost-lost art of fan-carving. You can read these postcard stories (and more) on the Antique Trader postcard page. You won't want to miss the fan-carving article if you're interested in getting a set of free postcards featuring this astounding art form. And don't miss the cover story on Levittown, "the birth of the 'burbs," an insightful look into post-war American culture. Enjoy!
Antique News | Antique Show | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques News | Antiques publications | Antiques Show | Antiques, Atlantique City, Antiques Show, Antique Trader, Collectibles | Auction
Thursday, February 12, 2009 3:55:58 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Buyer vs. Seller POV; Bonanzle vs. Ruby Lane vs. TIAS
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
I wanted to take a moment and thank Antique Trader forum user trantiques for their comments in the "Alternatives to eBay" forum thread. [you can read the thread here]. (scroll down to the bottom of the thread) He takes the time and analyzes his buying and selling efforts on a number of sites other than eBay. If you're in the market for learning about someone else's online buying and selling experiences, with both positive and negative points, you won't want to miss what he has to say. Thanks again trantiques. I'm sure our readers will find your insights invaluable. ~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do any of you have online buying or selling experiences you would like to share? Feel free to post a reply here or in the forums.
antique | Antiques Auction | Auction | eBay
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 1:18:56 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Get your free show/auction/sale listing on AntiqueTrader.com
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
Free Antiques and Collectibles Event Listings Still Available in Marketplace of Rising PricesIOLA, Wis. — Antique Trader, the national antiques publication delivering news, commentary, and advertising for the antiques market, continues to offer free publication of antiques auction and antiques show listings in print and online. Even in these tough economic times, when the cost of living and the costs of operating a business continually inch upward, Antique Trader is continuing to offer the free placement of auction and show listings in its publication and online at AntiqueTrader.com. Antique Trader’s show and auction calendars are valuable resources for both antiques event organizers and attendees. Listing a show or auction in a national publication reaches a much broader, interested audience. There is an immediate benefit in listing an auction in the auction calendar if online bidding opportunities exist. A direct link to the auction company’s Web site is placed with their listing in the auction calendar, giving readers a shortcut to online bidding. “The show and auction calendar pages are consistently ranked in the top 10 most visited pages on AntiqueTrader.com,” stated Karen Knapstein, Antique Trader’s online editor, “showing us there is a definite interest in the antiques community to find out what antique events are taking place nationwide.” To have your event included at no cost in an upcoming issue of Antique Trader and listed online at www.AntiqueTrader.com, send your show or auction information to deb.schellin@fwmedia.com. To view the current Antique Trader auction and show calendars, visit www.antiquetrader.com/events/ and click on the calendar link for the type of event calendar you would like to see. About Antique TraderAntique Trader, a newspaper published in Iola, Wis., has served the antiques and collectibles community since 1957. Today’s Antique Trader is known for its timely news coverage, collector profiles, in-depth articles on general antiques topics, auction reviews and antique-show reports delivered via its print product, Web site ( www.antiquetrader.com), and two free weekly e-newsletters. Its loyal following includes antique dealers, antique show promoters, shop and mall operators, and collectors, some of whom have subscribed to the paper since its inception. About Krause PublicationsKrause Publications, based in Iola, Wis., is the world's largest publisher of leisure-time periodicals and books on collectibles, sewing and quilting, hunting, and fishing. Chet Krause, a long-time collector of coins, published the first issue of Numismatic News on Oct. 13, 1952, with nearly 1,000 readers. Today, Krause Publications, owned by F+W Media, offers over 40 periodicals, 10 hobby shows, 750 reference and how-to books, and web properties. F+W Media, an ABRY Partners, LLC company, also operates book clubs, conferences, trade shows, interactive media and education programs. Contact: Karen Knapstein Online Editor, AntiqueTrader.comkaren.knapstein@fwmedia.com715-445-4612 ext. 13627
Antique News | Antique Show | Antiques Auction | Antiques News | Antiques publications | Antiques Show | Auction
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 4:57:27 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Friday, January 09, 2009
Heritage offers free dino teeth to kids
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
A free dinosaur tooth will be given to each of the first 100 children
(ages 7 to 13, and accompanied by an adult) who visit the headquarters
of Heritage Auction Galleries, 3500 Maple, in Dallas between 12 noon
and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17. Each 67-million year old tooth is
from a giant, meat-eating Spinosaurus, the largest carnivore to ever
walk the earth, and will be given away during the preview of Heritage’s Signature Natural History Auction to be held on Sunday, Jan. 18. “Kids
and dinosaurs are a natural fit, as any parent will tell you,” said
David Herskowitz, Director of Natural History at Heritage. “If a child
goes crazy over a plastic dino you pick up at a toy store, imagine what
it will be like for them to have an actual tooth of what was once a
real live hunting and fighting dinosaur.”  The
dino teeth being given away range in size from 3/4 of an inch to 1 1/2
inches. The offer is strictly limited to the first 100 eligible kids
that come into the gallery. As Heritage has become the world
leader in Natural History Auctions, it has also increased its
commitment to creating the next generation of dedicated and educated
collectors. A prize like the Spinosaur teeth being offered will not
only make any child the envy of every kid on the block, it also
presents a real, tangible link to one of the greatest creatures the
world knew – or ever will know again – tens of millions of years ago.
Little could serve as more inspiration, or edification, to a budding
paleontologist. “We are very committed to our role as the
world’s leading Natural History auctioneer,” said Herskowitz. “Part of
that role is to educate both our clients and their families, and to
bring history alive in a way that only the real thing can possibly do.” Once
in the gallery, children and parents alike will also have the
opportunity to view the vast array of significant natural history
treasures being offered at auction starting at 1 p.m. the next day,
Sunday, Jan. 18. Some of these singular relics include a 93% intact skull of a Triceratops,
one of the fiercest and most famous dinosaurs of all. This massive
specimen – five feet wide and seven feet long – is in fantastic
condition, is as rare as they come and features the three large horns
that this dinosaur is known for. Also on view will be a virtually complete flying dinosaur known as a Petrosaur; an enormous 11-1/2 foot tusk from a Woolly Mammoth; a 336 pound Iron meteorite and pieces of the moon and the planet Mars. For
more information on this auction, to view the entire catalog or to see
fully enlargeable images of each lot, and to bid, go online to www.HA.com/6012. For more information, call David Herskowitz at 800-872-6467, ext. 1610, or email to DavidH@HA.com. To reserve your copy of any Heritage auction catalog, please contact Client Services at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 1150, or visit www.HA.com/Catalog to order by email. Heritage
Auction Galleries is the world’s third largest auction house, and by
far the largest auctioneer of rare collectibles, with annual sales more
than $700 million, and 400,000+ registered online bidder members. For
more information about Heritage's auctions, and to join and gain access
to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color,
enlargeable photos of each lot, visit www.HA.com.
Antique News | Antique news odd | Antiques Auction | Antiques News | Antiquities
Friday, January 09, 2009 10:44:46 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Sunday, December 14, 2008
NJ collectibles auction with potential
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
This looks like it might be a fun collectibles auction ... after all - you don't see a mesh belly dancer outfit listed in many auction bills. What a great way to start a new year! We will be holding our annual New Years Day Antiques and Collectibles
auction Thursday, January 1, 2009 at the American Legion Hall,
Meadowbrook Lane, New Egypt, N.J. 08533. Auction starts at 12 noon, preview at 9am.
Partial listing of antiques, collectibles and decorative accessories:
Victorian Fish Knife and Fork serving Set; Victorian gold filled with
10k & cameo slide chain; Victorian sugar shaker; Marx b/o train in box; Effanbee vintage fairy
tale character dolls in boxes; vintage advertising labels, Belly Dancer
mesh outfit; slot cars + trucks; NASCAR posters; 4 Kiss Dolls: grasshopper planter; Saks Fifth
Ave. decanter; vintage figural cookie jars; sterling jewelry; lots of
costume jewelry; Victorian painted pitcher; vintage cocktail ware; Weller teapot; Religious lot of
vintage rosaries, medals; Catholic Last Rites kit; vintage wire frame
glasses with cases; sterling candle holders, sterling compote, Whiting & Davis mesh purse,
graniteware deep oval roaster; 1964 World's Fair paper; several
scrapbooks with vintage greeting cards; 1,000's of non-sports cards, Marvel Comics, Hulk, James Bond etc; Depression glass, lots of assorted glassware, stemware, china, pottery
and porcelain. U.S coins, silver dollars, proof and mints sets etc.; Collection of classic
automotive repair manuals 70's and 80's - muscle cars, classics,
original shop manuals; vintage paper from central NJ towns, deeds,
cancelled checks, tax bills, etc; early 60's bread storage basket;
automotive tools; glassware and knickknacks from the 50's; framed
prints; vintage photographs and photo albums; vintage pharmaceutical
bottles and other bottles; milk bottles' Mickey Mouse items; assortment
of vintage military items including ammo magazines, WWII flares, belt
knife, canteen, first aid kit, luger holster, WWII destroyer paperwork,
early wood ammo boxes, trench art shell, several WWII boxes with flares
etc. WWII machettes, WWII compass, weapons parts, repro WWI trench
knife; 1990's Exxon Race car, old roadmaps + travel pamphlets, old N.J.
license plates, Victorian vase, Hermes bag, perfume bottles, vintage
purses, vintage lipsticks & compacts, advertising collectibles,
vintage paper and old postcards, country and kitchen collectibles;
loads of small collectibles; toys, pictures, prints; lamps, assorted
furniture, decorative items, old tools, odd & unique items, loads
of nice tray lots of all types of goodies. Loads of other neat stuff
and undiscovered treasures. Consignments need to be brought in December
31st. 9am - 5pm. No box lots or low end this sale. You never know what
might show up here. 10% Buyers premium. Lots of seating, non smoking,
snack bar. Dec. 31 and day of sale only 609-758-8131
Directions: NJTPK Exit 7A to I-195 East to 6 Flags Exit; Rt537W go west past Great Adventure to Rt528 (3rd light) turn left go to Meadowbrook Lane (Across from Agway) turn left.From Rt 206 go east on Rt 537 to Rt 528 turn right go to Meadowbrook Lane.
Antique Glass | Antiques Auction | Auction | Vintage Fashion
Sunday, December 14, 2008 7:01:44 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Monday, December 08, 2008
Austrian Art Nouveau lamps at Morphy Auction
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
Tiffany Studios’ stunning turn of the 20th century leaded-glass lamps
appear frequently in the auction marketplace, but many collectors may
not be aware of a contemporaneous but far-less-expensive alternative:
Austrian figural bronze-base lamps.
Made during the same timeframe as their botanically themed Tiffany
counterparts, Austrian Art Nouveau specialty lamps often incorporate
bronze animal forms as their bases. They are almost always devoid of
manufacturer or foundry marks.
“These lamps have always flown under the radar,” said a New York
collector of 30 years. “Not too many people know what they are. They’re
very unusual and of incredible quality. From a design standpoint, they
were ahead of their time, and are now rarer than Tiffany lamps – that’s
something that always attracted me to them.”
The collector, who uses his lamps functionally and has kept them in
perfect working order, says it is unusual to find an example for sale
at a public venue. “It has always been incredibly difficult to find
these lamps. The first one I ever saw was in the United States at a
show, but over the past three decades I’ve obtained almost all of my
lamps through private sources. Dealers have gotten to know me and will
call when they find a lamp they think I would like.”
Tiffany Studios lamps, by comparison, are much easier to source, the
collector said. “If you wanted a Tiffany Magnolia lamp, for example,
you could put the word out and probably find one within months. That’s
not the case with these Austrian lamps. They’re extraordinarily rare
and unique.”
In his collection, one may find lamps replicating peacocks, a frog and
toadstool, a dragon, alligator, and mythological Jugendstil-type fish,
among many other creatures. Each features an enameled or
faux-jewel-studded shade, as well as cabochons and other iridescent
jewel accents, often serving as eyes. Throughout, the artistry is
superb.
When lamps of this style appear at auction, it’s major news to
collectors, said the interviewee. “There was a lizard lamp at
Christie’s East, but that was over 15 years ago,” he said. “Then last
year a collection appeared at Hal Hunt’s auction house in Alabama.
There must have been 700 people there.”
Now it is the collector’s turn to sell. In the opening session of
Morphy Auctions’ Dec. 11-13 Winter Sale, his 23-lamp collection will be
auctioned, with no lamps held back. If there is a showstopper that
leads the rest of the menagerie, it’s the superb 18-inch-high figural
peacock lamp whose draped bronze base dramatically replicates a
peacock’s showy tail feathers with inset jewels. Adding to its
magnificence is a Mont Joye enameled-glass shade with quintessential
Art Nouveau butterfly-and-dragonfly motif. It is expected to make
between $6,000-$8,000.
For additional information, call 717-335-3435 or view the fully
illustrated catalog online at www.morphyauctions.com or
www.liveauctioneers.com. Circa-1915 jewel-eyed frog and toadstool lamp with Austrian glass shade – estimate $2,000-$2,500.
Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques News | Auction
Monday, December 08, 2008 11:27:00 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Monday, December 01, 2008
"Variety" sums up this auction offering
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
I perused the ProxiBid listing for this Official Auctions, Inc., auction. (Click here to take a peek here if you like.)Lots of cars, coins & a wonderful variety of art. Official Auctions, Inc., Huge Fine Art Auction- Saturday December 13th 2008 from 10:07 a.m. to 6 p.m. 3130 Wheeling Ave., Kansas City, MO 64129.
Large private collections featuring hundreds of original framed oils, prints, serigraphs. Signed prints: Matisse, Dali, Rockwell Merkin, Max, Escher, more. Sculptures by Preiss, hand carved Hopi Indian art. Original oils by famous artists: Jansem, & Simari. Early American, European, and Western art. Pre-Columbian pottery. Other auction items: Antique one owner vehicles, 1950 Packard, 1972 Lincoln Mark-4, 1948 Harley. Rare collector coins, antique furniture, railroad collectors pieces. Simulcast online bidding. Online catalog www.oaiauctions.com 816-861-3700
Antiques Auction | Auction | fine art | Toys
Monday, December 01, 2008 11:48:55 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Violano brings $137,500 at Showtime sale
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
From Showtime Auctions: A rare bow front violano music player, made around 1910 by the Mills
Novelty Company of Chicago and professionally restored in excellent
playing condition, soared to $137,500 at a three-day multi-estate sale
held October 10-12 by Showtime Auction Services at the Washtenaw Farm
Council Grounds. The violano, serial #195, is one of only 20 still
known to exist.
The sale, which saw 2,340 lots cross the block over the course of
the weekend, featured all three versions of the Mills violano. It might
be the first time in auction history that all three Mills violano
versions were offered in the same sale. The bow front sold had a midi
player with wireless system that permits the user to operate it from 90
feet away. Included were three Mills rolls and four midi albums.
The featured collector of the sale was Sandy Rosnick, the founder
of the Antique Advertising Association of America (AAA) and a dedicated
collector of country store tins in many categories. A top earner from
his collection was a very rare Mohawk Chief cigar tin with just some
minor scuffs and scratches but otherwise in very good condition. The
tin, once containing nickel cigars, brought $1,800.
“Sandy Rosnick was the featured collector, but we had so many
items in such a broad range of categories this was our most diverse
auction ever,” said Mike Eckles of Showtime Auction Services. “We
weren't sure what to expect, because the financial crisis hit the week
before the sale, and things were still in is a state of turmoil that
weekend. But I was very pleased with the outcome. It was great.”
A strong crowd of more than 400 people enjoyed the balmy weather
and packed the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds. The Friday session was
held solely for in-house bidders. On Saturday and Sunday, phone and
absentee bidding was brisk, while about 2,500 registered bidders
participated online via LiveAuctioneers.com and eBayLiveAuctions.com.
In all, the auction grossed around $2.2 million.
Following are additional top lots from the sale. All prices quoted include a buyer's premium that ranged from 10-20 percent.
A paper sign advertising Buffalo Brewing Company of Sacramento,
Calif., and depicting a nude Indian maiden on the back of a buffalo, in
a period walnut frame and in mint condition, hammered for $45,100.
Also, a Brunhoff light-up Coca-Cola advertising sign, inviting patrons
to “Lunch With Us” and depicting a fountain glass, in excellent
original condition (12 inches by 14 inches) fetched $12,650.
An original oil painting by the German-born American artist Edmond
Osthaus (1858-1928) realized $44,000. The hunting scene, depicting two
Irish setters and a pointer, measured 24 inches by 36 inches (32 inches
by 44 inches framed). Osthaus was commissioned by the major firearms
and gun powder manufacturers of the day, such as Remington and
Winchester, for their posters and calendars.
A Watling Cupid trade stimulator (coin-operated, five cents, with
gum vendor) in excellent condition and with keys, went for $38,500.
Also, a limited-production exact replica of a Mademoiselle Zita fortune teller, in excellent working order, hit
$17,050. The original was made by Roovers Bros. Mfg., Brooklyn, N.Y.,
around the turn of the century. The replica was manufactured by Mike
Gorski.
A “Happy Jap” gum vendor, coin-operated and made around 1902, in
good original condition (10 inches by 13-1/2 inches by 10-1/2 inches),
went to a determined bidder for $39,000. Also, a four-gallon mechanical
butter churn with no chips or cracks – a wonderful example of grey
stoneware pottery – made $3,000. The piece, 35 inches tall, was made by
Jos. Hamilton Mfg. of Greensboro, Pa.
A Buster Brown Shoes tin sign, depicting Tig pulling Buster in a
big shoe, measuring 40 inches by 24-3/4 inches and made by American Art
Works Lithographers of Coshocton, Ohio, and in overall excellent
condition, climbed to $20,900. Also, a Boyce Moto Meter die-cut tin
flange sign, two-sided, measuring 21-1/2 inches by 18-3/4 inches and
with a bullet hole and a few bb dents, brought $18,700.
A child's sled intended as a Christmas present for a little boy in
Pennsylvania in 1893 who died before the holidays, retired to an attic
ever since and in original excellent condition, with a beautiful
hand-painted rendering of the Finger Lakes in New York, wood with iron
runners and geese head pulls, coasted to $5,775. Also, a Popeye Bag
Puncher tin wind-up toy, with the original box, reached $4,125.
Showtime Auction Services' next big sale will be held the weekend
of March 27-29, also at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds in Ann
Arbor. Mich. The featured collector will be Fred Bahlau who, over the
course of 57 years, has amassed an impressive accumulation of leaded
glass windows, Nickelodeons, lamps, signs, country store, petroliana,
advertising and other items – 1,800 lots in all.
Select items from other estates will also be offered. Showtime
Auction Services is always accepting quality consignments for future
sales. To consign a single item, estate or collection, you may call
Mike Eckles, at (951) 453-2415. His e-mail address is
Mikeckles@aol.com. To learn more about Showtime Auction Services and
its calendar of upcoming sales, click on www.showtimeauctions.com.
antique | Antiques Auction | Auction
Tuesday, October 28, 2008 3:44:23 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Tuesday, October 21, 2008
For Fellow Antique Lovers and Collectors
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
This looks like it's going to be a really, really good auction at the Santa Margarita Auction Barn. All the pictures that I've seen are absolutely gorgeous! Check out the partial list below. Sunday OCT 26, 10 AM Sharp. A great consignment auction of hard to find and some one of kind antiques and collectibles, many from local estates. Our web page www.smab.com is updated for this auction which includes Victorian, turn of the century oak and mahogany, , early lamps, selection of clocks, early prints, glass, china, pottery, gold coins and other quality collectibles. ...
Furniture
Museum quality R.J. Horner mahogany library desk with full standing winged griffins, carved top & claw feet * Art Nouveau style oak & marble top sideboard with leaded stained glass door, French c. 1910 * Outstanding oak triple bow glass china cabinet with bonnet top, carved winged lions, mirror back, claw feet * Highly carved English oak umbrella stand with Northwind motif, refinished condition * Fabulous Victorian mahogany hall seat by Paine Furniture Co. carved winged lions, fancy brass hooks, lift seat * Great Victorian walnut Renaissance Revival marble top deep well dresser with tear drop pulls * Beautiful Victorian walnut 3 pc Rococo Revival parlor suite, Sofa & 2 side chairs * Very ornate oak Armoire with 2 drawers, carved crest, beveled mirror doors * Oak stacking lawyer's bookcase by Macy Co. * Exceptional oak buffet with carved standing lions, fancy carved with claw feet * Victorian 54" round oak pedestal dining table with 6 leaves * Quality oak tall chest with serpentine front & sides, fancy carved with beveled mirror * Quality 48" square oak dining table, 5 carved legs, with leaves, c. 1900 * Very ornate oak hall seat, lots of carvings, round beveled mirror, original brass hooks * 48" oak "S" curved roll top desk, double pedestal base * Empire Period mahogany flip top game table * Pair of French style 3 drawer inlaid side stands * Original oak Hoosier kitchen cupboard * Mahogany Chifferobe with beveled mirror, Sandwich glass pulls, c. 1890 * Great oak Morris chair with large claw feet, refinished & reupholstered * Oak pressed back rockers * Unusual oak Larkin desk with beveled mirror * Victorian walnut cylinder secretary bookcase desk, lots of burling * Great Victorian walnut Rococo Revival full size bed, c. 1870 * Eastlake Victorian walnut & marble umbrella stand * Matching mahogany tall chest & dresser with serpentine fronts, fancy carved beveled mirrors * Art Deco style painted Hoosier kitchen cupboard * Selection of oak & mahogany lamp tables & fern stands * Victorian oak cylinder secretary desk, c1880 * Oak Jeweler's work desk, c. 1910 * 45" round oak pedestal dining table with claw feet & leaves * Sets of oak dining room chairs *  Oak office chairs * Set of 4 Hitchcock style chairs with rush seats, c. 1840's * Matched pair of Victorian oak Armoires with crests * Fantastic Eastlake Victorian stick & ball carved oak hall stand * Louis XVI style mahogany vanity with beveled mirror * 2 door mahogany bookcase with columns & claw feet * Unusual oak ice box with sliding top * Arts & Crafts style oak blanket chest * Oak 4 drawer file cabinet by Library Bookcase Co. * Selection of oak dressers, tall chests * wash stands * Victorian walnut 42" ladies' S curved roll top desk * Selection of Victorian walnut platform rockers * side chairs * Oak smoker's stand, Arts & Crafts * Mission oak chairs & rockers * Much more...
Glassware & China
Brilliant cut * Limoges * Nippon * Roseville * Depression * Bavaria * Ironstone * Carnival * Victorian art glass * Cruet sets * Brides' baskets * Fiesta * Moser * Much more....
Miscellaneous
Victor #5 oak record player with spear tip external horn * Empire Revival mahogany 3 weight grandfather clock with moon dial, c. 1900 * Victorian oak barber's chair by Koken, Chicago * Victorian rolled wicker baby buggy with original parasol top * National brass cash register, c. 1910 * Oriental rugs & carpets * Gold & silver US coins * Estate jewelry * Quilts * Oak organ with carved gallery & mirror * Collection of old radios * Early country store coffee tin * Restored Victorian cast iron & brass scale * Edison "Home" model cylinder record player * Selection of Victorian & 1920's decorative prints & mirrors * Gone with the wind style lamps * Tiffany style slag glass table lamps * Brass floor lamps * Leaded stained glass Tiffany style hanging lamp shades * Mantle clocks * Advertising * Kitchen collectables * Tools * Toys & dolls * Much more.....
For more information and images: info@smab.com, 805-438-5395, www.smab.comOh how I wish-wish-wish I could make it ...
antique | Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques News | Auction
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 2:29:25 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, September 10, 2008
The most rare of the rare
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
 Imagine: A 1,000-year-old carved rock
crystal ewer, one of only seven known surviving examples, will
be offered Christie's Islamic art
sale next month. It's expected to bring over $5 million (U.S.)
Made for the court of the
Fatimid rulers of Cairo in the late 10th or early 11th century, carved out of a single piece of hollowed-out rock crystal and later embellished in enameled gold mounts (1854)
by a French silversmith.
The last time this ewer was bid on, it reached more than 1000 times its presale estimate. Well, the estimate is set pretty high this time, due to the more accurate description, I'm sure. This is truly a historic treasure.
The craftsmanship and the detail are overwhelming, especially considering it was carved and polished entirely by hand a thousand years ago. Whew! I'm going to watch—with great interest—for the outcome of this auction. Click here to learn more about this exquisite piece and its history.— Karen
Antique News | Antiques Auction | Antiques News | Antiquities | Auction
Wednesday, September 10, 2008 11:46:50 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, July 25, 2008
Has the bottom dropped out?
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
 From the Wall Street Journal: New Bargains on Old Furniture: As 18th- and 19th-Century Antiques Fall Out of Favor, Prices are Plummeting
A very interesting article to be sure. I like that the author cited several of the big names in the antiques marketplace who have different positions and see a different perspective of the situation. The result: Good news for buyers, bad news for sellers. Sellers of mid-century modern may have a fighting chance to keep a decent share of the market. Personally, it sounds like it's a good time for me to look to upgrade my antique dining room set. Now, if I can just find one of the deals they say is out there ... What do all of you think? I think down-turn, but has the bottom dropped out of the market?
antique | Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques News | Auction | eBay | Modern | Modernism
Friday, July 25, 2008 11:48:18 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, July 21, 2008
Unusual French art glass vase
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
 Check out this unusual Schneider art glass vase that recently sold on eBay for $2,425. (Item number 120283294262 if you want to see many more images and more of the description.) ANTIQUE SIGNED SCHNEIDER FRENCH ART GLASS
VASE WITH IRON MOUNT CIRCA 1920S. The glass body is mottled red-orange
to yellow, and is mounted by iron, which to my eye resembles very
moderne styled stick figures assending the sides of the vase. The
design is Arts & Crafts in style with the hammered base, but also
has an Art Deco & a very modern architectural element, with the
simple & interesting criss cross design. Arms outstretched they
climb...Anyway...this jewel has something for everyone, as I believe
the design is as valid now as it was then. The vase is approx. 20 3/8"h
X 9"(dia. top) X 5 1/2" (dia. bottom).
I'm awestruck by the craftsmanship and the design.
What do you think of it?
— Karen
Antique Glass | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Auction | eBay | Modern | Modernism
Monday, July 21, 2008 3:49:27 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Can you hear me now?
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
Well, Ma Bell can finally rest in peace. Despite this age of texting and emailing, some people still find value in the old telephone. So much so, that someone paid more than $100,000 this week for a phone book!
On Tuesday, a private U.S. collector paid $170,500 to win a Christie's auction for the first phone book printed for New Haven, Conn. The New York auction house had expected it to go for $30,000-$40,000. Why is it so valuable?
The book was published by the Connecticut District Telephone Co. just two years after the telephone was invented. So essentially it is one of the earliest possible telephone books in the country. What a neat little piece of history!
Click here for the whole story by The Courant.
antique | Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques News | Auction
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 2:53:01 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Marvelous Marbles
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
Remember our recent cover story on marbles? Seems we weren't far off the mark when we reported that the collecting trend just keeps rolling... Morphy Auctions reported this week that its May 29-31 Spring Antiques Auction hit a $1.4 million record – including the sale of an $18,400 box of marbles. According to a company press release, Morphy’s has always drawn a strong contingent of marble buyers to its sales, and this time was no exception. The prize everyone seemed to be after was an extremely rare, complete 100-count box of Christensen Agate Co. marbles. Some of the marbles exhibited extraordinarily rare color combinations – “maybe even unique,” said Dan Morphy, himself a longtime marble enthusiast. Estimated at $10,000-$15,000, the boxed selection finished its run at $18,400. How do you like them marbles?! Morphy Auctions is a division of Geppi’s Entertainment Auctions & Publications. For information on consigning to future sales, to view prices realized in past sales or to learn more about upcoming auctions, click here.
Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques News | Auction
Tuesday, June 10, 2008 2:32:58 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Nest Egg Auctions owner dies
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
MERIDEN, Conn. – The collecting community is reeling from the death of Nest Egg Auctions owner Carl Brechlin, who died during a boating trip May 31. Brechlin, 53, was tubing along the Potomac River in West Virginia with his brothers and friends, when he had difficulty breathing and slipped underwater, according to a press account.
Nest Egg Auctions is well known by dealers and collectors in Meriden, Conn., where Brechlin held monthly auctions. The auction house was a later offshoot from a previous career as a part-time show manager for a community-based antiques show as well as a family antiques resale business. Customers said Nest Egg Auctions regularly attracted dealers and collectors from across New England and Connecticut for two reasons: the quality merchandise and what they called Brechlin’s mix of humor and street smarts.
“He was quite a character,” said Alan Brophy, a longtime antiques and collectibles dealer. “Always joked a lot during his sales: part auctioneer-part showman-part comic. But most of all a pretty good guy and a big part of the local trade here in Connecticut.” He was one of the first auctioneers to hold ‘table top’ auctions in the state.”
Brechlin and Nest Egg Auctions are well known to Antique Trader readers. He was an advertiser; however, readers got to know him and his business better in the Connecticut installment of the magazine’s Retro Road Trip series published last year. Nest Egg Auctions have been featured in the Home and Garden Television network's "Cash in the Attic".
The family plans to continue Nest Egg Auctions, with son Ryan Brechlin at the helm. Memorial services were today at the First United Methodist Church in Meriden.
An article on the boating trip and an obituary for Carl Roger Brechlin can be found by clicking here. -- Eric Bradley
Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques News
Wednesday, June 04, 2008 12:41:44 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Tuesday, April 29, 2008
A pretty penny expected at auction for first edition 'Emma'
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
Just a tiny mention here at The Press Association regarding the upcoming London sale of a rare three-volume first edition set of Jane Austen's "Emma," inscribed by the great woman herself to her governess.  I will plead ignorance here and tell you I've never read "Emma," or seen any of the film, PBS or BBC adaptations of it. Austen just isn't my thing, really, but I respect her place as a huge and enduring literary figure, and actually do regret the gap in my literary knowledge. Back inmy early 20s, when I was working a night job at Shakespeare and Co., on lower Boradway in NYC, my focus was really on Faulkner, Nabokov, Cormac McCarthy, Russel Hoban and a plethora of great Russians. Perhaps when my daughter gets a little older, and I have time to read a real book in large chunks, I'll pick up Austen. Oh well. The books are expected to bring about 50,000 pounds, or $100,000, depending on the exchange rate when the sale takes place June 24.
antique | Antique Blog | Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques Blog | Antiques Blogs | Antiques News | Auction | Ephemera
Tuesday, April 29, 2008 9:44:42 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, April 28, 2008
Antiques auction as theater?
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
There was a very contentious auction over the weekend in South Deerfield, MA, my old stomping grounds. (if you're ever in the area, go to The People's Pint in Greenfield for some of the best microbrew beers you'll ever taste, especially the Farmer Brown Ale. Mmm-mmm.)
 This story is from The Springfield Intruder, about the sale at the Old First Church, sponsored by the Springfield Museums Association, and run by Douglas Auctions. Here's what the Springfield Republican had to say about it: Museum officials this week expressed alarm that historic
items were to be auctioned and might be lost to the city. In response,
church moderator Susan R. Saunders, expressed surprise, saying that
museum and historical society officials were allowed to view and take
church items recently.
Add to this a swarm of local media, angry residents and church-goers and you have the makings of a massive Broadway hit like Tony n' Tina's Wedding (hated it!) and My Big Fat Greek Wedding (hated it!) and all those other interactive plays that were so in vogue 10 years ago in NYC. There were even reporters threatened with arrest! Reporters!
antique | Antique Blog | Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques Blog | Antiques Blogs | Antiques News | Auction
Monday, April 28, 2008 1:51:53 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, April 25, 2008
Antiques and the Russian mob. I think I smell a tv pilot...
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
This is interesting and - dare I say it - sexy for the antiques industry. From ArtInfo.com.I wrote here not two weeks ago about the market in Russian art, followed by something about Muslim art, and shortly after that Sotheby's has a huge sale of Russian art. Who buys it? Oh yes, Russians. Except that one peice, and only one piece failed to sell for it's estimated amount. Why? It's alleged ties to the Russian Mob, and the death threats that came with its initial theft. No picture available to my knowledgable, which might just push this thing mainstream. I hope that guy from CSI Miam is in in the pilot... Yes. Very sexy.
antique | Antique Blog | Antique News | Antique news odd | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques Blog | Antiques Blogs | Antiques News | Auction | fine art
Friday, April 25, 2008 8:44:42 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, April 21, 2008
"Shoeless" Joe Jackson bat on the block - my birthday is coming up...
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
This story ultimately comes from AP, but I've linked to a Canadian Web site called SLAM! I mean, how can I resist that?  The only known signed "Shoeless" Joe Jackson bat in existence is going on the block this week at Sotheby's, and is expected to bring about $300,000. That might just be an underestimation because a sports collectible like this really only comes on the market once a generation, and Jackson is simulateously one of the most revered and reviled figures in sports. Some believe he was a saint who was framed and others that he was simply a traitor to his team. The bat, known as "Black Betsy," is a real beauty, to be sure. The thought of Jackson applying his prodigious skills with - whacking dingers and dribbling bunts - is enough to make even the most jaded sports fan drool. For all you millionaire readers out there who love this blog like your own children, my birthday is about 1-1/2 months away. Remember, when it comes to your favorite Antique Trader editor, money is no object...
antique | Antique Blog | Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques Blog | Antiques Blogs | Antiques News | Auction
Monday, April 21, 2008 2:41:38 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, April 17, 2008
The on again off again massive jewelry auction
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
Been following this the last week or two. Christies has been trying to sell off millions of dollars in rare and antique jewelry for Merril Lynch from the estate of Ralph Esmarian, who owes something like $186M to Merril. That makes me feel a little better about my student loans... This is from the New York Times.
antique | Antique Blog | Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques Blog | Antiques Blogs | Antiques News | Auction
Thursday, April 17, 2008 9:39:19 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, April 16, 2008
eBay to end Live Auctions - What's $100M, anyway?
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
I know I'm a bit late in sounding off on this, by at least 24 hours, but I wanted to wait and see if there was going to be any sort of uproar from the online antiques community over eBay's decision to end its Live Auction business. I reckon not, though. It may be that the online auction sites are more than ready to jump in and take over - many were never affiliated with eBay's live auctions in the first place. The big boys, like LiveAuctioneers and Proxibid will probably have a bit of a hiccup in auction during the initial period of change at the end of the year, if only for a second as users have to type in a new URL. I imagine that they will be more than ready to pick up where eBay leaves off, however. By some estimates, eBay's Live Auctions generate about $100M a year. I have no hard data to back this up, just the word of a colleague in the business, but even so, if it's a fraction of that, that's some serious do-re-mi we're talkng about. I guess not to eBay, though. Besides, it's obvioulsy written off several segments of its business with all the changes since Whitman resigned and droids have been installed as overseers.  Here is a link to the message from Jim Ambach at eBay, to compliment the link to the Yahoo story above. I've exchanged a few emails with John Werry, the proprietor of the Rare Victorian Furniture Blog, and he's equally miffed at the ongoing attitude of the online auction giant. He's a good guy and hopefully won't mind if I quote his comments. Check out his recently madeover blog above, too. It's a good read. "I think it's a mistake for Ebay to not pursue domination of the electronic link to the live auction world since live auctions will never go away. Maybe their strategy is to not continue to fund the foundation of that link and to instead wait for someone else to build it up, and then acquire them later, if needed. I can just see their strategy discussion now, 'hmm... let's see. we'll focus on funding the servers, bandwidth, and storage for selling millions of $0.25 items that may not sell and generate a commission and abandon the guaranteed-to-sell $198,000 Charles Rohlfs chair. Sounds like a plan.'" See, it's funny because it's true...
antique | Antique Blog | Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques Blog | Antiques Blogs | Auction | eBay
Wednesday, April 16, 2008 10:58:53 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, April 14, 2008 Friday, April 11, 2008
A synchroncity of antiques - Islamic antiquities dominate
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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.
antique | Antique Blog | Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques Blog | Antiques News | Architecture | Auction | fine art | Historic Preservation
Friday, April 11, 2008 9:07:33 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, April 10, 2008
Auction of recently uncovered Arbus photos abruptly canceled
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
Wrote about this a few weeks ago. A dealer in NYC sold a box of pics he found in a box lot for $3500. Turns out there was a trove of unknown Diane Arbus photos in there - very interesting ones, to be sure - and they're worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.  The dealer who sold them is suing the dealer he says duped him out of the find of his life. The sale was supposed to have happened yesterday, I think. Turns out it was abruptly canceled. Both the New York Times and our friend Kristi Roberts at Here Be Old Things have been covering this pretty well, so I'll leave it to them. Kristi was going to the sale, and even went by the showroom to get a sneak peak. I know that a lot of times it's buy and sell at your own risk in this business, and that they seller should have known that he was giving away a fortune at such a small price - the first clue should have been when the buyer who bought the box said, "there's nothing in there worth much at all, but I'll give you $3500 right now for the whole thing, no questions asked. 'kay?" Money is money, I suppose, and there are no rules that say you have to play fair. Or are there? The speculation is that the original seller may just hve succeeded in his lawsuit. We'll see later.
antique | Antique Blog | Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques Blog | Antiques Blogs | Antiques News | Ephemera | Modern | Modernism | pop art
Thursday, April 10, 2008 9:34:52 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Records for Islamic art
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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.
antique | Antique Blog | Antique News | Antiques Auction | Antiques Blog | Antiques Blogs | Antiques News | Auction
Thursday, April 10, 2008 9:11:21 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, April 07, 2008
The Guru and the Auction House
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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.
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Monday, April 07, 2008 4:28:24 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, April 04, 2008
What the Dickens?! Antique desk on the block
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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. 
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Friday, April 04, 2008 12:24:06 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Thursday, April 03, 2008
Lincoln letter goes for more than $3M
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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. 
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Thursday, April 03, 2008 3:16:45 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Papa's Brand New Bag on the auction block
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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, t he 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...
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Thursday, April 03, 2008 9:57:43 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Word to the wise: Do not hang clothes on your rare, early Picassos
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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.
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Wednesday, April 02, 2008 10:27:25 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Who can resist a rampaging ape? King Kong poster rages to $345K
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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 S teve Geppi himself, who has the greatest collection of rare movie posters in the world at his museum in Camden Yards in downtown Baltimore, MD.
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Wednesday, April 02, 2008 10:01:38 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Thursday, March 20, 2008
Awesome Japanese Buddha sells for $14M
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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...
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Thursday, March 20, 2008 10:45:43 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Just what I've always wanted! A corn flake that looks like Illinois...
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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... 
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Tuesday, March 18, 2008 9:19:13 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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No go for Guernsey's for Jack Ruby's pistol in Vegas
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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?
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Tuesday, March 18, 2008 8:57:14 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Monday, March 17, 2008
Retiring eBay CEO Whitman joins McCain campaign...
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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...
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Monday, March 17, 2008 1:52:35 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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When your own life becomes an antique...
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
Tom Schroder, one of the editor's of the Washington Post, posted this editor's note yesterday and I found my self moved by it's insight, and impressed with its ability to convey such depth with such brevity.
I'm not quite at the point where my life has become an antique, but the things I loved as a child sure as heck have become collectible, especially the beloved stand-up first gen arcade games I wasted so many hours as a pre-pubescent boy playing on Satruday afternoons at Prestonwood Mall in Dallas. Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong, Jr., Tron, Red Baron, Pole Position, Jack the Giant Killer, Red Baron, Jungle Hunt, these were just a few of the games I ruled... Now they're being collected at big bucks. Much like Mr. Schroder, when I see these things now at shops or shows, priced too high, or undervalued, I simply have to walk away... 
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Monday, March 17, 2008 8:57:08 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Friday, March 14, 2008
An overlooked antiques area?
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
I like what Daryle is getting at here in his blog post from yesterday. The sporting and hunting art market is overlooked by a large segment of antique and art collectors - there are, of course, those whose bread and butter it is... As a side note, AT is not suggesting to people who read Daryle's blog that they join the 31 club, or that we endorse it. The plain fact of the matter is that I like the blog, and Daryle is a smart guy who has good advice and strong opinions on the market, and that AT - meaning me, today - thinks that is a very good thing in a market and a business that can be publicly very vague and privately very passionate... It's worth a read.
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Friday, March 14, 2008 7:38:28 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Thursday, March 13, 2008
Oh man, if I could get this mastadon and that triceratops... No one would mess with me!
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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! 
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Thursday, March 13, 2008 1:00:42 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Wednesday, March 12, 2008 Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The fashion of the "Queen of Mean" at Leslie Hindman Auctions
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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.
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Tuesday, March 11, 2008 9:50:36 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Monday, March 10, 2008 Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Antique Trader 3-19 preview, comin' at ya'
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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... 
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Wednesday, March 05, 2008 1:45:09 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Ruby's gun, Guernsey's and mixed feelings
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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?
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Wednesday, March 05, 2008 8:46:30 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Friday, February 29, 2008
ART POTTERY THEFT IN OHIO - Be on the lookout
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
APPROXIMATELY 175 PIECES OF AMERICAN ART POTTERY STOLEN HILLARD, OH - Between 3:15 P.M. on Monday, February 25, 2008, and 8:30 A.M. on Tuesday, February 26, 2008, approximately 175 pieces of American Art Pottery were stolen from Belhorn Auction Services, LLC in the Columbus suburb of Hilliard, Ohio. Also stolen was a cargo trailer in which the pottery was loaded, which was secured and locked at Belhorn Auctions’ office. Pottery stolen includes various examples of Weller, Roseville, Rookwood, Owens, Van Briggle, Hampshire, Pillin, Fulper as well as others. Also stolen was an exhibit of fake and reproduction pottery assembled by the American Art Pottery Association for educational and presentation purposes. The trailer is an unmarked, white American Hauler cargo trailer with fold-down rear ramp and a system of shelving on the inside. “We are working closely with law enforcement and our property management company to review security tapes covering the area during the time of the theft,” said Belhorn Auction Services, LLC President Greg Belhorn. “All consignors affected by this incident are fully covered and will be reimbursed for any financial loss. However, I do remain hopeful that the items will be recovered.” Nearly all of the stolen pieces were slated for the American Art Pottery Association’s 2008 Auction to be held in conjunction with the organization’s Annual Convention on April 23-27, 2008, in the Greater Philadelphia area. Belhorn Auction Services, LLC donates its time and resources to conduct this auction, which benefits the Association and its endeavors. The full commission and buyer’s premium generated from the auction serve as an important revenue source from the American Art Pottery Association. A general list and photos of the stolen pottery will be made available at Belhorn Auction Services, LLC’s website at www.belhorn.com. Anyone with information regarding this incident or who is approached by an individual with pottery for sale matching the description of stolen items should contact the Hilliard (Ohio) Police Department at (614) 876-7321 or Belhorn Auction Services, LLC at (614) 921-9441. A reward is being offered for any information leading to the recovery of the stolen property.
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Friday, February 29, 2008 12:00:41 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Alternate Online Auctions - What are you using?
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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...) 
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Wednesday, February 27, 2008 11:45:40 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Massive Estate Sale in Shreveport, LA - MArch 7
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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.
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Wednesday, February 27, 2008 10:39:36 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Monday, February 25, 2008
$3M record collection buyer a fraud - eBay bumming again
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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.
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Monday, February 25, 2008 9:03:58 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Buying stolen antiques online - a cautionary tale
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
Bad things do happen, even to antiques people and even in the South.  This is a story from a Nashville TV station - Newschannel 5 - about a guy whose rental was broken into, in Nashville, and who had $3,000 worth of antiques stolen from his house. A few months later he finds a listing for his property - as someone else's property, of course - on Craigslist. The address associated with the sale ended up being on the same street! The police, however, do not think the seller knew he was selling stolen goods, let alone stolen goods from a house on the same street he lived on. I guess the thief, or thieves, took off that piece of yellowed and peeling masking tape with "In case this valuable antique is stolen please return to..." written in Sharpie on it. "What? This stuff is stolen? And it belongs to you? And you live next door? Man, do I feel stupid..." Chances are that stuff like this happens quit a bit, really. The report does contain the rather ambiguous statement from the police that: "We're hopeful this incident will get us to a major player in antique business in the area."
For what, exactly?
Maybe the police are simply looking for some vintage posters to decorate the precinct...
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Wednesday, February 20, 2008 11:01:18 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Is eBay trying to fill a leaky bucket?
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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.
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Wednesday, February 20, 2008 10:34:34 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Dude... It's like, this dude's got all these records... and, dude, he's selling them...
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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... 
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Tuesday, February 19, 2008 10:52:51 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Monday, February 18, 2008
Beats the CoinStar at the IGA
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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!
antique | Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques News | Auction
Monday, February 18, 2008 12:52:45 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Friday, February 15, 2008
Like a Byrdcliffe on a wire - Rare Arts & Crafts antiques on the block Feb. 22
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
One of my very first assignments as an antiques writer, way back when at the turn of the century, was to journey across the Hudson River from my home in Rhinebeck, NY to Woodstock, NY - the namesake town of he concert that actually happened in Saugerties, NY, just one town north (where, incidentally, I covered high school sports at the same time) - to do a story on the Byrdcliffe Colony.  I was working for a Hudson Valley antiques paper called Notheast Journal of Antiques and art, and it owner and founder, Harold Hanson thought it would be a good story for me. Harold was never wrong. I knew Woodstock well, having one of my good friend's family based out of the town. I loved its natural beauty, and - sometimes - the funky hippy vibe. The Tibetan Buddhist vibe there was also very cool. Somehow, though I'd see the historical markers everywhere, the history of Byrdcliffe had eluded me. Check out the link above to learn more, and let me just say that I was quickly charmed by the elegant furniture and Utopian ideals of the movement's founders. A tremendous amount of great talent was gathered in one place for a very brief time, and it yeilded extraordinary, and far too few results. The pieces of furniture are well-valued and well coveted.  Byrdcliffe was founded in 1903 by rich Englishman Ralph
Whitehead and his American wife, Jane Byrd McCall. They might while students of Arts and Crafts guru John Ruskin. They set about creating Byrdcliffe in 1892. It continues today as the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild. Here's some exciting news about Brigg's Auctions in Boothwyn, PA, auctioning off several pieces of Byrdcliffe furniture from the Whitehead house itself on Feb. 22. Amazing and elegant stuff and I'll be interested to see how it sells.
antique | Antique News | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques News | Antiques publications | Historic Preservation
Friday, February 15, 2008 9:06:05 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Thursday, February 14, 2008
Antique Blog in NYC I've been enjoying
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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.
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Thursday, February 14, 2008 2:26:12 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Drug bust jewels auctioned in Richmond, Feb. 20
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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...
antique | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques publications | Auction | stolen antiques
Thursday, February 14, 2008 10:43:54 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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One banana, two banana, three banana four!
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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 | Antique news odd | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques publications | Auction | pop art | Toys
Thursday, February 14, 2008 8:48:42 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Antique Trader 2-27 comin' at ya
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
As we like to do around here, just a li'l sneak peak at the 2-27 cover. 
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Wednesday, February 13, 2008 3:20:10 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Philatelics rejoice...
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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...
antique | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Antiques publications | Auction | Historic Preservation
Wednesday, February 13, 2008 2:17:56 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Auction Dupe? Or the name of the game?
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
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?
antique | Antique scams | Antiques | Antiques Auction | Auction
Wednesday, February 13, 2008 10:24:18 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Tuesday, February 12, 2008
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
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 12:05:27 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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When Antiques Get Dangerous!
Posted by Antique Trader Staff
antique | Antique news odd | Antique Show | Antiques | Antiques Auction
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 8:46:52 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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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
Monday, February 11, 2008 12:41:14 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Friday, February 08, 2008
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
Friday, February 08, 2008 8:52:00 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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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
Thursday, February 07, 2008 12:46:09 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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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
Thursday, February 07, 2008 12:09:53 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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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
Thursday, February 07, 2008 10:49:25 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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