For 24 years, the San Francisco Antiquarian Book Print and Paper Fair has drawn bibliophiles together to refine their collections. The fair was Feb. 4-5, 2012. The report from Fair exhibitors was positive. Rosemarie Rustico of San Francisco’s W C Antiques described the first day as “killer busy.” The second day was a bit easier (Super Bowl XLVI might have had something to do with that). Read More +
Hundreds of select, handpicked items from three prominent Virginia estates – in Franklin, Virginia Beach and Norfolk, plus other consignments – will be sold at auction Saturday, Feb. 4. Read More +
A subscriber asks if his circa 1960s record made from an actual chest x-ray has any value while another reader learns her 1993 set of Elvis Presley postage stamps have gone up in value. Appraiser Will Gorges from JustAnswer says both unusual items are valuable. Read More +
Chances are if you’re over 45 you will more than likely remember the days of home deliveries. Back in the 1950s home deliveries were predominant in most small communities. Wives often stayed home taking care of the children and everyday household chores while the husbands worked to support the family. With most families having only one vehicle, women did not have immediate access to grocery stores or other shopping venues. This led to home deliveries of bread, milk, and other necessities. Yes, delivery men from companies such as Jewel T, Omar Bread, Ucker Dairy, Buckeye Potato Chips, and the Fuller Brush Company knocked on doors throughout the neighborhood selling their goods and wares on a daily basis.
A 30 gallon salt glaze crock with two leaves brought the highest bid at this year’s Red Wing Collectors Society auction in July. Although unsigned, its perfect condition drove the bidding to $5,000. The 35th Annual RWCS Convention July 6-9, 2011 brought more than 1,500 visitors to the city of Red Wing to buy, sell and learn more about the lines of Red Wing stoneware, art pottery and dinnerware. Other items of interest in this year’s auction included a 2 gallon Ice Water cooler selling for $2,600 and a 12 gallon salt glaze leaf crock bringing $1,900.
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Specialists of the South come July 30, 2011 is overseeing the massive collectibles estate sale of John and Jean Robertson, collectors who amassed a staggering number of items in a wide array of categories over the course of their rich lifetime together. Offered will be soda collectibles, advertising signs and clocks, radio tubes, vintage table radios, a gumball machine, vintage fans and hats, Shirley Temple memorabilia, Matchbox cars, Tonka toys, cigar boxes, American Fostoria, composite roosters, elegant etched glassware and china, children’s books, Rhine wine (Hock) glasses, Hummel figures, Haviland china and Christmas decorations.
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How to Get Search Engines to Pick Up Your Inventory – Behind the Gavel columnist Wayne Jordan shows us why as Internet search engines get better at promoting ‘content,’ antiques dealers who take the time to write good descriptions – or even slightly better descriptions – may find their website rank improving significantly.
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More than 300 Red Wing collectors once again braved snowy roads to attend the recent Red Wing Collectors Society (RWCS) MidWinter GetTogether. Sellers reported improved sales over last year’s event, with a stoneware cow and calf figure taking top lot honors top lots in the GetTogether auction when it sold for $2,300.
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A selection of unusual Chinese antiques found during an episode of "Storage Wars" will cross the block March 5-6 at at Don Presley’s gallery in Orange, Calif. Presley, who has conducted on-air appraisals for Storage Wars, received the Asian consignment from David Hester, whom he jokingly describes as the "villain" among the regulars appearing on A&E’s popular Wednesday night show. Hester’s storage-locker find includes an extensive selection of Chinese ivory necklaces, bracelets, earrings and pendants; rhino- and buffalo-horn pendants, and a pair of foo dogs. Collectively, their value is estimated to be as much as $10,000. Read More +
A recently discovered diary/sketchbook from counterculture cartoonist Robert Crumb is just one of hundreds of quality, fresh-to-the-market lots in a rainbow of categories will cross the block the weekend of Mar. 4-6. The sale also feature a group of a dozen original Star Wars figures and a nice collection of cast-iron still banks and toys including Arcade, Hubley and Kenton.
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