With one half of local Internet searches done on a smartphone, it’s time for dealers to check if their shop’s website is mobile compatible. Columnist Wayne Jordan says that luckily, the cost to optimize your site is far less than you paid to create it in the first place. Read More +
Although many products associated with furniture care and restoration recommend steel wool in their instructions you should avoid using steel wool on antique furniture. In the furniture trade, steel wool’s use is limited to producing results after a finish has been applied, not before and never during. Read More +
Columnist Wayne Jordan recently had a nice chat with Chip Averwater, author of “Retail Truths, The Unconventional Wisdom of Retailing.” A retail “truth” is something that can only be discovered through experience. You can’t learn these truths in business school. Here are 10 of Jordan’s favorite retail “truths” and how they might help you improve your antiques business. Read More +
Second only to the stunning photography, “Symbols on Chinese Porcelain” offers valuable context on why this porcelain style matters to the fine-art world, collectors and even philosophers. The book reveals the secrets of the symbols of good luck and the visual imagery of Chinese decorative elements by means of approximately 80 masterpieces of Chinese porcelain spanning 1,000 years. Read More +
Mexican artists may have been introduced to modernity through photography, and one of the foremost Mexican photographers of the early 20th century, Hugo Brehme (1882-1954), has been cited as an influence on the country’s best known artist from the period, Diego Rivera. Brehme was a German immigrant imbued with the European Romantic tradition, which sought the sublime essence of nature and reveled in the beauty of ancient ruins. Read More +
You can always win an auction if you must. All you have to do is outbid the competition. But, winning doesn’t always mean paying a higher price. Outbidding the competition is as much about strategy as it is about price. Read More +
Feb. 7, 2012 is a big day for admirers of Charles Dickens. It’s the 200th anniversary of his birth in 1812. As a postcard subject, Dickens is a rewarding challenge. By the early 1900s, he was a national icon in Britain and appeared in many highly collectible sets. Read More +
Antique Trader editor Eric Bradley appraises a pair of primitive New England scrub boards and an Aesthetic Period glass plate. Read More +
It is tempting to date a piece of antique furniture by looking at a book with pictures of antique furniture and find one that is like the piece you are considering purchasing. But the style doesn’t guarantee the age or that it’s antique. Read More +
When it comes to antiques, price doesn’t reflect value: proper identification relating a good story tells prospective buyers why an item is valuable. Read More +