Recently added articles from Antiques Roadshow Insider:
Collector's choice: what defines a collection? What makes it valuable? And what's the best strategy when it's time to sell?
May 01, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There are as many types of collections as there are collectors, and they can be valuable, strange, beautiful, quirky, historically significant, fun--you name it. Among the most common subjects for a collection are stamps and coins. Bubble gum is surely one ...
Stumpwork and political posters: digging deeper.(THE FIRST WORD)
May 01, 2009; ... Compiling Insider every month takes me to categories I know and love as well as those that are foreign to me. This month was no different. I've long been interested in politics, so Jerry Shaver's report on political posters (p. 11) was right up my alley. But stumpwork, also called embossed ...
Remember when ...(BLAST FROM THE PAST)(baseball cards)(Brief article)
May 01, 2009 ... ... baseball cards were treasures that we actually touched with our own fingers? We'd flip 'em, toss 'em, and thread 'em between the spokes of our bicycle wheels. Who cared about dinged corners and creases? Heck, we'd even draw mustaches on players' faces. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...
The century past: the "good ol' days" may be behind us, but the look of the 20th century remains in view.(AUCTION PREVIEWS, NEWS & TRENDS)
May 01, 2009 ... A trio of recent sales at major auction houses offered all kinds of treasures created by the best names in 20th-century design. BONHAMS A Bonhams "20th Century Decorative Arts" auction in Los Angeles on April 6 featured the work of several top Arts & Crafts names ...
Monsters, Freaks, & mice.(ON THE BLOCK: POSTERS)
May 01, 2009 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bidders spent $2.5 million at a March auction of movie posters presented by Heritage Galleries. The big story was a 1931 Style B Dracula poster that sold for $310,000 (see p. 1). One of only three known existing copies in ...
Diggin' dogs.(ON THE BLOCK: PAINTINGS)
May 01, 2009 ... Our "On the Block" section last month featured a host of dog-themed art sold at a Bonhams auction. Shortly thereafter, Doyle New York hosted its own auction of art, sculpture, and decorative pieces related to "man's best friend." Dozens of lots sold for prices between $250 and $1,000, but ...
A way of life.(ON THE BLOCK: ETHNOGRAPHIC)(American Indian collectibles)(Brief article)
May 01, 2009 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Hundreds of collectible items used in everyday life by American Indians in the 18th and 19th centuries turned up at a Cowan's Auctions sale in April. A majority of them went for collector-friendly prices ($100-$1,000): There were baskets, trunks, ...
Puppet play.(PHOTOGRAPHS)
May 01, 2009 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Way back in our May 2006 issue, we reported on one of our favorite photographs by Alfred Eisenstaedt: Children at the Puppet Theatre, Paris. At Sotheby's on March 30, another print of the classic image sold at auction, bringing $23,750. This one--a 14 x 21 ...
F. Scott Redux.(BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS)(Brief article)
May 01, 2009 ... Regular Insider readers who remember our September 2008 report on E Scott Fitzgerald books and manuscripts will appreciate this item: At Swann Auction Galleries on April 2, a Fitzgerald autographed letter paired with a c. 1920 signed and annotated photograph sold for $15,600. In the same ...
West Coast wonder.(BOOKS & DOCUMENTS)(Brief article)
May 01, 2009 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Los Angeles and San Francisco offices of Bonhams host regular sales featuring art related to The Golden State. The most recent was on April 7, when a Granville Redmond painting, Poppies and lupine by a lake, sold for $542,000 (see p. 1 for photo). Two ...
Making sense of pottery trends: We asked an Antiques Roadshow pottery expert for a frank assessment of the market today. What's solid, and what's soft? He zeroed in on two top makers.(POTTERY)
May 01, 2009; ... Collecting in times of trouble is either an expression of faith or a denial of crisis--or, more likely, a combination of both. Doomsayers expect markets to continue to spiral downward, while optimists recognize unprecedented buying opportunities. Both views have merit, but lately it's ...
Buying advice.(INSIDE INFO)
May 01, 2009 ... Remember these points when buying Grueby: * The darker the green, the more desirable the glaze. * Minor nicking to high points of leaves is acceptable. * Do watch for new fakes. Some contemporary potters are replicating Grueby and, though marking with their ...
Threaded sculptures: stumpwork, or raised work, may be one of the few recession-proof investments of the 21st century.(TEXTILES)
May 01, 2009; ... Sampler collectors who need a textile tonic--something to rejuvenate their love of the needle arts--should consider stumpwork. This art form, also called raised work or padded or embossed embroidery, was popular in Britain during the second half of the 17th century. During the Victorian ...
On the rise: whether your passion is history, politics, or art, political posters offer something for every collector of Americana.(COLLECTIBLES)
May 01, 2009; ... It doesn't matter whether you're liberal or conservative; right, left, or center; or Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green, Whig, or Bull Moose. If you like politics, you'll find collectible items that fit your political leanings. While presidential buttons and pins tend to be the ...
Camelot in a poster.(ON THE ROAD)
May 01, 2009 ... During Antiques Roadshow's stop in Dallas in June 2008, a collector presented appraiser Rudy Franchi with a gem: a poster from John E Kennedy's 1960 campaign in very good condition. "You have a small amount of damage here, [but it] doesn't affect the value," Franchi said. "These were ...
Types of collectors.(ON THE LOOKOUT)
May 01, 2009 ... Who collects political posters? "I tend to divide collectors into two categories: those who are fairly committed to the hobby, and those who just pick up a few things here and there," says Drew Julian of Austin, Texas-based Drew Julian's Political Collectibles. "Serious collectors tend to ...
Sources & resources.(ON THE LOOKOUT)(Directory)(Brief article)
May 01, 2009 ... Here's a selective list of sources where you'll find more information on political posters. * American Political Items Collectors, or APIC (apic.us): P.O. Box 55, Avon, NY 14414. Phone: 585-226-8620 * Christies (christies.com): 20 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY ...
For art's sake.(A CLOSER LOOK)(Brief article)
May 01, 2009; ... Enthusiasts usually are drawn to political posters for their subject matter, but there's no doubt that these treasures also fascinate collectors of American art. "Any well-known artist who got into politics and signed his work sparks interest," says auctioneer Ted Hake. ...
It's show time ...(A CLOSER LOOK)
May 01, 2009 ... If you get tickets for Antiques Roadshow, you're permitted to bring in two items. If you bring in an entire collection, bear in mind that only two items within the group will be appraised individually, though if the collection is small and comprehensive enough the appraisers will give an ...
Know your stuff.(INSIDE INFO)
May 01, 2009 ... Connoisseurship is a $10 word for knowing what you've got. Antiques Roadshow appraiser J. Michael Flanigan goes so far as to say that a true collector has a reference library to match the objects. Books and auction catalogs, he says, are "the mother's milk of a growing ...