Antiques Roadshow Insider back issues from February 2007:
No monkeying around.(ON THE LOOKOUT)(Rembrandt Bugatti sculpture )(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... A Sotheby's bidder spent $2.56 million on a Rembrandt Bugatti sculpture called Babouin Sacre Hamadryas ("sacred Hamadryas baboon"). Dating to 1909-1910, the 17 1/4-inch-high bronze cast baboon (one of only ...
Sharp shooter.(ON THE LOOKOUT)(bronze sculpture of Cupid)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... A bidder on eBay paid $646 for a late-19th-century bronze sculpture of Cupid. Standing just under 12 1/2 inches, the sculpture--complete with bow, ...
Carry-out collectible: vintage lunch boxes no longer tote sandwiches, apples, and a Thermos. Rather, they carry memories from decades ago. They just cost a little more now.
Feb 01, 2007; ... Most people might see classic lunch boxes from the middle of the 20th century as whimsical pieces of pop culture. But those old steel boxes with eye-catching graphics are becoming increasingly valuable: Top-condition examples of lunch box rarities can sell for four- and even five-figure ...
A little of this, a little of that ...(THE FIRST WORD)
Feb 01, 2007; ... For years, while editing a music magazine based in southern New Hampshire, I'd go in to work every morning and run into Bill Heydolph, production manager. I'd always say, "What's goin' on, Billy?" He'd always say, "A little of this, a little of that ..." It's one of those routines that ...
Carpet bagged for $341,625.(TEXTILES)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Philadelphia-based Freeman's reported its best sales year ever, earning a total of $23.1 million. Capping the year: a Dec. 14 sale of "Fine Oriental Rugs & Carpets." Highlight: an early-19th-century Chelaberd Kazak rug that sold for $341,625. Freeman's noted that prospective bidders flew ...
A peek at Lalique.(GLASS)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Nearly 100 lots of Lalique art glass, perfume bottles, vases, hood ornaments, and bowls sold for prices between $2,500 and $40,000 at a recent Rago Auctions sale. But none was as hotly pursued as the item pictured here: an opalescent glass shell-form box and a frosted glass pearl-form ...
It's a mod, mod world: a recent sale at Sotheby's put modern design front and center.(AUCTION PREVIEWS, NEWS, & TRENDS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Modern furniture and decorative items inspired classic prices at a Sotheby's "Important 20th-Century Design" sale in December. The event brought in some $9.3 million on 178 lots. The headliner was a Rembrandt Bugatti sculpture of a Hamadryas baboon (Babouin Sacre Hamadryas) that ...
Classic Americana.(AUCTION PREVIEWS, NEWS, & TRENDS)
Feb 01, 2007 ... A Smith & Wesson revolver sold for $57,500 at Wes Cowan Auctions in December, pacing the Cincinnati-based firm's "Historic Firearms and Early Militaria" event. Total sales from the auction: $1.45 million (926 lots sold). The Smith & Wesson pearl-gripped revolver was created as a ...
Million-dollar gems.(JEWELRY)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Here's the type of jewelry purchase that most can only dream about: an oval-cut D color, potentially flawless diamond of 21.21 carats (photo at left). It went into the December "Important Jewels" sale at Christie's with an estimate of $800,000-$1.2 million. By the time bidding ended, it ...
Gerald Ford (1913-2006).(ON THE BLOCK: AUTOGRAPHS)(Obituary)
Feb 01, 2007; ... On Dec. 26, Gerald Ford died at 93--an age that made him the longest-living former President. In the weeks that followed, he was celebrated as a man who--upon replacing the impeached Richard Nixon in 1974 to become our 38th President--"steadied a nation that needed healing," as President ...
Presidental markings.(ON THE LOOKOUT)(letters signed by United States president goes on auction)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... A recent sale at Swann Galleries featured dozens of signed documents signed by U.S. presidents. Among the examples: * A James Madison signed letter went for $28,800. The one-page document, written to his brother Ambrose Madison, covers a range of topics, including his travels ...
Yankee doodle dandy.(Letter to the editor)
Feb 01, 2007; ... YANKEE DOODLE DANDY: I attended a Yankees/Athletics game in Kansas City, Mo., in 1956, and I was close enough to the field to briefly talk with Mickey Mantle, who was warming up before the game. I asked him to sign my scorebook. He politely said that Casey Stengel, the Yankees' manager, ...
Rockin' rocker.(Letter to the editor)
Feb 01, 2007; ... ROCKIN' ROCKER: I've been reading Antiques Roadshow Insider for several months and find it excellent--well written with good information on a variety of antiques and collectibles. Yes, many of these things are precious because they connect us to loved ones or memories, as stated in your ...
Bed time.(Letter to the editor)
Feb 01, 2007; ... BED TIME: In 1945 my father returned from spending a year in New Guinea and the Philippines and got his discharge from the Army at Ft. Bragg, N.C. We were anxious to return to our home in Hastings, Neb. (we had left there in 1941), but first we traveled north to Pennsylvania and New York ...
The Crocker mystique.(BOOKS/KITCHENALIA)(Betty Crocker)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... So how was our beloved Betty Crocker born? In 1921, her name was borrowed from retired Washburn Crosby Co. executive William Crocker, whose surname was paired with "Betty," a name perceived as warm and friendly. Her signature, the same one still used today, came straight from the hand of a ...
Crazy about Betty: collectors of kitchenalia always have a place for Betty Crocker, the grand dame of American cookbooks.(BOOKS/KITCHENALIA)(General Mills Inc.)
Feb 01, 2007; ... Who conjures up the image of classic nurturing kitchen queen better than good ol' Betty Crocker? Alas, if only she were real .... Betty was actually the genius creation, in 1921, of the Washburn Crosby Co. of Minneapolis (one of the big milling companies that would merge into ...
Marketwatch.(Betty Crocker)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Here's a sampling of prices Betty Crocker items have stirred up in recent sales. $309: Betty Crocker's Cookbook, 1969 $237: Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, 1950 $95: Betty Crocker's Good & Easy Cookbook, 1971 $58: Betty Crocker Recipe Card ...
Take care.(TEXTILES)(hooked rug )
Feb 01, 2007 ... Having a hooked rug repaired is expensive, so minimize the wear and tear. If used on a floor, put a pad underneath and choose a low-traffic location that doesn't get strong direct light. And don't vacuum hooked rugs, says ...
The flip side.(TEXTILES)( hooked rugs)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Angus burlap, widely used as a foundation for early hooked rugs, is less durable than the scraps that form the pattern. An oiled burlap imported from Scotland has proven more durable, but the more common material from India ...
Come clean.(TEXTILES)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Experts warn sternly that hooked rugs are not candidates for do-it-yourself cleaning. They should never be washed; colors may run and the backing can disintegrate. Rather, hooked rugs should be cleaned by a pro who's experienced with ...
The pride of Maine.(TEXTILES)(Rugs from Waldoboro, Maine)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007 ... Rugs from Waldoboro, Maine, are highly prized. They feature central ovals, intricate borders, and frequent use of clipping and other techniques that create a three-dimensional quality. Other Waldoboro characteristics include fine shading (achieved by using a ...
Folk art underfoot: remember the old saying, "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without?" Well, it's particularly appropriate for the time-honored craft of rug-hooking.(TEXTILES)
Feb 01, 2007; ... Hooked rugs, the most distinctive folk art you'll find, were produced with humble materials. Like the pieced quilts that rank as America's other traditional textile treasure, hooked rugs were often made of scraps and worn-out or out-grown garments. Home rug-making began as a ...
A strange capsule.(TRENDS)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007; ... The array of available artifacts from the early days of the space program can be surprising. Antiques Roadshow appraiser Mike Gutierrez of Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas recalls one prime example that turned up in Reno, Nev., in 2005. A woman brought in a remarkable find, he says: an ...
Moon rocks.(TRENDS)(Federal Bureau of Investigation catches person trying to sell the rocks)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007; ... There are things space memorabilia collectors would love to own that are not for sale at any price--legally, that is. Most prominent on that list is the 850 pounds of rocks and dust returned to earth by Apollo astronauts in the late 1960s and 1970s. But federal law forbids the ...
Space: the next frontier: it's a relatively young category, but outer space memorabilia may be prepared to blast off.(TRENDS)
Feb 01, 2007; ... The backpack that Apollo 15 astronaut James B. Irwin wore on the moon containing oxygen to keep him alive would have been a nice souvenir. But it was designed to be disposable, so it was jettisoned on the lunar surface, left behind during the July 1971 mission. Looking for another memento ...
A cheap piece of space history.(A CLOSER LOOK)(www.collectspace.com)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007; ... There is a relatively low-end way for people to own something that went to the moon. When Apollo 11 came back, the government took some of the junk from the flight, including a latch from a box carrying moon rocks, and minted 200,000 medallions (not to be confused with Robbins medallions; ...
Mapping outer space.(A CLOSER LOOK)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2007; ... One type of space memorabilia that has solid investment potential as well as aesthetic and historical value, experts say, are the maps and charts astronauts took with them on missions into space and onto the moon. For each space mission, defense-mapping agencies prepared special charts for ...
Lunch boxes: a closer look.
Feb 01, 2007 ... VINYL AND PLASTIC? Steel lunch boxes with lithographed art get most of the attention, but "vinyl lunch boxes, at one time, were highly desirable," says Rhode Island dealer Joe Soucy of Seaside Toys. "A lot of the vinyls were directed toward the girls' market. The main character ...
Got any celebrity collectibles? The market for entertainer memorabilia--especially rare, one-of-a-kind pieces--is strong and getting stronger.
Feb 01, 2007; ... When Warren Beatty was a struggling actor living in New York in the late 1950s, he checked out of a hotel and left behind a stash of personal paperwork: an assortment of bank checks, statements, letters he wrote but didn't send, scripts he was reading, to-do lists, and contracts. It was ...