BS: Any collectors or dealers (antiques etc)

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Suffet
Date: 04 Dec 05 - 01:12 AM

Greetings:

Is there anyone else out there on Mudcat who collects postal history? Please give me a holler.

My collection of United States Third Class Mail: The First 100 Years, 1863-1963 was just accepted as a competitive exhibit at the Washington 2006 World Philatelic Exhibition which will take place next spring. Fewer than half of the exhibits that applied for the open competition were accepted, so this is a very big deal. As they say in baseball, I am honored just to be in the Big Show.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 04 Dec 05 - 09:03 AM

I have a collection of postage stamps dating back to the turn of the century...some on original interesting postcards. The most interesting to me are the ones my grandfather sent to my grandmother during 1st World War...from Canada.
Best wishes, Mike.

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Suffet
Date: 04 Dec 05 - 10:14 AM

Greetings:

For a long time the generally accepted way of collecting postage stamps was "one of each." Collectors preferred unused stamps, mostly in mint condition, meaning just as fresh as when they came from the post office, with all the gum on the reverse side intact and free from marks left by stamp hinges. If the stamps were used, they were soaked off of their envelopes and then carefully dried between two pieces of cardboard so they wouldn't curl.

There were always a few collectors, however, that went beyond this very basic approach. Some collected stamps in multiples, pairs, strips, blocks, even entire panes ("sheets"). Other collectors looked for the various pre-production material such as original artwork by the stamps' designers, trial designs (called "essays"), and proof impressions taken from the original dies or from the printing plates.

Another group of collectors kept their stamps on the original covers (envelopes), post cards, parcel wrappers, or mailing tags that saw actual postal duty. In doing so, they kept the address, return address, and postal markings intact. From this group of collectors grew the hobby of collecting postal history.

Some of these collectors also started looking for stamps postmarked on the first day of issue. If that date were unknown, then they looked for the earliest known usage, or EKU. The world's first postage stamp, for example, the Penny Black, was placed on sale throughout the United Kingdom on May 1, 1840. It was not valid for postage, however, until May 6. Examples used on covers postmarked May 6, 1840, are highly prized, and are worth many hundreds of times what the stamp itself is worth. A few covers are known with the Penny Black used improperly between May 2 and May 5. These "pre-first days" (an oxymoronic term!) are also highly prized.

By the 1930s, the hobby of collecting first day covers or FDCs had become widespread, so most first day covers from then to the present are of only minimal to moderate value. Many FDCs from the 1930s, for example, can be purchased for $1 or less today.

When it comes to post cards, there are literally two sides to the story. The picture side (obverse) is of primary interest to the deltiologist or post card collector, while the stamp side (reverse) is of primary interest to the philatelist or stamp and postal history collector.

The post cards that Mike's grandparents exchanged during World War I may bear censor markings, as countries at war often censor their outgoing and incoming foreign mail during wartime. In any event, they likely bear a 2¢ stamp, or else two 1¢ stamps. The Canadian international post card rate at the time was 2¢.

I've rambled on for too long. Sorry.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 04 Dec 05 - 12:32 PM

Enjoyed your rambling Steve....knowledge is always acceptable to me.
Thanks and Best wishes, Mike.

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Once Famous
Date: 04 Dec 05 - 12:40 PM

We have many active collections. I have a very large electric train collection that I have been working on for 20 years of vintage electric trains from the '30s to the '70s. I also collect Coca-Cola genuine memorabilia from the '30s-'50s. No reporproductions. I have a passion for vintage post cards from a specific resort town in Michigan, and have a small but stable collection of vintage guitars.

My wife collects fine English bone china made by Shelley from the '30s-''60s. One son collects Star Wars stuff and the other, the older one has a ton of vintage military stuff from WWII.

Collecting is a wonderful thing. The "hunt" is everything.

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 04 Dec 05 - 03:24 PM

Georgiansilver:
I have a collection of postage stamps dating back to the turn of the century... You mean a whole five year's worth?!

The expression "turn of the century" can now be soooo misleading.

CHEERS
Nigel

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 04 Dec 05 - 04:46 PM

Well thank you for that Nigel but as I had put a reference to the First World War, I assumed that people would understand. Will try a little harder to make it easier for you to understand next time.
Best wishes, Mike.

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers (antiques etc)
From: Suffet
Date: 04 Dec 05 - 05:16 PM

Greetings:

In philately people still commonly say "turn of the century" when they mean the transition period from the 19th to the 20th centuries.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 05 Dec 05 - 08:57 AM

Refresh...any more collectors/dealers?

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 22 Nov 07 - 09:32 AM

Some here may be familiar with Kovels, a husband/wife team(?) of appraisers and writers on antiques and collections. They might be a resource for some with "things" that "might be worth something." They do sometimes reply to requests for "identification" and occasionally with rough valuations, particularly if it's for something that might be of interest in their regular syndicated columns. Sorry, but I don't know the details of how best to ask them, but their site may give help.

A recent newsletter that LiK gets from them included an item of interest to me, and possibly to others.

Via email, in their newletter Kovels Komments:

A dealer told us the other day that the modern art market may blow up any day. As the old song said, "It's too hot not to cool down." And history has shown this. Realist paintings from the late 19th century were almost unwanted in the 1950s but are once again in favor. Art and antiques, like decorating trends and clothing fashions, change at about 25-year intervals. Prices reflect demand. That said, we still are confused by the painting prices at the top of the art market. Sotheby's stock dropped 28% the day after its November Impressionists art sale because of the number of paintings that did not sell. Christie's did okay and set several auction records, the highest for a Matisse painting at $33.6 million. Are buyers moving on to another "look" or are the auction houses promising sellers fixed prices that are too high? (Yes--if you have a masterpiece worth millions, the auction house will guarantee the price you will get even if the picture doesn't sell.) They want to have "stars" at each auction to attract an audience, but perhaps they are setting unrealistic prices.

A possibly related comment from the Art Renewal (ARC) website:

6 Paintings by William Bouguereau dominated Sotheby's 19th Century Auction on October 23rd. Amazingly, of 276 paintings sold, the 6 Bouguereaus represented fully 35% of the $25,000,000 sale.

The pace at which prices for William Bouguereau's paintings continue to rise affirms his position as the most important of the 19th Century Academic artists. His prices have begun to approach sales of Impressionists and Modern Artworks.

Even more amazing, also from ARC:

Three Great Paintings by (American) Masters All Sold at Sotheby's Mid-Season Event for American Paintings, October 10, 2007

All Three Painting Sold Above the High Estimates
Emerald and Rose by Allan Banks: went for $34,000 (estimate $14,000 - $18,000)
Father's Day by Steve Gjertson sold for $34,000 (estimate $10,000 - $15,000)
Dawn of Hope by Dan Gerhartz sold for $45,000 (estimate $20,000 - $30,000
[prices include buyers premium]


What's amazing?

The three are all LIVING ARTISTS working in classic "realist" styles.

One expert on American painting at the event said:

"This was nothing short of a Watershed event in art history. Not only is this likely to lead the way to a growing dynamic market for these Three artists, but may prove to have ushered in a whole new marketing category in American Painting sales.
Academic and Impressionist Living Master Realist artists. I'm not sure exactly what we'll call it yet, and it may prove to be best to continue combining them with American paintings from the last 200 years as we did today."

John

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 22 Nov 07 - 09:36 AM

Additional comment from Kovels Komments that may be of interest:

In our world of average collectors, business is a bit slower but there are still records set regularly. Since September our list of record prices for antiques and collectibles (no paintings) has added at least 19 records, from a Chippendale tea table to six mechanical banks. Bank collectors who couldn't afford the mechanicals that set records might want the new Japanese Savings Bomb bank. If you don't put coins in regularly, the bank "explodes" and scatters the money on the floor. You must pick up the money and "reflect on your laziness," says the manufacturer, TOMY Ltd.

Sort of in the category of the alarm clock that jumps off the table and hides under the bed (or in the closet) when you hit the "snooze" button.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 22 Nov 07 - 12:55 PM

Sotheby's and Christie's are outside my realm, which is that of a bottom-feeder. A few of my buys have appreciated, mostly Chinese-Japanese porcelain, but most were bought because they appealed and fit my budget. My heirs, if they sell, will probably get back a bit more than I spent, which is good enough.
I bought Canadian paintings by artists whose work I liked and I could afford; a couple or three have gone up markedly, most have kept pace with inflation, and a few no longer elicit anyone's interest and are useful only to cover holes in the wall.

A collection of Navajo silver and turquoise pretty well follows the demand; no expectation of profit, since the very early work and the work of the trendy and expensive artists is absent. I like the handiwork and that is reason enough for me to collect.

Any collectors of 17th-18th c. Dutch blue and white tiles out there?
Canadian history on silk cigarette cards?

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: mouldy
Date: 23 Nov 07 - 05:33 AM

My mother was an avid collector of 19th century Staffordshire figures, as well as most other (small) things that took her fancy. She started to trade in the late 1960s in antique centres, and graduated to shops. Unfortunately she gave up after about 10 years as she couldn't make a living, because the trade was in a slump, and only other dealers were buying (and they require trade price). She then bought specific items on commission for dealer friends at auction, and also bought and sold for herself.

Well I have to restrain myself when I go to antique shops or the like. I have had to try and narrow my Staffs buying to musicians, although I now possess 3 Mother Goose figures! I also have a couple of specialist dealers on the hunt for one figure I specifically want.

I recently came across some illustrations by a lady called Jean Young, who illustrated a 1947 edition of the "Hound of Heaven". I have 3 originals (not from that, sadly) and a lithograph. I've also got a nice earlyish Cruikshank engraving (1797), courtesy of mum. And a trunk full of other prints (a couple of Baxters and an Alken in there) that I may offload at some point.

My tastes are eclectic, and my late husband used to despair (he had no interest). My latest purchase is a Victorian bidet. I needed a small side table, and it does the job admirably!

Best surprise at auction was a couple of years ago when, after a bit of a pruning of my stuff, I sold a pack (one missing) of early 19th century playing cards: hand painted - with fortune-telling pictures, and single ended court cards - by Napoleonic prisoners of war. We'd had them for 40 years (one of mum's acquisitions) and they made £960! Another of her little finds, which she gave me in 1968, and which had been put out in 1964 for a jumble sale she was running, made £4800 at Sotheby's in 1989. They were late 17th/early 18th century ladies' shoes. Just paid off all our debts at the time!

Biggest extravagance of late was buying 3 Thompson "Mouseman" pieces: a lamp, a candlestick and a tray. These are my investment pieces. I'm going to keep half an eye out for older pieces, I think.

There's only one snag, as mum used to say: "Champagne taste, beer income"!

Andrea

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: JP2
Date: 23 Nov 07 - 08:10 AM

My wife and I own a narrowboat with a traditional Boatman's cabin the sides of which were traditionally decorated with lace edged plates,also called ribbon plates or hanging up plates.
We started buying plates about 20 years ago and used to buy anything and everything provided it was cheap enough but now only collect plates made by Schumann,a Bavarian/German company.
Frequently the plates were brought back from a seaside holiday and very often are of a standard design with the legend "A Present from Blackpool" or some other resort printed on them.
Other common themes are "Gainsborough" style figures and "Worcester" style fruit.
Pre WW1 plates are stamped Bavaria/Germany on the back but post 1918 are stamped Foreign,presumably due to anti German feeling.
We've slowed down a bit now as the cabin's full and so are the "Delft" racks at home.
JP1147

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Sorcha
Date: 23 Nov 07 - 08:36 AM

Fiesta Ware, but only in a few of the Original colours. It's gone so far out of sight price wise that I can't begin to afford the pieces I want.

I don't really 'collect' anything, but pick up stuff that stike my fancy. Old milk/cream cans, ice cream freezers, ancient pressure canners, cast iron (to use!), lonely unplayable music instruments, just gobbeldy gook stuff.

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Bobert
Date: 23 Nov 07 - 08:49 AM

Hi, my name is Bobert and I am a collectoholic...

However, I have been in recovery for 15 years, 4 months and 3 days and just take it "one day at a time"...

But with that said, yes, during my practicing collectoholic days I amassed quite a collection of eclectic stuff most of which now is boxed up and banished to the ferrowing (don't ask) barn...

Oh, yeah, G-silver, I have cuspidors... I think I have 3 but maybe four... I have one here in the house that I use for nothin' other than keeping my collection of old keys (maybe 500 of them) that I don't have a clue as to what they once unlocked???

I have another box or two with old toasters??? Like what is that all about??? I mean, why would nayone need old toasters...

Okay, I'll plug in the "TRUE CONFESSION" sign here and tell you folk just how bad it got for me during my practicing collectoholic days:

Back in the 70's and early 80's there were several urban renewal projects going on in Richmond and 1000's of old late 1800's homes were taken in eminent domain & boarded up for future demolishment (is that a word???)...

Well, I couldn't wait to get home from my social work job, put on my grubbies, head into these areas in my pickup truck and tools... Yes, night after night I, as well as other collectoholics, would break into these homes, would riffle thru the stuf that had been left behind, pry our archietuctural things of interest, etc...

This is where my toaster collection came from... People left some very intersting stuff behind... Old vaccum cleaners, old women's hats, dolies, drawn-work table clothes, silverware, lamps and shades, large furniture, books by the thousands...

Yep, you name it and folks left it and there I was, a reasonablely well adjusted social worker with 2 degrees on my hands and knees in a boarded up old house rumaging thru postcards, old ash trays, fountain pens, clothes, etc...

Well, that was porbably the height of my disease and, yes, it continues into the 90's until I just had to swaer it off before it consumed me...

Now I am stuck with literally hundreds of boxes of collected stuff out in a 35X100 foot barn and feel responsible for all this stuff...

I can't quite bring myself to auction it all off but I know that *that* day will come and I will have come a full circle...

But as for now, "Lord, just get me thru today, if You will..."

That is my story...

Those who have been in my house can verify every bit of it...

Sniff...

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 23 Nov 07 - 09:04 AM

After separation from my ex-spouse.....I moved into a one bedroomed flat which had to become home to all sorts of junk......I do have good stuff but that is held in comparative safety and security elsewhere. I have amassed a huge knowledge of antiques and collectables but spend little time on them these days. Thanks for resurrecting the thread John in Kansas. Nice to see it again.

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Bee
Date: 23 Nov 07 - 09:50 AM

Fascinating to see what other people collect.

I don't collect, exactly, but I do acquire 'neat old things' cheaply when I can and they strike my fancy. I particularly like old linens, and have a few nice pieces, as well as some antique clothing. My husband's Dad worked at a local shipyard, and so husband has a collection of tools circa '30s to '50s, including several examples of brass cannister blowtorches, and hand made tools for very specific jobs.

I like old dishes, but have had bad luck keeping then intact - my inherited 200 year old platter was sat upon by a friend.

In the realm of paintings - I have a tiny painting, signed and dated 1941, by a locally well-known woman painter, E E Smith, who was instrumental in getting art education started in the province. It's a lovely little Group of Seven influenced shore scene, might be worth a hundred dollars. Which is not a great amount, but I found it for three dollars at a flea market.

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 23 Nov 07 - 11:27 AM

As to formal "collections," in a prior lifetime an ex-wife and her parents were determined to have "collections" (frogs, horses and bunny themes) and continually badgered me to "collect something." Based on it being a college "mascot" and being nonexistent¹ among collectibles in Kansas, I finally told them I'd collect "beavers." My recollection is that it took around 7 or 8 years for one of them to find one to present as a gift at some holiday or another. I was quite content with the one specimen on my class ring.

¹ It is well documented that my great grandmother Sarah trapped beavers and other pelt animals quite nearby for cash to improve here homestead - a requirement to obtain the title; but for quite a while they (beavers and most of the other critters she trapped) were nearly extinct in Kansas. There are quite a few beavers in recent years at some managed sites; but they're not exactly something people "go to Kansas to see." G'g'ma also drove a mule team as a "commercial hauler" on occasion, but collecting "mule stuff" would have been too easy.

Although I'll confess to rarely buying a particularly fine beaver during business travel - maybe 8 or 10 in 30 years time, I was quite successful in keeping my "collection" at less than 20 pieces until I made the mistake of accepting a transfer to Seattle. Once friends there found out it was an easy gift for the ungiftable, the collection "bloomed" (and is now formally called "the bloomin' beavers") with around 80+ pieces, most of which are tiny, but a few approaching life-sized - most notably a set of large bookends that friends "up in the no'west" commissioned for me from a local chainsaw artist as a Christmas gift.

LiK had a similar collection experience. During her 30 years in the "great northwest" she collected "Frankoma pottery." From a fairly small factory in Oklahoma, the pieces are mostly "utilitarian" althoug some are quite attractive. The orignal factory burned out some years ago, and the new factory used a different clay, so the old pieces are quite distinctive and easy to identify. They were also rare enough in the Seattle area to make for manageable and selective "collecting," especially when specialized for the old style Frankoma. Prices - even there - were mostly fairly reasonable.

Of course, when she moved back to Kansas with me, we found "Frankoma everywhere" since the new factory is only a half-day drive down the road, so her collection reached "Frankoma glut stage" before (sh)we realized she couldn't buy it all. She has a few "specimen pieces" from other makers, and would love to accumulate "Hull China" but prices on the good ones are out of reason and reach. She does have one or two - Hull and other - pieces that she's gotten at bargain prices because of misidentifying by the dealers, but none are - IMO - really "prime collectibles."

LiK also has a minor accumulation of "gargoyles" - including one 200 LB+ cast iron specimen in her herb garden, but they're more for decoration than collection.

We do both of course have a few "heirloom" pieces. From my mother I have an interesting, but probably not particularly valuable, "Royal Staffordshire: Jenny Lind" plate (a somewhat ambiguous provenence) and an original signed and dated photograph (1907) of a "courting couple by fireside" that's lovely; but I doubt either would make us wealthy.

My inventory of our "books" shows well over 2,000 entries (a little over 200 music). Those are about 2/3 mine, and she hasn't entered most of her last 10 years' acquisitions; but that's an accumulation rather than a collection. She does have perhaps a dozen "signed by author hardback" novels, but little of real note or exceptional value. They were bought to read, and to meet the authors, rather than as an investment.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 23 Nov 07 - 06:57 PM

JiK

I stopped being a beaver collecter....

Gotta run...

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Bill D
Date: 23 Nov 07 - 07:58 PM

I guess I collect beer bottles/cans....at least, I SAVE one of each type I empty. In 30 years, it has grown quite a bit! I do NOT search for & buy the ones I have not drunk, so maybe I'm not a true collector....but I do have nearly 1000 now....including one from the New Albion brewery about 1977, which began the Renaissance of American micro-breweries.

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 23 Nov 07 - 10:46 PM

I have a nice little collection of cowboy boots. Ostrich were my favorite, found used but good condition. And an old Olathe pair in elephant hide. I have a 'game' leg so don't wear them anymore, too hard to get on and off.
Here in Alberta there was a glassworks in Lloydminster that made animal figures. We picked up quite a few. The Medalta Pottery near Lethbridge made all sorts of stuff, from table ware to 'art,' so we picked some of that up too.
In the basement, packed up except for a few prize ones, is a collection of glass 'coal ile' lamps, specialized on Canadian made.
Watches? Yep, models certified for railroad use in the railroading days.
Beginning to sound like a real packrat's horde.

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: bankley
Date: 24 Nov 07 - 03:28 PM

it's amazing what you can accumulate if you stay 'put' long enough and have the room... I can relate to Bobert's barn. I helped empty one (100x60) a couple of years ago....plus 2 houses... took awhile... Beer was there checking out the books. One of his buddies showed up and carted away a few loads of interesting things for resale at his store. That just scratched the surface. Stamps, guns, coins, cars, tractors, furniture, you name it..... a lot of it has a home somewhere else now, from Thailand to Ormstown and then some.. the rest went to the scrapyard or dumpster. Did sell a '62 Buick Electra to a DC doctor... gave us enough for 2 months in Europe... The Antiques Roadshow has influenced a lot of people but I learned early on that an object is worth what you can get for it, and everyone is looking for a bargain.... I'm still partial to musical instruments esp. guitars, but they're meant to be played and I can only manage one at a time. Still it's nice to have a variety of colours when doing a recording project. So now, it's simplify... keep the load light and practical.... if I can't carry it with me in a crunch, how important is it ? One great thing.... songs don't weigh much, particularly the ones committed to memory....mine is still okay........ memory that is.....

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: autolycus
Date: 24 Nov 07 - 04:14 PM

I'm a half-hearted collector of recordings of Gustav Mahler's music. Only today, thanks to starting the same 'how do you buy?' thread that's up above the line here, on a Mahlerites site, I've made an exchanging contact with a Mahlerite in Arizona. (Isn't this aspect of the technology just stunning?)

Ditto recordings by Jascha Horenstein, Dictionaries of Quotations (and top-notch quotes), and books on popular fallacies (not urban myths. Instead, stuff like, King John didn't sign Magna Carta.)

Oh, and jokes. hopefully not antique ones.

   Ivor

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: bankley
Date: 24 Nov 07 - 06:06 PM

ps.... Erik Frandsen's last cd is really fine. It's called "Antiques: New and Used "

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 25 Nov 07 - 03:30 PM

Recently bought an antique whistle (D) on Ebay for next to nothing.....

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Llanfair
Date: 25 Nov 07 - 03:31 PM

I have a stall, Bron's Crafts & Curios, every Saturday and Monday on Welshpool market, and it's always overfull with interesting bits, and stuff I've rescued and renovated. I love auctions, and now I've got a van, I can widen my scope.

The crafts are things like driftwood mobiles and mirror frames, decoupaged trays, tables and boxes, mostly acquired from the local recycling centre. The pictures I use are often pre- raphaelite or faerie prints, and I age them to look as though they've always been there. Old commodes make wonderful sewing boxes, as they are so well made. A good scrub with bleach is the first step......

Collectables come and go. At present I've some 1950 scrapbooks of the royal tour and wedding, some reproduction staffs fairings and flatbacks...fun and cheap!! lots of brass and copperware, a spode bowl, lots of treen, and loads of decoupage boxes. I also rescue and renovate old sewing machines, which sell well, peg looms, made locally, funky hats, hand warmers, oh, and a full set of "cries of london" Davenport plates that my mum bought for a fortune new, thinking they would be worth a lot, which I can't shift. They don't even sell on e-bay, so care must be taken with "investments" .

I always have different stuff on the stall, and have built a steady clientele over the years.

Doesn't make a lot of money, though!!

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: autolycus
Date: 25 Nov 07 - 04:31 PM

btw, I once spent some of a happy few weeks noting things my dearest Mum would come out with. Don't know why I didn't do it more.

She once said,

"You know, they don't make antiques like they used to."


   Ivor

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: danensis
Date: 26 Nov 07 - 08:27 AM

I overheard a lady in an antiques centre, looking at a wooden posser.

"Look at that £25! We used to have two of those in our wash-house."

Stall holder: "and what did you do with them"

Woman "Well, we chucked 'em away when we got a washing machine"

Stall holder "so did everyone else - that's why that one is £25".

John

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: katlaughing
Date: 26 Nov 07 - 10:15 AM

Fun to re-read this thread. I don't think I mentioned it before: one place to get appraisals is (recommended to me by an antique dealer who told me there were no appraisers in western Colorado to recommend:) What's It Worth to You?.

For ten dollars they will provide you with a certified appraisal. It depends on how much info you provide, but I have found them to be quite educational and thorough. The more pix and descriptions etc. you provide, the better the appraisal, of course. They do have a classifieds which they hope you might use but they are NOT pushy and I do not receive any spam or anything from them.

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: skipy
Date: 26 Nov 07 - 11:03 AM

I've just put Eagle annuals no 1 & 2 (1951 & 2) on Ebay, found them in a skip, fingers crossed.
Skipy

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 26 Nov 07 - 11:29 AM

I would by no means call myself an expert but will happily appraise any UK antiques (not furniture) for free(pm me)......if I can't appraise your particular item I will say so.
Best wishes, Mike.

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: GUEST,Bluesman
Date: 26 Aug 11 - 07:10 PM

I collect medals, I can't understand why America introduced the SVA. Like most things, medals are personal property and should be allowed to bought, sold, traded, bartered...this trafficking in decorations, foreign included, allow succeeding generations to acquire, research, and most of all, appreciate the sacrifice and valiant deeds and also serve as a reminder of the bravery and courage of those who earned those awards. We have no such law in Britain.


The Stolen Valor Act (SVA) makes it a criminal offence to buy, sell, trade, exchange all decorations and medals; such as the Distinguished Service Cross/Navy Cross/Air Force Cross, Silver Star, and Purple Heart.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_Valor_Act_of_2005

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: olddude
Date: 26 Aug 11 - 07:48 PM

dunno either. I have a WWII set of B17 sterling silver bomber pilot wings right here in front of me ... Wanna buy em?

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: olddude
Date: 26 Aug 11 - 07:58 PM

My understanding of the law is you can own them, display them but you cannot at anytime wear them. Only the one it was awarded to can. I know all the antique stores here in town still sell them and I find a ton of WWII medals at every flea market. There maybe something in the law about after a certain date or such .. Now the medal of honor .. no at no time can that be sold.

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: maeve
Date: 26 Aug 11 - 08:19 PM

From Bluesman's Wiki link:

"The Stolen Valor Act of 2005, signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 20, 2006,[1] is a U.S. law that broadens the provisions of previous U.S. law addressing the unauthorized wear, manufacture, or sale of any military decorations and medals. It makes it a federal misdemeanor offense to falsely represent oneself as having received any U.S. military decoration or medal. If convicted, defendants may be imprisoned for up to six months, unless the decoration lied about is the Medal of Honor, in which case imprisonment could be up to one year..."

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 26 Aug 11 - 08:41 PM

There will be a Supreme Court ruling before long. The law takes it the step farther, making it illegal to buy, sell or trade in the medals. Read the summary.

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: gnu
Date: 26 Aug 11 - 09:59 PM

Q.... and so it should be. To do otherwise is just not right. It's, at best, disrespectful.

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 12:14 PM

I'm so glad the politicians were spending time and money on such a crucial issue. (not)

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Beer
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 07:19 PM

Refresh.
ad.

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: kendall
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 10:10 PM

I have a set of Russian post cards all with pictures of Lenin on them. I got them in a swap aboard a Russian factory ship back in the early 70s.

Thanks to a dear friend, I now have an ancient Victrola that weighs about 200 pounds! and it is huge.

Jacqui will have a cow when she sees that.

She should be glad I like old things. Yes, I've been drinking.

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Beer
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 10:18 PM

Hay!.... The older things are the more their worth. Right!!
ad.

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 28 Aug 11 - 12:23 AM

In Australia we occasionally have news items about someone selling granddad's medals - the fat really hits the fire when they include a Victoria Cross the pre-eminent award for acts of bravery in wartime and Australia's highest military honour.
It is awarded to persons who, in the presence of the enemy, display the most conspicuous gallantry; a daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice; or extreme devotion to duty.

We are lucky enough to have a philanthropist who buys those he can at the auctions & presents them to the Australian War Memorial. (Kerry Stokes is said to have paid more than $3 million for four VCs, all of which he has donated for display at the Australian War Memorial. The memorial boasts 64 of the 98 Australian VCs awarded.)

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: ollaimh
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 12:28 AM

on victoria crosses, there were three awarded to men who all cme from the same street in winnepeg. they changed the name of the street to valor road.

i don't unserstand collecting except for musical instruments. but then everyone can sit in a chair, listen to radio or play a sport, but few can play musical instruments. i am fasinated by what people collect and how much things go for--that seem almost useless to me.

but then my wife used to quote rita rudner about my home before we got together. " men are like bears with furniture--and ollaimh is a bear with very little furniture"

in fact i used to spend all my money on music in some way and wait for people to give me everything else--which they do eventually. i can go without furniture for years, except maybe a matress and chair, and with only two or three changes of clothes. with those i wait till friends give me things. some used to visit my apartments in the past and see a palce to deposit the detritius of decades of living in the same house--which i am fine with.

i understand collecting tools and usable items, but nowadays people collect everything from toys to advertising signs. its amazing.

so common mudcatters get back to collecting musical instruments where you all belong.

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 23 Jun 12 - 01:35 PM

For all our British catters.. I will be appearing on three programmes of "Dickensons Real Deal" at some point before Christmas. I will re-post to let you know when!

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 23 Jun 12 - 02:26 PM

I wish the programs were available in Canada.
I have been going through my collection (extremely eclectic) and giving my offspring the better items (the rest can go to the auctioneer).

Apropos your alias (monicker, handle, pen name, tag, nom de plume, etc.), I gave my pair of Georgian silver candlesticks to my older daughter. I saw them in a local auction some 50 years ago and couldn't resist.

In the mid-19th C., St Louis was a center of wealth on the edge of the frontier. I have a coin silver pitcher made by a silversmith who worked there about 1850. There were several silversmiths there at the time. The city is primarily known for beer, but all crafts flourished there 150 years ago.

Along with the impulse and junque buys, I did get some very nice items.

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 23 Jun 12 - 05:13 PM

Yes Q, we have many antique and collectable programmes in the UK... Perhaps some of them find their way across to you.... You could of course try to google 'ITV player' and 'BBC player on the internet and possibly watch some of our antique programmes that way. Best wishes, Mike.

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Bobert
Date: 23 Jun 12 - 08:50 PM

Cool...

Send us a link when it happens...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 03:27 AM

Will so do!

Subject: RE: BS: Any collectors or dealers( antiques etc)
From: Leadfingers
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 04:16 AM

100