Uncovering Our History Through The Relics Left Behind
Posted in furniture
I was walking through the furniture room at one of my favorite auction houses recently when I noticed something: Several pieces of furniture – seemingly more than usual – were showing off the work of a…
It’s been a couple months since David Raine started marketing the artwork of his father, Philadelphia artist Earl Wilkie. When Wilkie died in 2009, he left behind a legacy of paintings, sculptures, sketches and poems,…
Posted in Military
It’s not often that weapons other than guns and knives come up for sale at the auction houses I go to. But recently, a medieval-looking item found its way to one of the tables. I…
I’ve been to many auctions where the simplest of African American ephemera has been snapped up by dealers. But I was not prepared for the prices on such items at a recent manuscript auction. When did our…
I had walked past the printer several times as I left and entered the auction house. It sat across from the door, a huge monster that I basically ignored. The laser jet printer was seemingly…
Posted in African American women, and Art
Although African American sculptor Selma Burke had lived just north of me for years, I have never had the fortune of finding any of her works on the auction tables. No one has been careless enough…
Posted in Mystery Finds
Pointing to the rusty metal contraption there on the auction table, I asked the same question of each person who approached us. What do you think that is? Each peered at it, picked it up…
Sometimes when I’m at an auction, I’m struck by the sheer volume of a particular item. Usually it’s someone’s collection, those precious manys of something they’ve bought over the years and couldn’t stop. Every now…
Posted in collectibles, and Tins
“Tell me this isn’t someone’s collection,” I said incredulously to the auction-goer browsing next to me. Spilling out of a ripped plastic bag was a stash of rusty soda cans. They looked like they had been…
