I had gone to the art preview at Freeman’s Auctioneers to see works by African American artists Lois Mailou Jones, Romare Bearden and Ron Adams. Jones, whom I had interviewed in 1993, is one of my…
Month: May 2011
The art of ornate vintage door handles
Posted in Architecture/Buildings, Art, and Home
Some time ago, I bought several vintage door handles not so I could replace the simple glass door knobs that have been in my home since it was built in the early 1920s. I bought them because they…
Save money by buying at auctions
Posted in Auction Tips/Find an Auction, dishware, furniture, and Home
I’m always astonished at not only what turns up on the auction tables but also at how little it sells for. I’ve watched many times as dinnerware sets go for 5 or 10 bucks, or practically…
As I browsed before an auction recently, I was struck by the unusual colors and designs of several chairs in the furniture room. A Lucite chair with a Mount Rushmore image on its cushion. A lime-green plastic…
Ritual of the straightening comb
Posted in African American women, and Hair
The image is amazingly clear: A little girl sits on the floor or a stool between her mother’s legs, her head a mass of unruly hair. Her mother sits behind her in a chair, close…
I was making my way among the tables of beautiful high-grade colored glassware when I decided to check out the equally high-grade furniture at the auction house. This was one of its Modern Design sales,…
Now, who wrote the ‘Wizard of Oz’?
Posted in Books
The auctioneer was trying mightily to sell the six or so stacks of old books on the counter behind him, one stack at a time. But he was hawking them to a stubborn crowd. There…
Wow, I thought when I saw the bulky theater spotlight there on the pavement at the auction house. It had a thick body with perfect Bakelite switches on the side propped atop a metal leg…
Don’t insult the flea-market seller!
Posted in Etiquette, and flea market
I barely noticed the couple as they looked over the items I had set up on the pavement at a flea market last weekend. Two large metal outdoor watering tins, one vintage. A wall planter with…
I got an email yesterday on the day of the country’s rejoicing over Osama Bin Laden’s demise from a man who had a newspaper with news of the killing. He was thinking strategically: “I have the…