The hotel room was vintage 1960s with its black rotary phone, flat hard bed and dime-store pictures on the wall. It was the setting for a Broadway play about the last night in the life…
Month: September 2011
Most of the auction houses I visit usually have lovely vintage and antique furniture, some of better quality than others. Two of them have the stuff stacked on top of each other so tightly and…
Who are these WWII black soldiers?
Posted in Photos
More than two years ago, I came across a black and white photo of African American soldiers from World War II whom I wanted to identify. A reader saw the photo and recognized one of the…
Tips for the new art collector
Posted in Art
When I started collecting African American art, the first piece I bought was a signed and numbered print by a Washington, DC, artist named John Anderson. I didn’t know much about who to collect and what…
It’s always wonderful to stumble upon paintings by artists whose names I know. So many have produced so much great works that it’s sometimes impossible to see it all. I was at the USArtists American…
Ceramic dogs with a proud name
Posted in collectibles, and pottery
Everywhere I went, I kept seeing these ceramic dogs, their faces turned sideways, with black noses and a fixed stare. First at one auction house, then at another. I saw the latest as I was…
The book of autographs brought back high-school memories. Who doesn’t recall their senior year, getting ready to graduate and having all your friends sign their good wishes for that successful future just waiting for you. As…
The paper fan lying there on the table at the auction house was like a slap in the face. It held all the stereotypes affixed to African Americans during a time when the country was…
A slew of antique sewing boxes
Posted in collectibles, and Sewing
As I turned the corner into another section of a new auction house I was previewing, a well-lighted case caught hold of me. From where I stood, I could make out small spools of thread and…
I had just left one auction house and was passing another one when my car wheeled itself into the parking lot after I spotted the “Auction Today” sign out front. I figured it wouldn’t hurt…