I was at an auction recently where I picked up a postcard advertising an upcoming Appraisal Day sponsored by the auction house. It was billed as a “Hunt for Treasure,” one of those events where…
Month: August 2012
A Ray Charles record player that wasn’t
Posted in Music, Performers, and Records
Did you see the Ray Charles record player on the auction website? my auction buddy Janet emailed me. “I didn’t know such a thing existed.” I had not, and neither did I. So I dutifully…
The small flat cards were scattered about in a box lot of metal items that had no relation to them. There were about 15 to 20, likely someone’s collection or a compilation pulled together by…
When I first saw the artist’s name on the print on the auction website, I didn’t recognize it. The image was an African American man, woman and child in a position of struggle. This obviously…
Blackface makeup in a tube
Posted in Personal items, Plays, theater, and Tins
My friend Rebecca alerted me to the bright yellow tube in the vendor’s case. On the front was a man in blackface with huge white lips wearing a tux and white gloves, and the product…
Using books to price Aunt Jemima recipe box
Posted in collectibles, food, Kitchen, and Reader questions
Fridays at Auction Finds is answer-readers’-questions day. I try to guide readers to the answers to their questions about the items they own. I’m not able to appraise their treasures, but I can help them get started.…
Having one elk creamer too many
Posted in China, collectibles, and dishware
“People in our generation, you didn’t just collect two of something,” the auction staffer, a man who looked to be in his late 60s, said as I stood there with another auction-goer bewildered by the collection in…
Reflecting on mirrored furniture
Posted in furniture
The beauty of the mirrored pieces didn’t smack me in the face until I was right in front of them. The auction house staff had arranged them as if they were in a living room…
A box of old New York hotel keys
Posted in Architecture/Buildings, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and travel
The box of keys with gold, maroon, green and sky blue nameplates spoke of times past. I could tell not only by their shapes but the brass keys on the ring. Hotels don’t use real…