The black and white photo was magnificent in both its expansiveness and the history it captured. Through the dirty and dusty glass frame, I could see long rows of horses tied to wooden fences. Just beyond the…
Month: February 2013
Aunt Julia’s Cook Book of African American recipes
Posted in Books, Cooking, and Ephemera/Paper/Documents
The first thing that caught my eye in the box on the auction table was a small folded sack with the words “Georgia Cured Bacon” in faded print. I don’t consume pork but I am…
“I Feel Good” James Brown doll
Posted in Dolls, Music, Performers, and Toys
Auctions are about more than just antiques. They’re also about kitsch, and what can be more kitschy than a singing James Brown doll. Such a doll showed up at an auction I attended last weekend…
I was surprised to learn that Alex Haley’s childhood memories had been immortalized in sculptures. I “discovered” them last summer while visiting the home of a friend’s sister who owned several figurines depicting his growing-up years in Henning, TN.…
Readers ask about Jet magazines & Hoosier cabinets
Posted in Black history, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, Kitchen, and Reader questions
Friday at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day. I try to guide readers to resources for them to determine the value of the items that they own. I’m not able to appraise their treasures, but…
Lillian wanted to make certain Ricke knew that this card with the pin-up girls was not her choice: “This was Irvs idea,” she wrote. Looking at the card, I understood why she disavowed it – although with…
When I first started going to auctions looking to buy African American art inexpensively, several pieces by Norman Lewis came up for sale. There were about three or four of his abstract compositions, none of which…
Reader asks about prints by artist Cal Massey
Posted in Art, and Reader questions
Friday at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day. I try to guide readers to resources for them to determine the value of the items that they own. I’m not able to appraise their treasures, but…