Friday at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day. I try to guide readers to resources to help them determine the value – and sometimes the origin – of their items. Today’s question is about the…
Month: October 2015
Mr. Peanut costume leads to African American comic illustrator
Posted in Advertising, Art, Black history, and Comic books
I watched as the man picked up the stiff Mr. Peanut costume from a table in the back lot of the auction house and tried it on for his friends. It was one of those…
When rural mail was delivered by sleigh in snowy places
Posted in Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and Vehicles
I grew up in a rural area in Georgia, and each day the mailman would drive his car up close to the tin mail box on a wooden pole, lean across his seat, open the little door…
I’ve seen many of this type of household product at auction but in a much smaller version. Most had wooden boxes with a turn handle, but the purpose was the same. They helped to make meals…
I found the bronze-looking statue of the boy on a table near a wall among furniture and other items prior to a special sale at the auction house. It took a while to find him,…
I have a friend who has moved into a lovely home and wants a grandfather clock to help dress it up. I understand, because I have always loved the look of antique grandfather clocks in their…
I’d seen these metal cylinders before and found them artistic in their utility. If you had to use them, they might as well be good-looking. And so they were. They were a must in cold weather…
From time to time while I’m wandering through furniture at auction houses, I meet up with some pieces that are so beautiful that they will me to stop. I’m never in the market for furniture, but…
The books were stacked one atop the other from one end of a long row of tables to the other at the auction house. I groaned because I knew I had to go through all of…
I’ve seen a number of chairs at auction that were made with animal body parts. There was the chair that looked like a rabbit with a seat of fur. And the chair made of steer horns. And…