Friday at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day. I try to guide readers to resources to help them determine the value of their items. I’m not able to appraise their treasures, but I can do…
Month: January 2016
The icebox was massive – and it was made of wood. I came upon it under a large shed that held box lots, tools, cheap art prints, books and everything else the auction house could…
The antiques shop was in a lovely brownstone on one of those venerable old streets much like the venerable old place that it had become. Its front hallway was narrow, partially blocked by an oversized mahogany cabinet…
A birdhouse masquerading as a doll house
Posted in Architecture/Buildings, and Home
The first thing I noticed about the small house was the front screen door. It was crudely made, painted white with real screen. It reminded me of the old basement screen door I’m about to…
I was doing my usual wandering among the furniture at an auction house a few weeks ago looking for some interesting or unusual pieces. I was focusing on the tables and dressers and armoires on…
A (Spool) Pet that never needs feeding
Posted in Advertising, Children, and Sewing
They were paper cutouts of six animals attached to empty thread spools. All I could see of them in the glass case at the auction house were their faces and two front feet. Their tails…
Guess what this half doll is used for
Posted in Dolls, and Guess what it is
She’s a cutie, this porcelain doll in the pink flowered skirt. What you see on first glance is not all of what she is, though. She is a half doll, a porcelain figure that was…
Diary – not Bible – speaks of family & country’s history
Posted in Books, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and history
Another diary, I groaned silently as I read the words in gilt on the cover. I had just seen a small thick diary on the box-lots table at the auction house, and I wasn’t ready for another. This…
Lovely print by Vietnamese artist Mai Thu
Posted in Art
The boys were adorable. That was not the first word that popped into my head when I saw the art print at auction – it came later. What I saw was a painting with a…
Reader seeks identity of Hazelle’s African American marionette
Posted in Children, Dolls, Reader questions, and Toys
Friday at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day. I try to guide readers to resources to help them identify their items or determine the value of them. I’m not able to appraise their treasures, but…