The boot was as big as John Wayne’s image as a symbol of the western cowboy. It stood boldly – all five feet of it in red, white and sky blue colors – in a…
An MLB All-Star Boot for an over-the-top fan
Posted in collectibles, and Sports
Category: collectibles
The square box had baffled me off and on for weeks. I had found it among some items in a box lot from an auction and was very curious about what it was. On the outside, it…
Readers ask about Marilyn Monroe plate & ice cream maker
Posted in collectibles, Home, Movies, and Performers
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…
Enough gumball machines to open an arcade
Posted in collectibles, and food
The scene was right out of a child’s candy-laced dream. Several long tables were topped with gumball machines containing small balls of red, yellow, blue, orange and all the other colors of the rainbow. Just as many of…
Readers seek hat stretcher & Prohibition medical prescription
Posted in Clothing, collectibles, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and Personal items
Friday at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day. I try to guide readers to resources to help them determine the value of their items. Sometimes I get inquiries from readers who want to buy items I…
Hefty price for a small dragonfly perfume bottle
Posted in bottles, collectibles, and Glassware
The bidding started innocuously with a price that was not unheard at the Decorative Arts sale. So when the sweet little amber perfume bottle with the gilt (gold leaf on metal) dragonfly started at $375, I…
Antique embalming machine that’s unnerving
Posted in collectibles, Death, and Medicine
The machine seemed to have a twin. I had seen a contraption like it two months earlier in another room during a special sale at the auction house. Is it possible that two of these…
16-ounce Coca-Cola bottle molds
Posted in bottles, and collectibles
As soon as I saw the 16-ounce Coca-Cola molds, I knew there would be a mad dash for them when the bidding started. Some Coca-Cola products are very collectible, and these were likely among them.…
Bouillon cup – too big for tea, too small for hearty soup
Posted in China, collectibles, and dishware
I was more curious about the two handles on the cup than the pattern. What was it? It wasn’t a teacup because it was too large, and it seemed much too small to be a…