When I walked into the community room at Mother Bethel AME Church, I saw a stack of boxes on a table. I was sure they contained the books I wanted badly to see. I was at…
Category: Photos
When I first saw the scrapbook/photo album, I didn’t expect to find much in it, probably just some photos from a trip long forgotten. Photo albums/scrapbooks turn up like weeds at auction because they usually…
Photos of Victorian blacks & Maya Angelou art auction
Posted in Art, Black history, and Photos
“This looks interesting,” my auction buddy Janet wrote in the email. The first words that caught my eye in the story she had sent were “Victorian Era Blacks” and “Rare photos of 19th-century blacks.” I…
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…
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…
Photo of black hotel workers & Atlantic City pageant float
Posted in Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and Photos
When I first looked at the black and white photo, I noticed the grim-faced African American man with folded arms and averted eyes standing with two other men near a parade float. The three were stationed like…
Reader seeks help with early photo of African American woman
Posted in African American women, and Photos
Fridays 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…
I was nearing the end of the catalog for the sale of African American manuscripts when I turned the page and read the entry: “(RELIGION.) SHARPTON, REV. AL.” I immediately looked at the black and…
The man and the airplane in the photo were from another era. He had a speck of a smile, and he was wearing an early 20th century U.S. Navy pilot’s uniform, with cap and goggles.…
How one reader sold some Father Divine photos
Posted in Photos, and Reader questions
Recently, a reader emailed to ask if I wanted to buy four Father and Mother Divine photos that had been inherited. The reader had read a blog post I wrote three years ago about some…