“This is a man’s version of buying shoes,” my auction buddy Janet observed as we watched the men wrangle over some antique wooden machinist tool chests at auction. Janet isn’t exactly the kind of woman…
Auction Finds Posts
A collection of lovely old accordions
Posted in Music, and Performers
I don’t know squat about accordions – how to play them and how to really appreciate their sound. But when I stumbled onto about a half dozen at auction recently, I was taken by the artistic design of the…
Sweetgrass baskets by Annabelle Ellis
Posted in Art, Black history, collectibles, Crafts, and Culture
My auction buddy Janet had missed the two baskets entirely. I had, too, on my first walk-through at the auction house – a new one for me but a return spot for her. They were…
Readers ask about matchbooks & Booker T. Washington
Posted in Books, collectibles, and Ephemera/Paper/Documents
I get a lot of requests from readers about how much their matchbook covers are worth. This blog post offers suggestions on how to determine what you have and the market value. Each Friday, I answer readers’ questions…
During an auction preview recently, I was flipping through some framed paintings propped against a wall when I came upon one without a frame. It was a pencil drawing with a faded and worn mat that…
My auction pal Rebecca is on the lookout for a box of Wheaties with Gabrielle Douglas on the front. She’s been looking for it since the summer when she heard that the face of the African American Olympic…
1950s photos of cops, artist, black boys
Posted in Art, Children, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and Photos
The flat box was lying practically in the middle of a wide table of throw-away items at the auction house. So I had to stretch my arms pretty far over to retrieve it, and I…
About a year ago, I wrote a blog post about a sculpture that was displayed at the 1939 New York World’s Fair by artist James House Jr. A reader recently wrote me about two pieces…
Mystery needle case with a family history
Posted in Mystery Finds, and Sewing
I knew what the barrel-shaped box was when I saw it among some items in a box lot I had just brought home. It was smeared with dust, and the particles had settled into what…