From the photos, the 1950s rancher looked to be in excellent well-maintained condition. I could tell by the clean red-brick exterior and the neatly landscaped lawn. Someone had taken special care of this home. The…
Auction Finds Posts
Did you ever meet a Fuller Brush Man?
Posted in Art, Movies, and Personal items
The Fuller Brush Man never came knocking at our door. I’m very familiar with the image of this ubiquitous salesman with his briefcase full of brushes. But I never met one. I don’t remember when…
I hadn’t listened to much of the jazz stylings of the legendary pianist Hank Jones before he died Sunday at age 91. But since then, I’ve devoured his music because after the saxophone, the piano is my…
Oh no, I thought as the auctioneer started moving disparate items into a lot. He was desperately trying to sell some unsellable junk on the auction table and no one was biting. First, he slid…
Fan away those lost years, Lena Horne
Posted in Movies
Nobody wanted the Lena Horne fan, my auction buddy Janet told me. She had pointed out the fan early on, lying on top of a tray of stuff under a table at the auction house.…
Denzel, “Fences” and funny stories
Posted in Broadway plays, and Performers
My cousin Raymond was a “crack-you-up-in-a-minute” storyteller, even if he told the same story over and over again. Just like Denzel Washington in August Wilson’s wonderful play “Fences,” now on Broadway. Raymond would tell about how…
I was making a second pass-by of an enclosed glass case at auction this week when I stopped in my tracks. There, on the bottom shelf were what looked like dentures (or false teeth) in…
I’m not much of a comics-book reader, but I’ll flip through them if the cover grabs me. I found one comic book among a lot of Supergirl, Rom and Mask recently that did. In the…
I was going through a list of artworks up for previewing at one of my favorite auction houses recently when I came across the name Frank J. Dillon. I was told that he was an African American artist who…
I can always find something Christmasy on auction tables anytime, anywhere – be it vintage lights, ornaments or any other decorations that had likely been sitting in someone’s basement or attic for years. The vintage…