The black sculpted head was almost lost among the pile of stuff on the auction table. Maybe that’s why I had walked right past it during my first preview of items that were hours away…
Tag: auction
The church building was an anachronism, from its white shingled exterior to its red splintered and weather-beaten main door. Sure, it fitted in well with the rowhouses that surrounded it, but it was no match…
“There’s David Driskell.” Alvin Lester was sitting about two chairs away from me and could see around the thick post that was blocking my view. Lester is an art consultant from Richmond, VA, whom my…
Sometimes when I’m walking through an auction house, especially among the furniture, I notice the details that make certain pieces stand out. The unusual feet and arms of a chair, the supports on a table,…
First look at copy of Negro Motorist Green Book
Posted in Books, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and travel
The book looked much smaller than I had imagined. I guess I was expecting something with more volume and heft, given its enormous importance in the lives of African American travelers during the 1930s-1960s. The…
Patent date isn’t exactly the year an item was made
Posted in Equipment, history, and Reader questions
Fridays at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day. I try to guide readers to resources to help them determine the value of their items. From time to time, I get emails from readers mistakenly assuming…
The inherent humor in a pair of clown shoes
Posted in Clothing, and Personal items
The oversized shoes in the checkerboard pattern stood out like the proverbial sore thumb among the drab human foot-sized shoes. The toe was as large and round as the moon, and the heel a slender…
Surprisingly, disinterested buyers had left two small pieces of furniture in two separate locations on outside tables at the auction house. The first one I spotted was a kitchen buffet in honey-colored wood with red…