I’ve been to many auctions where the simplest of African American ephemera has been snapped up by dealers. But I was not prepared for the prices on such items at a recent manuscript auction. When did our…
Tag: auctions
I had walked past the printer several times as I left and entered the auction house. It sat across from the door, a huge monster that I basically ignored. The laser jet printer was seemingly…
What mystery tool is this?
Posted in Mystery Finds
Pointing to the rusty metal contraption there on the auction table, I asked the same question of each person who approached us. What do you think that is? Each peered at it, picked it up…
Sometimes when I’m at an auction, I’m struck by the sheer volume of a particular item. Usually it’s someone’s collection, those precious manys of something they’ve bought over the years and couldn’t stop. Every now…
Collections that baffle me: (rusty) soda cans
Posted in collectibles, and Tins
“Tell me this isn’t someone’s collection,” I said incredulously to the auction-goer browsing next to me. Spilling out of a ripped plastic bag was a stash of rusty soda cans. They looked like they had been…
The life & art of Stuart M. Egnal
Posted in Art
I was previewing the upcoming sale at one of my favorite auction houses when a familiar name re-appeared: Stuart M. Egnal. I had written about Egnal and his mother Sylvia two months ago when stacks of his etchings and…
Advertising art with African American faces
Posted in Art, Black history, and Ephemera/Paper/Documents
The advertising art seemed to magically appear – again. Two weeks before, one of my favorite auction houses had propped stacks of the illustrations on racks against a wall. A white guy raising a glass…
Bazooka bubble gum comics
Posted in collectibles, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and Games
The white envelope was pretty inconspicuous there on the auction table, because I had passed the table several times and had not noticed it. This time, though, I was just picking up stuff – two…
I found myself going back to the auction table – once, then again, then again. I picked up the neat pen and ink drawings of women in what looked like very expensive clothes. The drawings…
Whimsical teapots of Paul Cardew & others
Posted in Art, collectibles, Home, and Kitchen
Every now and then when I’m at an auction, some items on a table seem to just will me to stop. Maybe it’s a shape. Or a color. Or an unusual collection of “something.” Recently,…