Ms Dow Antiques Tique Talk by Marianne Dow

Sometimes Selling Turns A Fun Hobby into a JOB

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:10:00 +0000

Came across this postcard in my eBay surfing. The seller didn't include any info, and since the seller has had items before from my local area, I held a small hope that it was a Lima Ohio business. I googled Kahn's Sons Daily Market, which was all the photo told me. But that was more than enough.

I very quickly found a wikipedia page telling me Kahn's was a Cincinnati meat company started in 1883.

If the ebay seller had included that info, would the postcard have sold for more money? I don't know. I know some sellers are successful, and pleased with their sales without spending much time on research, with ease and speed of getting a greater quantity of listings up making up for lost bids that research may have furthered. But it just seems to me that having a card like that, and not spending the minute it took to find out more info, is a sad waste in other ways, not just that the info might help find a higher-bidder.

Historically, most antiques dealers start out as collectors. For me, a huge part of the fun of the hobby is learning new things, and real photo postcards are especially educational. And these days with so much info available onlline, it's easier than ever to do a little research.

I understand, though, that with the good comes the bad, meaning in this case the ease of using the internet allows us to sell, but becoming sellers takes away some/lots of the hobby-ness, and turns it into work, where turn-and-burn becomes the way things get done. Sigh...

About E. KAHN'S SONS DAILY MARKET (via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kahn's)

Originally from Alberschweiler in Bavaria, Germany, 45 year old Elias Kahn immigrated to Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, in 1880 with his wife and nine children.

Cincinnati, also known as "Porkopolis", had previously peaked as a leader in pork-packing. Once a dominant industry from the pre-Civil War era, the half-million hogs that were corraled through the city's streets had faded by the mid 19th century.

Nevertheless, pork was still a big industry in Cincinnati when the E. Kahn's Sons Company was started in 1883. The original location for the meat market was on the city's Central Avenue.

When Elias Kahn died in 1899, his four sons (Albert, Eugene, Louis, Nathan) and daughter (Matilda) took over the family business where it continued to expand.

Kahn's quality and mildly seasoned meats resulted in regional demand, as the business continued to thrive for over 80 years.

When the last of the Kahn brothers died in 1948, Matilda's son, Milton Schloss, became the company's president.

In 1966, the company was sold to Consolidated Foods Corporation, which became Sara Lee.

TROTS: Looking For Sellers In All The Wrong Places - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:15:00 +0000

Yesterday I posted about a flaky sales pitch I received (you can read that post here.)

Today Bob emailed with an apology. I will post part of it below. I am only posting part because I don't want you, dear readers, to think I am suggesting that you try his selling site. That decision is on you.

I would like to remind us all of the old adages "You only get one chance to make a first impression.", and, as I wrote, "Honesty is the best policy".

Conveniently, today's blog post by the wise and sage Seth Godin* is titled THE HONEST BROKER. has the perfect quote:

"Earning the position of the honest broker is time-consuming and expensive. Losing it takes just a moment."

____________________________________

Bob the pitchman writes:

Marianne,

I am very sorry that this email created the ire in you that it did. Truly, I apologize and agree with you. Below I'll tell you what Ubokia is and what we do - which of course we believe has great value to people like you, but first a bit of explanation.

We have had real difficulty getting our message out because, as you likely know, eBay and others have made it nearly impossible to get personally communicate with their sellers, as obviously, they want their sellers selling on their site only. We don't blame them, but it is not terribly fair to the sellers, who simply want to sell on line. Thus, we have tried different things to get sellers attention. Obviously, this was the wrong message for you, and again, my apologies. However, since you were kind enough to take the time to respond, let me tell you what Ubokia is - not that I'm likely to change your mind. If you went to the site, you will find that we are a "Want centric" model as opposed to the pure sell centric model.

In general, people are loving our WANT model. It just makes so much sense.

(He goes on to explain some of how his site works.)
_______________________________________________

Now, really, if people were "loving" his "want model" so darn much already, why didn't he lead with that instead of trying to suck me in with some smarmy lie about having clients who need antiques and could I help him out with that?

As the kids text, FTW and SMH (translation: bleep_the_what and shaking_my_head).

So, as Paul Harvey used to say, now you know "The Rest Of The Story" (TROTS).

THE END.

More words to describe Seth Godin:


	astute, aware, careful, clever, contemplative, cunning, discerning, educated, enlightened, experienced, foresighted, informed, insightful, intelligent, intuitive, judicious, knowing, knowledgeable, learned, perceptive, reflective, sagacious, sapient, scholarly, sensible, sharp, shrewd, smart, sound, thoughtful, understanding

Ms. Dow Antiques Blog 'Tique Talk is published by msdowantiques.com

Looking For Sellers - In All The Wrong Places

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:41:00 +0000

So -- I get this email tonight -- which I will post, with my reply below. Anyone else getting this same pitch? It bugged me so much I couldn't just delete it, figured I'd just put it out there.

Here's "The Pitch" Email:

On Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 9:30 PM, <bob.currie@ubokia.com> wrote:

From: bob.currie@ubokia.com

Hi Marianne,

My name is Bob, with Ubokia.com.

I am looking for a seller to partner with. I have a bunch of buyers looking for antiques and I need someone who can sell to them. Is that something you could help us with?

Thanks,

Bob
925.380.6140 office
925-360-8000 cell
bob.currie@ubokia.com

Please visit our web site at: http://www.everyplaceisell.com/

Thank you for using Every Place I Sell

My response:

To 'Bob with Ubokia' --

Your pitch is very transparent: you're looking for vendors to sign up with ubokia. Why not just be upfront and say you are trying to get a new site going and looking for vintage dealers. Honesty is the best policy. Then tell me why you're a better solution than the dozens of others out there.

Why do you have a signature link to the Everyplaceisell home page? Are you connected with the Steiners and auctionbytes.com? if not, I doubt they will appreciate your inference of such.

Besides, that link doesn't take me to anything about ubokia. You should simply link to ubokia.com or to your actual everyplaceisell profile page -- if you have one -- It's all very fishy + snaky = spammy.

If you'd actually read my blog you'd see that I have my own websites for selling.

This is NOT the way to get my business.

-------------------

(signed) Marianne Dow

Antiques: Blog -- Twitter -- Facebook -- WebShop

History Flickers -- NYPL Lets Users Turn Stereoview Photos Into Animated GIFs

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:07:00 +0000

The NYPL (New York Public Library) is letting viewers turn their collection of over 40,000 historic stereoview photographs into animated gifs.

From the NYPL website --

NYPL Labs is proud to bring you the Stereogranimator, a tool for transforming historical stereographs from The New York Public Library's vast collections into shareable 3D web formats. This site is all about your participation, so have fun with it, experiment with it, and let us know how we can improve it. In fact, this project wouldn't even exist if it hadn't been for a user like yourself getting creative with library collections. Here's the story of how that happened…

Introduction by Joshua Heineman

I am told this remarkable application is directly inspired by Reaching for the Out of Reach, my project which ultimately amounts to a 21st century raid of the New York Public Library's archive of 19th century treasure. That is to say, my project was inspired by the library's collection first. This kind of mutually beneficial relationship between archivist & user would have been unthinkable even 10 years ago. So how did we get here?

Read more, and make some animated gifs yourself -- http://stereo.nypl.org/about

More Criminals and Mobsters - Lost Movie Poster Collection Goes To Heritage Auctions

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:08:00 +0000

From ha.com's free newsletter:

The Berwick Discovery Of Lost Movie Posters To Be Offered

On March 23, 2012, Heritage Auctions will offer a selection of exceptional vintage movie posters, some previously thought to be lost for all time.

"This exciting discovery of previously lost posters comes out of Berwick, Pennsylvania," said Grey Smith, Director of Heritage Vintage Movie Poster Auctions. "These posters — which include some of the most important titles in Hollywood history — were pasted to boards and used to promote original releases in late 1930 and early 1931, most likely at one of Berwick's three movie houses, The Palace, The Strand, or the Temple. All were mid-sized halls, each seating about 800 people. When a new release came to town, the exhibitor simply plastered the new poster over the previous one. Eventually, an entire stack of these posters was built up, and at some point removed from the boards. From there, they made their way into a home attic, possibly to be used as insulation, and were later offered in a small estate auction."

"Separating the posters was like removing wallpaper," Smith said. "After carefully moistening the top layer, steam was used to melt the glue and gently remove one poster from another. Each new layer that came up revealed new and exciting treasures beyond anyone's wildest expectations."

"This period of 1930-31 marks an exciting time in film history," Smith said, "existing in a small window between the advent of sound and the enforcement of the repressive Production Code in 1934. All the titles in this find are 'pre-Code,' denoting a time in which pictures were both willing and able to tackle such controversial subjects as birth control, infidelity, prostitution, casual sex, and more, all of which would be eliminated under the Code just a few years later. Pre-Code films, and the paper associated with them, have always been favorites of both poster collectors and film buffs for their raw and candid portrayal of controversial subjects."

Among the posters included in the Berwick Discovery is an exceptionally rare B-style one sheet for Warner Brothers' 1931 seminal gangster film, Little Caesar, starring Edward G. Robinson and Douglas Fairbanks Jr., as well as both Style A and Style B one-sheets for The Public Enemy, starring James Cagney and Jean Harlow, also from 1931. "These were the films that set the standard for virtually every gangster film to come after them," Smith said, "including The Godfather, Goodfellas, and The Sopranos. Robinson and Cagney, between them, created the modern gangster persona in these pictures, making them some of the most important and vital films of the era."

"These posters represent some of the rarest, most sought after 'holy grails' in our hobby," said Smith. "The Style A Public Enemy, picturing Cagney and Harlow, is particularly stunning, and neither style has ever been offered to the collecting public. Likewise, the Little Caesar one sheet is one of only two known copies, making this a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for those interested in acquiring paper from these landmark titles. Gangster fans, as well as fans of classic cinema, are sure to covet these rare beauties."

"Of course, these weren't the only treasures we discovered as we peeled back layer upon layer of movie history," Smith continued. "Included in this auction is the only known copy of a one sheet for Warner Brothers' 1931 adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's classic mystery, The Maltese Falcon. This was the first time Hammett's popular novel had been brought to the screen, with Ricardo Cortez portraying private eye Sam Spade. Paper on this title has always been exceptionally elusive; we've sold two lobby cards from this picture for more than $8,000 each!"

"One of the most popular genres in the poster collecting world is the field of Universal horror," Smith said, "and I'm pleased to say that the Berwick discovery includes a stunning example of one of the most desirable posters in that category. It's the Style F one sheet for Dracula, the film that launched the Universal horror boom in 1931, and set Bela Lugosi on a path to film immortality. One of only a small handful known to exist, we sold another copy of this style in March, 2009. That poster realized more than $310,000, making it one of the most valuable posters we've sold in a decade of operation. Who knows what this copy will bring?"

"As a Western fan, I was thrilled to find the one sheet for RKO's 1931 Cimarron, starring Richard Dix, in this assortment," Smith said. "This was the very first Western to garner a Best Picture Academy Award, and is the very definition of the word 'scarce.' Our upcoming auction marks perhaps the first and only time collectors have had a chance to add this stunning beauty to their collection."

In addition to the posters mentioned above, collectors can also look forward to a fine representation of additional treasures, including one sheets for Seed (1931), an early Bette Davis picture, The Front Page (1931), The Criminal Code (1931), The Bat Whispers (1930), Dishonored (1931), featuring Marlene Dietrich, and Ten Cents a Dance (1931), one of Barbara Stanwyck's earliest roles.

"These are only a few highlights of the monumental Berwick Discovery," Smith added. "I'd invite anyone interested to visit our auction website at HA.com/7055 to find out more about these rare and valuable pieces of film history. Who knows? Perhaps someone reading this right now will be the top bidder, taking home a prize of exceptional rarity and value."

Arresting Histories of Criminals Gangsters and Prisons

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:26:00 +0000

Collectors of criminology, criminal history ephemera, prison history and photos -- these books are for you. Lots of vintage photos and postcard images of gangsters and jails. Arcadia Publishing has an ever-expanding line of local history books in zillions of other themes, too.

HURRY! Offer ends Friday, January 27 at NOON EST!

PLUS: 20% Off + Free Gift + Free Shipping!

Discover Historic Crime & Punishment Titles


NOW AVAILABLE! Boston Organized Crime	The Chicago Outfit	Detroit's Infamous Purple Gang

Folsom Prison	Sing Sing Prison	U.S. Penitentiary Leavenworth, KS

$10 OFF PROMO: Enter CRIME at checkout and receive $10 off your purchase of $50 or more. Orders containing items with the retail price of $7.99 or $9.99 will receive $10 off a purchase of $55 or more. Offer ends Friday, January 27, 2012 at 11:59 a.m. EST.
20% OFF EVERY ORDER: 20% off full retail price. Discount taken at checkout. No promo code needed. Limited time only.
FREE SHIPPING OFFER: Receive free standard shipping on orders of $25 or more. Free shipping offer applies to standard shipping only. Free shipping will be offered to qualifying orders at checkout. Limited time only.
All offers apply to in-stock titles only. Offers do not apply to any preexisting orders. Discounts and promotions only valid on orders placed at arcadiapublishing.com.

Really? A Million Dollar School Girl Embroidery Sampler #Antiques

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:09:00 +0000

Wow -- Incredible prices at Sotheby's recent auction of Important American Schoolgirl Embroideries: The Landmark Collection of Betty Ring. To the tune of $4,389,503!

"The total exceeded the pre-sale high estimate of $3.4 million. And set an auction record for any needlework sampler when a Rare and Important Needlework Sampler, Mary Antrim, Burlington Country, New Jersey, Dated 1807 achieved $1,070,500, more than ten times its high estimate of $120,000.

"In addition to the record-setting result for the Mary Antrim sampler (pictured), Sunday's auction dedicated to the celebrated collection of Betty Ring was highlighted by several pieces that greatly exceeded pre-sale expectations: a Fine and Rare Needlework Sampler, Susannah Saunders, Sarah Stivours School, Salem, Massachusetts, Dated 1766 nearly quadrupled its high estimate of $80,000 in achieving $314,500; a Fine and Rare Needlework Sampler, Betsy Gail, Marblehead, Massachusetts, circa 1790 brought $170,500 above a high estimate of $60,000; and a Rare Needlework Sampler, Sarah Cooper, attributed to Ann Marsh's School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dated 1792 sold for $170,500 above a high estimate of $80,000." (from AFANEWS.COM)

See the entire sampler catalog here on Sotheby's site.

Happy Chinese New Year! 2012 is the Year of the Dragon.

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:56:00 +0000

You'd better hang on -- it's going to be a wild ride!

Happy Chinese New Year! 2012 is the Year of the Dragon.

These are my photos of the colorful Orient Express Dragon roller coaster ride taken at the county fair. See more of my art photography here.

First edition of Audubon 'Birds of America' sells for $7.9M #antiques

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:18:00 +0000

This swan represents one of the 435 hand-colored engravings in the first edition of Audubon's 'The Birds of America,' which sold at Christie's for $7.9 million. Image courtesy of Christie's.

Auction Central News reports: A rare first edition of the John James Audubon book The Birds of America, featuring more than 1,000 exquisite prints by the great naturalist, sold for $7.9 million Friday at auction in New York.
The sale at Christie's was within the $7-10 million presale estimate and was the third highest amount ever paid at auction for a printed book, spokeswoman Sung-Hee Park said.
In 2010 Sotheby's auction house sold another first edition of the book for a record $11.5 million.

Who's on 1st? Peary vs Cook: North Pole ~ Collecting SNOW BABIES Figurines #Antiques

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:37:00 +0000

. The German porcelain group, circa 1910, sold for an impressive $2,475 in 2005, when Bertoias auctioned off the Linda Vining collection. Courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Bertoia Auctions.

Now the above figurine is probably not what you envision when you think of SNOW BABIES. I love when my collecting travels can teach me some history along the way. The race to the North Pole was big news in the first decade of the 20th century. Whimsy meets history in this snow "babies" pairing of explorers Robert Peary and Frederick Cook arguing over who was first to reach the North Pole. The more traditional babies below represent the theme as well.

Snow babies plant the flag in this collectible made in Germany for the American market – auction price $330. Courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Bertoia Auctions.

Here's a good article from Karla Albertson of Live Auctioneers with lots more Snow Baby figurine history. She writes:

If they look good enough to eat, that results from their edible sugar candy prototypes. Called zucker puppen in Germany, they were used as holiday decorations, children's treats and cake toppers. A German confectioner saw the advantage in re-creating the popular sugar ornaments as bisque porcelain figurines, which could be played with long after the cake had been consumed.

These rare jointed snow babies – the tallest 5 inches – were made in Germany 1900-1910. With a selection of related figures, they brought $230 at auction in 2009. Courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Bertoia Auctions.

There's a price guide full of lots of photos of these darling tiny figurines: Snow Babies, Santas, and Elves: Collecting Christmas Bisque Figures by Mary Morrison. Available here.

Great #DIY Idea for Valentine's Day Bunting w/ #Vintage Postcards #antiques

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:40:00 +0000

Super cute Valentine's Day decorations for the crafties. Wouldn't this bunting look fabulous using vintage postcard images? Get out your collection, scan a bunch, and start snipping!

Tutorial: http://www.hellobrit.com/living/super-simple-valentine-s-day-bunting/

Ms. Dow Antiques Blog 'Tique Talk is published by msdowantiques.com

Worthpoint Adding Digital Library for #Antiques Research

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:42:00 +0000

ina Steiner of EcommerceBytes.com shared the news that Worthpoint.com is adding "two new services for antiques dealers and collectors - WorthPoint Marks for detailed information on distinguishing makers' marks, and the WorthPoint Digital Library, which contains topical content covering a wide spectrum of history and background on specialty items." (Read more here:

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y12/m01/i17/s03)

These new services seem pretty high-priced at $22 per month on top of your Worthpoint membership. But I probably spent the equivalent amount on reference books and price guides in my first few years of learning the antiques biz, so Worthpoint might certainly be worth it for a new-ish dealer. i suppose you could save up a ton of stuff to research, and subscribe sporadically.

Good for Worthpoint for putting so much info online.

Amusement Park History Books Full of #Vintage Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:05:00 +0000

I would love to own every book that Arcadia Publishing has!

#isntthis2012? #crazyebaysellers

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

#isntthis2012? -- #crazyebaysellers

I wrote to en ebay seller to let them know they forgot to put photos in one of their listings. (Which is an understandable occasional occurence. I was just trying to be helpful.) Their response blew my mind:

Dear msdowantiques,hi, i am sorry. i tried to give an accurate description. my photographer died, and i never learned.
truly yours, _______________

WTF?

It's Baaackkk! Friday the 13th - Do You Have paraskavedekatriaphobia?

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:31:00 +0000

In 2009, we had three Friday the 13ths, then 2010 and 2011 just one. 2012 will see 3 of the superstition-laden days again.

Here are some "Friday the 13th" info-tidbits from Wikipedia:

The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia [say that 10 times fast -- yikes!]
The 13th day of the month is slightly more likely to be a Friday than any other day of the week.
On average, there is a Friday the 13th once every 212 days. [my note: 2012 has 3 Friday the 13ths!]
It's estimated that 17 to 21 million people in the United States are affected by a fear of this day -- & estimated that $800 million is lost in business on this day.

I say FEAR NOT !!! Let's get out there and shop!

Ms. Dow Antiques Blog 'Tique Talk is published by msdowantiques.com

Lima Ohio or Vermont? EKKO Radio Stamp WWSR

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:40:00 +0000

Saw this listed on ebay in my daily search for Lima Ohio memorabilia. I had never heard of EKKO stamps, so I did a little research. Turns out they are similar in concept to CB radioers' QSL cards.

When you were listening to the radio, circa 1920s and 1930s, you would try to receive stations from all over the country. When you heard them announce their call letters, you would make a note of that, and send the info in to the station - where, when, etc., and they would send you their EKKO stamp. The goal was to fill an album with as many station's stamps as possible.

Alas, I found out that this was not from a Lima radio station. Too bad, as it is a cool looking stamp.

While there is a station in Lima using those call letters now, in the 1920s, when these EKKO stamps were issued, the letters were used by WWSR St. Albans VT (as per this document: http://dokufunk.org/upload/us_22_46.pdf )

More history on EKKO stamps here: http://www.antiqueradio.com/gilbertcombs_ekko_6-97.html

RARE! Hand-stamped EKKO Radio Stamp WWSR Lima, Ohio ++CV

I sent the seller my research links and he thanked me and changed the listing.

He also said it was marked in the collection he bought as being from Vermont, then that was crossed out and Lima written in. But he didn't think to research it before he listed it.

You just never know what you'll learn when you are antiqueing!

Collecting #Vintage POSTCARDS as #Antiques #Bottles GO-WITHS

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:44:00 +0000

Vintage postcards that feature old bottles are great go-withs. Here are some I came across on ebay recently.

First up is a modern postcard that pictures vintage COORS BEER signs. Then the postcard with the collection of Coors bottles. (They're on ebay.)

Here's a late 1960s postcard (on ebay here) with a collection of BITTERS bottles:

The Ephrata Cloister in Pennsylvania has a website: http://www.ephratacloister.org/index.htm

This is a circa-1910 pharmacy display. (No name or town, and the original postcard (on ebay) is raggedy.)

This is a neat double exposure real-photo postcard (RPPC), circa 1910's, of a man inside a flask, squeezing the LAST DROPS out of his bottle. (On ebay here.)

Here's a 1946 Earl-Moran-pin-up-girl card advertising B-1 LEMON LIME SODA POP.

According to an article on the PsychiatryOnline website, "The 1930s and 1940s saw the introduction of such products as " Wake-Up ," "Heads Up," and "B1." All of these products were lithiated and believed to be helpful for alcoholic hangovers. The lithiated lemon-lime soda B1 even had thiamine added." They took the 'ouch out of grouch'. I'm sure the pretty girl helped too.

Finally, just a couple silly bottle-themed postcards:

I'll share more bottle go-with cards soon!

Kovel's Handy Dandy GOLD Value Calculator #Antiques #Jewelry

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:34:00 +0000

Thinking of selling your vintage gold jewelry that you never wear anymore? Check out this weight/price calculator that Kovel's came up with:

http://www.kovels.com/Gold-Calculator/gold-value-estimator.html

#Vintage Camera Collecting - Focus on Kodak

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:13:00 +0000

In September 1888, New York-based Eastman registered the made-up brand name "Kodak" and offered the first branded camera, a handheld box-shaped model sold with the promise, "You press the button - we do the rest."

Read a mini-history of Kodak here: http://mashable.com/2012/01/05/history-kodak/#view_as_one_page-gallery_box3687

In 1900 the Kodak "BROWNIE" was introduced. This cardboard camera sold for $1, with film at 15 cents a roll. - The BROWNIE is credited with the democratization of photography -- bringing the medium into the financial reach of everyone. - Kodak continued to produce BROWNIES until the late 1960s, selling millions of models across the globe.

_____________________________________________

Find out more about vintage Kodak cameras, and see Kodak listings on ebay via the very informative info-site, COLLECTORSWEEKLY.COM's Camera pages -- http://www.collectorsweekly.com/cameras/kodak

EBay Sellers and Paypal Users - be on the alert!

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:03:00 +0000

OMG - eBay's hated boss, Donahoe, to also run Paypal when current Paypal head defects to be Yahoo's CEO.

Stand by for Donahoe's patented "creative disruption" to make a mess of things!

Yahoo swipes PayPal exec; EBay boss John Donahoe to run unit

PayPal president Scott Thompson's departure to run Yahoo took a lot of people by surprise (although not Kara Swisher, natch). That includes EBay's chief executive, John Donahoe. Donahoe dispatched an email to PayPal employees Wednesday morning, saying Thompson told him...

Bo-Bo and Charlie -- #Vintage 1950s TV Clown Show from Lima Ohio

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:29:00 +0000

Here's a wonderful vintage postcard that combines my interest in Lima Ohio memorabilia with my interest in small local TV station history. Too bad I didn't live here then to see Bo-Bo & Charlie. But then I'd have missed out on my Los Angeles TV station's local Bozo the Clown.

Here's the scoop from WIMA's website:

CHARLIE'S CARTOON CLUBHOUSE

Chuck started as a staff announcer in 1960. From 1963 to 1965 at 5:00pm, "Charlie" (Chuck Osburn) and "Bobo the Clown"(Denny First) entertained kids around the Lima area with the "Cartoon Clubhouse". Each day Charlie would fly in the day's cartoons and show them on the "Cartoonoscope", plus a multitude of characters would show up from time to time.
Chuck Osburn went on to become the Program Director of WIMA Television, then to Station Manager of WIMA Television in 1971. Chuck left in 1976 and passed away in 2003.

Denny First works in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as a director at the NBC television affiliate, WKJG Television which is Channel 33 in Fort Wayne.

______________________________

More WIMA history:

According to Lima's local tv station, now called WLIO, on April 24, 1955 the call letters and channel were changed to WIMA-TV, Channel 35.

"The Co-Owners of both WIMA Radio and WIMA-TV from 1954 to 1972 were George E. (Bruff) Hamilton and Robert W. Mack. The two of them formed Northwestern Ohio Broadcasting Corporation in 1954 when they purchased then WLOK-TV and changed the call letters to WIMA-TV."

ORIGINAL WLOK-TV CONTROL ROOM.

This is what the WLOK Control Room looked like in 1953. In the background you can see the original 1 kW Transmitter. There is a sign just visable in the upper left-hand corner that states, "If You Can't Be Quiet, Leave Control Room". In the beginning, there was only a curtain separating the control room from the studio, so when a live show was going on everyone in the control room had to be quiet.

From 1953 until around 1955 WLOK-TV operated with only one studio camera, a General Electric Black & White camera. Shown with the camera are cameraman Dan Bradford and Floor Director Grover Blazer. Grover became Traffic Manager and retired in 2001.

TV STATION INCREASES POWER.

On March 20, 1958, then WIMA-TV went on the air with greatly increased power. With the installation of a new General Electric 12 Kilowatt,TT-24A Transmitter, replacing the original WLOK General Electric 1 kilowatt transmitter. The increase in video power went from 16,000 watts to 198,000 watts and audio power from 10,000 watts to 105,000 watts. This greatly increased the area that WIMA was able to serve. It provided many households in West Central Ohio their first local news and entertainment from a "local" television station. At the time this transmitter was installed, the tower height was 300 feet, and the antenna was a General Electric helical. The original 1 Kilowatt transmitter was kept on as a standby. Shown installing one of the transmitters Klystron power tubes are; (left to right) Engineer Royal Albridge and Chief Engineer Maurice Lamb.

STUDIO CAMERAS

From the late 1950's until 1968 the picture that came from the WIMA studios came from these cameras. These RCA TK-5 Black & White studio cameras were state-of -the-art for its time. They were replaced in early 1968 when the transition was made from black & white to color as the station purchased two Marconi studio cameras (these cameras were later replaced in 1970 with the RCA TK-44 cameras).

#Antiques in the News, Then on Display

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:59:00 +0000

Antiques keep on setting record and impressive prices. Many items go to museums or collectors with deep pockets. Fortunately for the rest of us, they are sharing some of these treasures with us.

Here are some of the items from Eve Kahn's recent NY Times article about "...2011's most intriguing auction lots that emerged on the market and are now already on view or will be soon."

An 1870s tintype of the outlaw Billy the Kid, the only known image of him, brought $2.3 million in June at Brian Lebel's Old West Auction in Denver. The buyer, the Florida billionaire William I. Koch, will lend it to the Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach, Fla., for the show "Recapturing the Real West: The Collections of William I. Koch," opening Feb. 4, 2012.

There was excitement when the announced auction of the archive of German photographer Astrid Kirchherr (who was engaged to the Beatles original bass player, Stuart Sutcliffe) went to a private buyer instead, an investment group led by the New York art dealer Vladislav Ginzburg. The group is working on a big exhibit, A few new prints are on view through Jan. 28 in the show "Rock and Roll," at a Boston gallery run by the Griffin Museum of Photography.

The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich., paid $20,000 for President Dwight D. Eisenhower's '' Partio '', a General Electric wheeled stove.The institution plans to display the Partio soon after its delivery in a few weeks and, in a few years, incorporate it into an exhibition about design for daily life.

____________________________

More reading -- Terry Kovel recaps some great antiques that brought great prices in 2011 in her Kovels.com Komments column: Kovels Komments [January 4, 2012]: Record Prices and Great Stories from 2011

Rest in Peace, Eva Zeisel -- Iconic Red Wing Pottery Designer

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:26:00 +0000

Eva Zeisel, noted artist/designer who created the iconic Schmoo-gourd-shaped salt and peppers as part of her Town and Country tableware line for Red Wing Pottery, has passed away at age 105. She was still working and designing, and you can see her new items on her website.

Eva Striker Zeisel (born Éva Amália Striker, November 13, 1906 – December 30, 2011) was a Hungarian-born industrial designer known for her work with ceramics, primarily from the period after she immigrated to the United States. Her forms are often abstractions of the natural world and human relationships. Work from throughout her prodigious career is included in important museum collections across the world. Zeisel declared herself a "maker of useful things".

"Eva Zeisel, Ceramic Artist and Designer, Dies at 105" . (The New York Times obituary.)

Click signature above to go to her website.

Photo below: Eva Zeisel with Adam Zeisel. By Brent Brolin. 2006.

Good Bye 2011 -- Happy New Year 2012!

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 05:05:00 +0000

Ms. Dow Antiques Blog 'Tique Talk is published by msdowantiques.com

Santa Is SO Money! Rare ca 1800s Santa Claus Obsolete Currency

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:31:00 +0000

Merry Christmas! Remember my earlier post about obsolete currency with those neat Lazy Deuces on them? I just love this Lazy Deuce with the Santa Claus vignette. And here's a Lazy Three!

Heritage Auctions is auctioning off a collection of these rarities.:

'A number of Northern states designated Christmas as a state holiday in the mid 1800s. Since banks often chose vignettes that would lead customers to have faith in the bank, it is not surprising that Santa Claus vignettes were chosen by some banks to help acquire confidence and goodwill. The banks may have also hoped that customers would set a lower denomination note aside as a keepsake due to the Santa vignette as well. The vignettes found in this collection portray both the thinner Dutch version of Sinterklaas as well as the more Americanized version."

"Heritage Currency is pleased to present The Roger H. Durand Santa Claus Notes Collection as part of our FUN Signature Currency Auction, being held in Orlando from January 5 thru 8. Given the fact that most of the notes with Santa Claus vignettes are scarce to extremely rare, this is indeed a fabulous and noteworthy collection."