Ms Dow Antiques Tique Talk by Marianne Dow

LOVE Potion -- It's The Oldest Profession

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 04:42:00 +0000

Here's a cute little amber bottle, relatively common and often dimissed by bottle collectors.

But it has an interesting and rather sordid history, as it turns out. It's even connected with "The Oldest Profession", if you know what I mean.

It's about 3" tall, and embossed VALENTINE'S MEAT JUICE.

Much harder to find with the paper labels;

According to the Valentine Museum, now known as the Valentine Richmond History Center (Virginia), Mann S. Valentine, Jr., the museum's founder, made his fortune with the creation and production of Valentine's Meat Juice, a health tonic made from pure beef juice. The Valentine Meat Juice Company used 15 to 20 THOUSAND pounds of flesh from beef cattle a day to make the juice.

What bottle collectors will find interesting is that archaelogical digs around brothels found a great many VMJ bottles.

Quote:

" Prostitutes ate better and dressed better than their working class contemporaries. Some of their purchasing power, however, was spent on proprietary medicines such as Valentine's Meat Juice, promoted as a cure for sexually transmitted diseases, aka social diseases. "

There's even more sordidness associated with this little bottle...

Valentine's Meat Juice figured prominently in a famous murder case.
The Case of Mrs. Maybrick was written about in The Elements of Murder By John Emsley. Apparently the Mrs. killed her husband by poisoning his Valentine's Meat Juice with arsenic!

And I used to think it was such a cute little bottle -- who knew?

But all you romantics can take heart. This Richmondmagazine.com article recounts that Manny's creation of his Meat Juice came about as his way to save his dying wife.

And it worked. -- So, Happy Valentine's Day!

Collecting #Vintage Photographs - Black History Month

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

Celebrate Black History Month in Your Town
Honor African American history in hundreds of vintage images
from small town and downtowns across the country.

Search more than 100 African American themed titles

Arcadia's Black History Books



African Americans of Denver, CO	African Americans of Petersburg, VA	African-American Entertainment in Baltimore, MD	Black Artists in Oakland, CA

Charleston, South Carolina	Cleveland's Gospel Music, OH	February is Black History Month Check out these selections from my favorite book publisher, Arcadia. Their books are illustrated with vintage photos and postcards.	Lincoln in Black and White: 1910-1925	Politics, Civil Rights, & Law in Black Atlanta, GA


African Americans in Los Angeles, CA	African Americans in Hawai'i	African Americans in Fort Wayne: The First 200 Years, IN	African Americans of New Orleans, LA

African Americans of Davidson County, NC

African Americans
of Western
Long Island, NY

African Americans in Pittsburgh, PA

African Americans of Lower Richland County, SC

Display Your #Vintage Pop Up Valentine Cards in a Shadow Box Frame #antiques

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:59:00 +0000

Do you collect dimensional / fold-out / die cut / mechanical Valentine's Day cards? Then you'll love this tip from kovels.com -- " Display it open in a shadowbox picture frame. Be sure to use archival mounting. "

Don't have a shadow-box frame? Use an actual open box, prettied up of course.

Don't have any fold-out Valentines? Layer some cute flat ones, glueing some small pieces of styrofoam in between to create depth.

Don't have vintage cards? Print out some from the interwebs. (For personal use only of course).

And this concept works for all holidays, and other subjects and themes. Kinda gets your DIY blood pumping with ideas, eh?!!

Today's Antiques Menu: Harry Rinker, Vincent Price, Sears, Picasso

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:09:00 +0000

Above picture is of the used-to-be-a-treasure item: the Sebastian Jello Cow - more info on Sebastianworld.com.

What do Jello, Cows, Sears, Vincent Price, and the American Eagle all have in common?

Well, they are either a treasure, a used-to-be-but-isn't-anymore, and a clunker. I'll let Harry explain it to ya: http://www.worthpoint.com/blog-entry/q-and-a-harry-rinker-vincent-price-collection

This is another of Worthpoint.com's symbiotic partnerships: Harry Rinker writes a regular column for them. If you don't know who Harry is, or what Worthpoint's website offers... well, go explore and learn, my friend!

Today Harry answers reader's "What's it worth?" questions. Don't just scan the article and think to yourself "why read it if I don't have these items?". The valuable lesson to be learned is in the way Harry recounts his research steps and explains exactly why he makes the evaluation and conclusion to which he comes.

The man doesn't pussyfoot around. He tells it like it is. If the markets dropped out on that category, if your treasure is a piece of modern junk, he let's you know.

Above is the Sears catalog page Harry cites in discussing the art piece from Sears' collaboration with actor/art-curator Vincent Price. It's shown in a great article on artinfo.com that explains it all.

I love going down the rabbit hole that is the internet, and finding interesting tidbits. I found a little more to the Sears Art story.

First, the Sears sales training video, then an interesting nugget of info that wouldn't have been found without the wonders of the internet's having made user-generated-content so simple.

In the video clip Price singles out an impression of Rembrandt’s etching Angel Appearing to the Shepherds. Says Price,

“I’m pretty sure that most of your customers will say, as they did many years ago about diamonds and mink: ‘Rembrandt at Sears?’ Well yes. This is one of the things I wanted to prove to people, that you could buy this greatest name in art… at Sears, at Sears prices.”

The artinfo article author goes on to basically say he thinks they were prints or even fakes. But if you go to the youtube page where the video is posted, one of the commenters tells us the Rembrandt was indeed real, and eventually was sold for $150,000.

6min 20 sec. in Legrande Its on my wall what a small world. Angel appearing to the shepards was sold to my Aunt for 900.00 Vincente offered my Aunt 3 times the amt. to buy it back because the clerk made a mistake on the price. She laughed at him. They became freinds after this but she kept the rembrandte etching. She sold it approx. 15 yrs ago for around 50,000.00 2yrs. later it was sold by parkwest galleries for around 150,000.00.

As always, I bring you an eclectic mix of antiques related info. Who knows what I'll stumble across next? Come on back!

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

Video of Miami Antiques Show by Martin Willis and Worthpoint

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:45:00 +0000

Worthpoint.com and Martin Willis partnered to bring us a video of the recent Miami Beach Antique Show. This is the video result -- a neat look at a huge show (900 dealers). Click ''full screen'' to enjoy.

See the Miami Herald's photo/slide show

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

Collecting: #Vintage LEAP YEAR POSTCARDS

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:19:00 +0000

I just love antique postcards, especially the amazing artwork on what I call "The Pretties". Art that has stayed vibrant and colorful due to the old printing and lithography methods. I like that there were postcards for just about every taste, theme, subject, and holiday.

Even the oddest of holidays like Leap Year, which is more than a calendar correction. It's the special day where the gal gets to chase her man, with society's blessing, but only on the one extra day that comes in February every 4 years.

Leap Year is the chance for single women to grab themselves a husband, and he "can't" say no.

There are many comical postcards for this tradition. Some show pretty modern women being assertive, and others show less attractive "Old Maids" using whatever means they can to catch themselves a feller.

Informative and Fun Sites

You can find out more about collecting Leap Year Postcards, who the publishers were, the artists, and see lots more pix of these fun postcards.

Antique Trader Blog -- an article by Roy Nuhn discusses the legend and lore of the Leap Year courtship aspect.

The LeapZeum -- Deborah Hyland's site shows a selection of the various series of Leap Year cards.

Card Cow -- Card Cow's Leap Year postcards sale page.

Moody's Postcards Blog -- The February 2008 posts show many great Leap Year Postcards, and tells a little about the history of Leap Year.

LeapZine -- All about the history of wedding proposals on Leap Day, illustrated with Leap Year postcards.

More History Flickers - Japanese Stereo View Photos As Animated GIFs - Gorgeous

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:24:00 +0000

[Sumo wrestlers]

From the Art of Japan website pinktentacle.com:

Animated stereoviews of old Japan

In the late 19th and early 20th century, enigmatic photographer T. Enami (1859-1929) captured a number of 3D stereoviews depicting life in Meiji-period Japan.

A stereoview consists of a pair of nearly identical images that appear three-dimensional when viewed through a stereoscope, because each eye sees a slightly different image. This illusion of depth can also be recreated with animated GIFs like the ones here, which were created from Flickr images posted by Okinawa Soba. Follow the links under each animation for the original stereoviews and background information.

[Meeting at gate]

[Buddhist ornament dealer]

[Geisha washing their hands in the garden]

[Chujenji Road, Nikko]

[Geisha playing music]

[Firewood dealers]

[Great Buddha of Kamakura]

[Torii gates at Inari shrine, Kyoto]

[Geisha girls with flowers and cat]

[Traveler in the mountain fog near Chujenji]

[Clam diggers having lunch]

[Tokyo Industrial Exposition, Ueno Park, 1907]

[Campfire on the peak of Mt. Myogi, Nakasendo]

[Geisha in a tearoom]

[Kitano temple, Kyoto]

[Road along the Fuji river]

[Geisha drinking beer in the park]

[Buddhist priest in full dress]

[Geisha looking at stereoviews]

Groundhog Day 2-2-12

noreply@blogger.com (Marianne Dow) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:19:00 +0000

Will Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow? Will we have more winter? Something tells me we will have many more weeks of cold, no matter what the famous Groundhog does or does not see!

Find out all you ever wanted to know, and more, about Groundhog Day at http://www.groundhog.org/ ... or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day

I love the 1993 Bill Murray / Andie McDowell movie, Groundhog Day (see video clip below).

Here are a few pix of vintage Groundhog Day items to look for, for your collections.

Here's a few Groundhog Day video clips from the new search engine "experience" Qwiki.com --

Groundhog Day history -

Punxsatawney Phil -

Groundhog Day, the movie -

Ms. Dow Antiques Blog 'Tique Talk is published by msdowantiques.com
Check out Amazon for antiques-related books and Kindle E Books.

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

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!

Ms Dow Antiques Tique Talk by Marianne Dow

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Lima Ohio or Vermont? EKKO Radio Stamp WWSR