Repeat guest Richard Wright from auction house Wright20 talks about Italian design including Gio Ponti, Ettore Sottsass and more.
123. Wendy Harvey, on Collectable Ceramic Tiles
Martin along with Rebekah Kaufman co-hosting speak with collectable tile expert, Wendy Harvey about all aspects of tiles, what makes them collectable and more.
Check out http://www.antiquearticles.com
Tossed But Not Lost
‘One Man’s Trash’ you have heard the expression enough; here is another example how that it rings true.
Back in 1982, my father, (Morgan Willis) and I were at a storage place meeting a woman from a prominent family in York, Maine. She was there for an hour before with family members getting things ready for us, as her main goal was to clear everything out of the storage unit. She ultimately wanted to stop paying rent on it as the family had been doing for at least ten years.
In the storage were items that were inherited from someone in their family, and there were nice period American pieces, boxes of early Canton porcelain and many fine collectibles. My dad and I were both very exited with the items we were listing, but of course, we kept our cool. It is never a good idea to get too excited as it tends to make consignors get excited enough not to sell sometimes.
122. Gregg Elliott on High Grade Shotguns
Show Notes: Martin talks to blogger and expert Gregg Elliott on high grade shotguns, collecting, and how to make careful decisions when obtaining them. Check out his blog website at: dogsanddoubles.com
121. Mary Miley Theobald, on History Myths
Show Notes: Martin talks with historian/author, Mary Miley Theobald about debunking some fun American history myths of Colonial through Victorian times, some involving antiques. Check out: marymileytheobald.com
Collecting Magic
by Michael Lauck
Over the last few years it seems like there has been an increased interest in collecting the bizarre and odd, particularly the oddities of yesterday. As collecting the artifacts of the carnival midways, sideshows and traveling medicine shows gain popularity, so does the popularity of these entertainments’ (only slightly) more refined cousin, magic. Although magic and illusion have been popular entertainments for centuries, the hey day of stage magic was arguably around the turn of the last century. This period has left us a legacy of beautiful advertising material, souvenirs and actual stage props. The problem is that magic, by its very nature, is secretive which compounds the normal problems that come with antique verification. Many items sold as magic props, such as puzzle boxes and two headed coins, are actually novelties or gambling items. If you are not a magician (and sometimes even if you are), it can be very difficult to spot a legitimate prop and even harder to tell something relatively old. However, props are only one of the types of magic related antiques you may find.