But my Vuitton won't fit under the seat!

A friend asked me the other day, "What can I do with this luggage now that I can't take it on the plane?". Good question, with many good answers. One of which is pictured here, turn the item into useful home decor! We realized quite sometime ago that traveling with some of the older, larger and heavier pieces of Louis Vuitton that we owned can be tricky, expensive, and just plain inconvenient. That's when we discovered how useful many of these pieces are as home decor, display or even extra storage space. Large Louis Vuitton (or other maker) steamer trunks can be beautifully displayed at the foot of a bed, and double as storage for linen, or your extra sweaters. Smaller cube style trunks, such as hat boxes or linen trunks, have been used as end tables or night stands, to hold lamps, photos or your favorite piece of art glass, with more storage inside. Fitted with a custom base, with or without a glass top, large and medium sized suitcases become coffee tables, or accent tables, as shown here below. Stacks of 2 or 3 suitcases can also be used in the same manner, or as simple room accents. I have seen a large fitted piece with a shelf used in a entry way as a place for hats and keys. Fitted pieces, with jars and boxes, can be used as accents on the dresser in a bedroom for a lavish touch, and can hold small items such as jewelry. One or two pieces can be used as display to simply accent a room, and spark conversation of real or imagined travels!

For the well "heeled"

Louis Vuitton, the original luxury goods designer, has been in business as a luggage manufacturer since 1854. Prior to making his first trunk Louis had made his name as a dress-packer, packing the clothes of the wealthy into their trunks for their voyages, so he knew his way around the interior of a trunk. His first trunk was not of the type we know today, nor was it covered in the fabric we know today. The first trunk was a domed style covered in a grey canvas, called Gris-Trianon. Later Louis was to create a trunk with a flat top that revolutionized the trunk industry as it allowed them to now be stacked. He also invented the lock in use today on Vuitton trunks, which is virtually pick proof, and afforded unlimited variable combinations. He quickly moved from the grey canvas, to a striped fabric (1873), then to a checkerboard (1889), or Damier, covering in order to stay ahead of the counterfeiters, yes, you heard me correctly, Vuitton has been copied since the beginning, and he did everything he could to prevent it, including copyrighting the Damier fabric, which contains the trademark as part of the design. The canvas used today, the Monogramme canvas, was designed by George Vuitton (Louis' grandson) in 1896 to honor his grandfather, and which was properly patented to foil counterfeiters. The Louis Vuitton signature brand had been born! Originally the design was woven into the fabric, but today is stencilled onto the fabric. Trunks of all kinds, were and continue to be made, for clothes, for hats, linens, shoes (like that shown here), desks, dishes, picnics; the list is exhaustive. Custom orders for specialty trunks (or large sets of up to 80 trunks) were made and can still be made, and is only limited by imagination and the size of your pocketbook. Louis Vuitton was born in the days when the wealthy traveller went on "holiday" and took almost everything they owned onto the ship or train with them, as they would be travelling for weeks or months. People did not travel light, and Louis Vuitton catered very successfully to that need! There is so much more to tell about this fascinating brand, that I will continue this in a future blog entry (maybe two).

The shoe trunk shown below is a smaller hard sided case for six pairs of shoes, cases for up to 36 pairs are known to exist. The case is lined to protect the shoes from scuffs, and the accessory "pillows" keep the shoes from scuffing each other, as well as help keep them firmly held in the compartments. The lock will keep your shoes safe from thieves, and your sister whom may want to borrow your best pair!

Some Background, Please

The vase pictured was created by possibly the most well known glass designer ever to work for Kosta (and for Orrefors, too!), Vicke Lindstrand.

 

Vicke Lindstrand (1904 - 1983) was artistic director for Kosta from 1950 to 1973, and was reponsible for one of Kosta's most innovative and popular periods.

Kosta Glasbruck (now known as Kosta Boda), was founded in 1742 in Kosta, Sweden, and originally made window glass, chandeliers and drinking glasses.

The company has over the years changed it's output to include pressed glass ware in the 1840's, and cut glass in the 1880's, to the fine art glass made today by their many talented designers, but it is the period of the 1950's through the early 1970's, under direction of Lindstrand, that saw the creation of many popular designs that collectors currently seek out.

Lindstrand was a sculptor and a draftsman, newspaper editor and illustrator, he then turned his artistic talent to glass. His designs include figurative as well as abstract designs, unique studio pieces, domestic glassware and sculpture. He created designes of both large and small scale for private and public spaces. He also designed ceramic ware for the Uppsala Ekeby firm in 1943 to 1950 before joining Kosta, and was glassblower/engraver, then designer, at Orrefors from 1928-1943.

The design for the vase "Trees in the Fog" was part of the "UNICA" series of hand formed one of a kind studio pieces created by Lindstrand in 1955/56, each piece is unique with no two exactly alike, due in part to the nature of the material and the whim of the designer. The design features somber trees of black glass embedded in crystal glass surrounded with a background of fog.

Back for more!

Sorry, Followers, I've been away for awhile! Seems my work/life balance has been unbalanced and tilted way more to work (the 9 to 5, not my antiques). I do need to reconnect to my passions and move in new directions, hence a return to this blog, and passing along my thoughts and whatever knowledge I think you may want to glean from me. So I am back and will have a new entry available to you shortly.

Thank you for sticking with me,
Your host,
Tim

Riihimaki/Riihimaen Lasi Oy Glass

Tonight lets look at another item from inventory - an 8 inch glass vase from the 1960's. This vase (see photo below), and others with this label are known as "Lasi" vases.

The label tells the story as to the name of vases of this type of Scandinavian Art glass made by the Riihimaki/Riihimaen company of Finland.

This particular shape was designed by Tamara Aladin, and came in several sizes and colors. I've seen this vase in 6, 8 and 10 inch versions in either clear, red, blue or green. The Riihimaki company, I believe, was renamed Riihimaen Lasi Oy around 1937, most pieces when described carry both designations Riihimaki/Riihimaen, unless labeled specifically one or the other. Aimo Okkolin, Tamara Aladin, Helen Tynell and Nanny Still are probably the best known and most prolific designers for this company.

Glass from this period, 1950's - 1970's,  tends to molded/mold blown pieces with mulitple angles or sinuous curves with repeated (or some would say echoed) forms within a single piece. Colors are usually clear single colors, cased in clear glass, with heavy bases.

This glass is fun to collect as it bright and cheerful, with many different sizes and shapes to make an interesting display. Below is another piece from around this same period, labeled Riihimaki Suomi Finland, this is believed to be a Aimo Okkolin design called "Stromboli". In addition to the label, this piece is acid stamped and engraved with the model number 1436.

Good night, see you again tomorrow.

Know your inventory?

I had found an item listed online as a signed Venini 'a Canne' vase from the 1960's several weeks ago, and found it again just the other day. The photos showed the mark but was difficult to read, and the type of mark shown suggested the item was not a 60's piece, but I couldn't be positive without inspecting the item. Since I was going into that area for the day I decided to stop at this particular shop. I arrived there and the shop keeper buzzed me in, and greeted me. I told her what I was looking for and that the piece was listed on their website. She said to go ahead and look around, while she located the piece in inventory, as many of those are located in the on-site storage area (ie. basement).
She came back with a piece I hadn't seen on the website, and told her that wasn't it. We looked at the site together and I pointed out the piece I wanted to see, she again had to go to on-site storage. I checked out the piece she had brought up while I waited, this piece, while nice,  was not signed (or priced) and not what I wanted. I also looked around the shop at the other items of glass offered. After a few minutes, she returned without the piece, it was not where she thought it might be, so proceeded to check other cabinets in the shop, and text (yes, text) her partner to see where the piece might be stored.

After about 10 or 15 minutes of looking in various cabinets in the shop, and almost every piece of glass in the shop, I did find another piece I liked, but it was not priced (again) so she needed to look that up in inventory too, but it too was not in the inventory list, so another call (voicemail this time) to the partner on this item. The shop keeper mentioned that the partner likes to move things to and from her country house, so it "makes for an interesting method of inventory management". I decided to leave my number and they could call when they've located the items and information.

About 15 to 20 minutes after I left the shop I received a phone call from the girl in the shop. She had spoken to her partner. I was told that the partner had taken the first piece home, "to do a little more research on the piece", so it was still available. I was also told that based on the further research, the piece was not from the 1960's (as the website states), but from 1993, a difference of 33 years. Although I would have expected a price reduction as the piece is now "newer" , the price of course remained the same. A piece from 1960 and that from 1993 are vastly different in value and pricing.

There are a few issues which irk me in the scenario above; the first is the lack of knowledge on the part of the dealer. This shop mainly sells pottery and glass from the 1950's through the 1970's, and Venini from the 1980's on are clearly marked with a year; how did they not know the piece was from 1993? The fact that they put the item up on the website with incorrect information, and not changing it once that information was known. The moving inventory; I feel I have the reasonable expectation, when a shop has a physical location listed on a website, that the piece I am interested in will be available for inspection at that location, not at some offsite storage location (or the partners home) for the duration of it's listing. If it is stored offsite, that information should be available, and that would allow one to call ahead to see if the item can be inspected.

I have since re-checked the website, and unfortunately, the information that it is a 1960's vase has not changed, but inspecting the photo of the vase bottom again does show a date of 93, when one intently inspects the mark.

Questioning the price....

Today I went on an antique buying trip to a location a couple of hours away from me as it was a good day for a drive, and I'd wanted to revisit this area in Upstate New York. I stop at every antiques store along the way so drives like take me awhile, but that is not the story. This is.

I went into one of the shops in a row of shops, the shop had several customers in it already but the shop keeper greeted me pleasantly and acknowledged I was in the shop (I like that!). I looked around at the items neatly arranged in this particular shop, and the inventory was decidedly Oriental, but there were European antiques and some Mid 20th Century pieces scattered about the shop, a pleasant mix. I noticed a nice piece of glass with a really nice color and form with gold foil accents. I decided to pick up the piece and look at it, and read the tag. In neatly written hand, it gave the diameter and height, color of the interior and exterior, the gold foil accents, and that the piece has an indistinct signature and is dated 1995. On the back of the tag was THE PRICE - $1800.00!

Where did this price come from? Thin air? Dream pricing? Tarot Cards? From the tag I am being told only that this is a piece of glass from the late 20th Century, and there is no idea who may have made it (could have been an art student from the local university) but you are sure that $1800.00 is a fair price, with nothing to back it up. Aren't prices determined from known selling prices of known objects from known sources? Auctions, recent sales, and price guides do exist and publish prices for known objects. What source was used here? The same people who priced the Helmsly Mansion? Which by the way, was priced at $130 Million originally, but recently sold for $35 Million, a $95 Million miscalculation.

Based on the asking prices on the other pieces in the shop, I was expecting a higher price, but not a high end glass price on an unknown glass vase. The other pieces had known designers and manufacturers and were listed on the tags. What was the basis on the price for this vase? I had nothing I could go on except the dream price theory.

Does anyone else wonder what methods are employed by some dealers to determine their prices beyond just guessing at a number they like?

Last night I wrote a little bit about Rookwood production pottery ware, and it's marks. Tonight I want to touch on the Artist ware. These pieces are the reason Rookwood is collected, well that and the fact that Rookwood pottery is consistent in their standards and are for the most part exceptional pieces of art. Rookwood was the first pottery to "second" their output if a flaw made a piece less saleable, but more on that a little later.

Tonight I will talk about the following piece of Artist signed Rookwood:





The above two photos show both sides of this rectangular porcelian vase in a style called Decorated Mat (sometimes called "Double Vellum").  The vase is painted on one side with Wisteria and the other Anemone blossoms and was painted by Kitaro Shirayamadani in 1944 (XLIV) if memory serves. The following photos show the marks found on the bottom of this piece.

The photo above top shows the Flame mark, the year (Roman Numerals), the shape number, and the size designation. These marks as I mentioned earlier appear on all Rookwood pieces made from 1886 on. Here the marks tell us the piece is from 1944, and is shape number 6292, in size C. This is the larger of the two known sizes of this vase; C is 7.5 inches tall, the other 6 inches tall is size D. Based on research this vase was designed by John D. Wareham. The photo above bottom is the artist cypher of Kitaro Shirayamadani as used on later pieces, his earlier cypher is in Katakana characters, which he stopped using after Pearl Harbor.
Kitaro Shirayamadani is considered one of the most sought after of the Rookwood artists, and is on the A-list of the firms artists.

Rookwood had many glaze lines, both of the two vases I have so far presented are mat glazes, the two color (oxblood red/green) on the Arts and Crafts production ware, and this multicolored, painted and glazed later ware. Other ware has names such as Iris (high gloss, white glaze), Sea Green (glossy, green tinited glaze), Aerial Blue (glossy, blue tinted), Vellum (a hazy, white glaze) and Standard (cobination of brown, yellow and green background glazes), as well as a few others. If you get interested in collecting Rookwood pottery you are sure to find a glaze line that appeals to you, perhaps they all will, as this ware is exceptional.

Rookwood is exceptional due to the standards of production that were adhered to during it many years of production (1880 to about 1960). Pieces that were deemed less saleable were "seconded" by the addition of  a scratched in 'X' on the bottom of the piece, and it's sale price was reduced. Pieces are found where the 'X' has a third line through it, resembling a large asterisk '*', these were seconds that did not sell and were marked to be given away.

Rookwood pottery has many other forms and marks, which are too varied to discuss in a limited venue such as this blog, and I have only scratched the surface of this ware. If you wish to do more research on this pottery there are several fine books on the subject, only three of which, specific to Rookwood,  I will mention below as a starter. The first two are older books that are out of print, but can still be found, and many collectors feel these form a solid base for a reference library on Rookwood, the other is a more current book with many color photographs.

(1) The Book of Rookwood Pottery; Herbert Peck; Bonanza Books, New York. 1968, no ISBN available
(2) The Second Book of Rookwood Pottery; Herbert Peck; publisher unknown, 1985, no ISBN
(3) Warman's Rookwood Pottery; Denis Rago & Jonathan Clancy, Krause Publications, 2008
      ISBN 13: 978-0-89689-633-1 or ISBN 10: 0-89689-633-1

Till tomorrow, Good Night!

And the winner is....... Rookwood

Well, I randomly chose an item from the list and up popped a piece of Rookwood pottery. Rookwood is preeminent in American art pottery and is probably the mose well known after Roseville (which seem to be more commom at most antiques shows and flea markets). The piece that got pulled from the hat is the following:

This 12 inch matte ox blood red and green tinged vase is representative of Rookwood production ware from the Arts and Crafts period of American style, it could have been found in almost any Craftsman styled home of the period. This is the type of pottery that would have been chosen by Frank Lloyd Wright for one of his designs.

One of the best features of Rookwood pottery is how well they were marked and documented, this marking system makes Rookwood fun and a joy to collect. The pottery itself is an aid in identifying and dating a piece. Take the gander at the bottom of this piece in the photo below:

The first thing most people notice is the large lightbulb shaped mark at the top; this is the Rookwood Flame mark. It consists of a conjoined back to back RP surrounded by small flame marks.It was first used in June 1886, and consisted of only the RP without any flames, it became their standard mark at that time replacing the previously used "ROOKWOOD". In 1887 a single flame was added to the mark, and an additional flame was added for each following year until 14 flames surrounded the RP in 1900. Pieces made after 1900 have an additional Roman Numeral stamped below the flame mark. In the photo above we see the 14 Flame mark with an impressed VII below, this denotes the year 1907. 

Below the Flame/Date mark is found the shape number followed by the size letter. In this case this is shape 951 and is in size B. The size letter does not stand for a particular measurement but more a relative measurement. There were six size categories of Rookwood pottery, A through F, with A being the largest and F the smallest. So A was larger than a B, which is larger than C, ans so on though F. So this was the second largest size in this shape. This shape according to recorsd published in books on Rookwood was made in sizes A, B, C, D, and E only.

All Rookwood has a minimum of the Flame mark with/without date stamp and the shape/size mark, if it was made from the second half of 1886 on. Pieces prior to this had a different series of marks but are marked.

This piece being production ware is not Artist signed as many Rookwood ware are, and  at 12 iches it is larger than most Rookwood pieces. Rookwood tends to found in sizes 10 inches and under.

Tomorrow I will examine an additional Rookwood piece which is an Artist signed piece, and review the similarities and differences in the markings, as well as other pertinent information not covered here.

To All a Good Night!

A new beginning and a rambling start......

There are so many different subjects and categories of collecting that it is often an arduous task for me to decide what I should discuss next, and tonight is one of those nights. Time and space, and my limited typing skills, make it difficult to cover a single subject in one sitting, as there are so many facets to even a single subject, and deciding where to start, well.

Take American Art Pottery as an example, there are many, many manufactures that one could collect: Roseville, McCoy, Weller, Rookwood, Whalley, Niloak, Grueby to name only a very few; or you could collect this pottery by region or state: Ohio, Masachusetts, California, North Dakota; or a single artist: Valentine, Irvine, Bailey, Rhead; or a single pattern or line: Futura, Iris, Matte, Sunflower, Dickensware, Louwellsa; and I bet you would never tire of finding pieces to add to a collection. The options just in this one collecting category is virtually endless, so you can see why it is difficult to know where to start.

I want to encourage new collectors to start and seasoned collectors to maybe branch out into other areas, by introducing collecting areas that I find appealing, such as art pottery, glass, dolls and dishes. There is alot of territory to cover, and I don't want to overwhelm anyone with too much at once, myself included.

Thanks to my ramblings above, and I thank you for allowing me the time to do so, I have decided that probably the best way to continue is the way I started, one piece at a time, and starting with tomorrows entry I will randomly select one item from inventory and discuss that item as best I can, allowing us to explore the large territory in front of us, one square foot at a time. I'll probably skip around a bit in different areas of collecting as I randomly select an item, but that should make the journey a bit more interesting for us both.

Till tomorrow. 

Follow up on Farmington Antiques Show

A while back I had a blog entry on the Farmington Antiques Show, and I was questioning whether this show would survive. Well, the show this past fall was in fact a bit smaller than the earlier spring show. But just recently I saw some news that tells me the promoter is watching the trend, listening to dealers and customers, and is attempting to do something about it. In the Art and Antiques Weekly dated October 1, 2010 there is a small article stating that the show will be moving to a new home in 2011, the Harwinton Fairgrounds in Harwinton, CT. This venue it appears will offer indoor as well as outdoor spaces, and better permanent facilities for dealers and customers. I like the fact that indoor spaces will be offered rather than just tents (albeit the tents are very high quality) for protection from the elements, as well as the outdoor spaces for the ambiance of the original Polo Grounds show. The new location is a bit further for me to drive to than the Farmington Polo Grounds, being three miles off Route 8 in Harwinton, but I look forward to seeing how the new location fairs. I am hoping this move proves to be successful and that the Farmington Antiques Weekend survives for many more years, as I have been attending it for as long as I can remember.

Quick Update before heading to 9 to 5

Just checked the email bin and I have almost 200 emails in the 9 to 5 bin! I didn't look at it at all this past weekend (for shame!). As you can see I updated the blog, I added a slideshow of items that are on my shop website, hope it doesn't slow the blog down when it loads. I'm heading to the 9 to 5 shortly, but wanted to say Good Morning! Be back later!

Time to get it in Gear!

Have been away from the blog for far too long, and I am afraid I have bored my loyal readers. Time to get it in gear, and start to be faithful to my readers with a minimum of a weekly entry if not a daily one. I have allowed my 9 to 5 to usurp more than enough of my time and energy, it's time to fight back and renew my passion for antiques.

I am thinking about subjects for discussion and will be preparing them to present to you, loyal reader, in the days and weeks ahead. I still wish to inform the new collector, and inspire the seasoned collector, so I will be back!

Look for a new entry tomorrow, I will be here.

Farmington Antiques Show

Today, I went to Farmington, CT to visit the Farmington Antiques and Design Weekend, which is held at the Farmington Polo Grounds. When I first started going to Farmington the show was one of the most popular in the area with 600 plus dealers offering fine American and Country antiques under tents, held twice a year. I've been going to this show for at least 20 years and it has changed, now it is but a shadow of what it once was, today there were only about 175 dealers present at the show, which is a disappointment and not really worth the $10 per head general admission, even with that cost covering both Saturday and Sunday. I understand that the promoter has to cover expenses; advertising, field rental, licenses, tent rental deposits, parking assistance, and with dwindling attendance this gets harder each time.

I, personally, have never returned to shop the second day, having made any desired purchases on the first day. This is no reflection on the dealers present, the dealers that have stayed with the show have been doing this show for many years and do strive to maintain the high standards to which they have always aspired and always seem to bring a myriad of quality items from which buyers can choose.

It is hard to say what is causing the decline of this show, several factors have been rumored, the change in management, the year of the "storm", the high early buyer admission of $20 per head when they had an early buyer opening, the higher two-day general admission, the economy of the past few years. Probably all of these have played a part. Steadily over the past few years there has been a noticeable change in the attendance by both dealer and buyer, to the level I witnessed today. I am wondering if this show will survive?

A Night at the Auction

Well the past couple of nights we've covered generally how a live auction works, now let's take a look at the actual bidding. The auctioneer will usually start with the auction gallery rules, and cover the buyer premium, and sometimes he (or she) will cover changes in the auction line up; such as items pulled, or last minute items added that are not in the cataloque. Then the real fun starts, as the first item comes up the auctioneer will give a brief description of the item and will start by asking for an opening bid of a specific amount. It generally goes like this:
Auctioneer: We'll open the bidding at $200. Do I hear $200?
(silent pause)
Auctioneer: How about $100? Do I hear $100?
(silent pause)
Auctioneer: No one wants this item at $100, how about $50, do I hear $50?
Bidder 1: $50

Many auctioneers will keep going down until someone opens the bidding, if no one opens the bidding, the auctioneer will "pass" the item and move to the next item on the list. So most people wait to till the item is low enough, but not so low that the auctioneer passes the item. You can, of course, raise your paddle (or card with your bidder number) and clearly state your opening bid amount if you are concerned that the item will be passed, but you must do this before the auctioneer passes the item.
In the example above the bidder didn't actually say $50, he or she raised their paddle (or card with bidder number) up so the auctioneer could see it and recognize the bid. Sometimes more than one person raises their paddles at the same time for the same amount, at that point the auctioneer will select the bidder he noticed first. Once an opening bid is established, bidding continues like this:

Auctioneer: I have $50, do I hear $60?
Bidder 2: $60
Auctioneer: I have $60, do I hear $70?
Bidder 1: $70

The bidding continues until some one is victorious. Now there are a couple of strategies I've seen used to be more successful in winning an item. One is to wait until the bidding slows, and the auctioneer is about to sell the item and then bidding the next increment. Most auctioneers will warn the floor when an item is going to sell (although you can usually tell), by saying:  "Going once, Going twice, sold" or "Fair Warning, sold", the trick is to bid on the second "Going", sometimes this works and you get the item, sometimes it starts the bidding war anew. Of course this is only good if the item is still in the range you'd spend for the item, otherwise you've just overspent. Another tactic I've seen, and it surprised me the first time I saw it happen, was someone was tired of the $25 increments the auctioneer was using (the item was at $3500, it was getting boring), so they raised their paddle and shouted $5000. That got everyones attention and the person won the item. I think because everyone was too surprised to continue! I think the best strategy is to get in on the bidding early for the items you're interested in, it definitely makes the evening go alot faster and more alot more enjoyable, even if you don't get everything you came and stayed for.

What ever you do, get out there and start a collection, go to shops, and flea markets, and don't pass up the auctions just because you've never been before, it's fun and easy to get the hang of them. Happy Hunting!

A night at the Auction.... well almost

Let's say you've found the auction and can preview the items but you cannot stay for the auction. At this point you still have options to get those treasures; left bids and phone bids. Most, if not all auction houses offer left bids, but not all offer phone bids and of those that do, they don't always offer phone bidding at all auctions, so be sure to ask. A left bid is just that; you leave a list of items you want to bid on and your top bid with the auction house. This will allow the auctioneer or one of their assistants to execute your bid for you, almost as if you were there bidding yourself. The bidding proceeds as follows; the auctioneer opens the bidding, takingthe next increment from the left bids or floor, then the next increment from a left bid, then floor, etc., alternating in this way till a top bidder is victorious. Now I have done left bids and only rarely have I been the high bidder (three times to be exact) so it's not foolproof. The other issue I have with left bids is some auctions I've attended, where others have left bids, the auctioneer has done it this way; He reads quickly through all the left bids, finds the highest one and has actually said: "Eliminating all lower left bids, I'll start the bidding at...", although this shortens the bidding time, it doesn't really feel like an auction, more like a sale. I think this method puts people off, and would rather have the auctioneer open at a lower left bid and bid the item up incrementally, it just feels more like an auction, and gives the floor (auction attendees) a chance to get in on the action early in the proceedings. Rarely, some auction houses offer a special type of left bid called a plus one, this means that they will, if you choose, bid one extra increment over your maximum for you, I've never used the service as I alway put my top bid as my maximum, but you'll have to decide for yourself if it's offered as an option.

Your other option is the phone bid, which I personally prefer over left bids as I have more control. As with left bids, again you leave a list of the items you wish to bid on and a contact phone number (or numbers). The auction house will call you to get your bids on an item, how cool is that! It's the next best thing to being there. A few minutes before or a couple of items prior to the item you're interested in will cross the block, the auction house will call you and confirm that you are set to bid. The person at the auction house will relay to you the current bid price, and relay back to the auction house your increment, if you wish to bid. This method requires that you have a good connection, and sharp ears, but it does work well. Even if I drop out of the bidding I usually stay on till the bidding ends to find out what the item sold for just as I would have had I physically attended the auction.

For both these methods you will have to be sure you know when you can go to pick up and pay for the items if you are the high bidder, and how long you have to pick them up. Some auction houses will, after holding an item a week or so, start charging storage fees or move the items to another location to make room for their next auction.

Also even if you plan on using a left or phone bidding method, be sure to attend the preview so you know exactly what you're bidding on. My rule of thumb is if I haven't previewed it; I won't bid on it.

Tomorrow, more on a night at the auction....

A night at the Auction

Tonight I was at an auction preview and was talking with someone who was asking a lot of questions on how an auction was conducted, what some procedures were, etc. Based on the conversation I correctly surmised that this person had not been to an auction before and felt a bit lost, I don't know why they chose me to talk to but they did and I hope I helped. So tonight I want to briefly go over how to approach an auction if you've never been to one.

First find an auction that you might be interested in attending; this is easy as most local papers have an Auctions and Flea Markets section in the Classifieds, or that antiques magazine you picked up at the shop down the street is another good place to look. Once you've found the auction you want to attend, ARRIVE EARLY! Plan to be there about an hour but no less than one-half hour before the scheduled start, an hour is definitely better. Bring with you a magnifying glass or loupe, tape measure, pen or pencil and a small notepad. Some auctions are catalogued which means they will provide a numbered list or book which lists all the lots in the auction, others are not. At these uncatalogued auctions the notepad and pen/pencil come in handy for writing down the items your interested in with any pertinent information, it's easy to miss something you wanted when it's not written down.

I like to inspect the lots before I go get my number, that way if there is nothing I really can't live without I can just leave and I've bothered no one. BE SURE TO INSPECT! Check out the items you're interested in, that is what the preview is for, so take advantage. Check for chips, cracks, missing parts, and wear; measure and take notes, you have the time now and can't return an item you've been successful bidding on at an auction, so inspect and be sure it meets your standards.

Having inspected all the lots, if there is something you wish to bid on and are staying for the auction go to the auction table and register for the auction. This is a simple process where they take your name, address and phone, then give you a bidder number. They may also ask if you are a dealer, if they don't ask and you are a dealer, tell them as there may be additional paperwork to fill out for tax purposes. Now all you have to do is relax until the auction starts, get a soda, take a seat and relax. When an item you are interested in comes up for bidding, get in there by holding your number up to get the auctioneers attention, keep bidding until you reached the limit you've set for that item. SET A LIMIT and STICK TO IT, it's easy to get caught up in bidding and spend more than you wanted, so stick to your limits. Repeat this process until all the items you were interested in have crossed the block. Many times I've bid on several items and gotten none so don't be discouraged if you don't win an item, that's how this goes! Now before you leave you must go back to the table you registered at to pay for the items you've purchased, if any. Once paid for you will be able to pick them up, pack the car and go home to enjoy your new treasures.

Tomorrow I will cover what to do if you cannot stay for the auction, and some bidding strategies commonly used at auctions.

Is it what it is?

I was having a difficult time thinking about what to say this evening, but a casual browsing of the Internet gave me a topic: items on websites where the description is purposely written to embellish or confuse the attribution of an item in order to enhance it's saleability.

Take for example the item I spotted today on a popular website by a dealer whose pieces and prices tell me they have a more than casual encounter with the items they sell, and based on their "about us" page are knowledgeable about their chosen inventory. The item in question was a piece of glass, a vase to be specific, that was clearly marked with the label of the manufacturer visible in the photographs, but the dealer chose to skim over that fact with a quick mention of the label and repeatedly point out how much the piece looked like another more well known (and expensive) manufacturer in technique and quality; even going so far as to ask collectors of the more well known manufacturers glass to write to him to "clear up the confusion".

The only confusion in this case is why is this knowledgeable dealer confused? The piece is clearly labeled with the foil label of the manufacturer right on the side of the vase. This is clearly a case of the dealer forcing the confusion in order to justify a higher price on the particular item, which may work with a neophyte collector, but only goes to lessen the respect this knowledgeable dealer has with seasoned collectors, and may well backfire on him. The piece in question and pieces by the true manufacturer are desireable and collected in their own right by many, so why the need to confuse. This, by the way, was not the only piece I've found with a "confused" attribution, I've seen others that fit this situation very closely, with the only reason being to increase the saleability.

Collectors, both seasoned and neophyte, rely on dealers for their guidance and knowledge in the collecting field; and a dealers best customer is a knowledgeable collector.  By confusing the already overwhelmed neophyte,  or alienating the seasoned collector, such tactics will only serve to leave the dealer with no one to which to sell.

Limited time

The 9 to 5 kept me busy today, and had chores to do after work (I put stuff off to go treasure hunting over the weekend) so my time is limited tonight, and I had to see Roadshow!

I will say good night for now, and start again tomorrow.

Rats, nothing for me today at the local shops. I'll keep looking!