04/17/2020
Trash or Treasure
The seasoned professionals in the antique and collectible world already know the tricks of the trade on how to separate trash from treasure. The novice, however, might not. It’s impossible to go into full details on every aspect of every field because it is much too large but sometimes a small sample can stimulate the appetite and stop someone from making a costly mistake.
PAINTINGS
Many people can’t differentiate between an original and a print. Beautifully framed prints on canvas arrive daily from China where the population is big and the hourly wage small. These prints often have brush strokes applied to give them the look and feel of original oil. Some of these prints are planted at estate sales to sucker the unsuspecting client.
Before buying, you should always study a painting closely . Is the frame antique or does it only look antique? Some frames are worth more than the painting but beware the dealer that tries to purchase your priceless work of art by telling you, “I only want it for the frame.”
Does the back of the canvas show age and how is the canvas stretched in the old or new style? Watch out for artificial aging. One dealer I knew would stain the back of his canvases with tea bags to give them an older look.
Is it a print or a water color? Many original water colors are sold as prints at garage and estate sales. The picture should be checked with a high powered magnifying lens. You can usually identify a print by the series of microscopic dots that make up the picture.
Is it a signed and numbered print or an artist’s proof? Many artists make a limited edition of prints (1/50 one of fifty or 500/3000 five hundred of three thousand) and sign and number each one giving them additional value. An artist proof is a signed print by the artist with the letters AP indicating that this was the original print approved by the artist prior to printing the run.
There are also woodcuts, etchings, lithographs, engravings, silk screens, clip art, digital art and computer-generated art all adding to the confusion.
A common error I have noted in the world of art pertains to bronze sculptures. People often mistake the cheaper bronze coloured metal spelter (mostly zinc) for true bronze (mostly copper). Spelter is much lighter and if scratched the base of a spelter piece will show a silver scratch When purchasing a bronze, I always check out the quality of the workmanship and look to see if it has a foundry mark. Most bronzes are also stamped with the artist’s signature. There are many inexpensive mass produced bronzes hitting the market place and copies of famous artists like Frederic Re*****on can be found everywhere.
Finding a great work of art is exciting but does not always lead to riches. Fakes exist, some dating back to the time of the original. Therefore, professional art dealers often require the provenance (proven history) of the piece. The science of establishing the authenticity of a work of art can be expensive and may not always end in a satisfactory conclusion. If you can find a name on the painting you are selling it might be wise to check out the artist on the internet before selling. Two sites I use are findartinfo.com and artprice.com
RUGS
I recently went to a garage sale and witnessed a beautiful hand made Persian rug being sold for fifty dollars. The seller believed it to be a cheap machine made rug of no true value.
You should always check the back of a rug when buying or selling. Are the knots close tight knots? Is there a slight irregularity to the weave? Do the colors on the back match the front? Is the rug vegetable dyed? An answer of yes to all of these questions would indicate that you probably have a hand made rug and further research is necessary before disposing of it.
The value of oriental rugs can be anywhere from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars depending on the age, materials, design, condition, country of origin and history .
CHINA, PORCELAIN AND POTTERY
The first thing you should do when selling your grandmother’s old vase is to check the markings on the bottom.
If the vase has England stamped on its bottom (I have Ireland tattooed on mine) then it was probably made after 1891 when the US McKinley Tariff Act made it compulsory for companies to indicate the country of origin on all wares. If it states, Made in England, it was probably made after 1914. If it states dishwasher safe we can rule out any real antique value but collector value is still a possibility .
Then check to see if there is a company name indicated on the bottom. Run that name through the internet. There are many famous names that demand high prices and sometimes a five minute internet search can put a smile on your face from ear to ear.
Very early porcelain and pottery might only show a series of dots, or an anchor, crossed swords, or arrow . These symbols might represent the important factories of Minton, Chelsea, Meissen or Bow and the age of the piece. I say might because many of these symbols have been copied by others. Books on porcelain and pottery marks can often be found at your local bookstore, library , or over the internet (Amazon & Booksellers.com)
ADVERTISING MEMORABILIA
I’ll never forget the time I arrived at a south shore home and was directed into an empty basement by the eighty-five year old woman in charge. She was cleaning out her older brother’s home and found an old rusty sword that someone suggested might have some value. She wanted to show me it to me. I told her that due to its condition, lack of real age and uniqueness the sword had little value. I asked her what happened to the rest of the items that must have been in the basement.
“My brother was a pack rat” she said, “he had this basement filled with old Coca Cola advertising signs. It took me forever to clear it out.”
“Please, don’t tell me you threw them out” I cried.
“Why yes, the signs and an old Lionel electric train set he had as a child, it hadn’t worked for years” she replied.
Her first statement knocked me down and her second put the boots to me.
A good friend of mine makes a very good living just dealing with old advertising memorabilia. The general rule of thumb is age, rarity , condition and artistic merit all add to value. If it’s
a cross collectible (attractive to two different kinds of collector) the value goes up.
Tins with early golfers, baseball players, trains, ships and early aviation will normally demand higher values.
Items that accurately , stylistically or whimsically reflect an era of time can have a substantial value.
JEWELRY
Many collectors are drawn to this early form of plastic. I once sold an empty shell of a radio made of butterscotch and mauve Bakelite for one thousand dollars.r all my years in the business, I’m still surprised at what prices some early Bakelite (early plastic) jewelry sells for.
Many collectors are drawn to this early form of plastic. I once sold an empty shell of a radio made of butterscotch and mauve bakelite for one thousand dollars.
FURNITURE (MARRIED AND DIVORCED)
When buying antique furniture you have to be a bit of a sleuth to determine its true age and condition. You have to check the jointing, the hardware (old or new), and the wear and tear on areas that should show hundreds of years of wear and tear.
You have to check out the cuts on the wood to see if they were made by a modern saw and planer or by a more primitive saw and plane.
Furniture, like people, can also be married or divorced. A piece is married if it finds another piece that completes or complements it even if they didn’t originally start out together and a divorced piece of furniture is when one removes a rotten
or damaged part from the original piece letting the remaining piece stand alone.
When selling a piece of early furniture, always look for a label or maker’s mark. Some very simple looking pieces of furniture can be extremely valuable because of the designer or manufacturer.
There are many other topics I can comment on - toys, clothing, purses, compacts, glass and crystal but the universal truth is that every year billions of dollars of collectibles are undersold or thrown out because of a lack of understanding of the market and a rush to sell.
Some fakes are easy to spot, some aren’t.
A bird in the hand
Marilyn’s a volunteer and she has the unique ability of dragging me, kicking and screaming into her little volunteer projects. Our store takes a secondary position to the various non-paying projects she finds for both of us. One “small” project was a dinner auction for a south shore dog and cat shelter. “They need an antique evaluator, "she said “It won’t take up much of your time.” Two months later after running all over the city , selecting, evaluating and transporting goods and watching my home turn into a warehouse, the event finally took place. Another project of hers is the Nichoir Wild Bird Clinic and Sanctuary . I started writing this story while sitting at my computer with wet socks, pants and shoes after dropping her off at the Nichoir. What was supposed to be a simple drop off ended with me hosing down the cage floor of a crow named Manning. As I worked, Manning sat on my shoulder constantly complaining about the food and accommodations of his new resort. He was a little upset because some genius at a Golf Club and with a golf club, cruelly killed his mate. Probably the only birdie this character ever made. The Nichoir received a call and rushed to the location to save him from a similar fate. I discovered that crows are very family-orientated birds.
Marilyn’s a volunteer and she has the unique ability of dragging me, kicking and screaming into her little volunteer projects. Our store takes a secondary position to the various non-paying projects she finds for both of us. One “small” project was a dinner auction for a south shore dog and cat shelter. “They need an antique evaluator, "she said “It won’t take up much of your time.” Two months later after running all over the city , selecting, evaluating and transporting goods and watching my home turn into a warehouse, the event finally took place. Another project of hers is the Nichoir Wild Bird Clinic and Sanctuary . I started writing this story while sitting at my computer with wet socks, pants and shoes after dropping her off at the Nichoir. What was supposed to be a simple drop off ended with me hosing down the cage floor of a crow named Manning. As I worked, Manning sat on my shoulder constantly complaining about the food and accommodations of his new resort. He was a little upset because some genius at a Golf Club and with a golf club, cruelly killed his mate. Probably the only birdie this character ever made. The Nichoiir received a call and rushed to the location to save him from a similar fate. I discovered that crows are very family-orientated birds.
Manning did what any other concerned spouse would do and went back to the club house looking for his partner.
Working at my store, I became acquainted with various nationalities and customs of people and in time I came to understand and admire them. Working at the Nichoir opened my eyes to the amazing lives of many species of birds and helped me both understand and love them. Every volunteer becomes attached to the birds and looks forward to the day when they can be released healthy and happily back to nature.
Unfortunately , that was not possible with Manning. This funny , opinionated and totally loveable crow was just too friendly . There was a strong possibility that he would land on someone’s head or shoulders and they would mistakenly assume that they were being attacked and injure or kill him. He was sent on his way to St. Jerome. A man there was under the impression he could train this rebellious character and give him a good life. I was sad when the little guy left the sanctuary in Hudson. How ironic was this? Here I was worrying about the life of this crazy little crow when not that long ago I used to hate crows. I thought of them as filthy , disease-ridden scavengers with no appealing traits whatsoever. It turns out that I had the bird brain, not Manning. When I took the time to work with crows and other birds and tried to understand them, my opinion completely changed. Manning had shown me how ignorance breeds prejudice and how our lives can be enriched if we walk around with open hearts and minds.
It’s unfortunate that the Nichoir must close every winter. Like so many other great organizations, they don’t have the funds to survive all year round. This wonderful establishment, which is unique in Canada, operates on donations and a yearly dinner auction. The fact that projects like the Nichoir are struggling to survive as we read stories of government corruption and corporate greed is enough to make me sick. What happens to all those sick and injured birds when they close for the winter? Someone shows up daily to check for telephone messages and attempts to place as many injured birds as they can in loving foster homes. Some die as all things must eventually die.
The truth is you can’t save them all and many will die alone in the bitter cold without the attention of the many loving volunteers.
It’s easy to say , as I often do to Marilyn “Honey , you can’t save them all. ” She just ignores me and goes about her work.
The Mallard Christmas Story
It was a cold icy Christmas day when Hudson’s Le Nichoir wild bird clinic and sanctuary received a call from a concerned citizen. She had discovered a male mallard duck swimming alone in a small body of running water down a snow covered drainage ditch adjacent to her property . I was enjoying my day off, sitting by a warm fire with my feet up and enjoying a classic Christmas movie on my wide screen television when my wife Marilyn approached me. She insisted I get up, get dressed and drive her to the location without delay .
I dragged my five foot six, 250 pound couch potato body off my chair, got dressed in my Goodyear blimp down-filled jacket, put on my heavy winter boots, and headed out with my faithful but demanding companion, on a duck hunting expedition.
We found our feathered and slightly undernourished friend looking content but hungry . My wife sent me off to find nourishment in the form of a can of Niblets corn while she stayed behind to duck-sit. When I returned, the little guy ate with the gusto of Donald Duck at a corn roast. Since Le Nichoir has no winter quarters we decided, after consulting with our local expert, that it would be wiser to leave him where he was but continue monitoring and feeding him. Early every morning my wife would drag my sorry butt out of my warm comfortable house into a cold and temperamental car for a drive to Ducksville. After finding a place to park on a snow covered country street we would then head down a steep and ice covered trail to check out our new friend. I was beginning to suspect that my wife was more concerned about the “Mallard in the Pool” than the “Man in her Life.” One day we arrived and he was gone. We headed for home with long faces hoping for the best but suspecting the worst.
Two weeks later on another cold miserable winter day (we seem to get a lot of those in Canada) we got an urgent call from a Mr. Ken Davy on Cameron Road in the town of Hudson. He had a Mallard duck with a beak that was frozen shut swimming in the running creek on his property . Once again we headed out on a duck hunt only to discover that it was our old friend. He was in a very small patch of water surrounded by ice.
I got the net out of the car with the noble intention of capturing our wayward buddy , thawing out his beak and giving him some temporary shelter. Murphy’s Law states that it’s impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.” Ignoring this law while ratifying it, I carefully walked out onto the ice, net in hand as my wife cried out, “That ice won’t hold you!” I knew that in her opinion the iceberg that sank the Titanic wasn’t strong enough to support me so I ignored her pleas and continued out onto the ice. The next thing I know I was standing up to my assets in freezing water and the duck was swimming happily out of range. While I fought hypothermia my wife decided to call duck expert Lynn Miller and get her assessment of the duck’s dilemma. Once more she was more concerned with the duck’s frozen beak than her husband’s frozen feet and snowballs.
Lynn informed her that as long as the duck didn’t appear to be in any serious distress we should leave it be. It had survived this long under impossible odds and as long as we kept it well fed and monitored it daily it should be all right. She assured us that the beak would thaw out without any help from us. We then picked up a large bag of dried corn and dropped it off at Mr. Davy’s home.
He promised he would feed our mutual friend daily and keep us informed of his progress. True to his word the next day we got a call informing us that the beak had defrosted and our brave and tough little Mallard was getting along fine.
The little mallard survived the winter and throughout the following summer could be seen swimming happily with a new found girlfriend. I hope she’s a little easier on him than my wife is on me.
