Close Encounters of the Three Wheeled Kind
I received a call to appraise vintage French Bicycle advertising posters, so I headed to my client’s huge garage in Ojai. Not only did I see wonderful early 1900s lithographic …
When Real Men Wore Gloves
Walt Disney put white gloves on Mickey Mouse when he made The Opry House in 1929. Those big white gloves stop at the wrist and fasten at the back with …
Melmac: A Story of Modernity
In the 1960s in St. Ann, Missouri, my favorite aunt on Dad’s side, used plastic dinnerware made in the 1950s called Melmac in her modest home. When I visited my …
Jean Paul Gaultier Celebrated Artist
Fashion values became front and center when the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC opened Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, showing through to July 16. Last week I wrote …
Dolce and Gabbana Dress a Piece of Art
JE sent me a gorgeous black cotton structured Dolce and Gabbana dress. She found it in 2003 at a thrift store, with trademark excellent construction. The waist has old-fashioned bone …
Long Tail of COVID Leaves Furniture Market in Dumps
Art Market Reaches Heights Big changes happened in the art and furniture auction market these past three months as the LONG TAIL of COVID evaporates. Furniture now stands frozen in …
Fukagawa Porcelain Goes Back Eight Generations
MA sent me a boxed Japanese Fukagawa porcelain vase with a lovely painting of a Warbler bird on a Cherry Blossom branch. The story goes back to 1616 in an …
Frigidaire Flair: A Kitchen Sculpture
I have a unique problem. I own a Frigidaire Flair stove range combination built into my condo in 1962. It came with the kitchen when I bought the place in …
Chinese Opera A Special Occasion
JL traveled the world throughout her life. She sent me a souvenir of the traditional Chinese opera she visited over fifty years ago as a guest of the Chinese Government. …
Spring the Seasons for Hats by Russ Russell
Imagine how I felt when the 1950s famous designer Russ Russell’s granddaughter asked me to appraise twenty of his hats in Montecito. I have a weakness for vintage hats. If …