A Beast of a Sofa
Let me tell you a story about how the most out of place objects are found in the least likely environments. How did a beast of a sofa find its …
W Stanley Davis Won Flower Shows
HT sent me a photo of a sterling silver tulip-shaped engraved vase, won by her great grandfather for ‘Best Dahlias’ in the 1904 Santa Barbara Flower Show. HT’s great-grandfather, a …
1890s Glass Beer Bottles
GJ found two “blob top” straight-sided shorter-necked low shouldered amber-brown glass twenty-three ounce beer bottles wedged between the ceiling joists in his 1890s house below APS. Each appeared slightly different …
Olympic Art
The ancient Olympic Games took place every four years between 776 BCE and 393 CE, and ceased in the third century because of “pagan” claims by a Christian Roman Emperor. …
Navajo Rugs In Rare Condition
HT inherited two Navajo rugs from her great-grandfather’s ranch. These unique, authentic, and gorgeous rugs appear in remarkable condition for almost 100 years old. Her great-grandfather farmed citrus and avocados …
Bride Doll Walks Down the Aisle of History
I opened an antique dresser drawer, a stiff, corpse-like doll stared up at 12-year-old me. I reeled back in horror, and never liked dolls from that day. As a twist …
Top Five ‘Dumb’ Restoration Mistakes
I make a habit of seeing the BEST in all objects and hold onto objects that are damaged or need repair. I call these objects “my orphan-things” and it gives …
Architectural Tradition at St Anthony’s Chapel
SM from the St Anthony’s Community asked me to appraise their altar candelabra. This gave me a private moment in that 1927 Chapel. Throughout California in the late 1920s towns …
Fond Memories of Steiff Toys
Steiff Toys take me back to a little Midwestern redbrick house in 1960s Deerfield Illinois. A burly gentleman who didn’t speak English carried a four-foot-long walrus with a blue bow …
Schütz Rendered East Coast Cityscapes
This Anton Friedrich Josef Schütz etching captures the American spirit of the modern, growing metropolis of New York City in 1926. The work by an artist and founder of the …