Joe Camel King of Swag
TT sent me a piece of 1980s-1990s swag, a Joe Camel Pup Tent. She wonders how a tent became associated with Camel cigarettes. As an advertising campaign, RJ Reynolds, in …
Art Nouveau Lamp Period or Not?
JP sent me a fabulous Art Nouveau style figural table lamp, a nude woman supported by a peacock. The woman’s outstretched arm holds the light fixture, a globe shape, encrusted …
Picasso Worthy Ceramic Fish Plate
Let me tell you a story of a theme and technique championed by none other than Pablo Picasso adopted in the Hinterland of Australia. Check out FT’s ceramic fish plate. …
Cuban Tile With Islam Influence
FF sent me a ceramic tile, framed, with a delicate pastel decoration of stylized flowing foliage in a vase. This Persian symbol for the Tree of Life offers connections between …
Framer’s Label Tells a Great Story
AC got lucky on a late 19th century watercolor landscape featuring a meandering Midwestern river and a skiff tied to the underbrush. A framer’s label on the back of the …
Lucite Furniture Ups and Downs
I visit quite a few homes each week to appraise contents and collections. In almost every home I find a “knock-off” Phillippe Stark Lucite see-through “Louis Ghost” chair. They’re made …
The Landscape Around Pearls
JC sent me her mom’s pair of pearl collars, faux pearls on silk that graced a common cardigan or blouse in the 1940s. Glentex produced these in Japan, and in …
Great Animalier Pierre Jules Mene
B and J sent me a beautiful bronze sculpture of two horses, one smaller, one larger, facing each other, with the head on the shoulder of the other. B and …
Vintage Cape Worth $120?
CS sent me a vintage cape with rabbit trimmed fur on cashmere. She wonders if with the tiny moth holes mean that it’s NOT worth the price tag of $120. …
Disk Music Box From 1900
Imagine a breadbox-sized box with a round metal disk inside, a music box with a coin slot for a nickel. In 1900 one found this box in taverns, pool halls, …